Christmas TV

[George 1978]

Re: Christmas TV

Regarding christmas sunday not being boxing day altho to me it still is.
Whats the idea behind monday then being boxing day.

Ill see if i can find the tsw channel regional variations i always like to fin the most complete listings.

Cheers. I suppose that you would need newspapers with regional variations to get those regions. UK Press Online has them, but you need to pay, or have library membership.

Boxing Day = 26th December. Full Stop.

[darren]

Re: Christmas TV

Saturday 17th December 1983

BBC1

8.35am Inch High Private Eye
9.00am Saturday Superstore
12.12pm Weather
12.15pm Grandstand
5.10pm News, Weatherman
5.20pm Sport/Regional News
5.25pm The Little and Large Show
6.00pm The Saturday Film : Can't Stop the Music (1980) Première
8.00pm The Two Ronnies
8.50pm Bergerac
9.45pm News and Sport
10.00pm International Show Jumping
11.00pm Late Night Horror
Film : The Devil Rides Out (1968)
12.35am Weather

[darren]

Re: Christmas TV

Sunday 18th December 1983

BBC1

9.00am Heads and Tails
9.15am Sunday Worship: Jesus - His Life and Teaching
10.00am Asian Magazine
10.30am Let's Go
10.40am Maths Help
10.55am iDigame!
11.20am People First
11.45am Business Club
12.10pm See Hear!
1.00pm Farming
1.30pm Discovering Birds
1.55pm News Headlines
2.00pm Film Matinée : The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979) Première
3.30pm Mickey and Donald
3.55pm International Show Jumping
4.50pm The Flight of the Condor
5.45pm News, Weatherman
5.55pm Jane Eyre
6.25pm Mind How You Go : You Can Save Lives
6.35pm Pauline Collins
6.40pm Songs of Praise
7.15pm Hi-de-Hi!
7.45pm By the Sword Divided
8.40pm The Sunday Thriller
TV Film : Studio Murders (1982) Première
10.15pm News, Weatherman
10.30pm Omnibus
11.20pm The Weekenders
11.55pm Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko
12.20am Weather

[Arran]

Re: Christmas TV

I can understand Ulster, Scottish and Grampian opting out but not TSW

TSW was a fiercely independent, individualistic, and sometimes wayward company that regarded itself as a local TV company in its own right rather than part of ITV. This explains why TSW refused to use the generic ITV ident and how they moved the schedule around (in some cases by months) to suit their own desires plus had all sorts of opt-outs that nobody else had. There are cynical theories that this resulted in them losing in the 1991 franchise auction.

TSW was also unique in broadcasting a shipping forecast before closedown.

I just wished that I lived just over ten miles north of where I lived, and get Yorkshire Television instead.

Why? I read somewhere that in overlap regions between Central and Granada, Yorkshire, and Anglia, Central was overwhelmingly preferred. Only in the south where Central overlapped with HTV West, TVS, and Thames / LWT was Central disfavoured because viewers didn’t want news from Birmingham. This resulted in the creation of a Central South region in 1989 with its own news.

[George 1978]

Re: Christmas TV

Why? I read somewhere that in overlap regions between Central and Granada, Yorkshire, and Anglia, Central was overwhelmingly preferred. Only in the south where Central overlapped with HTV West, TVS, and Thames / LWT was Central disfavoured because viewers didn’t want news from Birmingham. This resulted in the creation of a Central South region in 1989 with its own news.

Because Yorkshire was a more "traditional" ITV company than Central was - YTV had been on the air a lot longer for start. Central felt like a modern version that had its own ideas - very different from Yorkshire's laid back approach. Also, Yorkshire would more likely stick to a networked schedule than Central would. I am not referring to regional news, but I am referring to the fact that Central wasn't a traditional ITV company as Yorkshire was.

I have always like Yorkshire's region - they covered a good part of the East Coast, while Central was almost landlocked. I am also saying that it would have been very useful to have Yorkshire to watch a networked programme that Central was not showing.

Back in the 1980s, most viewers would have needed to pick up at least two ITV regions to get the right balance of programmes that were available, and Thames and LWT didn't count as two of them together.

[Arran]

Re: Christmas TV

That's an interesting explanation. Is the Belmont transmitter in Lincolnshire easily receivable in Nottingham? Yorkshire was the ITV company that covered the north coast of Norfolk as it received a stronger signal from Belmont than Tacolneston which broadcast Anglia.

The place where people wanted Yorkshire TV was the northern half of North Yorkshire that was served by the Bilsdale transmitter which broadcast Tyne Tees. Real Yorkshiremen watch Yorkshire TV !!!

There was a proposal to combine Anglia, Yorkshire, and Tyne Tees into one company called Trident Television but it was blocked because it would be too big and domineering.

[George 1978]

Re: Christmas TV

Belmont can be very patchy in Nottingham, and only people in the east and north of the city have the best chance of receiving it, although there was a block of flats which was built in the same direction of the signal, and that didn't help much of course.

Back in the mid 1990s before I got cable and satellite, I used to buy various indoor aerials and signal boosters mostly from Argos for my bedroom TV set so that I could pick up Yorkshire as well as Central. I received Central via Waltham, and so I used to rotate the aerial 90 degrees to the left - this meant that one of the Waltham channels, possibly Channel 4 went out of focus as a result. I used to do this so that I could see what Yorkshire was showing on Tuesday evenings against EastEnders. It was around 1995-1996 when Sophie Raworth was a presenter on Look North, and Mike "TV-am" Morris with Calendar.

BBC 1 North had the best signal, and Yorkshire was the next best - it wasn't perfect but it was watchable. BBC 2 and Channel 4's were a bit worse, but then again it was the schedule was the same as the East Midlands, so I didn't need to bother about them of course. It was also when Yorkshire had a different nighttime schedule because of Bruce Gyngell being in charge at the station.

I have since moved a few miles north of Nottingham (but still within the Greater Nottingham area), and my chances of getting Belmont is now slightly increased, although Sutton Coldfield seems to the strongest where I am. I retuned my Freeview in the front room via an aerial plugged in the wall, and I got ITV Yorkshire, but not BBC 1, while retuning my set in the back room with a portable aerial, it was vice-versa. Mind you, now that I have Sky with all the BBC variations, and ITV variations manually, I almost laugh at myself for doing that over 20 years ago.

[darren]

Re: Christmas TV

Monday 19th December 1983

BBC1

6.00am Ceefax AM
6.30am Breakfast Time
9.00am RAF Scampton
9.30am Songs of Praise
10.06am Closedown
10.30am Play School
10.55am Closedown
12.30pm News After Noon
12.57pm Regional News
Financial Report, and News Headlines (London and SE)
1.00pm Pebble Mill at One
1.45pm Pigeon Street
2.00pm See Hearl
2.50pm International Show Jumping
3.53pm Regional News (excluding London)
3.55pm Play School
4.15pm Mighty Mouse
4.20pm Jackanory
4.35pm Playhouse
5.05pm Newsround
5.10pm Blue Peter
5.40pm Sixty Minutes includes
The News
5.53pm Regional Magazines
6.15pm Weather
6.38pm Closing headlines
6.40pm Tom and Jerry
6.50pm Christmas with Terry and June
7.20pm Europe's Strongest Man
8.10pm Panorama
9.00pm Nine O'Clock News
Weatherman
9.25pm Hollywood Superstars
Film : Lee Marvin In Point Blank (1967)
10.55pm International Show Jumping
12.00 News Headlines, Weatherman

[darren]

Re: Christmas TV

Tuesday 20th December 1983

BBC1

6.00am Ceefax AM
6.30am Breakfast Time
9.00am Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way
9.25am Arthur Negus at 80
10.15am Tom and Jerry
10.30am Play School
10.55am Closedown
12.30pm News After Noon
Weather
12.57pm Regional News
Financial Report, and News Headlines (London and SE only)
1.00pm Pebble Mill at One
1.45pm Gran
1.50pm Stop-Go!
2.00pm Day Out
2.30pm Lucky Luke
3.40pm Goldilocks and the Three Bears
3.53pm Regional News (excuding London)
3.55pm Play School
4.20pm The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky
4.25pm Jackanory
4.40pm Wuffer
5.05pm Newsround
5.10pm Record Breakers
5.40pm Sixty Minutes includes
The News
5.53pm Regional Magazines
6.15pm Weather
6.38pm Closing headlines
6.40pm Angels
7.05pm Harty
7.40pm No Place Like Home
8.10pm Dallas
9.00pm Nine O'Clock News
Weatherman
9.25pm TV Film : Orwell on Jura (1983)
10.55pm Perry Como's French-Canadian Christmas Special
11.45pm News Headlines, Weatherman

[darren]

Re: Christmas TV

Wednesday 21st December 1983

BBC1

6.00am Ceefax AM
6.30am Breakfast Time
9.00am The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
9.20am Battle of the Planets
9.45am Blue Peter Special Assignment
10.30am Play School
10.55am Gharbar
11.20am Emil and the Detectives
12.05pm Look Back with Noakes
12.30pm News After Noon
Weather
12.57pm Regional News
Financial Report, and News Headlines (London and SE only)
1.00pm Pebble Mill at One
1.45pm Hokey Cokey
2.00pm Bank Holiday Fair
2.25pm Star Movie
Film : Bing Crosby in East Side of Heaven(1939)
3.53pm Regional News (excluding London)
3.55pm Play School
4.20pm The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky
4.25pm Jackanory
4.40pm Screen Test
5.05pm Newsround
5.10pm Carrie's War
5.40pm Sixty Minutes includes
The News
5.53pm Regional Magazines
6.15pm Weather
6.38pm Closing headlines
6.40pm Harty
7.15pm Film : Something Big (1971)
9.00pm Nine O'Clock News
Weatherman
9.25pm Q.E.D.
9.55pm Film : The Fog (1980) Première
11.23pm News Headlines
11.25pm Barbara Mandrell
12.00 Weatherman

[darren]

Re: Christmas TV

Thursday 22nd December 1983

BBC1

6.00am Ceefax AM
6.30am Breakfast Time
9.00am The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
9.20am Battle of the Planets
9.45am Blue Peter Special Assignment
10.30am Play School
10.55am Cartoons
11.10am Emit and the Detectives
12.00 Look Back with Noakes
12.30pm News After Noon
Weather
12.57pm Regional News
Financial Report, and News Headlines (London and SE only)
1.00pm Pebble Mill at One
1.45pm Postman Pat
2.00pm Country Lines
2.30pm Star Movie
Film : Bing Crosby in Birth of the Blues (1941)
3.53pm Regional News (excluding London)
3.55pm Play School
4.20pm The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky
4.25pm Jackanory
4.40pm Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends
5.05pm Newsround
5.10pm Blue Peter
5.40pm Sixty Minutes includes
The News
5.53pm Regional Magazines
6.15pm Weather
6.38pm Closing headlines
6.40pm Angels
7.05pm Tomorrow's World
7.30pm Top of the Pops
8.05pm Wildlife on One
8.30pm Only Fools and Horses
9.00pm Nine O'Clock News
Weatherman
9.25pm The Crazy Gang: A Celebration
10.25pm Film 83
11.00pm The Rockford Files
11.50pm News Headlines; Weatherman

[Arran]

Re: Christmas TV

Back in the 1980s, most viewers would have needed to pick up at least two ITV regions to get the right balance of programmes that were available, and Thames and LWT didn't count as two of them together.

There were many instances of people watching the 'wrong' ITV for their area due to a variety of factors. A classic example was lots of people in south Essex watched TVS, and later Meridian, as a legacy from when the Bluebell Hill transmitter broadcast Thames / LWT and provided the strongest signal for the area. Luton was officially Anglia but Thames / LWT was just as popular because Luton is an outpost of London so many residents want their news from London rather than Norwich. Granada was more popular in parts of north Wales than HTV was.

[Mulletino]

Re: Christmas TV

There were many instances of people watching the 'wrong' ITV for their area due to a variety of factors. A classic example was lots of people in south Essex watched TVS, and later Meridian, as a legacy from when the Bluebell Hill transmitter broadcast Thames / LWT and provided the strongest signal for the area. Luton was officially Anglia but Thames / LWT was just as popular because Luton is an outpost of London so many residents want their news from London rather than Norwich. Granada was more popular in parts of north Wales than HTV was.

I remember feeling well chuffed as a kid when we had two ITV channels on the TV.

[Arran]

Re: Christmas TV

Did Ulster tend to show more religious programmes around Christmas than other ITV companies did?

[George 1978]

Re: Christmas TV

There were many instances of people watching the 'wrong' ITV for their area due to a variety of factors. A classic example was lots of people in south Essex watched TVS, and later Meridian, as a legacy from when the Bluebell Hill transmitter broadcast Thames / LWT and provided the strongest signal for the area. Luton was officially Anglia but Thames / LWT was just as popular because Luton is an outpost of London so many residents want their news from London rather than Norwich. Granada was more popular in parts of north Wales than HTV was.

The factors are mostly due to being in a different county or postcode area, or because someone is 15 yards outside the official boundary for the area, or something similar to that.

I stayed in Llandudno in 2005 and received Granada on my hotel room TV set (and by implication, Channel 4 instead of S4C). It is like how Yorkshire can be picked up around the Wash and into North Norfolk - either that, or people in Hull would get Anglia. Because of that, the Llandudno area has never seem to be as Welsh as Cardiff or Swansea is, for example. Bob Rust's weather map certainly showed North Norfolk as part of YTV's patch.

When I had ntl digital in 2001, I had Central East on 103 and Yorkshire (Humber) on 751, and I was delighted with the variation, although when I joined Sky in 2005, the main variation was the default London version.

(By the way, I know that this thread has drifted off from its original Christmas TV topic to regional variations, although I believe that the thread has focused on television rather than holidays, and so I believe that this should have been in the television forum from the outset anyway). No disrespect to Darren for putting the schedules on here - keep up the good work!