Thames and LWT produced programmes on Channel 4

Looking on TV-ark at some end boards for both LWT and Thames, I saw some of them said "An LWT/Thames production for Channel 4". I do know that Thames produced programmes couldn't be shown on ITV when LWT was transmitting, from 17:15 on a Friday until 05:59:59 on a Monday, and LWT programmes couldn't be shown when Thames had the transmission time.

This was shown up in embarrassing fashion for Morecambe and Wise, when they left the BBC for Thames, because this meant if Christmas day fell on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, their show couldn't go out on the big night.

But, what if the programme made by Thames or LWT was commissioned for Channel 4? Could a Thames produced show, such as For what it's worth, be shown at 20:30 on a Friday evening on Channel 4, when LWT had the transmission time on ITV? Likewise, could that mean that an LWT produced show for Channel 4 could be shown on a Tuesday evening?

Do you have any more detail on this known rule?

It surely would have prevented Thames from being able to provide their news bulletins which LWT took on Friday evenings. I'm sure I remember some LWT stuff during the week in the 90s too - the CiTV version of Gladiators for one - so I guess this must've been an IBA thing?

There were big changes in ITV in the 90s, I'm guessing those changes allowed LWT shows to go out during the week.

Well I was reading on a website called Off the telly a few years ago, about the 50 years of ITV. The actual page is here, and look at 1979:

http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/oldott/www.offthetelly.co.uk/index5b46.html?page_id=1475

And it's the fact that it mentions that if Xmas day fell on a weekend, Morecambe and Wise's show couldn't go out on the big night.

I presume so. Still, doesn't explain the news - or was this just an agreed exception?

Yes it could, and did ! I remember Book 4 on C4's opening night (a Tuesday), and subsequent Tuesdays, an LWT production.

The reason for the news was back in 1982, the handover to LWT was moved to 5:15, and thus they were contractually required to provide an evening news programme. An agreement with the IBA allowed them to hand back to Thames for a bulletin.

I'm fairly sure it was more a case of they just wouldn't show/schedule/commission each other's programmes in their airtime rather than it being a rule, they were very competitive.

IIRC The news on a Friday night wasn't the only Thames programme on LWT, IIRC the nightly closedown religious slot was too. ANd Thame sprogrammes were scheduled at weekends in other regions

As for Channel 4, I don't see why they wouldn't show a Thames/LWT programme at any time of the week. There's not even the issue that the other station isn't operating as the programme itself would be played out from Channel 4, not an ITV company

Incidently there's a thread on this here, though it strays a bit

The news was basically an agreement that suited everyone.

The change of handover time meant that LWT needed to provide news for the first time, so it suited them to effectively commision Thames to produce it almost as an independent producer rather than set up their own news operation.

For Thames's part the income from LWT would have offset some of the lost revenue from the two hours of advert sales that they lost for no additional cost to what they were previously committed to.

In hindsight I'm surprised LWT didn't insist on the bulletin being rebranded - at least to a neutral London News, but I guess that was an era before marketing bods micro managed everything.

Plus it meant Thames would have its news on five days a week. This could have been sorted out if Thames had moved its sports show to another slot instead of 18.30.

I think I'll go along with others and say it was more to do with them being very competitive.

Point of order m'lord. LWT didn't hand back to Thames, in the sense that BT/IBA switched the direct transmitter feeds back, just that Thames News arrived at LWT Pres as an outside source, (just like anything from Central, Granada, YTV, Anglia, etc )

Follwing on from the link provided, the only instance of a Thames prog on LWT that I recall
was that Torvile and Dean doc (on the night they were going for gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics)

What about the Bank holiday World of sport on Monday which of course is a LWT programme?