HTV - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV

ITV

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

contractor for Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

and the West of England

West of England

The West of England is a loose and locationally unspecific term sometimes given to the area surrounding the city and county of Bristol, England, and also sometimes applied more widely and in other parts of South West England.-Use in the Bristol area:...

, which operated from studios in Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

and Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW

Television Wales and the West

Television Wales and the WestTelevision Wales and the WestTelevision Wales and the West , accessed 19 August 2006, accessed 19 August 2006 was the British "Independent Television" contractor for the franchise area serving 'South Wales and West of England' 1956–68 Television Wales and the...

in 1968. Originally styled Harlech Television the name was changed to HTV within the first two years. The franchise is now owned and operated by ITV plc

ITV plc

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

under the name ITV Broadcasting Limited.

History

Initially the station used the name Harlech Television (after the head of the company, Lord Harlech), but from the introduction of colour in 1970 this was dropped in favour of HTV, which was simpler and removed concerns that the name Harlech
Harlech
Harlech is a town and seaside resort in Gwynedd, within the historical boundaries of Merionethshire in northwest Wales. Lying on Tremadog Bay and within the Snowdonia National Park, it has a population of 1,952, of whom 59% speak Welsh...

was only associated with the Welsh part of the dual region.

The company was awarded its contract by 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...

which apparently felt that the incumbent TWW

TWW

TWW may refer to:* Television Wales and the West, a commercial television contractor serving Wales and England from 1958-1968* TheWolfWeb, an internet message board for students at North Carolina State University...

, being corporately-based in London, was too distant from the area it served and that Harlech, jointly based in Bristol and Cardiff, would serve the area better. TWW were bitterly disappointed to lose the franchise and declined an opportunity created by the ITA to purchase shares in the winning company. Subsequently, TWW pulled out of its franchise five months early, selling the remaining air-time to Harlech which provided an unbranded emergency service

Independent Television Service for Wales and the West

Independent Television Service for Wales and the West or ITSWW is a unique entity within the history of ITV.On 11 June 1967 the Independent Television Authority had announced changes to the structure and contracts of the ITV network in the United Kingdom, to take effect in July 1968. Several...

prior to their formal launch.

HTV served two quite different regions: Wales and the West of England. In Wales there was an additional requirement to provide a quota of programmes in the medium of Welsh. HTV West was successful in producing high quality children's TV series, often sold internationally. It established the 'HTV junior drama workshop' that auditioned and trained young actors and from which it cast roles for both its own productions, and other companies seeking young talent. Arthur Of The Britons
Arthur of the Britons
Arthur of the Britons is a British television show about the historical King Arthur. Produced by the HTV regional franchise, it consisted of two series, released between 1972 and 1973...

(a historic adventure series), Children of the Stones
Children of the Stones
Children of the Stones is a television drama for children produced by HTV in 1976 and broadcast on the United Kingdom's ITV network in January and February 1977. A one-off serial, the story was depicted over seven episodes and produced by Peter Graham Scott, with Patrick Dromgoole as executive...

(a supernatural thriller shot amid the famous stone circle at Avebury

Avebury

Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...

in Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

) and Robin Of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood , was a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel...

were all very popular wherever they were shown. In addition to Network and locally produced content, HTV also broadcast acquired programmes and was the first British broadcaster to show Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...

, after it was rejected 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...

in 1971. HTV Wales produced far less drama output, though they were contracted to make the ten-part Return to Treasure Island
Return to Treasure Island
Return to Treasure Island is a Disney mini-series, starring Brian Blessed as Long John Silver.Disney Channel contracted the UK ITV broadcaster HTV Wales to actually produce the series, and it was shot in Wales, Spain and Jamaica...

for The Disney Channel in 1985.

In October 1995, United News and Media agreed to buy Scottish Television's 20% stake in the company, ending Carlton's interest about a buyout. HTV and United began talks shortly after the sale aimed at sharing production services and facilities. United was quoted at the time to have "no intention of bidding for the whole company" but within 6 months, on 28 June 1997, HTV was taken over fully by United News and Media plc (now United Business Media plc) for £370 million.

In 2000, Granada PLC bought United's television interests, but at the time competition regulations limited the extent to which one company could control the ITV network, and were consequently forced to give up one of its ITV franchises. This resulted in a break-up of HTV, whereby its broadcast facilities and Channel 3 broadcast licence (and hence its advertising revenues) were sold to Carlton Communications plc, owners of Carlton Television, whilst the majority of production facilities were retained by Granada. Unlike Carlton's other ITV acquisitions, which were rebranded to use the Carlton name on screen, HTV's identity was retained on-air until 27 October 2002 when the 'ITV1' brand was introduced to most of the network.

Granada and Carlton were subsequently permitted to merge in 2004 to form the single company ITV plc

ITV plc

, which now owns all of the ITV franchises in England and Wales. HTV Ltd was re-named ITV Wales & West Ltd on 29 December 2006, alongside HTV Group Ltd, which was re-named ITV Wales & West Group Ltd On 11 December 2008, the broadcast licence was transferred from ITV Wales & West Group Ltd to ITV Broadcasting Limited, the company now responsible for all the regional francises.

In 2009, as part of plans to reduce ITV's regional news service to save costs, the ITV West news programme was closed and the news service merged with that of Westcountry Television

Westcountry Television

Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...

to form ITV West & Westcountry

ITV South West

ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...

. The new programme, The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...

is broadcast from Bristol.

Studios

The company originally operated production studios in Cardiff

Cardiff

at Pontcanna

Pontcanna

Pontcanna is a western district of the city of Cardiff, Wales. Its area is bounded approximately by Llandaff Fields to the north, the Riverside district and Cowbridge Road to the south, the River Taff to the west and the district of Canton to the east.Pontcanna is a very well to do area of wide...

and Bristol

Bristol

at Brislington. Presentation, Transmission and back-office staff were based largely in Cardiff. In the 1980's the company acquired studio facilities in north Wales at Theatre Clwyd near the town of Mold.

In 1984 HTV opened a new £14m TV Centre at Culverhouse Cross

Culverhouse Cross

Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...

, Cardiff

Cardiff

to replace the original one at Pontcanna

Pontcanna

. Transmission continued to originate from Pontcanna until 1989, when this transferred to the new Centre. In addition to providing playout for HTV Wales, the new TV Centre would, from 1 January 1993, also provided the transmission of South Western franchise Westcountry Television

Westcountry Television

Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...

. The property eventually passed to United Business Media (then United News and Media) following the takeover of HTV by the group in 1997. However, while HTV changed hands twice more, UBM continued to own the Culverhouse Cross buildings and associated land. ITV plc

ITV plc

acquired the site in 2006, and have since sought to redevelop the property. The largest production studio at Culverhouse Cross has been leased to third party operators since the early 1990's. In an interview with the Western Mail, the head of news and programmes, Phil Henfrey, has confirmed ITV Wales is to decide whether to stay at the site or re-locate to new, smaller premises in another part of Cardiff.

In Bristol, HTV were based at Television Centre in Bath Road, which they took over from TWW

TWW

. ITV plc continue to have operations based in both premises. Today, the Bristol headquarters are home to ITV South West

ITV South West

's news programme The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...

.

Sub-Regions

The Wales and West region is a dual region franchise area. This originated from the fact that the Wenvoe transmitter originally covered both South Wales and the West of England and so for this reason one company needed to cover both regions.

HTV operates on the Llanddona, Moel-y-Parc, Long Mountain, Blaenplwyf, Preseli, Carmel, Kilvey Hill

Kilvey Hill

Kilvey Hill is a hill in Britain. It rises in south Wales, to the east of Swansea city centre. Kilvey Hill is high and is classed as a Sub Marilyn...

, Wenvoe and Mendip transmitters, with the former forming the HTV West region and all but the former forming the HTV Wales region.

Programmes could either be broadcast to the whole region through all the transmitters under the simple branding as HTV, or programming could be available in either one of the regions: Wales or West. Each region had its own separate news service and different regional programming.

Identity

HTV's on screen branding began in 1968 with their launch ident. The design was that of two words 'Harlech' spinning in opposite ways and which eventually met up to form one word. This design would have been clearly seen to viewers of the service then, however viewers today would have encountered lots of black lines and a barely noticeable 'Harlech'. This is due to the fact that the ident was designed for 405-line television system used at the time, and due to the use of 625-line UHF system

Ultra high frequency

Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...

, the ident appears differently on sets that receive the 625-line transmission.

When colour came to the region, a new logo was designed. Due to criticism from viewers in the West region, concerning the bias towards Wales that Harlech presented, the new logo featured the letters HTV. The symbol created, named "The Aerial", featured the letters HTV in such a way that it looks like a television aerial

Antenna (radio)

An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

. This was introduced in the early 1970s, and the logo remained with the station until 1993. The aerial would animate on through use of lines, accompanied by the same jingle as used before. The white logo on blue background was seen plain when both Wales and the West received the programme, but would otherwise have the region name included. For the west, this was 'West' at the top of the logo between the 'H; and 'V', whereas for Wales, the caption Cymru Wales was placed at the bottom of the logo, as a reference that welsh programming was still shown on the channel.

Following the launch of S4C

S4C

S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...

in 1982, all Welsh language programming was transferred to the new service, and the Wales ident was amended so that the caption 'Wales' was displayed at the top of the logo. These idents continued until 1987, when the idents were changed in favour of computer generated versions. This time, blocks flew out of a large suspended blue surface and landed to form the HTV aerial logo on a dark blue background.

HTV adopted the first ITV generic look in 1989, and it was their slanted 'H; that appeared in their regional section of the ITV logo. Despite the video sequence being the same, there were three variations of the ident, all featuring a different lower caption; HTV, HTV Wales and HTV West. In addition, HTV also made their own variation where the HTV logo remained on-screen the whole time. All these idents were dropped on 1 January 1993.

In their place, a new HTV logo was made, featuring an upright, but stylised HTV, with two triangles for the 'V' section. Originally this logo was seen as a translucent blue logo moving back onto a multi-coloured blue background accompanied by an ambient tune. This was later changed to a more upbeat tune, ending in a more noticeable crescendo. This ident package marked the end of specific HTV Wales and HTV West idents, as all of the idents that followed used the single HTV brand. As a result, fewer programme variations were made, and regional variations were dictated by the voiceover.

The ident itself was again altered in 1995, to feature small triangles which grew and combined to form the triangular V and the remainder of the HTV logo. The tune accompanying it was stronger than its predecessor, and the colours were warmer than previous, with a gold HTV and a changing blue, green background. In 1999, HTV brought in their last in-house look, featuring the camera panning over the HTV logo in dark blue against a bright yellow background and accompanied by the same music as before.

However later that same year, HTV, as part of UNM, adopted the second ITV generic look based on the theme of 'Hearts'. However, when UNM was merged into Granada, the broadcasting arm of HTV was sold to Carlton

Carlton Communications

Carlton Communications was a British media company. It was led by Michael Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it taken over by Granada plc to form ITV plc with Carlton gaining 32% of the new company....

to comply with competition laws. As a result, HTV part adopted Carlton's star branding. The resultant idents featured Carlton's 'Star' opening films, before the screen flashed white, drawing back to become the 'V' in the HTV logo against the spinning hearts background as used previously.

When Granada and Carlton introduced national ITV1 branding to all stations in 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...

and Wales

Wales

on 28 October 2002, the HTV channel identity ceased to be used for presentation. It was replaced by the on-screen name ITV1 Wales and ITV1 West of England. ITV1 Wales still uses a variation of the generic theme, however with the name Wales consistently present under the ITV1 logo. ITV1 West of England however has seen their regional identity less and less since 2002. Originally, prior to regional programming, an ident featuring the celebrity package was used, with an ITV1 logo placed above a small West of England caption to the left of the screen. In 2004, the regional idents changed to four coloured cubes are seen dotted around a regional scene, with an ITV1 logo and ITV1 for the West of England caption in the bottom right corner. This was replaced in October 2004 by a national ident, consisting of three small ITV cubes above a large '1' cube, with the caption West below. This was one of the last idents for ITV West, as regional idents were abandoned soon after, with the exception of Wales. The HTV brand was retained for local News programmes until Granada and Carlton merged on 2 February 2004 to create ITV plc

ITV plc

. The Carlton name appeared on endboards from 2001 until 2004, when it was replaced by a generic ITV Wales or ITV West endboard. To this day, the company is still HTV, however used ITV1 branding on screen.

Commissions for the network

Keynotes
Nuts and Bolts
Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood , was a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel...

, (1980s)
Wycliffe
Wycliffe (TV series)
Wycliffe is a British TV series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe . It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a...

Children's programmes

Rubbish, King of the Jumble
Rubbish, King of the Jumble
Rubbish King of the Jumble was a children's animated television series on CITV created by Mark Taylor and featured the voice of Alexei Sayle. It was also produced by A Productions for HTV.-Series:...

,
Children of the Stones
Children of the Stones
Children of the Stones is a television drama for children produced by HTV in 1976 and broadcast on the United Kingdom's ITV network in January and February 1977. A one-off serial, the story was depicted over seven episodes and produced by Peter Graham Scott, with Patrick Dromgoole as executive...
The Famous Five (90s version starring Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper is an English actress.- Background :Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea, London and Godolphin and Latymer girls' school. While working on The Famous Five, she passed eight GCSEs with A*...

),
The Top Ten of Everything,
The Slow Norris
The Storykeepers
The Storykeepers
The Storykeepers is an animated Christian video series produced by Zondervan from 1995 to 1997 in America and Ireland. It tells the story of a Christian leader and his family's adventures living in Ancient Rome whose mission is to keep Jesus's stories alive during the 1st century...
Captain Starr,
Dog & Duck;

Local programmes

Definition
Definition (TV series)
Definition was a Canadian television game show, which aired on CTV from 1974 to 1989, and filmed at its flagship studio of CFTO-TV in the former Scarborough, Ontario . For most of its run, it was hosted by Jim Perry....
The Ferret
The Ferret
The Ferret is a long-running consumer affairs television programme that is broadcast on ITV1 Wales. The programme was first broadcast in 1996 on HTV. It is currently presented by by Chris Segar and Hannah Thomas. Previous presenters include Ruth Wignall....

,
Three Little Words
Three Little Words (television series)
Three Little Words was a popular game show that was produced by TWW then by HTV West and ran on the ITV network from 1967 until 1987. The programme was hosted by several people, including Don Moss, Alan Taylor, and Ray Alan with his wife Barbie....
Scene Shed (1980s)
Wales Tonight
Wales Tonight
Wales Tonight is a national television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Wales at its studios in the western outskirts of Cardiff....

,
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...

Since 1982, HTV Wales produced Welsh language

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

programming for S4C

S4C

such as Cefn Gwlad, Hacio and Y Byd ar Bedwar
Y Byd ar Bedwar
Y Byd ar Bedwar is a Welsh-language current affairs television programme, which has broadcast on S4C since the channel was launched in 1982. Produced by ITV Wales, the programme has a reputation for hard-hitting, investigative journalism of the highest standard.- Production team :*Editor: Geraint...

. Prior to S4C's introduction, HTV's evening news was split into two fifteen-minute bulletins, presented from the same studio and separated by an advertising break: Y Dydd (The Day) in Welsh, and Report Wales in English.

Present

ITV Wales' main local programmes include: Wales Tonight
Wales Tonight
Wales Tonight is a national television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Wales at its studios in the western outskirts of Cardiff....

, The Ferret
The Ferret
The Ferret is a long-running consumer affairs television programme that is broadcast on ITV1 Wales. The programme was first broadcast in 1996 on HTV. It is currently presented by by Chris Segar and Hannah Thomas. Previous presenters include Ruth Wignall....

and Wales This Week. ITV Wales also produces Welsh language

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

programming for S4C

S4C

such as Cefn Gwlad, Hacio, Cofio and Y Byd ar Bedwar
Y Byd ar Bedwar
Y Byd ar Bedwar is a Welsh-language current affairs television programme, which has broadcast on S4C since the channel was launched in 1982. Produced by ITV Wales, the programme has a reputation for hard-hitting, investigative journalism of the highest standard.- Production team :*Editor: Geraint...

.
ITV West's main local programme is The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...

External links

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