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Now Granada hint at closing City Road studios

(November 2003)

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CE
ceefax541
York's "proper" service is YTV from Emley Moor, but has been stated above some areas can only get a good TTTV signal. So it is very much a crossover area. It's always been a bit strange that such large swathes of Yorkshire can't get YTV. But TTTV covers York & NYorks well. The old YTV building in York used to have a YTV logo at one side and a TTTV logo at the other, IIRC.
:-(
A former member
noggin posted:
Larry Scutta posted:


The TV studios aren't used there. Heaven & Earth comes from Granada.


Out of interest - does anyone know when Heaven & Earth moved from Studio D at Oxford Road to Granada? ISTR that Studio D was not part of the 3Sixty deal and wasn't closed either - as it had just been built to make small studio shows for BBC Choice etc. Be interesting to see if it still exists or was closed to save money - if Heaven and Earth was the only show using it I can't imagine it could pay its way...


Maybe it is in the BBC building, I assumed that they had all closed, last time I was there there didn't seem to be any TV studios at all. However all facilities are credited '360media' so it's all a bit ambiguous
AD
Adam
ceefax541 posted:
York's "proper" service is YTV from Emley Moor.


Not according to this...

http://tx.mb21.co.uk/emley/emley_moor-625uhf-iba-map.jpg

It says York has a different transmitter, and since York gets a fine TTTV one, I'm pretty sure it means York is officially TTTV. Anyway, I'll wait for someone to tell me of some little obscure relay which was missed off the map...

(map from mb21)
AS
Aston
Adam posted:
It says York has a different transmitter, and since York gets a fine TTTV one, I'm pretty sure it means York is officially TTTV. Anyway, I'll wait for someone to tell me of some little obscure relay which was missed off the map...

(map from mb21)


Yes, but it's clearly in the crossover area. I'm putting my neck out here, but I'd expect if people in York have a coice between Yorkshire and TTTV, they'd put YTV on their "Channel 3" button - wouldn't you identify more with a company called YORKshire and based 30-40 miles down the road in Leeds rather than a broadcaster based nearly twice as far away in Newcastle?

Now, as I say, I'm purely guessing, but I know which one I'd choose...
SO
Steven O
Aston posted:
Adam posted:
It says York has a different transmitter, and since York gets a fine TTTV one, I'm pretty sure it means York is officially TTTV. Anyway, I'll wait for someone to tell me of some little obscure relay which was missed off the map...

(map from mb21)


Yes, but it's clearly in the crossover area. I'm putting my neck out here, but I'd expect if people in York have a coice between Yorkshire and TTTV, they'd put YTV on their "Channel 3" button - wouldn't you identify more with a company called YORKshire and based 30-40 miles down the road in Leeds rather than a broadcaster based nearly twice as far away in Newcastle?

Now, as I say, I'm purely guessing, but I know which one I'd choose...


Indeed - in Richard Whiteley's autobiography, "Himoff!", he explains the North Yorkshire anomaly very well, and mentions that the first story to be covered on Calendar when YTV started in 1968 was that of a missing man in York (RW was the reporter for that story). That particular bulletin was not without its problems, incidentially, including an amusing one with the telecine machines which played out all reports in reverse phase! Very Happy

On the evidence of that - and given that Bilsdale wasn't handed over to Tyne Tees until 1974 - York's official station is, therefore, YTV.

Hope this helps! Wink
HU
huddy
Refering to an earlier forum entry, Calendar use to come from studio 2, so one can rightly assume that 4 studios exist at Kirkstall Road. Indeed in Yorkshire's original documentary film (I have this on tape) it quotes "the construction of four colour television studios".

As for the Tyne Tees debate, Yorkshire use to have a office in Coppergate. When YTV took over TTTV it co-produced Network North for the South of the Tyne Tees region. As stated, YTV can be easily viewed in all parts of York. I can recieve Tyne Tees, all three versions of YTV and on occassions Carlton Central East (who thought of this name?) if i can be bothered to crawl to the top of my house here in Sheffield to turn the ariel around - it's all a question of choice and preference.

YTV has recently opened a new office in York with TTTV - it was opened by Christine Talbot.
:-(
A former member
huddy posted:
Refering to an earlier forum entry, Calendar use to come from studio 2, so one can rightly assume that 4 studios exist at Kirkstall Road. Indeed in Yorkshire's original documentary film (I have this on tape) it quotes "the construction of four colour television studios".


Studio 2 hasn't existed for about 10 years, it was demolished not long after Calendar stopped being made there, and moved across the road to their present location. Amogst others Presentation now occupies part of this space.

AIUI Studio 1 was in presentation, and people who watched at the time (early seventies) say that the first announcement after schools programmes was in-vision.

So that leaves studio 3 and 4. After Wellbeing moved out of studio 3 when it closed down, there isn't really a need for both studio 3 and 4, which is why I believe studio 3 is/will/might be converted to a tape library.

This is all from my visits there and people who work there, but if you know better, I'm sure we'll hear from you.
:-(
A former member
Steven O posted:
Aston posted:
Adam posted:
It says York has a different transmitter, and since York gets a fine TTTV one, I'm pretty sure it means York is officially TTTV. Anyway, I'll wait for someone to tell me of some little obscure relay which was missed off the map...

(map from mb21)


Yes, but it's clearly in the crossover area. I'm putting my neck out here, but I'd expect if people in York have a coice between Yorkshire and TTTV, they'd put YTV on their "Channel 3" button - wouldn't you identify more with a company called YORKshire and based 30-40 miles down the road in Leeds rather than a broadcaster based nearly twice as far away in Newcastle?

Now, as I say, I'm purely guessing, but I know which one I'd choose...


Indeed - in Richard Whiteley's autobiography, "Himoff!", he explains the North Yorkshire anomaly very well, and mentions that the first story to be covered on Calendar when YTV started in 1968 was that of a missing man in York (RW was the reporter for that story). That particular bulletin was not without its problems, incidentially, including an amusing one with the telecine machines which played out all reports in reverse phase! Very Happy

On the evidence of that - and given that Bilsdale wasn't handed over to Tyne Tees until 1974 - York's official station is, therefore, YTV.

Hope this helps! Wink



Don't think it's quite as clear cut as that!
Talking to friends in York they tell me that they watch both although the picture for most is better on TTTV.
Most do look to Leeds and therefore like YTV better HOWEVER they say that the news coverage of York and N Yorks is better on TTTV.
Then again there are times when they feel ignored by both stations.
Interestingly enough Granada must see York as part of YTV's patch now as Sky 103 in York is YTV.
Freeview is an interesting one though - DTT from Emley is harder to get in York than Bilsdale so that may redraw the map in years to come.
Just my two penneth...
HU
huddy
SimonW posted:
huddy posted:
Refering to an earlier forum entry, Calendar use to come from studio 2, so one can rightly assume that 4 studios exist at Kirkstall Road. Indeed in Yorkshire's original documentary film (I have this on tape) it quotes "the construction of four colour television studios".


Studio 2 hasn't existed for about 10 years, it was demolished not long after Calendar stopped being made there, and moved across the road to their present location. Amogst others Presentation now occupies part of this space.

AIUI Studio 1 was in presentation, and people who watched at the time (early seventies) say that the first announcement after schools programmes was in-vision.

So that leaves studio 3 and 4. After Wellbeing moved out of studio 3 when it closed down, there isn't really a need for both studio 3 and 4, which is why I believe studio 3 is/will/might be converted to a tape library.

This is all from my visits there and people who work there, but if you know better, I'm sure we'll hear from you.


I defer to your better knowledge! Haven't been in YTV for approx ten years so I will bow to you. One presumes that this was all internal work, as the exterior hasn't changed for years.

53 days later

:-(
A former member
The Newcastle Journal has confirmed in an interview with Charles Allen that Tyne Tees' studios on City Road are to close. ITV plc will invest £6million in a new "Television Centre" in the region. Aparently this will be a "high profile" building in the "right location" - that probably means that it will be an industrial shed in an industrial estate.
TE
tesandco Founding member
Link to news story

Although the news was entirely expected, I'll still be sad to see the City Road studios go. Especially disappointing to hear there'll be even more job cuts in the North East now (and lets face it, when he refuses to comment on job cuts, it means there's going to be cuts). Sad Also a shame to think this news has been announced so near to Tyne Tees' 45th Birthday.
:-(
A former member
The thing is, this has been on the cards for over a decade. Yorkshire Television, in the days of John Calvert and Bruce Gyngell, were keen on closing City Road and moving TTTV to a potting shed back in 1993 -- indeed they released a press statement the day after TTTV's last independent MD Ian Ritchie walked out of the company in disgust at the new regime. They were only stopped because the ITC felt there had been enough upheaval in the NE franchise already and threatened to readvertise if the situation got worse.

The only thing that surprises me is that this didn't happen a lot sooner. City Road was built at a time when TTTV had drive and ambition to be a major player. Now they are a sidelined outpost; the move will only serve to underline the fact.

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