Networked ITV - 1990s and before...

I'm told there's overnight info-commercials on S4C that are in English ?

Is S4C's HD service Welsh only or is it back to a mix of C4 and Welsh content?

It wasn't a burden though - all the content was supplied by Channel 4 completely gratis, and between 1993 and the mid-00s provided a healthy source of revenue. It actually went some way as to propping up the perpetually loss-making Welsh output.

Now of course it looks pretty set for S4C to pretty much become BBC Cymru within a decade (a move which makes a lot of sense to me...!).

Understandable if there is, I can't imagine it's worth translating them.

It's a straight simulcast of S4C annoyingly broadcast with a 4:3 DOG.

And yes there are some of those dreadful American informercials broadcast after midnight but I'd hardly class them as programmes!

How much native HD content is carried ?

A bloody massive DOG it is too... probably the biggest on air today.

No idea. There doesn't appear to be info anywhere on which shows are in HD, not on their site (last time I checked) and not on the EPG. Very annoying. I daresay that given their current financial situation there probably isn't that much in HD though I'm no expert on TV finance!

BTW I emailed them ages ago about why the DOG was in 4:3 and they said it was because their kids programmes DOG is also in 4:3 and therefore it would look unequal if on one side of the screen they had a 4:3 DOG and the other a 16:9 DOG. Stupid and downright lazy decision. An easy solution would be to move the HD DOG to the left and have the kids DOG next to it a la 4HD and T4. An even easier solution would be to remove the DOGs completely.

Pobol y Cwm was/is, as is their considerable sport output.

I've been wondering about the regional scheduling of the first big Aussie soap import, The Sullivans. Wikipaedia states:



This sounds pretty much accurate, but it doesn't specify which region debuted the show in 1977. I assume it was Thames, and several other regions screened it via the Thames feed (definitely Tyne Tees, and I've also heard that Border, UTV and Grampian did too). The earliest I remember the Thames episodes were in the 12.30 slot around 1979/80, twice a week, although I believe these were stripped five times a week at first (replacing The Cedar Tree). The regions that ended up substantially behind Thames - I'm not sure if they were originally on the same feed but broke away, or if they started the programme later and/or took breaks. ISTR TVS showing The Sullivans at 5.15 in the mid-80s, before H&A came along. I think Thames switched it to midday when the ITV News moved to 12.30 in 1987.

I hadn't realised the programme had started here less than a year after its debut in Australia - although because it was generally shown only twice or three times a week, as opposed to five nights, and later four, down under the gap quickly widened - Grace Sullivan wasn't killed off until 1984 on Thames, whereas she died in 1979 in Australia.

ALL ITV regions started the series on 18 October 1977, When the “The Cedar Tree” finished in 1979, it was around this time Thames moved the series to 12.30 slot but not everyone went with them and it’s around this point when the series started to get spilt and everyone went there own way. ATV cut back on it during 1981, Yorkshire where still broadcasting the Cedar tree, The Riordans were also being slotted in all over the place, aswell.

There is a nice pic of TV time about Cedar tree here: http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/british-television/99535-cedar-tree.html http://www.atvnewsnetwork.co.uk/today/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=937:forgotten-regional-soaps&catid=16:flashback turns out this is not been wiped.

As you have highlighted some minor issues, I have made some minor change to state it was “Networked” in the afternoon slot. Alas the huge table with very little proper details kept getting deleted; I helped overhaul the pages and took out some chunks while making sure the important details were kept in.

TVS broadcast “Sons And Daughters” Monday and Tuesday at 5.15pm 1984 – 1988 , and took blockbusters at 5.15pm wed – Sat, along with Thames, Grampian, Scottish and Anglia. before everyone networked BB at 5.15 Sept 88 - 10th Feb 89, a day before Home and away started.

Thanks for the additional info. So it was definitely fully networked until 1979. It would be interesting to know which stations stayed with the Thames feed after 1979 and which ones broke away to do their own thing. I remember YTV were only scheduling it once a week in 1982, before they cancelled it altogether. Somebody somewhere used to show it at 5.15, I'm sure, but obviously not TVS.