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Talkback Thames split

Fremantle Media splits UK production arm into four (November 2011)

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JA
JAS84
623058 posted:
I have to ask who getting control of this department? Archive Very Happy

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThamesTv

There also own I believe half the back catalogue for Cosgrove hall, and lot more to boot
Thames sold Cosgrove Hall to Granada when they lost their franchise, so it ended up in ITV plc's hands. It met it's demise when ITV stopped making kids shows two years ago.
WP
WillPS
623058 posted:
amosc100 posted:
AaronLancs posted:
Johnny83 posted:
623058 posted:
TVs should have went the same way as Thames and became a major inde company.


I think that was the plan, but they went bust about 6-12 months after they lost their franchise, all to do with their MTM acquisition


Re:MTM
Weren't that Mary Tyler Moore's company if I am not mistaken?


It was - possibly TVS' greavest error - in the same pot as RBS buying Abn Amro!!!


I think that was the only reason why family Channel wanted to buy TVS, if the US ecomany did not go tits up in 1989 it would have been a sound investment.... TVS did stay on it would have merged with lwt and could have become a ITV superpower to combat Granada and Carlton.

Im surprised Thames did not keep hold of a proper studios it would have help cut cost etc to allow it all to be in house.

The facilities Thames had were simply too much. I doubt they'd have kept their whole portfolio even if they had retained their franchise.
ME
mersey70
There was another very bland Thames endcap, I think it was used on Pop Idol amongst other shows.

It's on TV Ark (the second to last one), I'm not sure how to copy the image but hopefully the link will work.

http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/itvlondon/thames-main3.html
JO
Joe
http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/itvlondon/itvlondon-thamesmain/endboards/end2003-thamespidols.jpg
IS
Inspector Sands
623058 posted:
I have to ask who getting control of this department? Archive Very Happy

http://www.fremantlearchivesales.com/
IS
Inspector Sands
623058 posted:
Im surprised Thames did not keep hold of a proper studios it would have help cut cost etc to allow it all to be in house.

No, it would have cost more. It's cheaper to rent studios when you want them rather than have them sitting around costing money. Having studios and then renting them as a facility is a very different business to production
:-(
A former member
JAS84 posted:
623058 posted:
I have to ask who getting control of this department? Archive Very Happy

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThamesTv

There also own I believe half the back catalogue for Cosgrove hall, and lot more to boot
Thames sold Cosgrove Hall to Granada when they lost their franchise, so it ended up in ITV plc's hands. It met it's demise when ITV stopped making kids shows two years ago.


As the above post proves ITV only controls half the back catalogue of Cosgrove hall, with the other half in the hands of thames.
CW
cwathen Founding member
How long did TVS survive for after closure? Even in 1994, various programmes still had things like 'facilities by TVS' in their credits even if the programme wasn't billed as their production. Perhaps the long held belief that Thames is the only ITV company ever to survive the loss of it's franchise isn't true after all if TVS were still getting credits on programmes 2 years after they bit the dust.
IS
Inspector Sands
cwathen posted:
How long did TVS survive for after closure? Even in 1994, various programmes still had things like 'facilities by TVS' in their credits even if the programme wasn't billed as their production. Perhaps the long held belief that Thames is the only ITV company ever to survive the loss of it's franchise isn't true after all if TVS were still getting credits on programmes 2 years after they bit the dust.

According to Wikipedia and other sources the company was sold to International Family Entertainment on the 1st February 1993, so it only really lasted a month after going off air. They didn't make any programmes after 1992, having a 'facilities' credit is very different, presumably the Maidstone studios weren't renamed for a while after - they became 'The Family Channel Studios' for a while.

As for other ITV companies surviving, it depends what you mean by survive. Thames, TVS, TSW and TVam were all sold in 1993/4. Thames is the only one that survives as a TV company with it's original name.
WP
WillPS
Inspector Sands posted:
cwathen posted:
How long did TVS survive for after closure? Even in 1994, various programmes still had things like 'facilities by TVS' in their credits even if the programme wasn't billed as their production. Perhaps the long held belief that Thames is the only ITV company ever to survive the loss of it's franchise isn't true after all if TVS were still getting credits on programmes 2 years after they bit the dust.

According to Wikipedia and other sources the company was sold to International Family Entertainment on the 1st February 1993, so it only really lasted a month after going off air. They didn't make any programmes after 1992, having a 'facilities' credit is very different, presumably the Maidstone studios weren't renamed for a while after - they became 'The Family Channel Studios' for a while.

As for other ITV companies surviving, it depends what you mean by survive. Thames, TVS, TSW and TVam were all sold in 1993/4. Thames is the only one that survives as a TV company with it's original name.

In the case of the latter 2 the only asset transferred was their stock exchange visibility; they were reverse acquisitions.

I'd imagine that TVS remained the trading name for the facilities and domestic production side of the business for some time after the acquisition, hence the credits.
:-(
A former member
Can you tell us what programmes had the credits?
NG
noggin Founding member
623058 posted:
Can you tell us what programmes had the credits?


ISTR that a number of TVS / Action Time gameshows transferred to STV in "production" terms but were still made in Maidstone, as possibly were some kids shows.

Didn't STV assume responsibility for a number of TVS-produced kids shows that continued after they lost the franchise?

Looking back at ITV franchises past, Maidstone (formerly TVS), Teddington (formerly Thames) and Fountain (formerly Associated Redifusion and poss - briefly - LWT) are the only main surviving studio operations that continue to make TV after their owners lost their franchise?

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