Anglia Television
Encyclopedia
Anglia Television is the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 franchise holder for the East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

 franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

, with regional news bureau in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, and Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

. Anglia Television is owned and operated by ITV plc under the license name of ITV Broadcasting Limited.

Anglia currently broadcasts to Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, North Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, southern Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, a small part of southern Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, south Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....

, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

, northern Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, and northern Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

.

History

Anglia Television launched on 27 October 1959 as an independent company serving the East of England. At launch, Anglia broadcast from the Sandy Heath
Sandy Heath transmitting station
Sandy Heath transmitter is a television broadcast station located between Sandy, Bedfordshire and Potton near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1966, originally broadcasting Anglia Television on VHF 405-lines, UHF with 625-line services of BBC2, BBC1 and...

, Sudbury, Tacolneston and Belmont transmitters
Belmont transmitting station
The Belmont transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated next to the B1225, one mile west of the village of Donington on Bain in the civil parish of South Willingham, near Market Rasen and Louth in Lincolnshire, England . It is owned and operated by Arqiva.It has...

 of the ITA
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...

 and later IBA
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...

. This lasted until the 1 January 1974, when the Belmont transmitter was transferred to Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

.

In early 1994, Anglia was bought by MAI (owners of Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....

), who merged with United Newspapers to form United News and Media. They were joined by HTV in 1996. In 2000, following United's aborted merger attempt with Carlton, Granada bought the TV assets of United (but sold the broadcasting arm of HTV). In 2004, Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

 finally merged with Carlton to form ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...

, which ended Anglia's existence as a separate brand. During its period of UBM ownership, a 'youth' channel was launched to cable and satellite from Anglia's facilities, Rapture TV
Rapture TV
Rapture TV was a previously free-to-air satellite television station operated from the United Kingdom, founded in 1997...

; some productions for the ITV network were also shared with Rapture, which was retained by UBM after the sale to Granada, but later closed down and its assets sold. Many early programmes for the newly launched Channel 5 were made at Anglia, as UBM also owned a stake in the channel (later sold to RTL Group
RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...

).

In 1993, the station took over the cartoon studio Cosgrove Hall, when it was sold off by its original owners, Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

. Although the station no longer makes a significant content contribution to ITV nationally (the last major programme being Trisha, before she defected to Five), the semi-independent Anglia Factual brand now runs a thriving international business supplying content for Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

 in the USA, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 and Five in the UK, and other broadcasters worldwide. Notable series include Animal Precinct
Animal Precinct
Animal Precinct is an American documentary reality television series that originally aired from June 26, 2001, to February 4, 2008, on Animal Planet...

and Animal Cops
Animal Cops
Animal Cops may refer to several reality television series that are originally produced in the United States for Animal Planet, including the following:*Animal Cops: Detroit *Animal Cops: Houston...

for Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...

, and Real Crime and Survival with Ray Mears
Survival with Ray Mears
Survival with Ray Mears is a 3 part television series hosted by Ray Mears, as he tracks predators in their natural habitats. The series is broadcast by ITV, and was billed as the return of the Survival brand...

for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 (credited as ITV Studios). Commercial Breaks, the commercial production agency owned by ITV's sales division, is also based in Norwich.

In 2006, Anglia sold its other major studio complex (which included its newsroom and twin news studios) in Magdalen Street, Norwich to Norfolk County Council, who, with the help of the East of England Development Agency, have created EPIC - the East of England Production Innovation Centre. Intended as an "incubator" for small creative and media enterprises, Studio E (formerly home to Trisha) is now available for hire as an independent facility. One of the first tenants of EPIC is Televirtual, a company formed out of Broadsword Productions who made Anglia's legendary children's show Knightmare
Knightmare
Knightmare is an English television program for children, produced by Broadsword Productions for Anglia Television and was broadcast on ITV from 7 September 1987 to 11 November 1994...

. A major education partner at EPIC in the shape of Norwich School of Art and Design will be housing a new Foundation Degree in Film and Video at the centre from September 2007. As a consequence of the sale, Anglia News, which moved to Magdalen Street in 1999, has moved back to a new state-of-the-art facility at Anglia House.

In 2006, ITV plc swapped subsidiaries, which involved renaming Anglia Television Ltd as ITV Broadcasting Limited and vice versa. However, due to OFCOM licensing regulation, the new Anglia Television Limited could not take up the franchise, which means that the East Anglia franchise was effectively transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited. All other ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...

-owned franchises were transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited in December 2008, meaning that technically, the former Anglia Television Limited now holds all ten licenses in England, Wales and Southern Scotland.

Studios


Throughout Anglia's existence, the company has retained its headquarters at the historic Anglia House building in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

, which contains four studios and offices for the company. As Anglia's production expanded, the company also expanded, buying land in Magdalen street in the 1990s and creating a new studio complex. Production moved here, as did the news service, however some productions continued at Anglia House. However, in recent years, and especially since the formation of ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...

, the need for studio space has become unnecessary. As a result, the news service, along with any remaining productions, moved back into Anglia House in 2006, now big enough to house the few productions left, and the studios on Magdalen road were sold to Norfolk County Council, who now run the centre as EPIC, the East of England Production Innovation Centre.

Sub Regions

In June 1990, Anglia began providing separate news services for the east and west of the Anglia region. Both editions of 'Anglia News' were broadcast from Norwich (long before this became standard practice in other ITV regions) with journalists also based at seven district newsrooms and a Westminster bureau.

The two services were replaced with a single pan-regional service in February 2009 as part of major cutbacks to ITV's regional news output, although shorter opts for the two sub-regions continue to air each weeknight on Anglia Tonight
Anglia Tonight
Anglia Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Anglia , serving the East of England and parts of the East Midlands and South East England. The programme is usually broadcast at 18:00 every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of...

and after News at Ten.

Identity

Anglia's original ident was a short film of a rotating silver statue of a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 on horseback. At the end, the camera zoomed in on the pennon
Pennon
A pennon was one of the principal three varieties of flags carried during the Middle Ages . Pennoncells and streamers or pendants are considered as minor varieties of this style of flag. The pennon is a flag resembling the guidon in shape, but only half the size...

 atop the knight's lance
Lance
A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...

, which showed the station's name. An arrangement, by Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...

, of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

's Water Music
Water Music (Handel)
The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often considered three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717 after King George I had requested a concert on the River Thames...

was played over the film. The Anglia knight
Anglia knight
The Anglia knight is a sterling silver trophy that was originally commissioned by William III of the Netherlands in 1850 for the Falcon Club, a society that met once per year to compete in horse races, falconry and other sports...

 logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

 became so closely identified with the station that when, in 1999, the station produced a book to mark its fortieth anniversary, entitled A Knight On The Box (ISBN 0-906836-40-9). Before the ident, the channel's start-up music was Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

' Sea Songs
Sea Songs
Sea Songs is an arrangement of three British sea-songs by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is based on the songs "Princess Royal", "Admiral Benbow" and "Portsmouth". The work is a march of roughly four minutes duration...

 
, which was used from 1959 until the early 1980s.

With the introduction of colour television in the 1970s, the ident was remade with constant lighting, and the knight constantly rotating on a turntable
Lazy Susan
A Lazy Susan is a rotating tray, usually circular, placed on top of a table to aid in moving food on a large table or countertop.- Origin :The term "Lazy Susan" made its first written appearance in a Good Housekeeping article in 1906, although their existence dates back to the 18th century...

. In 1988 the knight was replaced by the Lambie-Nairn
Lambie-Nairn
Lambie-Nairn is an international branding agency within the WPP Group, headquartered in London with offices in Munich, Madrid, Abu Dhabi and Prague...

 designed quasi-heraldic stylised 'A' made of triangles, which faded in and out on a fluttering flag during continuity
Continuity (broadcasting)
'Continuity' or 'presentation' is a term used in broadcasting, especially in the United Kingdom , to refer to announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes...

 announcements. In the early 1990s, this was replaced with a black background and the flag fading in slowly to deep sombre music with a lighter end to it. This was used until 1999, when (along with most other ITV companies), Anglia took the Hearts idents, which featured the stylised "A", albeit in a square, rather than a flag, and which were used until 2002.

On 28 October 2002, Anglia lost on screen identity, in favour of the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

 brand, with regional idents only before regional programming. This regional ident featured the Anglia name below the ITV1 logo against a blue background covering half of the screen, with a celebrity covering the other half. The Anglia logo could still be seen on screen as part of the news service and on the purple end boards used by the Granada companies introduced in 2001. In 2004, with all English and Welsh-based companies now owned by ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...

, the station lost its separate identity. The station was officially branded as ITV Anglia, and the stylised 'A' logo was dropped as the company logo, with the on screen name used less and less, and dropped entirely by 2006.

Programmes

Much of Anglia TV's back catalogue is now held and preserved at the East Anglian Film Archive. A number of Anglia's Television productions including The Way We Were, Bygones and Anglia At War have been released on DVD. A compilation of the first years of Anglia TV's local news, Here Was the News was also released in 2009.

Some of Anglia's best known programmes were:
  • Gambit
  • Sale of the Century
    Sale of the Century (UK game show)
    Sale of the Century was a UK game show based on a US game show of the same name. It was first shown on ITV from 1972 to 1983, hosted by Nicholas Parsons...

  • Knightmare
    Knightmare
    Knightmare is an English television program for children, produced by Broadsword Productions for Anglia Television and was broadcast on ITV from 7 September 1987 to 11 November 1994...

  • Trisha

See also

  • Survival (TV series)
    Survival (TV series)
    Survival is one of television's longest-running and most successful nature documentary series. Originally produced by Anglia Television for ITV in the United Kingdom, it was created by Aubrey Buxton , a founder director of Anglia TV, and first broadcast in 1961...

  • Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)
    Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)
    Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...

  • Sale of the Century (UK game show)
    Sale of the Century (UK game show)
    Sale of the Century was a UK game show based on a US game show of the same name. It was first shown on ITV from 1972 to 1983, hosted by Nicholas Parsons...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK