ITV wants to axe some regional news services

From a viewer's perspective, I'd agree - after all, there's no Scottish Parliament coverage on the main ITV news, and they're not going to be covering that in an English-focused region either.

The problem with that is that ITV would need to pay STV to take Scotland Today as a Border Scotland opt. And these proposals are all about cutting costs to the bone and beyond.

This seems to be suggesting that Tyne Tees South will be the only sub-region to be completely killed off.

I have to ask, why? South Durham and especially North Yorkshire have distinct identities just as separate from Newcastle as Cumbria is. This makes no real sense.

So Cumbria, one county, gets its own opt but Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire combined don't?

And where has the "extra" sub come from?

Over the last few years though, the Tyne Tees south opt has been nothing more than a token gesture with very little variation in stories or running order between them and the northern opt.

As far as I can see, and I hope I'm reading the small print correctly, the combined West and Westcountry was going to be two sub-regions, but will now become three.

They are talking about Cornwall and Plymouth being one; Devon, West Dorset and West Somerset being a second; and the old West area being a third.

I assume that that puts Redruth and Caradon Hill in one sub-region; Stockland Hill and Huntshaw Cross in the second; and Mendip and Ridge Hill in the third.

If all that is the case, it will probably be the first time the Devon people will be able to see their local news on Astra, which doesn't currently split the Westcountry region, giving everybody the Plymouth sub-opt.

So let me get this straight.

Devon and bits of Somerset/Dorset is considered significant enough to get its own sub-opt, but an area encompassing North Yorkshire (England's physically largest county), Teesside and much of Durham is not?

Thanks a bunch ITV And to think that for a 4-5 year period in the 1980s we were actually receiving the odd split regional programme, never mind local opt.

[quote="all new Phil"]


Strikes me that there are more compromises/detailed plans to emerge on this; there seems little point in putting a localised news belt into otherwise north-east centric content, and expect sustained audience levels in Scotland. As you say, they are not that stupid?

Presumably the compromise will be that STV ill supply programming and adverts to the sub-region, with the TTV derived Border opt-out coming out of that. An adjustment of this type would only require a a small change in the existing arrangements between ITV and SMG, where programmers and airtime are traded.

The alternative of continuing to run STV sport and politics content in as a sub-region of TTTV would seem to be against the purpose of rationalisation.

My apologies to All New Phil and RJG .

Having not posted here for a while, I've messed up a quoting reference. What a wally! Hope you don't mind my observations to your posts.

Rgds/TedJrr

maybe not, STV could get the 5.30 show added also well, and so there would get the money from the advert slots.

alhought someone said that the trainsmitters need to be sorted........

Selkirk and its relays are a self-contained group. Caldbeck has two signals, one for Border England and the other for Border Scotland. All STV would need to do is use the Border Scotland feed.

Local politicians appear divided on the six minutes for the South of Scotland option. Lib Dem MSP Jeremy Purvis calls it "a significant amendment to ITV's original proposals". But John Lamont (Conservative) is less than impressed. His view is that it's "tinkering around the edges".
I think the issue is that six minutes, out of a programme which is highly unlikely to contain anything from Scotland (how would that go down in Middlesbrough if it did?) will be seen as a token amount. It also means that 80% of the 30 minute news programme at 6p.m. will be utterly irrelevant to viewers living in a country with different laws, education system, health service, church etc. Border worked in the days when there was a range of local programming which brought audiences together. And in the days before a Scottish Parliament. It could still work if there was increased access to wider Scottish programming. But six minutes out of a "flagship" local? news programme covering everywhere from North Yorkshire to South Ayrshire (ha ha) is a recipe for disaster.

I think Ridge Hill is assigned to Central (West)-- unless they are changing it to this new region?

They have been transmitting ITV West, as well as ITV Central (West), on analogue since December 2006.

They currently only transmit ITV Central (West) on digital, due to a lack of frequencies.

After digital switchover they will only transmit ITV West, though it is currently unclear whether they will switch over at the ITV Central digital switchover date or the ITV West switchover date.

From the date of the change to ITV news regions, I, therefore, assume they will transmit the old ITV West sub-region of the combined ITV West and Westcountry region on analogue.