SC
Just a little background info first for those not familiar with the arrangements, from 2nd November 1982 until 31st December 1992, advertising time on Channel 4 was sold by the various ITV companies, and inserted into the Channel 4 feed by the ITV stations.
Channel 4 transmitted various 'follows shortly' captions and library music at commercial break points, which the ITV stations opted out of to play their ads. Several examples of these captions - though sadly, not nearly enough - are available on the internet.
In the early days of Channel 4, an industrial dispute with Equity, as well as other factors, meant that only a limited number of adverts appeared on the fourth channel. Some ITV stations filled part of the time with PIFs, but very often we would see the captions and music during part or all of a commercial break.
My question is how long did the lack of ads situation last in the various ITV regions?
On Tyne Tees, up until the end of 1984, it was very common to see the C4 captions, in particular before 6pm and late at night. From 1985 onwards, however, the only time you saw such a caption was after TTT had closed down for the night, or if there was a mishap or a brief industrial dispute which forced TTT off the air.
From what I've read and seen, other regions - notably TSW and UTV - seemed to be showing the C4 captions, even at peak time, much later in the 80s.
I also noticed, when visiting YTV land, that they had plenty of ads to fill up virtually all junctions as early as 1983.
So, what can anyone in the various ITV regions recall about the ads, or lack of them, back in the 80s? And apart from the Equity dispute, why would there be more advertising in one region than another?
Hoping for a few answers, but a nostalgic discussion of early Channel 4 would also be welcome!
Channel 4 transmitted various 'follows shortly' captions and library music at commercial break points, which the ITV stations opted out of to play their ads. Several examples of these captions - though sadly, not nearly enough - are available on the internet.
In the early days of Channel 4, an industrial dispute with Equity, as well as other factors, meant that only a limited number of adverts appeared on the fourth channel. Some ITV stations filled part of the time with PIFs, but very often we would see the captions and music during part or all of a commercial break.
My question is how long did the lack of ads situation last in the various ITV regions?
On Tyne Tees, up until the end of 1984, it was very common to see the C4 captions, in particular before 6pm and late at night. From 1985 onwards, however, the only time you saw such a caption was after TTT had closed down for the night, or if there was a mishap or a brief industrial dispute which forced TTT off the air.
From what I've read and seen, other regions - notably TSW and UTV - seemed to be showing the C4 captions, even at peak time, much later in the 80s.
I also noticed, when visiting YTV land, that they had plenty of ads to fill up virtually all junctions as early as 1983.
So, what can anyone in the various ITV regions recall about the ads, or lack of them, back in the 80s? And apart from the Equity dispute, why would there be more advertising in one region than another?
Hoping for a few answers, but a nostalgic discussion of early Channel 4 would also be welcome!
Last edited by Si-Co on 6 June 2011 11:23pm - 2 times in total
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