The end of ITV as we used to know it - 30 years on

[Arran]

The Border region situation has always been a curious one - it serves areas that are too far west for Tyne Tees; too far north for Granada and too far south for STV - look at how people in Dumfries complained about getting "local" news from Gateshead if a merger with Tyne Tees was on the cards.

The Border ITV region was a kludge. It was created as a result of the Caldbeck transmitter in Cumbria covering both Cumbria and the D&G part of Scotland. It was located close to an existing BBC transmitter. The region is also served by the Selkirk transmitter in the Scottish Borders. STV originally wanted it but was refused because the Border ITV region would have been too small without it.

The Border ITV region also previously covered the Isle of Man.

It could be irritating for viewers in Cumbria and the Isle of Man to watch Scottish programmes (mostly sports events, PSB, or the SNP conference!!!) when no ITV region in England and Wales broadcast them. Border was less likely to show the same entertainment programmes as STV and Grampian did when they opted out of the network, which could be irritating for viewers in the south of Scotland who wanted to watch a bagpipe band from Fort William rather than the networked 'except Scotland' film.

[George 1978]

Interestingly, when I wrote to Border for some publicity pictures in the late 1990s; enclosing an SAE, the returning envelope had a Dumfries and Galloway postmark on it, despite it coming from Carlisle. Or perhaps they had a base in Dumfries where it was passed on to them?

I stayed in Cumbria in 2003 and I know that they didn't have split-region advertising - I saw quite a few Scottish adverts in Cumbria when I was there.

BBC North East covers Cumbria (but not the Isle of Man), and I was surprised that Tyne Tees never made that arrangement.

[George 1978]

It all makes me wonder if we should hold another franchise round where the best choice for London weekday from 2025 is to bring back Thames!

I wouldn't mind to be honest - in fact, I keep wondering whether it will every happen again. It is like a General Election, except the viewer (aka voter) doesn't get a choice as to who wins, and if that was the case, it would most likely be "better the devil you know" i.e. the incumbent.

A lot of mistakes were made in 1991, and unfortunately that could be one reason why they don't want another franchise round as it could make matters even worse. On the other hand, having another one could help reverse what happened 32 years ago - we have a lot of change in this country in the past year, and with regards to broadcasting, it might be time to do something like that. I would be all for another one, and perhaps we could provide more variety and variation in the schedules i.e. soaps not dominating them?

[Arran]

George, if in 1968, the weekday/weekend split had been kept in the ATV and Granada/Yorkshire regions like it was in London, how much difference would it make for the ITV network going forward?

That is a good question.

Will both the north west and Yorkshire ITV regions have a weekday / weekend split, or will a combined north west and Yorkshire region have continued beyond 1968? In both cases, ATV could have lost the london weekend region to LWT, but in the second case Yorkshire television would never have existed, or it would have challenged ABC for the weekend franchise to counter the Manchester bias of Granada on weekdays.

Could ABC have survived into the 1990s for the midlands weekend franchise, or alternatively merged with ATV to form Central in 1982 if the midlands region became 7 days? Could ATV have lost the midlands weekday franchise in 1980 and replaced by either Mercia or Midlands TV?

Could Rediffusion London have survived into the 1990s for the London weekday franchise, or could it (without the shotgun marriage with ABC to form Thames) have lost the 1980 franchise round?

How would Carlton have tried to worm its way into ITV?

The possibilities are endless...

[George 1978]

Could ABC have survived into the 1990s for the midlands weekend franchise, or alternatively merged with ATV to form Central in 1982 if the midlands region became 7 days? Could ATV have lost the midlands weekday franchise in 1980 and replaced by either Mercia or Midlands TV?

They would almost have certainly adopted the generic ITV ident - their Triangle logo would have fitted perfectly into the "V" part.

[Arran]

An article from August 1997 published in Marketing Week states that ITV must unify its various brands to succeed.

In many parts of the UK the name “ITV” means very little: Scottish Television in Scotland, Granada in the North-west, Yorkshire in Yorkshire are far stronger brands regionally than ITV.

There is, quite simply, no way that a company like Granada or Scottish (especially Scottish) is going to give up something as successful as its name.

In the City they think that problem – and quite a few more of those facing the network – might be solved by further mergers to form a single “ITV plc”

But it won’t happen. The rules don’t allow it – and the rules aren’t likely to be changed until ITV’s dominance of the advertising market has been eroded further. – It did happen in 2004 when Carlton and Granada merged

ITV was created as a network of regional companies not only to provide regional programming but also to weaken it by having internal competition (especially in London) for advertising revenue.

Marcus Plantin, the outgoing network director, highlighted one of them when he pointed out that 60 per cent of ITV’s programmes now come from a single source (Granada, which also owns LWT and Yorkshire-Tyne Tees).

https://www.marketingweek.com/questi...o-itvs-future/

I can remember reading somewhere how in the late 1990s BBC, C4, Sky were seen as strong brands whereas the regional ITV companies were seen as weak brands.

It did not help that Thames had lost the previous franchise round as Thames alone was undeniably a strong brand on its own, and was large enough in the early 1990s to become a successful national satellite TV channel. The loss of Thames really had ripped the heart out of ITV by the late 1990s despite continuing to produce networked programmes.

Carlton was a weak brand from the outset with minimal on screen presence outside of its regions due to it making few networked programmes. IMO Carlton had a naff name that was too vague compared with the robust Thames and LWT. I have semi-reliable information that Carlton wasn’t anywhere near as popular with Londoners as Thames was, and they failed to acquire the programmes to serve the interests of the thousand and one minorities in its region. I have wondered if a franchise round was held in the early 2000s whether Carlton would have lost London.

Central was a strong brand until it was gradually decimated by Carlton and produced fewer and fewer programmes. It’s brand was further weakened in 1998 when Carlton retired the crescent logo to the consternation of many viewers.

Meridian was not as strong as TVS was in its region but still a respectable ITV company. Its presence outside its region was significantly less than with TVS with fewer networked programmes, many of which were children’s programmes. Weekend evenings were renowned for networked TVS programmes in the late 1980s and early 90s due to the friendly relationship TVS had with LWT. This all vanished in 1993. TVS combined with LWT would have been a powerful force in ITV in the 1990s. More so than Meridian combined with Anglia.

I can believe that 60% of ITV programmes come from Granada in 1997 now that it owned Yorkshire TV, Tyne Tees, and LWT. It should not have been acceptable for one ITV company to have more than 2 of the big 5 regions. I remember the dark day when Granada took over Yorkshire TV in 1997. It was clearly evident that Granada was reconquering the territory it lost nearly 30 years previously, and the proud Yorkshire TV would become nothing more than a colony of Granada. Yorkshire TV was a strong brand in its native region – almost like another STV – to the point where the vast majority of residents of the northern part of North Yorkshire wanted it rather than it’s sidekick Tyne Tees. Outside of its region (with the exception of the northern part of North Yorkshire) it had a slight image problem and was seen as a bit parochial and Yorkshire flavoured – probably as a result of Emmerdale. There was some objection to having Yorkshire TV in north Norfolk and south Lincolnshire.

HTV was seen as a weak brand in Wales even before the 1991 franchise round. It’s style and presentation looked like it had barely changed since the 1970s. In the west of England, many viewers would have preferred TSW or TVS over HTV West. HTV wasn’t very well known outside of it’s region as they mostly networked less prominent and children’s programmes. HTV completely revamped it’s on-screen image in the early 1990s but it’s questionable whether it really improved the strength of the brand. I’m under the impression that a sizeable proportion of people in the HTV region wanted a change of ITV company in the 1991 franchise round.

Westcountry (like its predecessor TSW) was quite a strong brand in its native region during the early to mid 1990s, but almost unknown outside of its region. Four years later, it became a faceless outpost of Carlton.

[beccabear67]

HTV and Southern made some excellent young adult and children's shows. Yorkshire had Emmerdale Farm, Rising Damp, Tom Gratton's War, Follyfoot and Parkin's Patch all set in Yorkshire, just from what I've gotten on video, and BBC had a few big shows like Last Of The Summer Wine and I Didn't Know You Cared set there as well... having a setting other than London is part of the interest!

Conservatives, Churchill and Thatcher particularly, drew swords often over decades about taking over or privatizing the BBC, but Thatcher did more damage to commercial ITV really from how I see it. Thames was the one she most wanted gone as I understood it. Accountants (and caterers) do not make for quality entertainment (or information) generally.

I think the verdict has been in for awhile that ITV is not as strong nor as stable as it once was in most categories. Perhaps it had to change to compete with Sky and streaming etc., but that's a bit like if they had allowed the pirate radio to continue, which they didn't... who allowed Sky? Who said the internet must not be regulated? It didn't necessarily have to be this way.

[Victoria O'Keefe]

"Who said the internet must not be regulated?"

Yeah, I actually am far more worried about the currently unregulated internet and left-wing websites. Someone should also tell the SU activists at my university (i'm a mature age student) that banging on walls and screaming into a megaphone at full volume during a talk is NOT "peaceful protest". Someone should also tell them that their beloved Palestinian "resistance" groups - and indeed the leadership of most Islamic states - oppose everything western progressives stand for... except for destroying Israel.

(disclosure: My haf-siblings are practising Jews)

[Arran]

Who said the internet must not be regulated? It didn't necessarily have to be this way.

Regulating the internet is very different from regulating ITV back in the years when it was just one terrestrial analogue channel and the IBA was actually the broadcaster.

Internet regulation is subject to big questions as to who should be the world's policeman, why they deserve the position, and how to deal with conflicts of interest between different nations and communities?

[Arran]

Thatcher did more damage to commercial ITV really from how I see it. Thames was the one she most wanted gone as I understood it.

Yes, indeed. Thatcher was sad to see TV-AM lose but the same feelings were not expressed for Thames.

I think the verdict has been in for awhile that ITV is not as strong nor as stable as it once was in most categories. Perhaps it had to change to compete with Sky and streaming etc.

Had ITV been wrongfooted by Sky and other satellite and cable channels? There doesn't seem to be any that offer a similar 'spirit' that ITV had back in the 1970s and 80s. What has happened is a fragmentation of viewing, but there is the question as to whether this is because of changes to ITV or did ITV change to reflect that? ITV in recent years seems to rely on a small number of high profile programmes that attract big audiences, but strangely enough, situation comedy has practically died. I remember something about getting your comedy from Coronation Street!!!

[beccabear67]

It's probably the comedy (when not overplayed) that has kept me at least looking in at Coronation Street over the years, and lack of keeping me from East Enders.

I think people are finding out that no regulation (read protection) opens the door for extremes and abuse generally, be it under age solicitations or wacky health claim products. Broadcasting and publishing/distribution standards are a staple of modern civilizations and economies, it's always seemed absurd to not apply what has been learned the hard way so often to be needed. As to who... that's what elections determine. Same type of bodies as would stop or at least fine someone broadcasting harmful false info or selling and sending extreme violent pornography through the mail. If you never start working on the basic limits you can only keep kicking the can down the road into the future and making evasive statements. I think there should have been serious consequences and at least suspensions for demonstrably false information relating to things like vaccines and elections. 'They', the bad actors, will find out where they can steal a centimeter without consequence and end up taking a kilometer! That's been the story to varying degrees in the western world the past number of decades from News Of the World to magnetic socks that cure cancers. At least have some bottom line protections of broadcasting-publishing-bandwidth, directly subsidized or not, as a shared public space.

I don't need to go into far left or far right... I think a solid basics, even quite boring, approach would lend itself to limiting abuses or outright con artist personalities. Like we usually all respect copyright laws to some degree in our western economies, and that's overall been a very good thing for companies and individuals.

[George 1978]

Yes, indeed. Thatcher was sad to see TV-AM lose but the same feelings were not expressed for Thames.

TV-am was the embodiment of Thatcherism in the 1980s - where else would you get one of her MPs J Aitken esq, as Chief Executive? Or even her daughter Carol working there as a trainee; Postbag guardian Gyles Brandreth later becoming an MP? No wonder she wrote to Bruce "let's sack all the ACTT members" Gyngell when TV-am lost.

And Rudolph Agnew from TVS said that he waited for his apology from Mrs Thatcher and said: "it never arrived", admitting that he voted Conservative as well.

[darren]

the great kenny everett video show was also a thames tv show. A legendary one.

I have to say george u have an amazing memory remembering these events.

A lot of which below i had no idea of.

Fantastic reading.

new year's eve 1992 - the day that traditional itv died. Call me sentimental if you wish, but i was so devastated when i head the news from the red-tops that rainbow had been axed - i know that i was a teenager (14) by then and was too old to watch it, but i had probably broken the record for watching a programme intended for under fives for over a decade. Perhaps if it had been a soap opera, it would have survived? Thames was outbid by carlton some 14 months before, and new year's eve 1992 was its final day - the company was used to going off-air once a week, but usually at 5.15 pm on friday evenings and not midnight on that day (well, 11.59 pm, pedantically). This week was axed (and no, i don't think that death on the rock was the reason why it ended). Ironically, the bill was saved and was even shown on saturday, and later friday evenings at the same time of 8.00 pm, and i bet that london viewers would have thought it being strange for lwt to introduce a thames programme (thames weekend news excepted).

Thames programmes were biked around to different companies after its franchise loss: Yorkshire tv got the bill (until carlton took it over later on the year): Granada got the rights to make new series with sooty; anglia got cosgrove hall, and eventually htv in association with tetra films did a new rainbow series sans geoffrey hayes in 1994. Central, thanks to their 2,000 pounds bid for being unopposed in the midlands, took over quite a few programmes, in fact, probably more than they did from atv a decade before. This is your life; strike it lucky; minder; and wish you were here? Were three of them in which the itv network continued to have for a few more years.

"as we salute out talented performers..." went thames managing director richard dunn on screen (and how many tv chiefs would do that?) to london viewers before handing over to a montage of the tourists' i only want to be with you, and then itn taking us into the new year. Dermot murnaghan reading out news about a man who had been mauled to death at london zoo; something to do with diana, princess of wales, and then a handover to big ben. After that, all hell broke loose. Welcome to both the broadcasting act 1990 and the independent television commission's core era in in one fell swoop!

We all know that back in 1989 corrie's mike baldwin had sold his factory to someone called maurice jones, who demolished it for housing for the benefit of new friday episode. Well, who was the first person to be seen on carlton? Not chris tarrant, but someone else called maurice jones: A mayor who appeared in their first ident, ringing bells and shouting: "this is carlton - television for london!" and then we went back to a differently-angled big ben and chris tarrant, a crude simpsons-alike opening title sequence, almost sticking two fingers up at its predecessor, introducing a channel 4-type show with paul mccartney, take that, and others - the shape of things to come. The first advert was for the vauxhall carlton car. And they only ever did one edition of the this is your life-alike surprise party, even though michael parkinson asked us to look out for more editions in the future.

Monday 4th january 1993 rather than new year's day was the real acid test - the first full weekday where people were back to work or school in those dark mornings, what i would call "back to normal monday" before blue monday was concocted. It was when london today courtesy of london news network, was first seen during gmtv's first regional bulletin at around 6.30 pm, and paul greene read the capital's news - the very first time that london had a seven day news service that other regions had. A lot of networked programmes (commissioned by independent producers as carlton was a publisher broadcaster) were soon forgotten about as soon as their series ended.

Tvs was strong at weekends when it came to networked programming with classics such as catchphrase and the bobby davro's sketch shows - they bid 59 million pounds in 1991 (the equivalent of one pound for each person in the uk back then), and had understandably overbid as a result. Meridian, with its 36 million pounds bit got the contract instead. They were good right to the end: Giving their southampton and maidstone studios (as well as the versatile fred dinenage) to their successors. And then it was "goodbye to all that": Just like the scottish regions; they had opted out of thames' end of the year show (which paid tributes to their networked programmes mostly on mondays to thursdays between 7 and 10 pm) with their own final programme. "you've been a wonderful audience, and meridian are very lucky to have you", fern briton remarked before tvs closed down for good, also opting out of the itn into the new year bulletin as well (naughty). With an applauding audience (with shaw taylor being one of them) the pre-recorded programme went to the very last time to an special tvs ident and "thanks for watching" underneath it. And then it was big ben.

Cue a noisy winchester cathedral; new year crowds, and debbie thrower introducing the first ten minutes of meridian, and comparing 900 years of the cathedral with nine seconds of the tv station. A lot of optimistic viewers taking part in vox-pops in the street, being asked what their hopes would be for 1993. Andy craig showed viewers the ropes of this new television station, and even alison holloway (former wife of jim davidson, lest we forget) was interviewing someone near the channel crossing in dover. On the network, we had to wait until tuesday 5th for meridian's first network offering: The children's series wizadora. Oh, and meridian's first advert was also for a car called a meridian - a word meaning "in the south". Meridian was the most optimistic of the newcomers.

(continued...)