Independent Television (ITV)

The Independent Television network came about as a result of the Television Act 1954, which paved the way for the establishment of a commercial television service in the United Kingdom and created the Independent Television Authority (ITA).

Upon the creation of the network, six franchises were awarded for London, the Midlands and the North of England with separate franchises for weekdays and the weekends. The companies in these regions were known as 'The Big Four' and consisted of Associated-Rediffusion (London weekday), ATV (Midlands weekday and London weekend), Granada Television (North of England weekday) and ABC (North of England and Midlands weekend). These companies were generally the best known and provided the most network output.

In 1957, Grampian Television began broadcast to Central Scotland. In 1958, television services were launched in South Wales & the West of England by TWW, and Southern Television launched in the South of England.

Tyne Tees Television (North East England), Anglia Television (East of England) and Ulster Television (Northern Ireland) each launched in 1959.

In 1961, television services launched in South West England (Westward Television), on the English-Scottish Border (Border Television), and in North East Scotland (Grampian Television).

Two regions launched in 1962: Channel Islands (Channel Television) and West & North Wales (WWN/Teledu Cymru). WWN collapsed financially and the region was taken over by TWW in 1964.

The 1967 franchise review saw the services in London handed over to Thames Television (weekdays) and LWT (weekends), and ATV take on a seven-day licence in the Midlands. The North of England was split into two, with Granada given a seven-day licence in North West England, and the new Yorkshire region awarded to Yorkshire Television. TWW lost the Wales & West of England to HTV.

Colour television was rolled out across most ITV regions between 1969 and 1971, with ATV, Granada, Yorkshire and LWT receiving it first, and the Channel Islands were the last to adopt the technology in 1976.

Another review in 1980 awarded new licences starting in 1982 to Central (the new name for ATV) in the Midlands, TVS in the South of England, and TSW in South West England. A new breakfast time service was given to TV-am.

In 1991 an auction for franchises led to Carlton earning the weekday services in London, Meridian taking over from TVS, and TSW were succeeded by Westcountry. The breakfast time franchise went to GMTV.

From 1997, changes began that led to a reduction in franchisees over the regions that remained unchanged. Ultimately, ITV became a single entity.

Associated-Rediffusion / Rediffusion London

Region: London, weekdays (September 22, 1955 - July 29, 1968)

Associated-Rediffusion launched the first independent television service in the UK, providing the weekday service for London between 1955 and 1968. They rebranded as Rediffusion London in 1964. After the 1967 franchise review, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) decided that there would be no place for Rediffusion in the new structure, but told them and ABC - who lost out to LWT for the weekend licence - to merge and form Thames Television to continue London's weekday service.

SciFi productions

Associated TeleVision (ATV)

Regions

ATV (Associated TeleVision) launched the second and third independent television services in the UK, providing the weekend service for London between 1955 and 1968, and the weekday service for the Midlands region between 1956 and 1968. After the 1967 franchise review, London's weekend service was awarded to London Weekend Television (LWT) and ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands.

SciFi productions

Associated TeleVision (ATV) London

Region: London, weekends (September 24, 1955 - July 29, 1968)

ATV (Associated TeleVision) launched the second independent television service in the UK, providing the weekend service for London between 1955 and 1968. After the 1967 franchise review, London's weekend service was awarded to London Weekend Television (LWT) and ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands.

Associated TeleVision (ATV) Midlands

Region: Midlands, weekdays (February 17, 1956 - July 29, 1968); Midlands, seven days (July 30, 1968 - January 1, 1982)

ATV (Associated TeleVision) launched the third independent television service in the UK, providing weekday service for the Midlands region between 1956 and 1968. After the 1967 franchise review, London's weekend service was awarded to London Weekend Television (LWT) and ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands.

ATV began broadcasting in colour from November 15, 1969. During the "Colour Strike" (November 13, 1970 - February 8, 1971), two episodes of Timeslip (1970-71) were recorded in black and white.

In December 1980, the Independent Broadcast Authority (IBA) announced that ATV had been re-awarded the contract but they had to focus more on the region. Amongst measures taken to comply, ATV sold their Elstree Studios to the BBC. IBA also told them to rename itself and ATV chose Central Independent Television.

ABC Weekend TV

Region: Midlands, weekends (February 18, 1956 - July 28, 1968); North of England, weekends (May 5, 1956 - July 29, 1968)

ABC Weekend TV launched the fourth and sixth independent television services in the UK, providing the weekend service for the Midlands and for the North Of England between 1956 and 1968. After the 1967 franchise review, ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands, and ABC, who were expected to get the weekend licence for London narrowly lost out to LWT. The Independent Television Authority (ITA) decided that there would be no place for Rediffusion London in the new structure, but told them to merge with ABC and form Thames Television to continue London's weekday service.

SciFi productions

Granada Television

Region: North of England, weekdays (May 3, 1956 - July 28, 1968); North West England, seven days (July 29, 1968 - October 27, 2002)

Granada Television launched the fifth independent television service in the UK, providing the weekday service for the North Of England between 1956 and 1968. After the 1967 franchise review, Granada was granted the seven-day contract for the newly created North West England region. The franchise for the remainder of the North of England, which became the Yorkshire region' was awarded to Yorkshire Television.

Colour was introduced to the region on November 15, 1969.

In 1997, Granada Group plc acquired Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television plc and, in 2001, they bought Border Television. In 2004, Granada Group plc merged with Carlton Communications to form a single England and Wales ITV company called ITV plc, and Granada begins to lose its on air identity.

Scottish  Television (STV)

Region: Central Scotland, seven days (August 31, 1957 -)

Scottish Television (STV) launched the seventh independent television service in the UK, providing the seven day service for Central Scotland between 1957 and 2006. 

Colour was introduced to the region on December 13, 1969.

Scottish Media Group (SMG) bought Grampian Television in 1997 and, 2006, Scottish Television is rebranded STV Central while Grampian Television becomes STV North.

SciFi productions

TWW (Television Wales & the West)

Region: South Wales & West of England, seven days (January 14, 1958 - January 26, 1964); Wales & West of England (January 27, 1964 - March 3, 1968)

TWW (Television Wales & the West) launched the eighth independent television service in the UK, providing the seven day service for South Wales and the West of England between 1957 and 1964. When WWN / Teledu Cymru collapsed financially in 1964 after just two years, TWW took over the franchise, including Teledu Cymru, for West & North Wales, and thus assumed the franchise for Wales & the West of England. After the 1967 franchise review, TWW lost the licence to Harlech Television (HTV). TWW ceased transmissions early in protest so the ITA stepped in and a temporary service was set up: Independent Television Service for Wales and the West, until HTV were ready to take over.

Southern Television

Region: South of England, seven days (August 30, 1958 - 

Southern Television launched the ninth independent television service in the UK, providing the seven day service for the South of England between 1958 and 1981. The South-East of England was added to the region from January 31, 1960.

Colour was introduced to the region from December 13, 1969.

The company ceased broadcasting on the morning of January 1, 1982 at 12:43am, after a review during the 1980 franchise round gave the contract to Television South (TVS).

Tyne Tees Television

Region: North East England, seven days (January 15, 1959 - 

Tyne Tees Television launched the tenth independent television service in the UK, providing the seven day service for North East England from 1959. Colour was introduced to the region from July 17, 1970. In 1974, Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees were acquired by Trident Television for allocating advertising revenue. They were forced to de-merge in 1980 by the IBA.

In 1992, Tyne Tees and Yorkshire Television were allowed to re-merge, this time as Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television. In 1997, they were purchased by Granada Media Group.

Anglia Television

Region: East of England, seven days (October 27, 1959 - October 27, 2002)

Anglia Television launched the 11th independent television service in the UK, providing the seven day service for the East of England from 1959. After the 1967 franchise review, Anglia retained their licence.

Colour was introduced to the region from October 1, 1970.

Following the 1974 franchise round, Anglia Television lost viewers in Lincolnshire when the Belmont transmitter was switched to Yorkshire Television. Anglia was re-awarded its licence after both the 1980 franchise round and the 1991 franchise auction.

In 1994, Anglia Television was bought by MAI (owners of Meridian Broadcasting) ,which was then absorbed by United News and Media (UNM). UNM sold its three stations (Anglia, Meridian, and HTV to Granada Television in 2000. Anglia lost its on-screen identity in 2002. Granada plc merged with Carlton Communications in 2004, becoming ITV plc.

SciFi productions

Weekday franchise idents

Weekend franchise idents

London (1955-)

Weekdays

1955-68: Associated-Rediffusion was the first independent television service to launch in the UK, providing the weekday service for London from September 22, 1955. They rebranded as Rediffusion London in 1964. After the 1967 franchise review, the Independent Television Authority (ITA) decided that there would be no place for Rediffusion in the new structure, but told them and ABC - who lost out to LWT for the weekend licence - to merge and form Thames Television to continue London's weekday service.


1968-92: Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder providing a weekday service to London and surrounding areas from July 30, 1968 until the night of December 31, 1992. Thames broadcast from 09:25 Monday morning to 17:15 Friday afternoon (19:00 Friday night until 1982) at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT).

Thames began broadcasting in colour from November 17, 1969. The 1991 ITV franchise auctions saw the weekday franchise awarded to Carlton.


1993-2002: Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. Carlton began broadcasting on January 1, 1993.

The company is now managed with London Weekend Television as a single entity (the non-franchised ITV London region), but the two companies are still separately licensed. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Ltd.


Weekends

1955-68: ATV (Associated TeleVision) London was the second independent television service to launch in the UK, providing the weekend service for London from September 24, 1955. ATV was also awarded the franchise to provide the weekdays Independent Television service for the Midlands region. After the 1967 franchise review, the weekend service was awarded to London Weekend Television (LWT). ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands.


1968-2002: London Weekend Television (LWT) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15pm (7.00pm from 1968 until 1982) to Monday mornings at 6.00am. LWT started broadcasting on August 2, 1968.Colour television was introduced in the London area on Saturday, November 15, 1969. Thames Television followed suit two days later. The 1991 ITV franchise auctions saw LWT keep their licence by default. 

The company is now managed with Carlton Television as a single entity (the non-franchised ITV London region), but the two companies are still separately licensed. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Ltd.

SciFi productions

Associated-Rediffusion / Rediffusion London

Thames Television

Carlton Television

ATV

LWT

Seven day franchise idents

Midlands (1956-)

Weekdays

1956-68: ATV (Associated TeleVision) Midlands was the third independent television service to launch in the UK, providing the weekday service for the Midlands from February 17, 1956. ATV was already operating the weekend Independent Television service for the London region. After the 1967 franchise review, ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands.


Weekends

1956-68: ABC Weekend TV was the fourth independent television service to launch in the UK, providing the weekend service for the Midlands from February 18, 1956.

After the 1967 franchise review, ATV were offered the seven-day service in the Midlands, and ABC, who were expected to get the weekend licence for London narrowly lost out to LWT. The Independent Television Authority (ITA) decided that there would be no place for Rediffusion London in the new structure, but told them to merge with ABC and form Thames Television to continue London's weekday service.


Seven days

1968-81: ATV launched the new seven-day service in the Midlands on July 29, 1968. ATV began broadcasting in colour from November 15, 1969. During the "Colour Strike" (November 13, 1970 - February 8, 1971), two episodes of Timeslip (1970-71) were recorded in black and white.

In December 1980, the Independent Broadcast Authority (IBA) announced that ATV had been re-awarded the contract but they had to focus more on the region. Amongst measures taken to comply, ATV sold their Elstree Studios to the BBC. IBA also told them to rename itself and ATV chose Central Independent Television.

1982-99: Central Independent Television, commonly simplified to Central, began broadcasting on January 1, 1982. In 1987, Carlton Communications plc acquired a 20% share of Central and took full ownership in 1994. In 1999, the station became known as Carlton Central. Carlton merged with Granada to form ITV plc, which now owns and operates Central under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Ltd.

SciFi productions

ATV / Central

ABC

East of England (1959-)

Anglia Television (now ITV Anglia) is the ITV television franchisee for the East of England, broadcasting to Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, northern Hertfordshire, northern Buckinghamshire and the south-eastern fringes of Lincolnshire. The service launched on October 27, 1959 and colour was introduced to the region from October 1, 1970.

ITV Anglia is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licence name of ITV Broadcasting Ltd.

Central Scotland (1957-)

Scottish Television (STV, 1957-)

Scottish Television is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel - the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland - has been in operation since August 31, 1957 and is the second-oldest franchise holder in the UK that is still active (the oldest being Granada Television).

STV began broadcasting in colour from December 13, 1969.

In 2002, STV took control of Grampian Television, which became STV North. Scottish Television became STV Central.

Wales & West of England (1958-)

South Wales & West of England: TWW (Television Wales and the West, 1958-64)

Television Wales and the West (TWW) was the British Independent Television contractor for a franchise area that initially served South Wales and West of England, that started transmissions on January 14, 1958. They would acquire Wales (West and North) Television (WWN / Teledu Cymru) in 1964 after the franchisee for West & North Wales suffered financial failure.

North & West Wales: Wales West & North (WWN) Television / Teledu Cymru (1962-64)

Wales (West and North) Television, known on screen as Teledu Cymru (Welsh for "Wales Television") and often abbreviated to WWN, was the contractor awarded the franchise area serving North and West Wales. Transmissions started on September 14, 1962, and ceased on January 26, 1964 through financial failure. The franchise area was soon combined with the South Wales and West of England area, operated by TWW. The Teledu Cymru name was retained until TWW's successor Harlech officially took over in 1968.

Wales & West of England: Independent Television Service for Wales and the West (1968)

Independent Television Service for Wales and the West (ITSWW) was a temporary emergency service provided by the Independent Television Authority (ITA), and run by former TWW staff, in light of the early termination of service of the previous franchise holder, Television Wales and the West (TWW) after their loss of ITV franchise was announced in 1967.

Wales & West of England: Harlech Television (HTV, 1968-)

Harlech Television was awarded its contract by the Independent Television Authority (ITA), replacing the incumbent TWW. Harlech launched on May 20, 1968. Initially, the station was named after the head of the company, Lord Harlech, but from the introduction of colour on April 6,1970, but this was dropped in favour of the initialism HTV. The initial Harlech board of directors boasted a high-profile line-up including actor Richard Burton and his wife Elizabeth Taylor, opera singer Sir Geraint Evans, entertainer Harry Secombe and veteran broadcaster Wynford Vaughan-Thomas.

Colour was introduced to the region from December 13, 1969.

South & South-East of England (1958-)

Southern Television (1958-82)

Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder initially for the South of England from August 30, 1958, before they assumed broadcasts in the South-East of England from January 31, 1960. Colour was introduced to the region from December 13, 1969.

The company ceased broadcasting on the morning of January 1, 1982 at 12:43am, after a review during the 1980 franchise round gave the contract to Television South (TVS).

Television South (TVS, 1982-92)

Meridian Broadcasting (1993-)

North East of England (1959-)

Tyne Tees Television (1959-)

Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchisee for North East England and launched on January 15, 1959. Colour was introduced to the region from July 17, 1970.

Northern Ireland (1959-)

Ulster Television (1959-)

Ulster Television (UTV) is the ITV television franchisee for the Northern Ireland, which launched on October 31, 1959. Colour was introduced to the region from September 14, 1970.

South West England (1961-)

Westward Television (1961-81)

Westward Television was the first ITV television franchisee for the South West of England, which launched on April 29, 1961. Colour was introduced to the region from May 22, 1971.

Television South West (TSW, 1982-92)

Westcountry Television (1993-)

English-Scottish Border (1961-)

Border Television (1959-81)

Border Television is the ITV television franchisee for the English-Scottish border, which launched on September 1, 1961. Border transmitted to the Isle of Man between 1965 to 2009, when programming was transferred to Granada Television. Colour was introduced to the region from September 1, 1971.

North East Scotland (1961-)

Grampian Television (STV, 1961-)

Grampian Television (now merged with STV and known as STV North) was the ITV television franchisee for the North East Scotland, which launched on September 30, 1961.

Grampian began broadcasting in colour from September 30, 1971.

Channel Islands (1962-)

Channel Television (STV, 1962-)

Channel Television (now ITV Channel Television) is the ITV television franchisee for the Channel Islands, which launched on September 1, 1962.

Channel were the last region to began broadcasting in colour, almost five years after Grampian, from July 26, 1976.

North West England (1968-)

Granada Television (1968-)

Granada Television had provided the weekday service in the North of England. However, in 1968 they were awarded the seven-day contract in the newly created North West England region. The franchise for the remainder of the North of England, which became the Yorkshire region' was awarded to Yorkshire Television.

Colour broadcasts began in the region from November 15, 1969.

Yorkshire (1968-)

Yorkshire Television (1968-)

Yorkshire Television, commonly referred to as just YTV, was awarded the newly created Yorkshire franchise area and began transmitting on July 29, 1968. Until 1974, this was primarily the historic county of Yorkshire (with the exception of the northern areas of North Yorkshire which are served by Tyne Tees) and parts of neighbouring counties served by the Emley Moor transmitter. Following a reorganisation in 1974 the transmission area was extended to include Lincolnshire, northwestern Norfolk and parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, served by the Belmont transmitter.

Colour broadcasts began in the region from November 15, 1969.