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40th anniversary of the ITV strike

10 August – 24 October 1979 (August 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MA
Markymark
When did the channel islands get VHF transmitters for both BBC and ITV?

BBC Television launched from the Les Platons transmitter on St Helier on Monday 3rd October 1955. ITV in the Channel Islands launched on Saturday 1st September 1962 from the Fremont Point transmitter on St Helier.


The BBC transmitter was at Les Platons, about as far from St Helier as is possible on the island! It's on the north coast. The ITA built Fremont Point a short distance away (using the Mk 1 mast that had been in service for ITV Midlands at Lichfield since 1956)

Fremont Point was selected as the main UHF site for the UHF/625 service for all three channels

Les Platons remains in use today for BBC FM radio services and DAB

As ever the mb21 site has every possible detail
JK
JKDerry
BBC One, BBC Two and Channel Television in colour on the UHF 625 line service launched from Fremont Point on Saturday 24th July 1976 - the islands where the last part of the UK to receive BBC Two and colour television.

They're not part of the UK Wink

They are a British dependency just like the Isle of Man, who also receive the main UK channels since the 1950s from the mainland, but from 1965 have had their own relay transmitters on the Isle of Man transmitting the UK channels.
IS
Inspector Sands

They are a British dependency just like the Isle of Man, who also receive the main UK channels since the 1950s from the mainland, but from 1965 have had their own relay transmitters on the Isle of Man transmitting the UK channels.

Yep, that's not in doubt

8 days later

MM
MiniMort
I’ve recently been looking on the Genome to see what was on the BBC channels during the ITV strike and wow it’s dire. Usually just a film on 1 and music performances on 2. I suppose with no competition at all really the BBC could show something only slightly more dynamic than a caption and still be at the top of the ratings.

That said I hear about a million people watched the ITV caption in vein hope it would immediately come back.

I think I’d have watched the radio instead
MA
Markymark
I’ve recently been looking on the Genome to see what was on the BBC channels during the ITV strike and wow it’s dire. Usually just a film on 1 and music performances on 2. I suppose with no competition at all really the BBC could show something only slightly more dynamic than a caption and still be at the top of the ratings.


Now, my view is it's no surprise the BBC didn't put out any 'big gun' stuff during the strike. Why would they waste the programmes with a 100% captive TV audience ? In fact if I'd been the Beeb, I'd have transmitted any pilot programmes I had sitting on the shelf, when better to get viewers to watch something they'd otherwise pass by and possibly miss out on ?

Wasn't Are You Being Served a surprise hit, after the pilot was shown as an emergency filler programme during the 1972 Olympics ?
JK
JKDerry
I’ve recently been looking on the Genome to see what was on the BBC channels during the ITV strike and wow it’s dire. Usually just a film on 1 and music performances on 2. I suppose with no competition at all really the BBC could show something only slightly more dynamic than a caption and still be at the top of the ratings.


Now, my view is it's no surprise the BBC didn't put out any 'big gun' stuff during the strike. Why would they waste the programmes with a 100% captive TV audience ? In fact if I'd been the Beeb, I'd have transmitted any pilot programmes I had sitting on the shelf, when better to get viewers to watch something they'd otherwise pass by and possibly miss out on ?

Wasn't Are You Being Served a surprise hit, after the pilot was shown as an emergency filler programme during the 1972 Olympics ?

The massacre at the Munich Games of 1972 caused the games to be suspended for a day or two, and the BBC had hours to fill, and Are You Being Served pilot was aired.
JK
JKDerry
People think that in 1979 the BBC could just suddenly change their schedules which was prepared weeks in advance, with a lot of staff off on summer holidays.

The summer season of July and August was always the "lean" season for the BBC with vast amounts of close downs or from 1984 "Pages from Ceefax" occupying hours on BBC One and BBC Two.

The old saying was that for every hour BBC were on air it cost them money, whereas every hour ITV were on air earned them money.

They could have raised their archive and films and increased a little bit, but it was a planned schedule. So, you watched it or you didn't. You had the options of listening to BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 or 4 or going to the cinema/pub etc if television was crap.

No YouTube, NetFlix, Amazon Prime etc in 1979.
TJ
TedJrr

They are a British dependency just like the Isle of Man, who also receive the main UK channels since the 1950s from the mainland, but from 1965 have had their own relay transmitters on the Isle of Man transmitting the UK channels.

Yep, that's not in doubt


Sorry to be pedantic. Actually, I apologize for that, but..... the IoM and the Channel Islands are not British Dependencies, the status being "Crown Dependency".

The Channel Islands are so defined because they are part of the Duchy of Normandy, in fact they are all that is left of the Duchy of Normandy. Their head of state is the Duke of Normandy, who is, of course, The Queen.

Parliament can not normally legislate over The Channel Islands, so the Privy Council rules on the extension of UK Acts of Parliament to the Islands, usually with the support of their legislative bodies The States of Jersey and The States of Guernsey. The Television Act, 1954 was thus extended to the Channel Islands to give the ITA authority there.

I hope that's correct........ and apologize again for being way too pedantic....
MA
Markymark
People think that in 1979 the BBC could just suddenly change their schedules which was prepared weeks in advance, with a lot of staff off on summer holidays.

The summer season of July and August was always the "lean" season for the BBC with vast amounts of close downs or from 1984 "Pages from Ceefax" occupying hours on BBC One and BBC Two.

The old saying was that for every hour BBC were on air it cost them money, whereas every hour ITV were on air earned them money.

They could have raised their archive and films and increased a little bit, but it was a planned schedule. So, you watched it or you didn't. You had the options of listening to BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 or 4 or going to the cinema/pub etc if television was crap.


By then ILR was accounting for a 25-30%ish or so national reach too (Not bad for 19, mostly flea-powered stations)

There was a quite amusing newspaper cutting on the 'ITV Strike' Twitter feed yesterday quoting the then BBC DG Alistair Milne as saying that BBC 2 would be opening up at 17:30hrs from now onwards, and
everyone, quote; 'North of the Trent' got home from work at that time.

That guy really was a stuffed shirt (even by 70s standards)
RO
robertclark125
I've got a book about "Last of the summer wine", and it mentions the 1979 ITV strike. It does state that during the strike, the BBC did move some programmes to a more "prime" slot. In the case of LOTSW, it was moved from a 21:30 slot, to a 19:30 slot or 20:00 slot when a series was shown, during the ITV strike.
MA
Markymark
I've got a book about "Last of the summer wine", and it mentions the 1979 ITV strike. It does state that during the strike, the BBC did move some programmes to a more "prime" slot. In the case of LOTSW, it was moved from a 21:30 slot, to a 19:30 slot or 20:00 slot when a series was shown, during the ITV strike.


BBC 1 didn't have rigid 00/30 slots, until Michael Grade arrived in 1985 ?

They may well have moved LOTSW to 19:30 Mondays or Weds Smile
JK
JKDerry

They are a British dependency just like the Isle of Man, who also receive the main UK channels since the 1950s from the mainland, but from 1965 have had their own relay transmitters on the Isle of Man transmitting the UK channels.

Yep, that's not in doubt


Sorry to be pedantic. Actually, I apologize for that, but..... the IoM and the Channel Islands are not British Dependencies, the status being "Crown Dependency".

The Channel Islands are so defined because they are part of the Duchy of Normandy, in fact they are all that is left of the Duchy of Normandy. Their head of state is the Duke of Normandy, who is, of course, The Queen.

Parliament can not normally legislate over The Channel Islands, so the Privy Council rules on the extension of UK Acts of Parliament to the Islands, usually with the support of their legislative bodies The States of Jersey and The States of Guernsey. The Television Act, 1954 was thus extended to the Channel Islands to give the ITA authority there.

I hope that's correct........ and apologize again for being way too pedantic....

OK, I was mostly trying to convey that they are separate entities compared to the rest of the United Kingdom. Isle of Man is like the Channel Islands in many ways in terms of their own self government, lack of EU membership, low tax environment etc - in terms of television, the Isle of Man was always in a better location to receive all the main UK channels than the Channel Islands were, due to location. This is what I was really trying to convey.

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