Associated TeleVision
Encyclopedia
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British
television
company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV
network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982. The company held the London Weekend franchise from 1955 until 1968, when London Weekend Television
took over, and from 1956 until 1982 in the Midlands region, initially weekdays only alongside ABC
, before becoming full time from 1968. The Midlands franchise was taken over by Central Independent Television
, which was the renamed and reorganised ATV Midlands company.
, and the Incorporated Television Programme Company, known as ITC
and under the control of Prince Littler
and Lew Grade
, two showbusiness agents.
Both companies had applied for a contract to become one of the new ITV stations. ABDC won the contract but had insufficient money to operate it; ITC failed to win a contract, mainly due to a perceived conflicts of interest
resulting from the existing business operations of Grade and Littler. By the time of the merger ABDC were well advanced with their plans whilst ITPC planned to operate as an independent producer selling their shows to the new network contractors.
When financial problems hit ABDC the governing body of ITV, the Independent Television Authority
invited Grade and Littler to join the ABDC consortium. This provided the money required and put Littler and Grade in real control of the new company, effectively sidelining Collins.
The new company was originally known as the Associated Broadcasting Company (and therefore ABC), but Associated British Corporation
's parent company, who wished to call their station ABC and also ran a large chain of cinemas under those initials, successfully sued for prior ownership. The name change took place after ABC had been operating for three weeks; the new name chosen was Associated TeleVision Ltd, producing the initials ATV. The company's logo, originally designed for ABC and tweaked for the newly renamed ATV was a "shadowed eye", which was inspired by the CBS
logo and reputedly designed by Lew Grade on a transatlantic flight back from the US. The logo is one of the most recognisable in broadcasting.
contract for London
and the Monday–Friday contract for the Midlands
. The latter service opened on 17 February 1956, with ABC
providing the weekend programmes.
The new company ran into further financial difficulty due to the staggering losses of the first two years of ITV and the start-up costs. The London weekday contractor Associated-Rediffusion
shouldered some of ATV's losses and further funding was achieved by selling shares in the company to the Daily Mirror newspaper. The company structure was changed several times until 1966, when ATV and ITC both became subsidiaries of the Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), formed by turning the old structure on its head. This marked the point where Lew Grade advanced from being the greatest influence over the company to taking actual control.
ATV's main impact on the early ITV service was in the field of variety
and light entertainment
.
In the contract and region changes in 1968, ATV lost the weekend franchise in London to the London Television Consortium
, who were later renamed London Weekend Television
, but its Midlands contract was renewed for the full seven days instead. The weekday/weekend "split-service" ended in the North
and Midlands
with the 1968 franchise round, continuing only in the London
area. At this point the company renamed itself as ATV Network Limited.
(IBA) decided that ATV's lack of regional programming and production (it had a major studio centre at Elstree
in Hertfordshire
, a legacy of its London contract and well outside of its Midlands franchise) was hampering the region, so it insisted that the new applicant for the franchise be more clearly based in the region and have separate facilities for the East
and West Midlands
.
ATV Midlands Limited, a shell company
created by ACC solely for the franchise process, applied successfully for the contract. As a condition of its award, ACC was forced to divest itself of 49% of the company, relinquish executive roles, sell its studios in Elstree
and rename the company to demonstrate that it was effectively a new business.
ATV stopped broadcasting at 00:34 on 1 January 1982. The new company's name was registered as Central Independent Television plc
and the new logo, advertised as being a UFO
, appeared six hours later, on 1 January 1982. Central inherited the studios at ATV Centre, Birmingham
and ATV Elstree
along with land that ATV Midlands had purchased for their new Nottingham
studio centre. The new company also maintained control of ATV's news archive and regional programmes, plus programming already in production or being shown at the time of changeover; the rest of the ATV archive was sold on by ACC.
ACC later divested itself of the remainder of Central after the Australian investor Robert Holmes à Court
staged a boardroom coup and forced Lew Grade to cede control. ACC remained in control of ITC and Stoll-Moss Theatres until ITC was sold to Polygram
International Television — coincidentally bringing Lew Grade back into control of ITC until his death in 1998. Stoll-Moss Theatres, the last remaining part of ACC, was sold to the Really Useful Group
in 2001.
Carlton Communications
had spent much of the 1980s and 1990s buying up the intellectual property of the former ACC, including the rights to the ATV logo and company name, the ATV news archive (via its purchase of Central) and finally both the ATV and ITC archives, before itself being swallowed-up by Granada.
Recent changes have seen Granada PLC take over Carlton, and all of ATV's national archive programming has been taken into their ownership. The regional news archive from ATV and Central, plus some regional programmes, are now stored at the Media Archive for Central England in Nottingham. This archive is located at Nottingham University
ATV Network Limited was 'dissolved' as a company in 1992; however, just like Rediffusion
, it made a strange comeback many years later. Just as Victor Lewis-Smith bought the rights and logo to Rediffusion many years ago, so too in 2006 "ATV Network Limited" was revived as a company brand independent of Granada and its previous archive.
The "new" ATV are based in theatre production (Protos Theatre and Arts Group) and have no involvement with television. The new ATV runs a media/television news website, ATV Today. It has been online since 2007 as ATV News, re-branded from Newszone, and in 2009 was re-branded again as ATV Today. The site covers a wide range of stories from soaps, both British and American, to Cult/Sci Fi and general media news. There is also a wide range of features and interviews that are updated on a regular basis. The original ATV logos and branding remain registered trademarks of a minor subsidiary of ITV plc.
, London
and were the home to both Midlands and London divisions. It was here that the majority of ATV's earlier programming was made and distributed.
Meanwhile, ATV's studios in the Midlands were located in Aston
, Birmingham
and were jointly owned by ATV and ABC
under the banner Alpha Television
. These studios supplied both ATV and ABC, and supplemented production from Elstree. In readiness for colour television, a large new 'state of the art' television studio was built by ATV, known as ATV Centre
and located off Broad Street, near the centre of Birmingham
. The site replaced the Aston studios, which were disposed of. The Broad Street site was in use until 1997 although two of the production studios had been 'mothballed' in the early 1990s as demand for production studios fell. The former ATV Centre is currently in the process of being demolished to be replaced by the Arena Central development. The Alpha Tower will survive as it is a listed building.
A documentary about the Broad Street studios complex has been in production since early 2007. Entitled 'From ATVLand In Colour' (referring to the nickname used on Tiswas, and the building being purpose-built for colour broadcasting), the documentary features presenters, actors, announcers and behind-the-scenes staff talking about their time working in the studios, and the programmes that were made there. Contributors include Chris Tarrant
, Shaw Taylor
, Jane Rossington
and Bob Carolgees
. The documentary series will be released by Mace - Media Archive for Central England
on Monday 19th September 2011 http://www.macearchive.org/Mace-shop/DVDs/product/from-atvland-in-colour.html
In the 1981 franchise review, the IBA ordered that if ATV Midlands were to keep the franchise, the Elstree centre would be sold and that a new studio centre be built in the East of the region. ATV Midlands, now renamed Central Independent Television
, needed an immediate start for separate East
and West Midlands
facilities. The new East site was chosen for Lenton Lane, Nottingham
and the land had been bought while ATV was still in control. However, planning issues delayed construction at the Nottingham site so Central purchased an independent production studio in the city (at Giltbrook
) to act as its East Midlands newsroom. Industrial action prevented this centre from being used however, with the new studios ready by the time it was resolved.
In 1983 the Elstree centre was sold to the BBC
for an undisclosed sum, and the centre remains in their possession and is now the famous home of the soap Eastenders
. In 1984 the East Midlands Television Centre in Lenton Lane, Nottingham was opened by Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
. The studio was eventually sold off to the University of Nottingham
as an independent facility and as the home of the Media Archive for Central England, where ironically most of ATV's and Central's programmes were acquired.
. This shadowed eye with the letters ATV inside came to represent the company. The first ident featured a single eye shape, moving to reveal the shadowed eye, and animating so that each of the letters ATV animate in accompanied by one of the three musical notes on the ident score. The caption below read Associated TeleVision Ltd., the only time the station's full name was displayed in an ident. The shadowed eye however was out of proportion, attributed to the hurry to redraw the id ent following the name change from ABC.
Shortly after the launch of the Midlands franchise, the ident was again changed to an ident consisting of five stripes. Three of four vertical stripes contain the letters ATV, which animate in to the same musical score, with the other vertical stripe housing the logo and the stations airing times, either displaying both or those of the region being viewed in. the final stripe is horizontal, with the caption 'Presents' inside.
The next ident, launched in 1959, featured the shadowed eye zooming into the screen, whilst the familiar letters animate in as in the previous versions. This was altered in 1964 to add either the region name below it, or the word 'Presents' if the programme was an outside broadcast.
The company's most recognisable ident however is the one launched in 1969. Called Zoom 2, it was the ident that heralded colour to the region for the first time. Starting with three lightspots that combine to form six colours and the caption 'In Colour', the three lightspots fully merge forming a single cream dot which then animates out into the ATV shadowed eye, fully formed. The score for the ident featured brass, drums and vibraphone in a twelve beat fanfare for the station, by Jack Parnell and arranged by Wally Stott. In addition to this, a variation was produced which only featured a black and white version of the final animate into the shadowed eye for programmes still being shown in black and white. This ident was used from the introduction of colour in 1969 right until the ATV name ceased to be used in 1982.
On-air names:
Initials used:
The majority of ITC programmes were first broadcast by ATV and distributed in the UK by them. Similarly, ATV's productions were distributed by ITC outside of the UK, with most ATV idents replaced with those for ITC.
. This company was eventually split away from the parent company and went through numerous different owners as well as buying into other established music publishers including Northern Songs
, which was The Beatles
publishing company. ATV Music eventually settled into the hands of Michael Jackson
before being merged into Sony/ATV Music Publishing
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
company, holder of various licences to broadcast on 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...
network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982. The company held the London Weekend franchise from 1955 until 1968, when London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
took over, and from 1956 until 1982 in the Midlands region, initially weekdays only alongside ABC
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
, before becoming full time from 1968. The Midlands franchise was taken over by Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
, which was the renamed and reorganised ATV Midlands company.
Formation
The company was formed from the merger of the Associated Broadcasting Development Company, known as ABDC and under the control of Norman CollinsNorman Collins
Norman Collins was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television network in the UK...
, and the Incorporated Television Programme Company, known as ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
and under the control of Prince Littler
Prince Littler
Prince Frank Littler CBE was an influential British theatre impresario. He was also one of the major investors and a company director of Associated TeleVision, the second ITV network contractor to begin broadcasting in 1955.His brother Emile and sister Blanche were also major figures in the theatre...
and Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
, two showbusiness agents.
Both companies had applied for a contract to become one of the new ITV stations. ABDC won the contract but had insufficient money to operate it; ITC failed to win a contract, mainly due to a perceived conflicts of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
resulting from the existing business operations of Grade and Littler. By the time of the merger ABDC were well advanced with their plans whilst ITPC planned to operate as an independent producer selling their shows to the new network contractors.
When financial problems hit ABDC the governing body of ITV, the Independent Television Authority
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...
invited Grade and Littler to join the ABDC consortium. This provided the money required and put Littler and Grade in real control of the new company, effectively sidelining Collins.
The new company was originally known as the Associated Broadcasting Company (and therefore ABC), but Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
's parent company, who wished to call their station ABC and also ran a large chain of cinemas under those initials, successfully sued for prior ownership. The name change took place after ABC had been operating for three weeks; the new name chosen was Associated TeleVision Ltd, producing the initials ATV. The company's logo, originally designed for ABC and tweaked for the newly renamed ATV was a "shadowed eye", which was inspired by the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
logo and reputedly designed by Lew Grade on a transatlantic flight back from the US. The logo is one of the most recognisable in broadcasting.
Broadcasting
ATV (as ABC at first) began broadcasting in its own right on Saturday 24 September 1955 (after jointly presenting the network's opening night on Thursday 22 September). The name ATV was first seen in London on Saturday 8 October 1955. The company had won two ITV contracts, the weekendWorkweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
contract for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Monday–Friday contract for the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. The latter service opened on 17 February 1956, with ABC
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
providing the weekend programmes.
The new company ran into further financial difficulty due to the staggering losses of the first two years of ITV and the start-up costs. The London weekday contractor Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
shouldered some of ATV's losses and further funding was achieved by selling shares in the company to the Daily Mirror newspaper. The company structure was changed several times until 1966, when ATV and ITC both became subsidiaries of the Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), formed by turning the old structure on its head. This marked the point where Lew Grade advanced from being the greatest influence over the company to taking actual control.
ATV's main impact on the early ITV service was in the field of variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
and light entertainment
Light entertainment
Light entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances. These include comedies, variety shows, quiz/game shows, sketch shows and people/surprise shows.-Light entertainment in Britain:...
.
In the contract and region changes in 1968, ATV lost the weekend franchise in London to the London Television Consortium
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, who were later renamed London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, but its Midlands contract was renewed for the full seven days instead. The weekday/weekend "split-service" ended in the North
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
and Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
with the 1968 franchise round, continuing only in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
area. At this point the company renamed itself as ATV Network Limited.
End of franchise
During the 1970s ATV had received much criticism over its lack of local programming, particularly for the east of its region; such critics held that any local shows had a Birmingham-centric focus. In 1981 the Independent Broadcasting AuthorityIndependent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
(IBA) decided that ATV's lack of regional programming and production (it had a major studio centre at Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
in 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...
, a legacy of its London contract and well outside of its Midlands franchise) was hampering the region, so it insisted that the new applicant for the franchise be more clearly based in the region and have separate facilities for the East
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
and West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
.
ATV Midlands Limited, a shell company
Shell (corporation)
A shell corporation is a company which serves as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal and have legitimate business purposes. However, they are a main component of the underground economy,...
created by ACC solely for the franchise process, applied successfully for the contract. As a condition of its award, ACC was forced to divest itself of 49% of the company, relinquish executive roles, sell its studios in Elstree
Elstree
Elstree is a village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire on the A5 road, about 10 miles north of London. In 2001, its population was 4,765, and forms part of the civil parish of Elstree and Borehamwood, originally known simply as Elstree....
and rename the company to demonstrate that it was effectively a new business.
ATV stopped broadcasting at 00:34 on 1 January 1982. The new company's name was registered as Central Independent Television plc
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
and the new logo, advertised as being a UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
, appeared six hours later, on 1 January 1982. Central inherited the studios at ATV Centre, Birmingham
Alpha Tower
Alpha Tower is a commercial building in Birmingham, England. It was built to a design by George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV and part of the companies' production studio complex known as ATV Centre...
and ATV Elstree
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
along with land that ATV Midlands had purchased for their new Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
studio centre. The new company also maintained control of ATV's news archive and regional programmes, plus programming already in production or being shown at the time of changeover; the rest of the ATV archive was sold on by ACC.
ACC later divested itself of the remainder of Central after the Australian investor Robert Holmes à Court
Robert Holmes à Court
Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court was an entrepreneur who became Australia's first businessman worth over a billion dollars before dying suddenly of a heart attack in 1990.Holmes à Court was one of the world's most feared corporate raiders through the 1980s, having built his empire...
staged a boardroom coup and forced Lew Grade to cede control. ACC remained in control of ITC and Stoll-Moss Theatres until ITC was sold to Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
International Television — coincidentally bringing Lew Grade back into control of ITC until his death in 1998. Stoll-Moss Theatres, the last remaining part of ACC, was sold to the Really Useful Group
Really Useful Group
The Really Useful Group Ltd. is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing...
in 2001.
Carlton Communications
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
had spent much of the 1980s and 1990s buying up the intellectual property of the former ACC, including the rights to the ATV logo and company name, the ATV news archive (via its purchase of Central) and finally both the ATV and ITC archives, before itself being swallowed-up by Granada.
Recent changes have seen Granada PLC take over Carlton, and all of ATV's national archive programming has been taken into their ownership. The regional news archive from ATV and Central, plus some regional programmes, are now stored at the Media Archive for Central England in Nottingham. This archive is located at Nottingham University
ATV Network Limited was 'dissolved' as a company in 1992; however, just like Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
, it made a strange comeback many years later. Just as Victor Lewis-Smith bought the rights and logo to Rediffusion many years ago, so too in 2006 "ATV Network Limited" was revived as a company brand independent of Granada and its previous archive.
The "new" ATV are based in theatre production (Protos Theatre and Arts Group) and have no involvement with television. The new ATV runs a media/television news website, ATV Today. It has been online since 2007 as ATV News, re-branded from Newszone, and in 2009 was re-branded again as ATV Today. The site covers a wide range of stories from soaps, both British and American, to Cult/Sci Fi and general media news. There is also a wide range of features and interviews that are updated on a regular basis. The original ATV logos and branding remain registered trademarks of a minor subsidiary of ITV plc.
Studios
ATV's headquarters and main studios were based at ElstreeElstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and were the home to both Midlands and London divisions. It was here that the majority of ATV's earlier programming was made and distributed.
Meanwhile, ATV's studios in the Midlands were located in Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and were jointly owned by ATV and ABC
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
under the banner Alpha Television
Alpha Television
Alpha Television was a British limited company which operated television studios in Aston, Birmingham.- History :The company was formed in 1956 as a co-venture between two newly-created Independent Television companies, ATV and ABC Television...
. These studios supplied both ATV and ABC, and supplemented production from Elstree. In readiness for colour television, a large new 'state of the art' television studio was built by ATV, known as ATV Centre
Alpha Tower
Alpha Tower is a commercial building in Birmingham, England. It was built to a design by George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV and part of the companies' production studio complex known as ATV Centre...
and located off Broad Street, near the centre of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. The site replaced the Aston studios, which were disposed of. The Broad Street site was in use until 1997 although two of the production studios had been 'mothballed' in the early 1990s as demand for production studios fell. The former ATV Centre is currently in the process of being demolished to be replaced by the Arena Central development. The Alpha Tower will survive as it is a listed building.
A documentary about the Broad Street studios complex has been in production since early 2007. Entitled 'From ATVLand In Colour' (referring to the nickname used on Tiswas, and the building being purpose-built for colour broadcasting), the documentary features presenters, actors, announcers and behind-the-scenes staff talking about their time working in the studios, and the programmes that were made there. Contributors include Chris Tarrant
Chris Tarrant
Christopher John "Chris" Tarrant, OBE is an English radio and television broadcaster, now best known for hosting the first version of the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom and later Ireland, as the two national versions of the show merged in 2002.Chris...
, Shaw Taylor
Shaw Taylor
Shaw Taylor MBE is a British actor and television presenter.He served in the RAF and trained at RADA. He then acted on stage in the West End and on tour. He was an announcer for ATV when the normal announcer was not available...
, Jane Rossington
Jane Rossington
Jane Rossington is a British actress, best known for her role as Jill Richardson in the soap opera Crossroads.Born in Derby, Rossington's family moved to Sutton Coldfield when she was four years of age...
and Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees
Bob Carolgees is a comedy entertainer who appeared on the Saturday morning TV series Tiswas and then later in its adult versions O.T.T. and Saturday Stayback. He is best-known for appearing with a puppet named Spit the Dog.-Career:In the early 1970s Carolgees ran a DJ and modelling school at 11A...
. The documentary series will be released by Mace - Media Archive for Central England
Media Archive for Central England
Media Archive for Central England ' is the public sector regional film archive that collects, preserves and provides access to film, television and other moving image materials that relate to the governmental regions of the East Midlands and West Midlands .In 1995 it was registered as a company,...
on Monday 19th September 2011 http://www.macearchive.org/Mace-shop/DVDs/product/from-atvland-in-colour.html
In the 1981 franchise review, the IBA ordered that if ATV Midlands were to keep the franchise, the Elstree centre would be sold and that a new studio centre be built in the East of the region. ATV Midlands, now renamed Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
, needed an immediate start for separate East
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
and West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
facilities. The new East site was chosen for Lenton Lane, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and the land had been bought while ATV was still in control. However, planning issues delayed construction at the Nottingham site so Central purchased an independent production studio in the city (at Giltbrook
Giltbrook
Giltbrook is a village situated approximately 10 kilometres West-northwest of Nottingham and within close reach of junction 26 of the M1 motorway. It is part of Greasley ward, which had a population of 6,076 in 2001....
) to act as its East Midlands newsroom. Industrial action prevented this centre from being used however, with the new studios ready by the time it was resolved.
In 1983 the Elstree centre was sold to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for an undisclosed sum, and the centre remains in their possession and is now the famous home of the soap Eastenders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. In 1984 the East Midlands Television Centre in Lenton Lane, Nottingham was opened by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. The studio was eventually sold off to the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
as an independent facility and as the home of the Media Archive for Central England, where ironically most of ATV's and Central's programmes were acquired.
Identity
ATV's logo has always consisted of a shadowed eye, inspired supposedly from the logo of CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. This shadowed eye with the letters ATV inside came to represent the company. The first ident featured a single eye shape, moving to reveal the shadowed eye, and animating so that each of the letters ATV animate in accompanied by one of the three musical notes on the ident score. The caption below read Associated TeleVision Ltd., the only time the station's full name was displayed in an ident. The shadowed eye however was out of proportion, attributed to the hurry to redraw the id ent following the name change from ABC.
Shortly after the launch of the Midlands franchise, the ident was again changed to an ident consisting of five stripes. Three of four vertical stripes contain the letters ATV, which animate in to the same musical score, with the other vertical stripe housing the logo and the stations airing times, either displaying both or those of the region being viewed in. the final stripe is horizontal, with the caption 'Presents' inside.
The next ident, launched in 1959, featured the shadowed eye zooming into the screen, whilst the familiar letters animate in as in the previous versions. This was altered in 1964 to add either the region name below it, or the word 'Presents' if the programme was an outside broadcast.
The company's most recognisable ident however is the one launched in 1969. Called Zoom 2, it was the ident that heralded colour to the region for the first time. Starting with three lightspots that combine to form six colours and the caption 'In Colour', the three lightspots fully merge forming a single cream dot which then animates out into the ATV shadowed eye, fully formed. The score for the ident featured brass, drums and vibraphone in a twelve beat fanfare for the station, by Jack Parnell and arranged by Wally Stott. In addition to this, a variation was produced which only featured a black and white version of the final animate into the shadowed eye for programmes still being shown in black and white. This ident was used from the introduction of colour in 1969 right until the ATV name ceased to be used in 1982.
Names used
Company names:- Associated Broadcasting Company Limited (1954–1955)
- Associated TeleVision Limited (1955–1964)
- Associated TeleVision Corporation (1964–1966)
- Associated Communications Corporation (1966–1982)—parent company
- ATV Network Limited (1966–1982)
- ATV Midlands Limited (1981) - This is the company that was renamed to Central Independent TelevisionCentral Independent TelevisionCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
from 1 January 1982, and was the licence holder for the Channel 3 Midlands region service until November 2008, when the licence was transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited.
On-air names:
- Associated Broadcasting Company (24th September 1955–2nd October 1955)
- Associated TeleVision (8 October 1955–11 February 1956)
- ATV London (18 February 1956–28 July 1968)
- ATV Midlands (17 February 1956–29 July 1968 but referred to in continuity until 1981)
- ATV Network (29 July 1968–1 January 1982) (always branded on-air as simply 'ATV')
Initials used:
- ABC (24 September 1955–2 October 1955)
- ATV (8 October 1955–1 January 1982)
Selected programmes
- ATV TodayATV TodayATV Today was a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ATV, serving the Midlands area of England. The programme aired from October 1964 until 31 December 1981 - the final day of broadcasting from ATV before the company was restructured and relaunched as Central...
- BullseyeBullseye (UK game show)Bullseye was a popular British television programme. It was first made for the ITV network by ATV in 1981 and Central from 1982 until 1995, and hosted by Jim Bowen. The show originally aired on Monday nights from 1981, it was then moved to Sunday nights from 1982 to 1993 where it was watched by...
The 1st series (1981) - subsequently made by Central - Carry On LaughingCarry On LaughingCarry on Laughing is a British television comedy series produced in 1975 for ATV. Based on the Carry On films, it was an attempt to address the films' declining cinema attendance by transferring the franchise to television...
- Crossroads - subsequently made by CentralCentral Independent TelevisionCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
- Emergency Ward 10
- Family FortunesFamily FortunesFamily Fortunes is a British game show, based on the American game show Family Feud. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002 before being revived by the same channel in 2006 under the title of All Star Family Fortunes...
(1980–1981) - subsequently made by Central - General HospitalGeneral Hospital (UK TV series)General Hospital is a British daytime soap opera produced by ATV which ran on ITV from 1972 to 1979. It was modelled after the American drama of the same name....
- Julie on Sesame StreetJulie on Sesame StreetJulie Andrews and Perry Como teamed up to do a 1973 television special called Julie on Sesame Street. The only Sesame Street The Special was filmed in UK at the Elstree Studios by Associated Television-Broadcast dates:...
- Lunchbox with Noele Gordon
- Honey LaneMarket in Honey LaneMarket in Honey Lane was an ATV television soap opera which was broadcast between 1967 and March 1969.This cockney drama set was in an East London street market and covered the traders and customers. It was created by Louis Marks. Initially shown weekly in September 1968, it became a twice weekly...
- Meet Peters and LeePeters and LeePeters and Lee were a successful British folk/pop duo of the 1970s, comprising Lennie Peters and Dianne Lee .-Background:...
- New FacesNew FacesNew Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...
- subsequently made by Central - Sapphire & SteelSapphire & SteelSapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The...
- Saturday Variety
- Sunday Night at the London PalladiumSunday Night at the London PalladiumSunday Night at the London Palladium is a British television variety show produced by ATV for the ITV network, originally running from 1955 to 1967, with a brief revival in 1973 and 1974...
- The Cliff Richard Show
- The Marty Feldman Comedy MachineThe Marty Feldman Comedy MachineThe Marty Feldman Comedy Machine was a 1971 comedy-variety sketch show starring British comedian, Marty Feldman. Co-produced by ABC TV in America and ATV in England and filmed at Elstree Studios, it featured opening and closing credits by Terry Gilliam, as well as featuring guest appearances by...
- The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
- The Strange World of Gurney SladeThe Strange World of Gurney SladeThe Strange World of Gurney Slade is a British six-part television series made by ATV which was transmitted by the ITV network between 22 October and 26 November 1960. A surreal series devised by Anthony Newley, who also starred, it was written by Dick Hills and Sid Green...
- TimeslipTimeslipTimeslip is a British children's science fiction television series made by ATV for the ITV network and broadcast between 1970 and 1971. The series centres around two children, Simon Randall and Liz Skinner who discover the existence of a strange anomaly, known as the “Time Barrier”, that enables...
- TiswasTiswasTiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
- subsequently made by CentralCentral Independent TelevisionCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
until ending in mid-1982 - Two Of A Kind (1961)Two Of A Kind (1961)Two of a Kind was an early TV series for comedy duo Morecambe and Wise. It ran from 1961 to 1968 on ATV.-History:On the back of success on stage in their double act in 1961 the comic partnership of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were offered a series for ATV by empresario Lew Grade. Paired with...
The majority of ITC programmes were first broadcast by ATV and distributed in the UK by them. Similarly, ATV's productions were distributed by ITC outside of the UK, with most ATV idents replaced with those for ITC.
ATV Music
As a side note to ATV's television activities, the company also set up a music publishing division. This was known as ATV Music and existed initially to publish TV-related music, such as theme tunes, composed by its in-house composers. It was formed after ATV acquired a substantial share of Pye RecordsPye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
. This company was eventually split away from the parent company and went through numerous different owners as well as buying into other established music publishers including Northern Songs
Northern Songs
Northern Songs was a company founded in 1963, by music publisher Dick James, Brian Epstein, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, to publish songs written by Lennon and McCartney , as well as songs written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr, who were all members of The Beatles...
, which was The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
publishing company. ATV Music eventually settled into the hands of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
before being merged into Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...
.
See Also
- Central Independent TelevisionCentral Independent TelevisionCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
- London Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
- Associated British CorporationAssociated British CorporationAssociated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
- ITVITVITV 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...
- History of ITVHistory of ITVThe history of ITV, the United Kingdom "Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1954.-The early years: 1954–1963:After much debate both in the British Parliament and the British Press, the Television Act became law in 1954...