History of ITV - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The history of 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...

, the United Kingdom

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...

"Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1954.

The early years: 1954–1963

After much debate both in the British Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

and the British Press

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

, the Television Act

Television Act 1954

The Television Act 1954 was a British law which permitted the creation of the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom, ITV....

became law in 1954. This Act paved the way for the establishment of a commercial television

Commercial broadcasting

Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...

service in the UK, creating 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...

(ITA). The ITA's responsibility was to regulate the new service, ensuring that the new service did not follow the same path taken by American television

Television in the United States

Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...

networks (which were perceived as 'vulgar' by some commentators). For example, it was made obligatory that commercials be clearly distinguishable from programmes. At the time, American shows were normally sponsored by a single company, so it was not uncommon for a game show host to step away from his podium after a round to sell cars or The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...

to segue into an ad for cigarettes with no perceived change from show to advert.

The "Independent Television" service, so-called because of its independence from 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...

(which previously had held a monopoly on broadcasting in the UK), was to be made up of regions, with each region run by different companies. The three largest regions (London, the Midlands and the North of England) were subdivided into weekday and weekend services, with a different company running each. Space for commercials, shown during and between programmes was always sold on a region-by-region basis by each ITV company, and not on a nation-wide basis throughout the United Kingdom. The reason for this seemingly over-complicated arrangement was to fulfil the 1954 Act's requirement for competition within the ITV system (as well as against the BBC) and also to help prevent any individual company obtaining a monopoly on commercial broadcasting.

The ITV companies were required, by the terms of their licences from the ITA, to provide a local television service for their particular region, including a daily local news bulletin and regular local documentaries. However, national news bulletins, covering events in the UK and the rest of the world, were (and still are) produced by Independent Television News

Independent Television News

ITN is a news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is made up of four key businesses: ITN News, ITN Source, ITN Productions and ITN Consulting. The ITN logotype can be displayed in any of 4 different colours, each of which represents a business unit. This is the...

(ITN). Until 1990 ITN was jointly owned by all the ITV companies.

Each company also produced programming that would be shown across the network (although the decision as to when or if to show each programme remained with the individual contractors), with the four largest franchise operators (known as the "Big Four" —Associated Rediffusion (London weekday), ATV (Midlands weekday and London weekend), Granada (North of England weekday) and ABC (North of England and Midlands weekend) producing the bulk of this output. Each regional service had its own on-screen identity to distinguish it from other regions, since there was often a sizeable overlap in reception capability within each region.

The first ITV contractor to begin broadcasting was 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:...

, on 22 September 1955 beginning at 19.15hrs local time. On the first night of telecasts, the BBC, who had held the monopoly on broadcasting in Britain, aired a melodramatic episode of their popular radio soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...

on the Home Service

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

. In the episode, core character Grace Archer

Grace Archer

Grace Archer née Fairbrother was a fictional character in the BBC's long-running radio soap, The Archers, and was one of the original characters. She was played by Ysanne Churchman...

was fatally injured in a fire, and it was seen as a ploy to keep loyal viewers and listeners away from the new station. The first full day of transmissions was 23 September 1955 when Britain's first female newsreader Barbara Mandell appeared.

The weekend London contractor, ATV

Associated TeleVision

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...

London (initially known as "ABC" until the Midlands' and North's weekend contractor, 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...

, complained), began two days later. The other regions all launched later:

Date	Region	Company
22 September 1955	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... (Weekday)	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:...
24 September 1955	London (Weekend)	Associated TeleVision Associated TeleVision 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... (ATV London)
17 February 1956	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... (Weekday)	Associated TeleVision Associated TeleVision 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... (ATV Midlands)
18 February 1956	Midlands (Weekend)	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... (ABC)
3 May 1956	North Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered... of England (Weekday)	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....
5 May 1956	North of England (Weekend)	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... (ABC)
31 August 1957	Central Scotland Scotland 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...	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...
14 January 1958	South 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 West of England	Television Wales and the West 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... (TWW)
30 August 1958	South Central and South East England South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...	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...
15 January 1959	North East England North East England North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...	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...
27 October 1959	East of England East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...	Anglia Television Anglia Television Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
31 October 1959	Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...	Ulster Television UTV UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
29 April 1961	South West England South West England South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...	Westward Television Westward 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...
1 September 1961	English-Scottish 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 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...	Border Television Border Television 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...
30 September 1961	North East Scotland	Grampian Television Grampian Television Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
1 September 1962	Channel Islands Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...	Channel Television Channel Television Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...
14 September 1962	North and West Wales	Wales (West and North) Television Wales West and North Television Wales Television, known on screen as Teledu Cymru and often abbreviated to WWN, was the Welsh "Independent Television" contractor awarded the franchise area serving 'North and West Wales', from 1962-68... (Teledu Cymru)

The ITV regions initially broadcast on 405-line

405-line

The 405-line monochrome analogue television broadcasting system was the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting....

VHF

Very high frequency

Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...

. During the 1960s, some commercial companies proposed the introduction of colour on the 405-line system, but the General Post Office insisted that colour should wait until the higher-definition 625-line UHF

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...

system became standard. ITV eventually introduced PAL

PAL

PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

colour on this system from 15 November 1969, simultaneous with BBC1

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

and two years after BBC2

BBC Two

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

. This did not, however, spread immediately across the UK; some regions had to wait a few more years before colour was available. Colour was available to nearly 100% of the UK from 1976, with the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

being the last region to be converted. This enabled the 405-line system to be phased out between 1982 and 1985.

In general, usually a few years after their launch, the regional companies made a profit; the largest regions especially so. Roy Thomson

Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet

Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet GBE was a Canadian newspaper proprietor and media entrepreneur.-Career:...

, the Canadian founding Chairman of 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...

, famously described the ownership of an ITV franchise as 'a licence to print money'. However, this was not the case with Wales (West and North) Television

Wales West and North Television

Wales Television, known on screen as Teledu Cymru and often abbreviated to WWN, was the Welsh "Independent Television" contractor awarded the franchise area serving 'North and West Wales', from 1962-68...

(WWN). Problems with the construction of their transmitter network, as well as strict provisions in their contract to produce a large amount of 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, meant that WWN lost a lot of money. Although WWN did receive some help from other ITV contractors, it was not enough; the company declared itself bankrupt

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

in 1964—the only ITV company to have ever done so. The name "Teledu Cymru" and studio facilities were taken over by TWW, who continued to broadcast in North and West Wales

West Wales

West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....

using that name until 1968.

ITV was admitted as an active member of the European Broadcasting Union through the Independent Television Companies' Association Ltd (ITCA) together with the Independent Television Authority (ITA) in 1959.

1964-1968

Contracts to run an ITV region are not permanent. Contracts were renewed by the ITA every few years, but it was not guaranteed that the incumbent contractor would win an extension; a new company could take over instead.

The ITA's new chairman, former Postmaster General

United Kingdom Postmaster General

The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...

Lord Hill of Luton

Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton

Charles Hill, Baron Hill of Luton PC was a British administrator, doctor and television executive.Charles Hill was born in Islington, London and was educated at St Olave's Grammar School in Southwark, London. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge where he gained a first class degree...

, undertook a licence review in September 1963 before the legal limit of 10 years for an ITV contract was reached. The purpose of this review was to look at the ITV system in the light of the Pilkington Report into broadcasting in the UK, which had roundly and, it was felt, unfairly, criticised ITV; the review also took into account the promised ITV2 UHF channel, due to be launched if the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

won the 1964 General Election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

.

The review also had the effect of showing the Authority's teeth in the face of perceived arrogance from the contractors.

However, no company lost its position as the local ITV contractor for their region and all licences were extended for another three years (starting July 1964), although several of the major companies were instructed to strengthen the regional emphasis of their on-screen identities. The only change to the network was the takeover of WWN by 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...

to form one, unified Wales and West franchise.

1968-1974

Unlike the 'roll-over' of contracts in 1963, the 1967 review (for contracts running from the end of July 1968) was to create dramatic changes to the structure of the ITV network. The purpose of this review was to ensure the ITV system was ready for the arrival of colour broadcasting in 1969, and also to again allow for the potential start of ITV2, should the Conservatives win any election held after 1970.

Additionally, Lord Hill of Luton had failed to temper the 'arrogance' of the contractors when he made no changes between 1963 and 1964. Indeed, it was felt by many inside the ITA that the arrogance of the companies had grown — especially Rediffusion London, whose department managers also popped up in similar roles for rival applicants, and TWW, who reapplied for their contract under both their own name and that of WWN/Teledu Cymru as a tax dodge.

Lord Hill had made it clear in 1966 that 'all bets were off' on the next franchise round, and that the regions themselves would be likely to change. Therefore, in the period between the interviews of each applicant and the announcement of the changes, the newspapers speculated wildly about the likely changes; suggestions were made of 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...

exiting the system, Rediffusion

Associated-Rediffusion

moving to replace Southern

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...

and various other wild ideas (although it seems clear that Scottish would indeed have exited, had TWW not been the sacrificial company chosen).

In the end, the ITA made the following changes to the ITV region map:

any split weekday/weekend licences were removed in all regions, except London.
the London split was moved from Friday/Saturday to Friday at 7pm.
the North of England region was split into the North West and Yorkshire.

There were also changes to the companies running each region:

Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

, the existing weekday contractor for the North of England region, was given a seven-day licence for the new North West region.
Lord Thomson of Fleet was required to divest himself of most of his holding in 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...

.
A new company, Telefusion Yorkshire, later renamed Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

, was given the licence to broadcast in the newly created Yorkshire region.
ATV
Associated TeleVision
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...

won the new seven-day Midlands licence, replacing 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...

at the weekend.
ABC and Rediffusion, London
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:...

were asked to form a joint company to take the London weekday franchise previously held by Rediffusion alone; the result, Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

, was 51% controlled by ABC. This move was in an attempt to keep ABC in the network, considering their franchises no longer existed.
The London Television Consortium, put together by David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...

won the London weekend contract, which now included Friday evenings from 7pm. They went on air using the name 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...

. LWT replaced ATV in London.
Most controversially, TWW lost its franchise for Wales and the West of England to Harlech Television
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...

, which became known as HTV on the arrival of UHF.

Finally, the local programme guides produced in each region (except the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

) were abolished and a new company, Independent Television Publications was formed, taking over the London TV Times
TV Times
TVTimes is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by IPC Media, a subsidiary of Time Warner. It is known for its access to television actors and their programmes. In 2006 it was refreshed for a more modern look, increasing its emphasis on big star interviews and soaps...

magazine and producing it as national magazine with regional editions.

Before the changes were implemented, Harold Wilson

Harold Wilson

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...

made the surprise move of sending Lord Hill to the chairmanship of the BBC

BBC

Board of Governors

Board of governors

Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...

and replacing him with Herbert Bowden

Herbert Bowden

Herbert William Bowden, Baron Aylestone, CH CBE PC was a British Labour politician.Born in Cardiff, Wales, Bowden was a councillor on Leicester City Council 1938–45 and president of Leicester Labour Party in 1938. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II...

, the Secretary of State for the Commonwealth Office, who was elevated to the peerage

Peerage

The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...

under the title Lord Aylestone. He reviewed the changes Hill had made, but allowed them to stand.

The implementation of the ITV changes led to industrial unrest

Industrial unrest

Industrial unrest is the term used to describe activities undertaken by the workforce when they protest against pay or conditions of their employment....

in the companies. Although there were no job losses in the system - this was an ITA stipulation - people were forced to move from Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds, from London to Cardiff and, perhaps less troublesome, from one part of London to another. Many staff stayed in the same jobs in the same locations, but now had a different employer.

Since this meant that staff were being made redundant (albeit with a guaranteed job to go to), the unions required redundancy payments. However, these payments led to problems in staff not receiving them, who were changing company (for instance, from Rediffusion to Thames) but not location. The unions asked for payments to also be made in those cases; the companies responded by drawing the line, and wildcat strikes broke out in the weeks before and after the changes came into effect.

By the Friday after the changes, a mixture of strike action and management lock-outs had taken ITV off the air, and for most of August 1968 the regional network was replaced with an ITV Emergency National Service

ITV Emergency National Service

The ITV Emergency National Service was the management response to the near-complete Independent Television technicians strike immediately after the 1968 franchise changes took effect....

run by management. By September 1968, with both sides claiming victory, all workers had returned to work. However, the strike left a legacy of bitterness across the ITV system that would continue to boil up occasionally during the next decade.

The transition to colour broadcasting began on 15 November 1969.

1974-1982

Much like 1964, and very much unlike 1968, the review of contracts in 1974 produced a 'roll-over' with almost no changes. This was done to reflect the huge cost incurred in switching to colour production and allow the companies time to recoup such an investment.

The IBA (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...

) - which replaced the ITA when it was given the responsibility of regulating the new commercial "Independent Local Radio

Independent Local Radio

Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland.-Development of ILR:...

" (ILR) stations under the Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 - took the opportunity of reassigning the Belmont transmitter

Belmont transmitting station

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

in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

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

from Anglia

Anglia Television

Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...

to Yorkshire Television, almost doubling the area served by the smallest of the 'Big Five' companies; YTV's non-overlap region had been eroded to just West and South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, when the new Bilsdale UHF transmitter

Bilsdale transmitter

The Bilsdale transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, located at , close to Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England. It includes a guyed steel tubular mast that is primarily used for radio and television transmission. The height of the mast is to the pinnacle...

was assigned to 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...

.

A degree of consolidation was allowed into the system by the IBA (for instance joint, advertising sales operations). One of these, Trident Management, which handled sales for Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television

and Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

, was allowed to perform a reverse takeover

Reverse takeover

A reverse takeover or reverse merger is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public...

on the two companies, creating a new entity, Trident Television

Trident Television

Trident Television Limited was a British holding company with broadcasting interests.It was created in 1969 to deal with the problem of fairly allocating commercial airtime from a television transmitter at Bilsdale in North Yorkshire which straddled the catchment areas of two independent television...

. Both YTV and TTTV, however, retained their own identities, boards and local management.

The teletext

Teletext

Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...

service ORACLE

ORACLE (teletext)

ORACLE was a commercial teletext service first broadcast on ITV in 1974 and later on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, finally ending on both channels at 23:59 GMT on 31 December 1992....

was fully launched in 1974—one of the first of its kind (along with the BBC's CEEFAX

Ceefax

Ceefax is the BBC's teletext information service transmitted via the analogue signal, started in 1974 and will run until April 2012 for Pages from Ceefax, while the actual interactive service will run until 24 October 2012, in-line with the digital switchover.-History:During the late 60s, engineer...

).

Possibly one of the most notable events for ITV during this period was a 10-week industrial dispute in 1979, which led to the subsequent shutdown of almost all ITV broadcasts and productions. Trouble first occurred at London's Thames Television

Thames Television

Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

when electrician

Electrician

An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...

s refused to accept what they considered a derisory pay increase. Management attempted to operate a normal service but other transmission staff refused to co-operate. When Thames' management ordered the striking staff to 'return or else' the broadcasting union ACTT instructed members at 13 other ITV stations to walk out in support. (However, the smallest ITV company Channel Television

Channel Television

Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...

was allowed to continue as the unions realised action there could force the station out of business.)

Viewers were greeted with blank television screens on the morning of 10 August 1979, and were left without regular programmes, most importantly the highly-rated British soap opera Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

as well as various sporting events. The strike ended with victory for the unions in a dispute estimated to have cost the companies £100 million in lost revenue. Programming resumed at 5.38pm on 24 October 1979. Returning viewers were greeted with a new jingle, "Welcome home to ITV", sung by the Mike Sammes Singers.

When the strike ended, ITV had the daunting task of luring back viewers from BBC. This proved difficult as production of original programming had stopped and wouldn't even be available for several months; ITV therefore suffered in the ratings at the hands of the BBC. Two and a half months after ITV began broadcasting again, they were finally ready to air additional original programming and viewers began switching back. This strike was to be the last major strike for ITV as the power of the broadcasting unions began to wane, even though minor disputes plagued the television industry in the 1980s. To date, the dispute was the longest in the history of British television.

1982-1993

At the end of 1980 the IBA reviewed the ITV broadcasting licences again, for contracts beginning on 1 January 1982. As a result, the following changes occurred:

ATV
Associated TeleVision
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...

was re-awarded their contract but was considered by the IBA to have not focused on their region enough. As a result changes were ordered including the diluting of existing shareholdings and greater production facilities in the contract area; to emphasise these actions the company was told to rename themselves. The newly-named 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...

took over from ATV on 1 January 1982.
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...

lost their licence for the South of England, in favour of Television South
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...

(TVS).
Westward Television
Westward 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...

also lost their licence (for South West England), being replaced by Television South West
Television South West
Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:...

(TSW).
The new nation-wide breakfast television
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...

service was awarded to TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...

, with a provisional start date
Start date
The start date of a film refers to the first day of principal photography.A film project which has been green-lit does not typically enter pre-production until it has been assigned a start date, and for this reason a film with a start date is generally regarded as more likely to proceed to...

of May 1983. The breakfast station broadcast between the hours of 6am and 9.25am every morning. The somewhat obscure 9.25 close time came about in order to allow time to switch transmitters from the breakfast broadcaster over to the regional ITV stations; today this transition is seamless, though the anomaly remains.

Trident Television
Trident Television
Trident Television Limited was a British holding company with broadcasting interests.It was created in 1969 to deal with the problem of fairly allocating commercial airtime from a television transmitter at Bilsdale in North Yorkshire which straddled the catchment areas of two independent television...

was ordered to sell the majority of its holdings in Yorkshire
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

and 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...

, and the two companies became independent of each other again.

Along with the new franchises, the IBA introduced new 'dual regions' where one region would be divided into two for different news coverage, as was already the practice with 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...

in the "Wales" and "West" regions. The Midlands would be divided into Central West and Central East, and the south of England into TVS South and TVS South East. The Bluebell Hill transmitter was also handed over from Thames Television

Thames Television

Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

and 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...

to the new TVS

Television South

Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...

South-East region. Other dual regions would later follow.

2 November 1982 saw 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...

, which built on the ITV network for its funding. The ITV companies sold Channel 4's airtime until 31 December 1992, after which a 'funding formula' continued, whereby the ITV companies would subsidise Channel 4 if it fell into losses. However, it never did, and the funding formula was withdrawn in 1998. During the period 1982-98, Channel 4 and ITV would regularly cross-promote each other's programming, free of charge. Whilst this was clearly in everyone's interest prior to 1993, after this date the two channels were effectively competing, and as part of the funding formula they were required to cross-promote a number of programmes each day.

The Broadcasting Act of 1990

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

's Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

government spent much of the 1980s privatising and deregulating British industry, and commercial broadcasting was no exception. The Broadcasting Act 1990

Broadcasting Act 1990

The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been...

paved the way for the deregulation of the British commercial broadcasting industry, which was to have many consequences for the ITV system.

As a result of this Act, the Independent Broadcasting Authority was abolished, and replaced by two new 'light-touch' regulators: the Independent Television Commission

Independent Television Commission

The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....

(otherwise known as the ITC) and the Radio Authority. The small Cable Authority

Cable Authority

The Cable Authority was the United Kingdom statutory body established by the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 to regulate the newly liberalised cable television industry. It came into existence on 1 December 1984 and took on its functions with effect from 1 January 1985...

was also abolished, its powers transferred to the ITC.

The main change caused by the Act was to the system of licence allocation: the 'beauty contest', where applicants needed to show good programming ideas and fine financial controls, was replaced by highest-bidder auctions to determine the winner of each ITV regional franchise. This element of the ITV franchising process was very controversial; the press and the existing ITV companies lobbied to have it changed and the ITC agreed to introduce a 'quality threshold' to prevent high bidders with poor programme plans from joining the system.

ITN, the news provider for ITV, was no longer to be exclusively owned by ITV companies. The legal name

Legal name

Legal name is the name that an individual is given at birth and/or recognized by a government or other legal entity, or which appears on a birth certificate , marriage certificate , or other government issued document on which a legal name change is evidenced and...

of the ITV network was changed to Channel 3, although the network is still generally referred to as 'ITV' by the general public and the media.

Additionally, Channel 4

Channel 4

, which had previously been an independent subsidiary of the IBA, was now to become a Government-owned corporation

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

, patterned after the BBC

BBC

. It would also begin to sell its own advertisement space — a function previously provided by each ITV company as a return for subsidising the channel.

One further change in the 1990 Act related to the way the ITV networking system was run. Since the 1960s, the Independent Television Companies' Association's Programme Controllers' Committee, representing the 'Big 5' network companies (Thames

Thames Television

Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

, LWT

London Weekend Television

, Central

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...

, Granada

Granada Television

Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

, and Yorkshire

Yorkshire Television

) had decided which programmes had aired in network programme timeslots. This had the effect of excluding other ITV companies, as well as independent production companies. Following lobbying by independent producers, as well as TVS

Television South

, the Act required that ITV's scheduling be performed by a nominated person independent of the regional companies, and that a 25% threshold of independent production be required. This led to the creation in 1992 of the ITV Network Centre, a central body in charge of the network schedule, with, for the first time, a single ITV Director of Programming.

Ahead of the 1990 Act, ITV had introduced its first official corporate logo

Logo

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

and national on-air identity in September 1989; however, Anglia

Anglia Television

, Channel

Channel Television

Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...

, Ulster

UTV

UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...

, TVS

Television South

, and TSW

Television South West

Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:...

refused to use the generic idents that were designed for their regions, preferring to stay with their distinctive on-screen branding. The regions to have the longest use of the generic ident were Yorkshire

Yorkshire Television

, who kept it on until October 1994, and Grampian

Grampian Television

Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...

who continued to use the 1989 generic ident right up until ITV's new corporate logo was introduced in 1998.

1993-Present

The results of the Channel 3 franchise auction in 1991 for licences beginning 1 January 1993 were:

TSW
Television South West
Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:...

lost the South West England franchise to 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...

.
Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

lost the London weekday franchise to Carlton Television
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,...

. However, Thames continues to produce programmes for ITV and other channels, such as The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

and most recently the successful reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

programmes Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

and The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

.
TVS
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...

lost the South of England franchise to Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....

.
TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...

lost the national breakfast television franchise to Sunrise Television, which changed its name to GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...

before launch due to a dispute with BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

over the name 'Sunrise'.
ORACLE
ORACLE (teletext)
ORACLE was a commercial teletext service first broadcast on ITV in 1974 and later on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, finally ending on both channels at 23:59 GMT on 31 December 1992....

lost the National Teletext franchise to Teletext Ltd.

All other existing ITV companies retained their regional franchises.

TSW and TVS attempted to obtain a judicial review

Judicial review

Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...

of the ITC's decisions, and of the wording of the 1990 Act. Accordingly, the ITC held off awarding the contract to Westcountry until the review was completed. As the contract with Meridian had already been agreed, the court felt unable to conduct a review of that decision. The review of the south-west franchise process took several months, but was decided in favour of the ITC (and therefore against TSW).

Results of 1991 franchise auction

Franchise	Incumbent and bid	Competition and bid	Results	Winner
Borders	Border Television Border Television 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... £52,000	Solway Firth Television £0.25	unopposed	Border (by default)
Central Scotland	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... £2,000	unopposed	unopposed	Scottish (by default)
Channel Islands	Channel Television Channel Television Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey... £1,000	CI3 Group £102,000	CI3 Group disqualified on quality grounds	Channel (by default)
East and West Midlands	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... £2,000	unopposed	unopposed	Central (by default)
East of England	Anglia Television Anglia Television Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional... £17,800,000	CPV-TV CPV-TV CPV-TV was a company which had bid for three ITV franchises at the 1991 ITV franchise auction.It was a consortium led by Sir David Frost and Richard Branson with further backing from the Chrysalis Group media business and had bid for the East of England, London Weekday and the South and South East... £10,100,000; Three East £14,100,000	incumbent highest bidder	Anglia (highest bidder)
London (weekdays)	Thames Television Thames Television Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992.... £32,700,000	CPV-TV (bid never published); Carlton Television 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,... £43,200,000	CPV-TV bid highest but disqualified on quality grounds	Carlton (highest qualified bidder)
London (weekends)	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... (LWT) £7,590,000	London Independent Broadcasting £35,400,000	London Independent Broadcasting disqualified on quality grounds	London Weekend Television (by default)
North of Scotland	Grampian Television Grampian Television Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife... £720,000	North of Scotland £2,710,000; C3 Caledonia £1,130,000	North of Scotland and C3 Caledonia both disqualified on quality grounds	Grampian (by default)
North East England	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... £15,100,000	North East Television £5,010,000	incumbent highest bidder	Tyne Tees (highest bidder)
North West England	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.... £9,000,000	North West Television £35,000,000	North West disqualified on quality grounds	Granada (by default)
Northern Ireland	Ulster Television UTV UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3... £1,010,000	TVNi £3,100,000; Lagan £2,710,000	TVNi disqualified for business plan. Lagan disqualified on quality grounds	Ulster (by default)
South and South East	Television South Television South Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK... (TVS) £59,800,000	Meridian Broadcasting Meridian Broadcasting Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.... £36,500,000; CPV-TV £22,100,000; Carlton £18,100,100	TVS disqualified for business plan.	Meridian (highest qualified bidder)
South West	Television South West Television South West Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:... (TSW) £16,100,000	Westcountry Broadcasting Westcountry Television Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993... £7,820,000; Tele West £7,270,000	TSW disqualified for business plan.	Westcountry (highest qualified bidder)
Wales and West of England	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... £20,500,000	Merlin £19,400,000; C3WW £18,300,000; C3W £17,800,000	incumbent highest bidder	HTV (highest bidder)
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire	Yorkshire Television Yorkshire Television Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network... £37,700,000	Viking £30,100,000; White Rose £17,400,000	incumbent highest bidder	Yorkshire (highest bidder)
Breakfast	TV-am TV-am TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period... £14,100,000	Sunrise £34,600,000; Daybreak £33,200,000	Sunrise highest bidder	Sunrise [later GMTV GMTV GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end... ] (highest bidder)

The 'quality threshold' was a subjective evaluation by the ITC of the application submitted with the bid. The 'threshold' worked in one direction - high bidders could be disqualified for not reaching it, but low bidders could not be 'promoted' for having passed it. The ITC did not announce if the lower bidders had passed the threshold or not.
CPV-TV
CPV-TV
CPV-TV was a company which had bid for three ITV franchises at the 1991 ITV franchise auction.It was a consortium led by Sir David Frost and Richard Branson with further backing from the Chrysalis Group media business and had bid for the East of England, London Weekday and the South and South East...

was a consortium led by Sir David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...

and Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....

. It bid for the East, London weekday and South franchises, aiming to offer a centralised single service.
The ITC at first considered disqualifying the 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...

bid, on business plan
Business plan
A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals....

grounds.
North East was backed financially 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....

.
North West Television was a consortium led by Phil Redmond
Phil Redmond
Phil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...

of the independent producer Mersey Television
Mersey Television
Lime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....

, and backed financially by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

and 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...

.
The 'business plan' test was a subjective evaluation by the ITC of the business plan submitted with each bid. The evaluation tested whether the bidder could afford its programme plans and also, more importantly, afford to pay the amount it had bid. The ITC did not announce if the lower bidders had passed the business plan evaluation.
TVS
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...

sought a judicial review of this decision, but the High Court decided it could not look into the matter as the ITC had already awarded the contract to Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....

.
TSW
Television South West
Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:...

sought a judicial review of this decision. The ITC held off from awarding the contract to Westcountry
Westcountry Television
Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...

until the High Court had ruled. After four months, the High Court ruled that the ITC had no case to answer, and ITC confirmed the award of the contract to Westcountry.
The ITC at first considered disqualifying the 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...

bid on business plan grounds.
The ITC at first considered disqualifying the Yorkshire
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

bid on business plan grounds.

Source for table: ITC, quoted in Encouraging Bidding In The Single Licence National Lottery Framework report, UK National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...

Commission, 19 November 2004.
Source for notes: Cherry, Simon ITV: The People's Channel Richmond, UK: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd 2005, pp204–207.

Consolidation since 1992

The relaxation in the franchise ownership rules, as a result of the 1990 Act, meant that mergers between ITV companies were now possible (even more after the Broadcasting Act 1996, which relaxed the rules even further). This was quickly taken advantage of by the larger companies—Carlton Communications

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....

, Granada and (to a lesser extent) 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...

1992:
- Yorkshire Television
  Yorkshire Television
  Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
  
  and 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...
  
  re-merged, creating Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television plc. (The two companies were permitted to merge before their existing arrangements expired in June 1992 , due to the marginal nature of both companies' finances, and a need to rationalise the two companies before the franchise handover date).
1994:
- Carlton Television
  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,...
  
  bought 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...
  
  .
- MAI (later United News and Media—UNM), owners of Meridian Broadcasting
  Meridian Broadcasting
  Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
  
  , bought Anglia Television
  Anglia Television
  Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
  
  .
- 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....
  
  's takeover of LWT
  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 place.
1996:
- Carlton bought 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...
  
  .
1997:
- Granada acquisition of Yorkshire–Tyne Tees Television plc.
- Scottish Media Group (SMG) acquired Grampian Television
  Grampian Television
  Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
  
  .
- United News and Media purchased 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...
  
  .
1999:
- Carlton dropped the Central and Westcountry names from their on-air presentation.
2000:
- Granada acquired Anglia, Meridian and HTV from UNM; Granada then sold HTV to Carlton to comply with the then-current regulatory requirements.
2001;
- Granada acquired Border Television
  Border Television
  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...
  
  from Capital Radio Group who bought it in 2000 to obtain the portfolio of radio station
  Radio station
  Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
  
  s then owned by Border.
2004 Granada and Carlton merge into ITV plc.
- Floated on the London Stock Exchange under symbol 'ITV' in February 2004.

In 1998 the Independent Television Association and Network Centre formally merged, becoming "ITV Network Limited". A new lower-case ITV network logo was introduced at the same time.

Carlton and Granada attempted to merge twice in the 1990s, creating a new company that would own all the Channel 3 licences in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

(and the English-Scottish Border). In October 2003, the Government announced that it would no longer prevent a merger from taking place, subject to safeguards being set in place to ensure the continued independence of the Scottish Media Group, UTV and Channel Television. The merger of the two companies finally took place at the end of January 2004, and the new company—named 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...

—started trading on 2 February, with former Carlton shareholders owning 32% and Granada shareholders owning 68% of the new shares in the company.

The choice of the name "ITV plc" was controversial, since it could imply that the company runs the entire network, and an agreement had to be reached with SMG, UTV and Channel before the name could be used. Granada and Carlton have also been criticised, in the past, for using the ITV name to brand their failed pay television service, ITV Digital

ITV Digital

ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network as ONdigital in 1998 and briefly re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001, before the service ceased in May 2002. Its main shareholders...

, and the ITV Sports Channel.

Adapting to multi channel television

Although still the major force in UK commercial television, ITV's share of the TV viewing audience has been falling for years, particularly since the start of competition by satellite television

Satellite television

Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...

and cable

Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

, and more recently Digital Terrestrial Television

Digital television

Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...

. As a result, the ITV companies have tried to adapt by launching several extra channels.
ITV plc has launched several channels using the "ITV" brand: ITV2

ITV2

ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...

in 1998, carrying a mix of imported and homemade programming; ITV3

ITV3

ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom that is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. ITV3 is the second largest UK multi-channel, second only to ITV2.-History:...

in 2 004, showing 'classic' programming; ITV4

ITV4

ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...

in 2005, targeting a 'male' audience, including some classic 1960s 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:...

series; the CITV Channel in 2006; and ITV Play

ITV Play

ITV Play was a 24/7 participation television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. The ITV Play name continued on the ITV Network until December 2007....

also in 2006. Subsidiaries of ITV plc also include the Men & Motors

Men & Motors

Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television and satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting in 1996...

channel, a broadband television trial called "ITV Local

ITV Local

ITV Local was a broadband service provided by ITV plc, the contractor and provider of ITV in 11 of the 15 Television Regions. First established in 2005, the website provided local news, weather and features on demand 24 hours a day....

" and stakes in GMTV, ITN and Irish broadcaster TV3

TV3 Ireland

TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...

. UTV has launched several radio channels (UTV Radio

UTV Radio

UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media....

) and SMG plc

SMG plc

STV Group plc is a Scottish media company. It is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. Originally formed as Scottish Television, it changed its name to Scottish Media Group in 1996 when it acquired Caledonian Publishing, owners of Glasgow-based newspapers The Herald and Evening Times...

have bought Virgin Radio

Virgin Radio

Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...

. Both SMG and UTV launched their own versions of ITV2, called S2 and UTV2, but these were closed in 2001 and 2002. An ITN-founded ITV News Channel

ITV News Channel

The ITV News Channel was a 24-hour television news channel in the United Kingdom which broadcast from 1 August 2000 to 23 December 2005. It was available on Sky, NTL:Telewest, Freeview and analogue cable, presenting national and international news plus regular business, sport, entertainment and...

was later acquired by ITV, although this too closed down, on 23 December 2005, having lost half of its broadcasting hours on the Freeview platform when ITV4 was launched.

In recognition of the fact that there was an ITV2, the ITV network (in the Carlton- and Granada-owned areas) was branded ITV1

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

in 2001. From October 2002, regional branding in these regions (and later in June 2006, Channel Television) was dropped altogether, except before regional programming, with all ITV plc regions now being controlled from a reduced number of transmission centres. This has led to a number of job cuts and scaled-back operations at regional centres, with some studios being sold off altogether. In view of the national audiences they serve, Scottish, Grampian and UTV have all decided not to adopt the ITV1 brand, and kept use of their own individual identities at all times. In March 2006, both Grampian and Scottish were renamed as STV.

In June 2005, 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...

, the channel's regulator since the demise of the Independent Television Commission

Independent Television Commission

The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....

, announced huge reductions in the licence fees payable by the Channel 3 contractors (and Five). This move reflects the significant shift towards digital viewing in the UK, and the British government's desire to switch off analogue television

Analog television

Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...

signals altogether by 2012. Licence fees will fall further as the shift to digital continues. Ofcom has also significantly relaxed most of the remaining public service requirements on the ITV contractors; regional non-news output has been a significant casualty of these cutbacks, with most regions now broadcasting no more than two hours a week in this category. Following digital switchover, it remains unclear whether Ofcom or the British government will be able to insist that ITV maintains any public service commitments.

In September 2005, the ITV network celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a season of ITV50 programming that was run on the network, including a run down of ITV's 50 top programmes, a World of Sport
World of Sport (UK TV series)
World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme which ran on ITV between 2 January 1965 to 28 September 1985 in response to competition from BBC's Grandstand...

retrospective, a seven-week Gameshow Marathon presented by Ant & Dec

Ant & Dec

Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly , known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England...

, the launch of an "Avenue Of The Stars", and most notably a five-part documentary series made by Melvyn 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...

, which chronicled ITV's history. The Post Office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

issued special ITV50 postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

s. The regional companies owned by ITV plc

ITV plc

also aired special regional retrospectives (even though none of them were themselves fifty years old), as well as using special ITV50 station identification

Station identification

Station identification is the practice of radio or television stations or networks identifying themselves on air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name...

. While 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...

, Grampian Television

Grampian Television

Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...

, and UTV aired the network ITV50 programming, they did not themselves air regional programmes of this sort, nor did they use the special identification. ITN also celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with special features in its programming.

On 9 January 2006, ITV plc

ITV plc

unveiled a new corporate identity

Corporate identity

In Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives...

http://www.itvplc.com/itv/news/releases/pr2006/2006-01-09/ and generic ITV logo (already used for ITV4), with new on-air identities to be used on screen across all Channel 3 franchises owned by ITV plc (plus Channel Television), as well as ITV2, ITV3, and the ITV News

ITV News

ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...

programming, from 16 January 2006. This has replaced the logo in use since 1998.

In March 2006, it was announced by SMG plc

SMG plc

that Grampian Television would become the latest ITV region to lose its own regional identity, as it adopts the brand name

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

STV, used by Scottish Television. This brand, which will work similarly to the ITV1 brand in England and Wales, had previously been used by Scottish Television from 1969 until 1985.

In September 2007, the then chairman of ITV plc

ITV plc

, 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:...

announced huge cost-cutting plans for the company which would see the regional news programmes cut from 17 to 9. These plans saw many merges of news programmes including the merger of Central News East and West, Anglia East and West and Yorkshire North and South into one programme for each region. However most controversially were the merge proposals suggested covering two regions. These saw the merger of the West and Westcountry regions to form one programme from 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 merger of the Meridian South, South East and Thames Valley

ITV Thames Valley

ITV Thames Valley was a non-franchise ITV news region covering the Thames Valley area of the United Kingdom from 4 December 2006 until 8 February 2009. It served the south/south-eastern area of the legal Central franchise and the north/north-western area of the legal Meridian franchise...

to form a programme from Whiteley

Whiteley

Whiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the Borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west.-Location:...

and one programme from Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

covering Tyne Tees North, South and Border regions. The new arrangement resulted in pre-recorded opt out segments in the main programme for some regions where regional news was mandatory, such as Meridian South and South East, and where programme crossed regional boundaries, such as Tyne Tees and Border. These changes took effect from February 2009, when Meridian began their pan-regional service.

List of former ITV franchise holders

ABC Weekend TV
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...

(Associated British Corporation): North and Midlands weekend franchise (1956–1968)
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:...

: London weekday franchise (1955–1968)
Associated TeleVision
Associated TeleVision
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...

/ATV Network: Midlands weekday franchise and London weekend franchise (1956–1968); Midlands (7 day) (1968–1981)
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...

: South and South East England franchise (1958–1981)
Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

: London weekday franchise (1968–1992)
TSW
Television South West
Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-Origins and Launch:...

(Television South West): SW England franchise (1982–1992)
TVS
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...

(Television South): South and South East England franchise (1982–1992)
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...

(Television Wales and the West): Wales and West of England franchise (1958–1968). See also ITSWW
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...

(March–May 1968)
Westward Television
Westward 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...

: SW England franchise (1961–1981)
WWN
Wales West and North Television
Wales Television, known on screen as Teledu Cymru and often abbreviated to WWN, was the Welsh "Independent Television" contractor awarded the franchise area serving 'North and West Wales', from 1962-68...

(Wales West and North Television): North and West Wales franchise (1962–1964)

TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...

: National Breakfast Television franchise (1983–1992)
ORACLE
ORACLE (teletext)
ORACLE was a commercial teletext service first broadcast on ITV in 1974 and later on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, finally ending on both channels at 23:59 GMT on 31 December 1992....

: National Teletext franchise (1977–1992)

Slogans

"Welcome Home" (1979 after industrial dispute)
"Get Ready" (1989)
"Television From The Heart" (1998)
"'Britain's favourite button" (1990s)
"The Brighter Side" (2009) (ITV1)
"The Brighter Side Just Got Brighter" (2009) (ITV1 HD)

External links

ITV at Fifty (Transdiffusion)
ITV50 (Unofficial)
Independent TeleWeb
Key dates in the history of commercial TV (ITC
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....

, 2002)

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