Independent Television Memories of the past

Who remembers the old days of ITV those 17 regions now effectively swallowed up and reduced to 3.

The original list included Associated Rediffusion (London), Anglia (east of England), Granada(North West all week Yorkshire weekends), ABC(Yorkshire weekdays), TWW(West of England and south Wales)ATV(Midlands all week London weekends)Tyne Tees, Teledu Cymru (North Wales) Ulster, Scottish   Grampian,Westward (south west England) Southern Channel and Border.

Although not being born when ITV started in 1955 there are various books and websites which have meant being able to update my knowledge. The idea was simple enough get a group or organisation living in a certain area of the UK and get them to set up and run a TV company for a set region. The better your programming then the more chance of keeping license. Although there were some seeing it as repugnant at the time seeing as a bad influence especially as it was commercial.

Although starting up my post as it being a great time I do wonder from reading the history was it all perfect. Some of the regions did have financial issues notably in the first round of licenses. Teledu Cymru was the first to suffer having the license eventually being taken on by TWW which had the license  for Wales and West England.. Other issues were also emerging especially when the 3rd round licenses were announced in 1967.

Most notably Associated Rediffusion losing there license to ABC who had lost their license to Yorkshire Television Rediffusion were pretty hacked off but in the end were basically told accept what you have or shove off. The companies eventually merged and formed Thames. Meanwhile London Weekend who took over from ATV took on Rediffusions staff who wanted extra money for the fact they were working weekends. The results of this dispute saw London Weekend taken off the air after 15 seconds.

However the two companies eventually got themselves going albeit in the case of London Weekend by a certain R. Murdoch. Murdoch taking over the reigns from Sir David Frost who had wanted London Weekend to be a highbrow channel. Eventually though Rupert was deemed not a fit and proper person by the then Independent Television Authority later the Independent Broadcasting Authority and so was forced to sell his shares. Shame some others have never seen this.

Anyway onto 1979 and the dispute that took ITV (except Channel) off the air. Again this was a result of working hours and basically workers making sure that all work was done at set times not a minute more. Otherwise more pay was demanded. This saw ITV off the air for 2 months.

In 1981 the fourth round of licenses was announced this time more ITV regions were gone This time Westward and Southern although in the case of Westward there were financial issues. TSW the new license holder actually took on operations in August of 1981 some five months before the official start.  ATV also disappeared to be replaced by Central although in this case this was due to renaming as the people behind the company were told to focus on more home grown programming. There was also another new company for the new breakfast time contract tv-am.

And so onto 1991 the fifth round and the biggest this time round. The biggest looser being Thames. The company which along with LWT plus Central Yorkshire and Granada provided the majority of ITV's programming lost it license. Although there have been conspiracy theories about this owing to an investigation into an SAS operation in Gibraltar on three IRA suspects. Thames had there license taken on by Crapton sorry Carlton. Another looser was tv-am also lost out along with TSW taken on by Westcountry and TVS taken on by Meridian. TVS had  taken on the license from Southern. although TVS had sought a review. The licensing criteria was also strange where it was done on blind faith as well as having the money and quality threshold.

What has the last round of licensing done to ITV. there was another round which was also carried out but that seems to have been a formality. Where does ITV stand now in this multi-channel age. Already ITV's regional programming areas have been cut most notably in the south west plus advertising revenues have seen a downturn although there has been a upturn recently. There was also the ill fated  on digital and ITV digital tv service as well as the merger of Carlton and Granada who gobbled up all the other regions except STV  and UTV.

Some can't see a future for ITV past 2014 due to these restraints although under the present chairman there is a slight revival and I feel that ITV does have its purpose. One thing that should be remembered though is that it is easy to look at the past with rose tinted spectacles and that there have always been issues but somehow something has been arranged. At least I hope that happens in the future.