ILEA cable television

[Arran]

Was it true that ILEA (the former education authority for central London boroughs) had their own cable television channel that was available in every school in the ILEA territory? If so, then did anybody watch it and what sort of programmes were shown?

[Richard1978]

Re: ILEA cable television

I managed to get some videos of an ILEA made series on the basics of computers, featuring Aneka Rice & Peter Purvis.

[Arran]

Re: ILEA cable television

Farewell to the Network. The end of ILEA cable television in 1979.

[Double0sable]

Yes, the ILEA Television Service tranmitted by land line to all the schools and colleges within the ILEA until 1979 and was probably the largest cable network in the world. Programmes covered a wide range, from primary to college level. At their production centre in Tennyson Road, there were two broadcast standard TV studios, a design studio, make up and sound and editing suites. Production staff (producers, directors and so on) were ex teachers, and fulfilled their role really well; the technical staff were all professionals from the industry. I was a designer/illustrator with the Educational Television Service, 1973-77 and must say that the standard of professionalism was comparable to the main broadcasting channels. It was a pity the service had to close as the programmes were very popular with pupils and students. When 'Eclair', a series on which I worked finished, we had letters of protest from teachers. Their pupils missed the characters, especially Pmf (the name derived from 'primary French'), the robot.

[beccabear67]

Interesting to learn about this service! I had not known of it's existence or heard of the programs. It seems so many were employed in television in some way in the past and then in the 1980s things shrank, and have continued to shrink, and the quality of programs generally so often seeming rock bottom where you wonder who would bother with most. I'd rather watch something made for schools in the '70s than 90% of what's put on today. Then again I find myself enjoying vintage 'library music' albums over much of the gimmicked up auto-tuned 'music' by photogenic singers supposedly popular today.

[George 1978]

I assume that it was similar to the Rediffusion dials that homes and public buildings had right up to the mid 1980s? It does sound like a cable television service which served areas with poor and low reception.

[Arran]

I believe that only schools in the ILEA territory received the programmes and they weren't officially available in schools in outer London boroughs or outside of London.

I'm not sure about the rationale for using cable rather than the Crystal Palace transmitter had anything to do with poor reception. It might have been more a case that a frequency wasn't available on terrestrial or to stop the general public (and schools in outer London) from being able to watch the programmes.

Does anybody know who holds the archive and the rights to the programmes now that ILEA, and its parent the GLC, are defunct?