Thames/Carlton Takeover 1992/3

They did sell to TSW though, it wasn't like they just walked. TWW's the nearest to a full on strop as they sold the airtime to Harlech and didn't give them enough time to sort themselves out.

Ah, the night of News Years Eve 1992 was quite a night at The London Studios. First off getting Carlton on-air at midnight, then GMTV at 6am, then LNN Studio 7. How the champagne flowed and flowed. Zonked at the end of it all.

And Southern broadcast a very bitter and angry speech from their chairman that had been recorded at a staff event several weeks earlier as part of their final show and news bulletin, followed by the infamous Portakabin TV song mocking TVS. If that wasn't an on-air strop, I don't know what was!

There's certainly something not right there. But Carlton had a very, very state of the art dedicated digital promotions area designed and staffed by very good people. I don't believe for one moment they would sign off something like that. Something not right there.

No footage of that on Youtube, must be rare.....

It's here- starts around 21 minutes in:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1tboj2_day-by-yesterday-the-final-edition-of-day-by-day_shortfilms

Ouch! Bitter much...

I'm surprised Stilgoe accepted the job to compose and perform the song, perhaps he didn't realise it was going to be broadcast ? I suppose fine (just about) behind closed doors, but public domain...?

Here's a feast for you, the last Coast To Coast from 31/12/92, which includes a full report about Meridian and their news service, and a vox pox from one woman who refers to TVS as 'Southern', and a bloke who calls it ITV

https://youtu.be/csuXY5zMrqA?t=77

And spot the unforgivable mistake at the very end !

Although, to give him credit, Stilgoe did manage to say the letters T.V.S - which was the only time in the whole hour they were actually mentioned by name.

Without Cliff Mitchelmore's links (who, given his experience must have done that one for the pay check) it is just 50 mins of hate, bile and spite aimed at TVS, rather than the IBA. Instead of being a celebratory programme recognizing the first independent television contractor in the South and South East of England, it all has a very unpleasant and nasty air running the way through it.

Wasn't that just the style those days? I seem to remember a phase of producers discovering DVE and over using it to squeeze and manipulate pictures in all sorts of ways.

The concept of aspect ratio wasn't as common as there was only 4:3 (unless you worked with films)

The last Thames news has Graham Miller saying "To those who follow, good luck". Not as much bitterness as Southern on screen.