ITV1 to be rebranded as ITV

I also have reservatons and I'm one of those who hated 'ITV 1' when it rebranded as such; looking awful on the modified versions of the regional hearts idents that were still in use at the time, then the hidieously cheesy, 'in your face' celebrity idents.

I've always liked the idea that they would return to just 'ITV'. Like others, it's always felt awkward to say to be, unlike BBC One, though, it may well be psychological and if it had been ITV1 from the start, I may have had no problem with it.

It doesn't make sense to have just 'ITV' and then have 'ITV2/3/4' though. It's inconsistent and would cause some awkward moments on cross-promotion, as others on here have already touched upon.

If they dropped all the numbers and went for an 'ITV [worded name]' system, then it could work perhaps. Maybe something like...

ITV [regional name]
ITV Extra
ITV Classic or Plus
ITV... umn Bloke?

By the way, I'm not necessarily suggesting that the main ITV returns to pure regional names and have dedicated continuity etc, but I do feel ITV have under-appreciated the heritage of the regional identities and their appeal. The unified ITV seems to have always felt embarrassed about its regional roots; as if it reflects that ITV isn't a proper TV station. ITV need to come full circle and acknowledge that its regional heritage was and should be its strength and what makes it standout compared to the tens of non-descript, non-pbs channels out there that UK digital TV has brought about. I'm just talking about little things like bringing back regional/dual branded idents/continuity for regional junctions and regional programme trailers. Having ITV Granada etc on the EPG. I mean, the always-been-unified BBC has these things. A few more regional programmes would be nice too. I don't mean a lot, just the odd one or two. Something like Central Weekend Live or Granada Up Front would be welcomed, I think. Allowing the regional news their own identitys and allowing them to feature regional logos such as the Granada arrow or the Anglia triangle would also be awesome and would show up the currently lacklustre BBC regional news titles, sets that most of the UK have currently.

I know some people are going to go on about cost etc but if done right, these things can be worth the investment and I think it could be a shot in the arm for ITV; something it really needs, in my opinion. Like I said, the regions seem to have haunt ITVplc in this past decade like a spectre that it cannot shake off. But perhaps enough time has passed since unification for them to have a more fond, nostalgic approach to the regions and see them more as an asset than a boogy man. I feel it's probably the source of ITV's branding & identity problems and that it may well be good for ITV to come to terms with what it was, what it is and what it could and should be.

Hmmm, I'm not sure that necessarily supports your argument, Stuart. Channel 5 was its launch name and most people persisted to refer to it as such during the five/FIVE years. They had the sense to return to "Channel 5" and I think it's working out pretty well for them.

Similarly, setting regional names aside, ITV is what most people seem to refer to the main channel as. ELM 2011 demonstrated that only young people call it ITV1 because that's all they know. And I'm talking about really young - I'm only 6 years older that ELM 2011 and yet I just say "ITV" when referring to the main channel. I'm old enough to remember it being called "Granada" here, yet I call it ITV because for most of my childhood/adolescence, that's what it was called. So, I think it might work in ITV's favour like it has for Channel 5. If you can't beat those who still call it ITV, then join them. It makes sense to stop fighting a losing battle; after all, they've given the ITV1 brand a jolly good go.

ELM 2011 brought up the BBC1 example. That's a poor analogy in my opinion. When only one channel existed, it was called BBC Television. But it wasn't long before BBC2 launched and necessitated the original station to become BBC1. Those brands are so well entrenched now that if the BBC suddenly decided to make them BBC and BBC EXTRA, people would still habitually call them BBC1 and BBC2 because that's what they're used to. Similarly, "ITV" as a brand was so well entrenched because only the one channel from ITV existed that it's been hard for people to make the switch. And let's not forget that for many people, I bet they've only just discovered ITV2, 3 and 4 when going through DSO. So ITV1 is still ITV to them.

If true I think it makes perfect sense. ITV1 never really took off as a brand, proven by the fact that 11 years on people still call the channel by it's old name.

The other ITV channels have strong enough brands for confusion to be largely non-existent IMO.

MTV springs to mind, they went through a rebrand to MTV One then back again, albeit for a shorter time than ITV.

I think ITV has the potential to be the stronger brand. ITV HD and ITV +1 certainly roll off the tongue a bit better.

Calling it just ITV sounds more confident, the main channel doesn't need to be differentiated from the others. It would sound better internationally (not that it really matters).

If someone says something is on ITV, we'd all assume they mean ITV 1 unless they state otherwise. And as has been said no one thinks Channel 4's naming policy harms them.


I could quite imagine someone saying "is the football on BBC or ITV, tonight?"

Think we'll see a new corporate logo now. Can see them capitalising ITV.

I should think it'll be a total relaunch of all things ITV, from all the channels, to the News output, to the website and maybe even the primetime schedules.

I've lived in several parts of the country, and have always found the most common descriptor to be "3". As in, "Ooh, X Factor's about to start on 3" or "Is that football match on 1 or 3?"

Here in the North East, I still hear "It's on Tyne Tees" occasionally, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone in real life say anything resembling "X Factor's about to start on ITV1" or "The footy's on ITV1 tonight" - and, frankly, I think it would seem pretty odd to me if anyone did.

Of course, I'm not disputing that people know that "3" is "ITV1", but it's not a name that I hear in casual conversation.

Channel 5 was indeed a launch name, and the legal name for the license. There is no shame in returning to that for a new licencee.

However, ITVplc is an established business, who have operated under many names since this mangled takeover. They have messed about with the name for their production arm before, and finally decided that it was better to follow the method of using a corporate brand. Now they want to change it (AGAIN!).

I really cannot believe they paid someone to come up with this idea!

They could've paid me £100K to tell them it was wrong.

One can only hope.

As for Channel 5, their original brand & idents were best, featuring the 5-in-a-circle-in-a-square logo. It was simple but effective. Channel 5 messed about with their brand because it became insecure about its cheesy, almost seedy reputation it got from its early days programming - a lot like ITV's hang ups with its regional identities.

They were OK for their time. But the capitalised FIVE era was by far the best.

Indeed

It is time for a change, but dropping the ITV1 name seems to be an odd decision.

Also, ITV News is dreadful as it is now, I've never liked it. I wish they'd reinstate News at Ten as a standalone programme, but I can't see it happening.