TV-am and TSW rememberance - of sorts

Hi all!

This is incredibly geeky I know, but as it's almost 15 years to the day that these broadcasters said "Smell ya later" I thought I'd ask a question that's actually bugged me now for about 20-odd years. (Sad I know)

I lived in the TSW area (now ITV1 Carlton Westcountry - "YUK"), and still do....

When TSW was on the air (and from what I can see from archives from other ITV regions - everyone else), when 6:00am came and when 9:25am came along (The start and finish of TV-am) there was a massive glitch of disruption, loss of synch etc when there was a handover.

Can anyone explain to me how TV-am integrated into the network as such, as from what I can see (and the clips from archives prove) - that TV-am had a dedicated link to the transmitters that switched at set times to and from the seperate franchises, and were out of the ITV franchises control....

As soon as GMTV came along it all seemed different.

Also, when TSW handed over to Westcountry, Caradon Hill switched over at bang on 00:00, whereas Redruth (Which was more local to me at the time) went to the big clock at 00:00, then faded out gently and then had 3 seconds of black before switching over (a-la TV-am loss of synch) to Westcountry ....

It's a 15-year itch that I need to scratch..... Badly.

(The fact that I see the old TSW/Westward studios every day when I walk past and I alway think "I'll ask this question when I get home" always pisses me off)

Sad I know, but it still bothers me...

Regards, and a happy and safe 2008!

Simon

Hey noggin!

There's a man here needs local ends and BT Tower switchovers explained!

Over to you!

Simon. If noggin doesn't respond here, try a PM to him, as he's the man with the knowledge to explain it properly.

Thanks buddy!

Like I said, it's nearly 15 years ago that it all happened, but it still lives on in my heart.

Is that bad? I still to this day wish that both were still on the air as they denoted a certain "twang" to Channel 3, especially in Devon and Cornwall - There was uproar when TSW was ousted!!

At this point - I'd like to pass my respects to Peter Cadbury (Chairman, Westward), and Ian Stirling (Continuity Announcer, Westward and TSW - also an editor for Westcountry)

Rest in Peace...

These glitches also occured in London at Thames to LWT handover.

The reason the glitches stopped when GMTV came along was that GMTV's programme went through the local ITV studio so they drop the news opt outs in, in a similar way to the BBC opts. Not sure whether there are glitches in Northern Ireland and Scotland, where the bulletins aren't provided by UTV and STV.

It will be a sad day next year when they knock down the TSW studios, currently occupied by Foot Anstey solicitors.

I still see the building most weekends and it always reminds me of TSW.

I'd just travelled back from the US the night TSW was 'switched over' to Westcountry and missed it all, buy I understand the film they showed broke down not far in to it.

It's actually ITV1 Westcountry now (although on Westcountry News, it is sometimes referred to as just "Westcountry"), and has been since February 2004 (i.e. since the Carlton/Granada merger). The Carlton name actually disappeared in 2003, when it became known as "ITV1 for the Westcountry". As someone who lives in the area, surely you should know this.

Until 1989, regional ORACLE was also unavailable during TV-am but even when this was rectified, TV-am still had complete control of the transmitter network so there would remain that messy switchover from the local company to TV-am and back each day.

GMTV's plans for regional news inserts are maybe what helped get them the franchise over TV-am; it would certainly have gone against the incumbent that regional ITV stations were not able to freely opt in or out of the breakfast output at the time.

Or the extra few millions,

Maybe so. But it was certainly to TV-am's disadvantage that they never provided regional news opt-outs, which the BBC opposition had been doing since day one.

Good question - and here's one that's been bugging me from that time:

What did Channel show in the last few hours of NYE 1992 and January 1st 1993? If ordinarily they re-broadcast a 'dirty' Rowridge feed, then did they simulcast the TVS 'Goodbye to All That' followed by 'Meridian: The First 10 Minutes'? I assume they must have...

RIP TSW and Ian Stirling

I know this, however I chucked the Carlton bit in anyway

Bloody good question! I'd be very interested to know this as well.