Life in Britain in the early 1980s

[Arran]

Families were on average materially less well off (such as having one black and white TV, no phone, video recorders and microwaves were expensive luxuries, kids not having a bike etc. – but there was less poverty and inequality. Foodbanks were unheard of and far fewer people had in-work benefits, although there were unemployment blackspots mostly in areas where the economy was based around coal mining and heavy industry.

https://forums.doyouremember.co.uk/f...hone-or-a-bike

[George 1978]

The IBA was opposed to both Westward and TSW having the west of England subregion because of the potential that a large number of viewers in south Wales would point their TV aerials at the Mendip transmitter and watch Westward / TSW instead of HTV.

Yes, Westward accused both TWW and HTV of being a Welsh broadcaster with no right to broadcast south of the Bristol Channel.

[Arran]

The IBA was opposed to both Westward and TSW having the west of England subregion because of the potential that a large number of viewers in south Wales would point their TV aerials at the Mendip transmitter and watch Westward / TSW instead of HTV.

[Arran]

Another change considered earlier was merging HTV West into the South West franchise. Peter Cadbury of Westward lobbied the IBA to do this as Bristol would have been a good source of advertising revenue for them.

Both Westward and TSW wanted the west of England subregion as they thought the south west region was too small and covers less than half of what is considered the south west of England.

One of the companies that bid for Wales and the west of England ITV region in the 1991 franchise round was backed by TSW.

Grampian was another smaller region which has more or less being absorbed into neighbouring Scottish TV.

Grampian and STV were very different companies as they reflected the demographics of their regions.

[Arran]

I know that milk and biscuits were 5p per pupil in around 1984

You got biscuits back in the 1980s?!

They never had any biscuits at my primary school.

[Arran]

Border was always like a spare part in the ITV system - I would bet that had Border had closed down in 1980, Granada would have had Cumbria and the Isle of Man; Scottish would have had the Scottish Borders and Tyne Tees would have had north and west Northumberland.

The Borders ITV region was a kludge resulting from the Caldbeck transmitter serving both Cumbria and D&G. It could not sensibly be incorporated into either the north west or central Scotland ITV regions. STV originally wanted the Selkirk transmitter but the Borders region would be too small without it.

I would have seriously considered abolishing it for the 1991 franchise round.

One advantage of Border is that advertising was dirt cheap. There were commercials for all sorts of small businesses and independent shops that could not afford them for larger ITV regions. There were even commercials made by people who were selling their semi-detached house!

[George 1978]

The price of primary school milk has gone up way above the rate of inflation since 2000. Any ideas how much it cost in the early 1980s?

I have wondered if many parents nowadays would get uptight if schools changed from semi-skimmed back to full fat milk.

I know that milk and biscuits were 5p per pupil in around 1984, add that up to a class of 30 and that would be £1.50 per class, or £7.50 per Infant school each day as we had give different classes at the time. Multiply that by five for the week, and 15 or so by term, and again by three for the school year...

I make that nearly £1,700 for the school year, although my Maths might be a bit wrong - it certainly was at the time, hence being at school!

[George 1978]

Border was also unopposed and were seriously considering closing down by not re-applying in 1980 due to the low profitability of the region.

Border was always like a spare part in the ITV system - I would bet that had Border had closed down in 1980, Granada would have had Cumbria and the Isle of Man; Scottish would have had the Scottish Borders and Tyne Tees would have had north and west Northumberland.

[George 1978]

Southern Counties TV was the company run by Gerry Anderson who created Thunderbirds. I think there were concerns that the team behind it had no real connection with the south east ITV region and it was unclear why they had even picked that particular region.

TV South and South East was the company run by Freddie Laker. It was more interested in making big money rather than making TV programmes and providing a decent service.

It made me think that there would have been an ITC (Independent Television Company - the company, not the regulator) and an ATV Link to Southern Counties TV - in other words, they might have taken over a lot of ATV stuff. One of the breakfast TV bids - Daybreak TV had connections with ATV.

Interesting comparisons between Laker and Richard Branson as well - both had their fingers in airlines and broadcasting.

Of course, James Gatward who founded TVS used to work for Southern himself.

[Arran]

What do we have these days? - I believe that water filters have almost replaced milk in classrooms as water seems to be the most beneficial thing for youngsters rather than milk.

That's because primary schools now serve semi-skimmed in cartons and charge parents an extortionate price for it.

Milk only cost £3 a term at my primary school back in the 1990s for reception class to Y2 kids, so almost every kid had it. The school always had a massive collection of pound coins on the first day of term.

The price of primary school milk has gone up way above the rate of inflation since 2000. Any ideas how much it cost in the early 1980s?

I have wondered if many parents nowadays would get uptight if schools changed from semi-skimmed back to full fat milk.

[Arran]

STV had two competitors in 1980. It was potentially vulnerable due to concerns about the low quality of its programmes.

In the 1960s it was joked that they only broadcast westerns and commercials.

Grampian was unopposed. They had come up with a winning formula for the company back in the 1970s and intended to continue it in the 1980s. It may have been a hard to defeat company, like Thames.

Border was also unopposed and were seriously considering closing down by not re-applying in 1980 due to the low profitability of the region.

[Arran]

Southern Counties TV (which used a font on the cover of their application book which looked similar to the one that TSW used), and TV South and South East (although that might also have been TVS under another guise).

Southern Counties TV was the company run by Gerry Anderson who created Thunderbirds. I think there were concerns that the team behind it had no real connection with the south east ITV region and it was unclear why they had even picked that particular region.

TV South and South East was the company run by Freddie Laker. It was more interested in making big money rather than making TV programmes and providing a decent service.

[George 1978]

Yorkshire was generally doing well in 1980 and had one weak competitor.

Westward losing was almost a foregone conclusion as their management was in a state of civil war. Their second competitor was called Westcountry but it was a completely different company from the Westcountry which won in the 1991 franchise round.

Southern had more competitors than any other incumbent, although it's unclear whether it's because they knew that Southern was vulnerable or the south east region was very lucrative.

Thames was unopposed until the 11th hour when London Independent Broadcasting, who was the only competitor to LWT, decided to contest the London weekday region as well.

The south west's competitor was called West Country (two words) instead of Westcountry (one word) which won in 1991. Breakfast TV also had one bid from a Good Morning Television in 1980 - nothing to do with GMTV (who in fact was called Sunrise until Sky TV threatened legal action due to its breakfast programme having the same name).

There was a BBC regional programme in late 1980s (in the Friday 10.15 pm slot on BBC 1) about the south region applicants which was on YouTube - in addition to incumbent Southern and winners TVS (bid under a slightly different name, I believe), there was Network South who was run by a former LWT man who wanted the region to be carved up into seven different regions and gave names like "Wessex TV", "Estuary TV" and so on, trying to make TV stations sound like radio stations. Southern Counties TV (which used a font on the cover of their application book which looked similar to the one that TSW used), and TV South and South East (although that might also have been TVS under another guise).

London Independent Broadcasting was led by Hughie Green, and rumoured had it that the board wasn't exactly politically neutral as it consisted mostly of politicians and House of Lords members - look at how much hot water TV-am got into with having serving MP Jonathan Aitken as Chief Executive.

The Glyndebourne Opera.

Made for Channel 4 I believe in later years - if that was the case, I wouldn't have counted that as it was no longer an ITV programme.

[George 1978]

I remember at primary school in the 1980s we would have small bottles of milk about once ever 2-3 weeks with our lunch.

They were available at my secondary school canteen, but were replaced by cartoons while I was there in the early 1990s.

What do we have these days? - I believe that water filters have almost replaced milk in classrooms as water seems to be the most beneficial thing for youngsters rather than milk.

[Arran]

Fair enough, but it is interesting that Granada and Yorkshire both won in 1980 and they produced soap operas for the ITV network, while Crossroads survived ATV becoming Central. Most of the changes in both 1980 and 1991 affected the south of England, probably because of the cutthroat competition in the south as well as incumbents bidding too high.

Yorkshire was generally doing well in 1980 and had one weak competitor.

Westward losing was almost a foregone conclusion as their management was in a state of civil war. Their second competitor was called Westcountry but it was a completely different company from the Westcountry which won in the 1991 franchise round.

Southern had more competitors than any other incumbent, although it's unclear whether it's because they knew that Southern was vulnerable or the south east region was very lucrative.

Thames was unopposed until the 11th hour when London Independent Broadcasting, who was the only competitor to LWT, decided to contest the London weekday region as well.

I cannot think of a programme that Southern made which was continued by TVS

The Glyndebourne Opera.