Border Television
Encyclopedia
Border Television is the ITV
franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border
and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire
, the Scottish Borders
, parts of north and west Northumberland
and the majority of Cumbria
. The station formerly covered the Isle of Man
between 26 March 1965 and 15 July 2009.
Border Television was taken over by Granada Television
in 2001, and the company was renamed ITV Border in 2006. ITV Border merged with ITV Tyne Tees
on Wednesday 25 February 2009 to form a non-franchise region known as ITV Tyne Tees & Border
. The two stations share a head of news (Lucy West).
(ITA) invited applicants to provide the ITV service for the Borders region, an area that covered the English counties of Westmoreland
and Cumberland
, the south of Scotland and later the Isle of Man
.
Prior to this, the ITA had moved away from the idea of satellite stations (companies owned by distant management as seen with Southern Television
in the south of England) towards companies that had strong local ownership. The contract covered two new transmitters at Caldbeck
, near Carlisle and Selkirk
, near Saint Boswells in the Scottish Borders
. Granada Television
and ABC Weekend Television
had laid a claim to providing service via Caldbeck whilst Scottish Television
expressed a strong interest in Selkirk. The ITA rejected both these in favour of a new contract area and a new company to serve it - although they stipulated the area to be 'marginal' in their plans and that applicants had to present a very strong business case for the area as well as the contract.
Two applications were received, one from Solway Television and another from Border Television. Border were chosen on the basis of their plans and management which was considered local but still featured names from large business (the then chairman of Reuters
for example) and from the world of education.
Launch was scheduled for February 1961 but construction problems with both transmitters meant delays until May of that year. As this led into the summer holiday period Border asked for a launch delay as the break would affect advertising revenue. Accordingly Border launched in September 1961.
During its first year of operation Border made a profit (unlike other regional companies) and by its second year had covered its launch costs, due mainly to a 60% audience penetration in an area that, at the time, was largely ignored by the BBC
.
. However later when ITV
and the BBC
were given permission to extend broadcasting hours to day-time, Border carved a niche for providing the ITV network with afternoon quizzes and light entertainment. Derek Batey
Border TV's Assistant Controller of Programmes, became the front man for one of ITV's most popular daytime quiz show
s of the 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. and Mrs.
. (A separate version of Mr. and Mrs. was also produced by HTV
at the same time.) Another Derek Batey show for Border TV was, Look Who's Talking, a light hearted chat show, and a fifteen minute part-networked music show, The Sound of .... featuring, The Spinners
a British folk music
band, The Settlers
and such like.
By 1980 the company was in severe financial trouble due to a national economic downturn which affected advertising revenue on the whole ITV network; the situation was deemed so bad that at one point the company considered not re-applying for its licence when it expired in December 1981. However it did re-apply and as with other renewal bids in 1967 and 1991 it was returned unopposed.
The launch of Channel 4
in 1982 resulted in Border being commissioned by the new station to make a number of shows for them, most notably Land of the Lakes (presented by Melvyn Bragg) and a music show entitled Bliss, hosted by Muriel Gray
.
Lord Bragg
, controller of arts and features at ITV Studios
, is a former chairman of Border Television.
and CFM
, and in 1997 formed a subsidiary, Border Radio Holdings, for its radio business. Border and its radio stations were bought by Capital Radio
in 2000, and the television station was later sold to Granada Media Group. Rumours over its future persistently dogged Border, and it trod a difficult path to balance the interests of three different nations.
In July 2006, it was announced that the Berwick-upon-Tweed
transmitter was to transfer to ITV Tyne Tees
as part of the preparations for the digital switchover of the Border region in 2008 and to bring Berwick into line with the rest of the North East, which is scheduled to switch over to digital in 2012. The transfer took effect from 13 December 2006, although Border news programmes still carry stories about Berwick-upon-Tweed due to its proximity to the eastern Scottish Borders
.
starting with Border.
Towards the end of his tenure as ITV plc executive chairman, Michael Grade
began restructuring the ITV regional layout, stating the existence of ITV Border "no longer makes sense" relative to the regional audience it serves. The move is expected to give ITV plc "greater value for money", but may be subject to Ofcom
approval.On 12 September 2007, Grade announced plans to close ITV Border and merge the region with ITV Tyne Tees. If Ofcom agrees with the proposal the changes could be in place by 2009. The Border region will be covered by a short programme opt out until digital switch over is complete in 2014 but after that there is no guarantee that regional news programmes will continue.
On 25 September 2008, Ofcom gave ITV the green light to merge ITV Border's news operation with that of ITV Tyne Tees
at Newcastle from early-2009. Following a survey of Isle of Man viewers in autumn 2008, coverage of the Isle of Man
was transferred from ITV Border to ITV Granada
on Thursday 16 July 2009.
ITV Border's own regional news service ceased production on Tuesday 24 February 2009, replaced by a dual-regional service the next day. Six reporters (all working from home apart from those in Edinburgh and Carlisle) now cover Carlisle, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Kendal, Selkirk and Whitehaven.
ITV Border won the RTS awards for Best News Programme: Nations and Regions for Lookaround
, whilst ITV Tyne Tees & Border
were nominated in three categories, in February 2011.
) Border constructed a purpose-built studio centre, located in Durranhill, Carlisle. They were built in 1961 and contained two studios for use in productions, a small continuity studio and an interview studio. These were converted to colour with the station and were expanded and upgraded when demand increased following the launch of Channel 4
.
In 2009, following Border's merger with Tyne Tees Television
, all productions, including Lookaround
were transferred to Tyne Tees studios in Gateshead, with all departments being merged with those of Tyne Tees. The Border studios remained empty and were demolished in 2010. Three reporters still operate in Carlisle, as regional news correspondents, but operate from a smaller bureau in the Kingstown area of the city, opened on Friday 10 July 2009.
above the line, England
below it, and the Isle of Man
in the small area to the left.
The launch identity was a black caption with the white logo and 'Border Television' beneath, over an announcement. The start-up routine was symbolic because of its distinctive and unchanging music, and the announcement that never changed, stating "This is Border Television serving Cumbria, South Scotland, the Isle of Man and North and West Northumberland, from the Caldbeck, Selkirk and associated transmitters of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
." This was replaced when colour came to the region by the same contents, contained within a rectangle on a blue background with a Colour caption outside the box. The colour caption was removed in the 1980s and the announcement said "This is Border Television providing a full color service to Cumbria, South Scotland, the Isle of Man and North and West Northumberland including Berwick-Upon-Tweed
, from the Caldbeck, Selkirk and assocaited transmitters of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
." from the late 1960's in Color.
Border adopted the 1989 Generic look and used it until 1993. Their version was mildly well suited, as the contents of the 'B' were recognisable in the 'V' segment if the logo. This look was extensively used, even in the news department. In 1993, the ident was changed to the Border logo revolving out of thin air and featuring a background of pastel colours. The music was retained from the generic look. Border also began to use in-vision continuity
more heavily.
In 1995, the logo was changed again to a 3D Border logo falling into place against a water effect blue backdrop, which was set to the same tune as used previously, but played on instruments to match the water theme. This was again updated in 1998, with the same sequence against a backdrop of spinning discs and blue and purple colours. New music was also composed featuring deep basses. The whole effect was to make Border have an authoritative and broadcaster tone.
In 1999, Border adopted the second generic look, along with the rest of the regions, but did not use their logo in this look. From then on, Border only used network designs for idents, as from October 2002, Border idents featuring a celebrity with the ITV1 logo with the word Border underneath, were used for local programming only. All other programming used network idents, and from 2004, no regional idents existed. Border has ceased as an entity, productions attributed to ITV Productions, or later, ITV Studios.
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 Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border
Anglo-Scottish border
The Anglo-Scottish border is the official border and mark of entry between Scotland and England. It runs for 154 km between the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. It is Scotland's only land border...
and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
, parts of north and west Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and the majority of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. The station formerly covered the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
between 26 March 1965 and 15 July 2009.
Border Television was taken over by Granada Television
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....
in 2001, and the company was renamed ITV Border in 2006. ITV Border merged with ITV Tyne Tees
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
on Wednesday 25 February 2009 to form a non-franchise region known as ITV Tyne Tees & Border
ITV Tyne Tees & Border
ITV Tyne Tees & Border is a non-franchise ITV regional news service covering the North of England/Southern Scotland and incorporating the former ITV Tyne Tees and ITV Border regions...
. The two stations share a head of news (Lucy West).
Launch
In May 1960 the Independent Television AuthorityIndependent 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...
(ITA) invited applicants to provide the ITV service for the Borders region, an area that covered the English counties of Westmoreland
Westmoreland
Westmoreland is a historic county in England. It may also refer to:-Places:Australia*Westmoreland County, New South WalesCanada*Westmorland County, New BrunswickJamaica*Westmoreland, Jamaica, a parishNew Zealand...
and Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, the south of Scotland and later the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
Prior to this, the ITA had moved away from the idea of satellite stations (companies owned by distant management as seen with Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
in the south of England) towards companies that had strong local ownership. The contract covered two new transmitters at Caldbeck
Caldbeck transmitting station
The Caldbeck transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated close to the village of Caldbeck, in Cumbria, England . It is owned and operated by Arqiva....
, near Carlisle and Selkirk
Selkirk transmitting station
The Selkirk transmitting station is a telecommunications facility located next to Lindean Loch, near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. It includes a high guyed steel lattice mast, surmounted by a UHF television transmitting antenna array, which brings the overall height of the structure to...
, near Saint Boswells in the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
. Granada Television
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....
and ABC Weekend Television
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...
had laid a claim to providing service via Caldbeck whilst Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
expressed a strong interest in Selkirk. The ITA rejected both these in favour of a new contract area and a new company to serve it - although they stipulated the area to be 'marginal' in their plans and that applicants had to present a very strong business case for the area as well as the contract.
Two applications were received, one from Solway Television and another from Border Television. Border were chosen on the basis of their plans and management which was considered local but still featured names from large business (the then chairman of Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
for example) and from the world of education.
Launch was scheduled for February 1961 but construction problems with both transmitters meant delays until May of that year. As this led into the summer holiday period Border asked for a launch delay as the break would affect advertising revenue. Accordingly Border launched in September 1961.
During its first year of operation Border made a profit (unlike other regional companies) and by its second year had covered its launch costs, due mainly to a 60% audience penetration in an area that, at the time, was largely ignored by 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...
.
1970s and 1980s
Initially, Border produced little for the network and concentrated on local programming, most notably its flagship local news programme LookaroundLookaround
Lookaround is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Tyne Tees & Border at its studios in Gateshead, and serving the "Border" part of the region...
. However later when 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...
and 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...
were given permission to extend broadcasting hours to day-time, Border carved a niche for providing the ITV network with afternoon quizzes and light entertainment. Derek Batey
Derek Batey
Derek Batey is a former British television presenter and television executive.Batey was educated at the White House School, Brampton, and after appearing in clubs as a ventriloquist he made his first TV appearance in 1958 as an interviewer for the BBC...
Border TV's Assistant Controller of Programmes, became the front man for one of ITV's most popular daytime quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
s of the 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. and Mrs.
Mr. and Mrs.
Mr. & Mrs. is a television show that originated in Canada in 1963, debuting in Britain shortly afterwards. The Canadian version was produced at CFTO-TV in Toronto and ran on the CTV network for 780 episodes, and was hosted by Roy Ward Dickson, who was also the show's creator...
. (A separate version of Mr. and Mrs. was also produced by HTV
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
at the same time.) Another Derek Batey show for Border TV was, Look Who's Talking, a light hearted chat show, and a fifteen minute part-networked music show, The Sound of .... featuring, The Spinners
The Spinners (UK band)
The Spinners were a 1960s folk group from Liverpool, England formed in September 1958. They consisted of:* Hughie Jones...
a British folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
band, The Settlers
The Settlers
The Settlers is a slow-paced simulation computer game by German developer Blue Byte Software, first released in 1993 for Commodore Amiga and in 1994 for the PC...
and such like.
By 1980 the company was in severe financial trouble due to a national economic downturn which affected advertising revenue on the whole ITV network; the situation was deemed so bad that at one point the company considered not re-applying for its licence when it expired in December 1981. However it did re-apply and as with other renewal bids in 1967 and 1991 it was returned unopposed.
The launch of 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...
in 1982 resulted in Border being commissioned by the new station to make a number of shows for them, most notably Land of the Lakes (presented by Melvyn Bragg) and a music show entitled Bliss, hosted by Muriel Gray
Muriel Gray
Muriel Gray is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.-Personal life:Gray is of partly Jewish ancestry...
.
Lord Bragg
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
, controller of arts and features at ITV Studios
ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a television production company owned by the British television network ITV. It not only makes programmes primarily for its parent company, but also for other networks...
, is a former chairman of Border Television.
Aquisition and Takeover
During the 1990s, Border held interests in a number of radio stations including Century Radio, Sun FMSun FM
Sun FM is a radio station serving the City of Sunderland and also available in Tyne and Wear, northern parts of County Durham in England. It broadcasts on the frequency 103.4 MHz and plays a mix of contemporary and classic popular music alongside local news, travel and covered ground breaking...
and CFM
CFM Radio
CFM Radio is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Northern & Central Cumbria and the southern tip of Scotland, with transmitters in Carlisle, Penrith and West Cumbria. Its musical output is popular hits of all genres, with mostly today's hits being featured...
, and in 1997 formed a subsidiary, Border Radio Holdings, for its radio business. Border and its radio stations were bought by Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
in 2000, and the television station was later sold to Granada Media Group. Rumours over its future persistently dogged Border, and it trod a difficult path to balance the interests of three different nations.
In July 2006, it was announced that the Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
transmitter was to transfer to ITV Tyne Tees
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
as part of the preparations for the digital switchover of the Border region in 2008 and to bring Berwick into line with the rest of the North East, which is scheduled to switch over to digital in 2012. The transfer took effect from 13 December 2006, although Border news programmes still carry stories about Berwick-upon-Tweed due to its proximity to the eastern Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
.
Merger
In 2008, the United Kingdom began its five-year programme to cease analogue television broadcasts as part of the switchover to Digital televisionDigital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
starting with Border.
Towards the end of his tenure as ITV plc executive chairman, Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
began restructuring the ITV regional layout, stating the existence of ITV Border "no longer makes sense" relative to the regional audience it serves. The move is expected to give ITV plc "greater value for money", but may be subject to Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
approval.On 12 September 2007, Grade announced plans to close ITV Border and merge the region with ITV Tyne Tees. If Ofcom agrees with the proposal the changes could be in place by 2009. The Border region will be covered by a short programme opt out until digital switch over is complete in 2014 but after that there is no guarantee that regional news programmes will continue.
On 25 September 2008, Ofcom gave ITV the green light to merge ITV Border's news operation with that of ITV Tyne Tees
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
at Newcastle from early-2009. Following a survey of Isle of Man viewers in autumn 2008, coverage of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
was transferred from ITV Border to ITV Granada
Granada Reports
Granada Reports is the flagship regional news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West of England and the Isle of Man....
on Thursday 16 July 2009.
ITV Border's own regional news service ceased production on Tuesday 24 February 2009, replaced by a dual-regional service the next day. Six reporters (all working from home apart from those in Edinburgh and Carlisle) now cover Carlisle, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Kendal, Selkirk and Whitehaven.
ITV Border won the RTS awards for Best News Programme: Nations and Regions for Lookaround
Lookaround
Lookaround is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Tyne Tees & Border at its studios in Gateshead, and serving the "Border" part of the region...
, whilst ITV Tyne Tees & Border
ITV Tyne Tees & Border
ITV Tyne Tees & Border is a non-franchise ITV regional news service covering the North of England/Southern Scotland and incorporating the former ITV Tyne Tees and ITV Border regions...
were nominated in three categories, in February 2011.
Studios
Unlike many new ITV stations at that time (with the exceptions of Granada and WestwardWestward Television
Westward Television was the first ITV franchise holder for the South West of England from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward provided a popular, distinctive and highly regarded service to its region, until public boardroom squabbles led to its franchise not...
) Border constructed a purpose-built studio centre, located in Durranhill, Carlisle. They were built in 1961 and contained two studios for use in productions, a small continuity studio and an interview studio. These were converted to colour with the station and were expanded and upgraded when demand increased following the launch of 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...
.
In 2009, following Border's merger with Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
, all productions, including Lookaround
Lookaround
Lookaround is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Tyne Tees & Border at its studios in Gateshead, and serving the "Border" part of the region...
were transferred to Tyne Tees studios in Gateshead, with all departments being merged with those of Tyne Tees. The Border studios remained empty and were demolished in 2010. Three reporters still operate in Carlisle, as regional news correspondents, but operate from a smaller bureau in the Kingstown area of the city, opened on Friday 10 July 2009.
Identity
Throughout its history, Border has used one single logo, an abstract 'B', known affectionately by locals as DY, or 'The Chopsticks'. It features a thick D shape, with a forker line crossing it and running either side of the shape. The overall shape represents a 'B' for Border, with the background shape representing the catchment area, and the line representing the border itself. The line actually divides the area into three areas, although one is very small: representing ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
above the line, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
below it, and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
in the small area to the left.
The launch identity was a black caption with the white logo and 'Border Television' beneath, over an announcement. The start-up routine was symbolic because of its distinctive and unchanging music, and the announcement that never changed, stating "This is Border Television serving Cumbria, South Scotland, the Isle of Man and North and West Northumberland, from the Caldbeck, Selkirk and associated transmitters of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
." This was replaced when colour came to the region by the same contents, contained within a rectangle on a blue background with a Colour caption outside the box. The colour caption was removed in the 1980s and the announcement said "This is Border Television providing a full color service to Cumbria, South Scotland, the Isle of Man and North and West Northumberland including Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
, from the Caldbeck, Selkirk and assocaited transmitters of the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
." from the late 1960's in Color.
Border adopted the 1989 Generic look and used it until 1993. Their version was mildly well suited, as the contents of the 'B' were recognisable in the 'V' segment if the logo. This look was extensively used, even in the news department. In 1993, the ident was changed to the Border logo revolving out of thin air and featuring a background of pastel colours. The music was retained from the generic look. Border also began to use in-vision continuity
Continuity
Continuity may refer to:In mathematics:* The opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include:** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics...
more heavily.
In 1995, the logo was changed again to a 3D Border logo falling into place against a water effect blue backdrop, which was set to the same tune as used previously, but played on instruments to match the water theme. This was again updated in 1998, with the same sequence against a backdrop of spinning discs and blue and purple colours. New music was also composed featuring deep basses. The whole effect was to make Border have an authoritative and broadcaster tone.
In 1999, Border adopted the second generic look, along with the rest of the regions, but did not use their logo in this look. From then on, Border only used network designs for idents, as from October 2002, Border idents featuring a celebrity with the ITV1 logo with the word Border underneath, were used for local programming only. All other programming used network idents, and from 2004, no regional idents existed. Border has ceased as an entity, productions attributed to ITV Productions, or later, ITV Studios.
Programmes
A list of programmes made by Border Television.- The Andy Stewart Show
- APB
- Bliss (1985)
- Cock of the Border (1960s)
- Crush a Grape
- Galloway Ceilidh (1979)
- Krankies Television
- LookaroundLookaroundLookaround is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Tyne Tees & Border at its studios in Gateshead, and serving the "Border" part of the region...
- Look Who's Talking
- Mr. and Mrs.Mr. and Mrs.Mr. & Mrs. is a television show that originated in Canada in 1963, debuting in Britain shortly afterwards. The Canadian version was produced at CFTO-TV in Toronto and ran on the CTV network for 780 episodes, and was hosted by Roy Ward Dickson, who was also the show's creator...
- Pick a Number (1984–1986)
- Scene Shed (1980's)
- Studio One (1976 - 1980's)
- The Sound of .... (1970 - 1981)
- Try For Ten (1968-1984)
Further reading
- Mary Scott Parker (1999), Border Television: A History. Carlisle: Bookcase
External links
- Lookaround at ITV.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...
- ITV Border on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- ITV Border on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...