Ther would only be one problem with that NWT opt out, the BBC don't actually have an office in Chester nor do they have one in Lancaster!
Granada have a Chester office, GMTV bulletins used to be done from there.
I've been in a few times and they still have the studio but it isn't used anymore.
The only time it is likely to be used is if there is some sort of explosion or somesuch event that would lead Granada to go to Chester.
To be honest there isn't that much news in Chester to provide a 5 min update! And what would NWT do for the Manx people?
Cheshire was never given its own BBC Radio station because there was simply not enough news, instead a seperate unit at BBC Merseyside was set up so that it could cover Cheshire within normal bulletins.
Nice idea though but the north west isn't really big enough for an opt out.
No, and if there was a BBC Radio Cheshire and Merseyside the people of the Wirral (peninsular over the Mersey from Liverpool) would be in a quandry - technically in Merseyside but with Chester postcodes and historically always in Cheshire! BBC Radio Merseyside is a brilliant station from what I know...
And as for transmitters well my birth town of West Kirby on the Wirral has it's own transmitter as it's in a dip so we could have a very close up version of North West Tonight just for them!!
Yes, the South Today Oxford End titles were on TV Home. I'm currently waiting for Isonstine to capture the full opening titles from his video.
I'll e-mail the end titles to you. Apparently they are 'manmade' however that happens, so they aren't brilliant, and have a bed after it to play until the can opt back in at an appropriate moment, usually just as the South Today presenter says 'And Still to come on South Today'
AJ
Aaron J Tibbett
Thanks Rob!!
I can't wait till TV Home gets back, might even make it my IE start page
Thats strange - Aaron told me that the Close Up bulletins don't use opening titles anymore during the main programme. How long has this happened for? James (Ison) do you know?
Aaron, do they use closing titles when opting back?
AJ
Aaron J Tibbett
As far as I'm aware they don't use titles for the Close Up in the 18:30 programme, if they do, I doubt they're shown properly on screen.
Although, the couple of programmes that I've recorded in the last couple of days, have been the first proper ones I've watched instead of NSE, so I may well be wrong!
Yes, I must thank you for all your help so far with Look East! The qualtity truely is out of this world. I hope they do use the full (or majority at least) for the Close Up opt in and opt out titles for you to capture!
BTW, what does Look East / Close Up use at 3:25pm, 10:25pm and the weekend to start and end the bulletins?
North West as follows:
3:25 - Opening Titles or sting, nothing to close
10:25 - Sting
Weekend - Opening titles and end with extended sting.
When Cambridge sub-opts (aka Close Up) launched (in the days of the flying glass discs and swirly smoke look, in January 1997, there were special Close Up stings for the East and West of the patch made.
These were based on a flying lens which enlarged the section of the sub-opt with the patch outline emphasised. These were pinker, and didn't have as much smoke in them! They were only used at the start of the sub-opt at 1840ish. The West opt also had a Close Up inset (or flag as they are known at Look East) The sub-opt ended, and opted back to the Still to Come, which was common to both sides.
At 2128 the entire bulletin was split and self contained - and not really a sub-opt. This is why it was not called Close Up - it was branded as Look East (with a Look East inset) and both sides ran the same short bulletin Look East titles.
I believe this model continues - though there may well now be separate bulletin titles (i.e. non Close Up) with just East or West place names and geography for the split 2225s.
Initially Norwich could not easily send pictures to Cambridge, as there were lines only in the opposite direction. This meant that Cambridge had to be fully manned for all split bulletins - and Norwich could not record and playout a Cambridge opt as Oxford could (being based in So'ton).
I believe there is now a link between Norwich and Cambridge which was provided when Digital Terrestrial regional opts were launched - but this link is only available when neither region is actually on-air... (So can't be used for lives...)
I'm surprised Reporting Scotland haven't introduced opt outs yet! There are 3 programmes on ITV depending on where you are. Although, if I had the choice and lived in South Scotland, I would watch Reporting Scotland rather than Border Lookaround!
I agree! Scotland Today used to do an opt-out to the East and West studios (in the case of Edinburgh the studio was one room in the old Gateway Theatre) but they stopped that in the late eighties and never brought it back.
BBC's Reporting Scotland often crosses to Edinburgh for Scottish Parliament stories etc but never sub-opts to their studios in Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Jackie Bird's opening phrase, 'Tonight on Scotland's National News...' is an indication that they acknowledge their poor regional newsgathering service.
Interestingly - when I was working in Norwich - the rumour in the building before we split was that BBC East was up against BBC Scotland to get financing for a sub-opt.
I think Aberdeen was the likely candidate... I guess it would have opted out of Glasgow during Reporting Scotland.
I don't know why Cambridge got the money - but I do know that until the sub-opt Anglia News was out-performing Look East... and after the sub-opt launch Anglia were hit badly in the West of the region, though not quite so much in the East. (I think Anglia's East presenting team at the time were well known personalities, the West team less so...)
