ITV Breakfast

Add it to the list, Fablon, Hoover, Avid, Aston, Workmate....

Jetski and Jacuzzi are two other common ones that style guides remind people not to use generically.

Tannoy?

Cashpoint - which is a registered trademark of Lloyds Bank.

The Portakabin one I saw was an order definately never ever to use the word due to a request from the company itself. I think possibly the word had been used in a negative way about a portable building made by a rival and their lawyers got involved

One alternative to the breakfast franchise could've been this; The ITV companies come on air at 07:00, with an ITN news bulletin lasting 10 minutes, then handing over to the local companies, with their own shows, having firstly regional news, then lifestyle features, before more news from ITN at 08:00, followed by regional news, and more stuff from the regions. Finally, a game show at 09:00, before initially Schools programmes, then, after September 1987, you could've had a game show, and perhaps a pre school show, before The Time The Place at 10:00.

Hmm its an interesting idea and it would have provided an alternative to Breakfast Time. It would be something of a patchwork though and would the regions actually put enough cash into the service to make it viable or would it simply be imports and or/repeats.

That idea would have created complete disunity on ITV with each region going their own way for the breakfast schedule. ITV preferred to have a codified one national station to compete with BBC Breakfast Time, not 15 different regional variations which were only linked together by ITN News on the hour. So, I would never think ITV would feel that was the best way forward in 1983.

Remember too, they wanted it to make a profit, and small regional breakfast shows would bring in a pittance compared to a national station with big names. Yes, TV-am was a financial disaster at launch in 1983 even with big names, but that was not the main problem for them, they had the big names and big guests, they just had no idea how to run a television station and lacked any sort of chemistry and certainly the format was dull and dreary, all making it a financial disaster, with near financial collapse by Easter 1983.

It wasn't ITV that decided there was to be breakfast TV on the 'ITV' channel, it was the IBA. It was due to have been a year or 18 months earlier, but the IBA delayed until early 1983, because they were worried it would damage the fortunes of the many ILR stations that were launching in 80/81/82. Finally I don't think the IBA were expecting any serious counter action from a (then, just as now) skint BBC.

Wasn't the separate franchise a response to the lukewarm reception the IBA got to the idea the existing contractors doing a breakfast service?

They didn't think there was any money in it so the IBA/government decided to set it up as a dedicated franchise.

What do you mean by "they"? The only people making profit from TVAM was TVAM. None of the other ITV companies were getting money from it and the IBA was getting nothing but the money TVAM paid for the license surely?

Very likely. I don't think the companies were particularly enthusiastic a few years later when the IBA suggested they should fill the midnight-ish to 6am gap. This time the IBA used the 'use it, or lose it' stick, which does rather add weight to your suggestion about breakfast TV !