UTV sell TV business to ITV

Yeah give it 6 months and utv will be Itv along with the news.

It will likely take more than six months just to secure all the required approvals. Remember that not only is this a media merger with a cross border element, but we are also talking about a Plc essentially selling its core business and that will need an EGM to approve. I've no doubt that the branding will change eventually, at least in NI, but 2017 is probably a more realistic date for that to happen.

If ITV owned all franchises they'd have one announcing team surely?

Glad to hear the deal is done, I wonder what changes they will make to the channel if they aren't going to be changing the name (at least for now). Will we start to see adverts for ITV 2/3/4 programmes appearing on UTV ad breaks? Will they tweak the on air look at all but keep the UTV name for now?

I think it may be along the lines of HTV. Assurances were given that the HTV brand was safe and there were no plans to change it, then the brand was brought closer into line with Carlton's, then eventually we got the compromise ITV1 Wales logo, then the 'Wales' legend tagged onto the standard idents, then just the standard idents.



There is a case for separate continuity for Wales, NI (and eventually Scotland), but in the unlikely event this occurred I'd imagine it would be prerecorded, perhaps at the home of a freelance announcer and sent across for playout (this is what happened when ITV1 Wales retained its continuity)

Is there though, really, on a national ITV, before network programmes?
I would expect CA before local programmes to be pre-recorded but for the majority of continuity to be networked.

Given there's still the likelihood of resistance to "British" accents on a station which is set to retain a Northern Ireland-related identity, I'd say there'll be an element of local continuity on the ITV-owned UTV, at least to start.

There will be cross-promotion for the other ITV channels. We could see more of an influence of network presentation appear on UTV.

But will Jules, Gilly and the notion of in-vision continuity be retained? All we can do is wait and see should the deal go through.

(To be honest, if this means daytime continuity comes back, I'll be glad.)

They could keep the UTV name but update the on air look to closely match that of ITV. In fact, there would be very little needed to be done to the current ITV logo to make it read UTV, then it would tie in nicely with the rest of the network until ITV decided to fully make it ITV, a transition that will be a lot more seamless as it's just another logo tweak, and possibly something a lot of viewers wouldn't even notice.

Once the UTV identity goes, the dedicated continuity in NI will go. Let's face it, it'll happen. There is no benefit to ITV in duplicating all of the presentation and playout within the UK.

I bet even UTV Ireland will end up eventually getting pre-recorded continuity from London.

I don't believe UTV brand will disappear any time soon. I do expect the ITV ident to be used but with the I being replaced by U. You have to wonder why ITV wants to buy the name aswell? Also have you noticed there highlight local programmes, again I cant see them getting to dropped these either especial l when there were forced to put them back in for border.

So that they don't have to do the rebranding exercise overnight, they can take their time, and so that no-one can later launch a TV business with the name UTV.

I'm not sure the branding bods would (for want of a better term) b*stardise the ITV logo to turn the I into a U (as much as it would be neat to see). For starters, much of the continuity devices depend on wiping through the 'dot' of the I. It could also make things more difficult later on down the line when they inevitably rebrand to ITV.

I have a feeling, if anything we'll eventually start hearing "This is UTV, part of the ITV network" or similar (bit of a blast from the past!)