The BBC is a very different thing, the BBC is the established national broadcaster, publicly funded, so they have no trouble using Ulster as a name, UTV being more independent do. UTV choose in 1993 to offcially rename it UTV, as it was near the end of the troubles, but also they had a large presence in the Irish republic, most cable TV systems there carried UTV and everyone preferred to call it UTV.
They had a large audience in the Irish Republic from 1959 according to their 50th anniversary documentary and didn't rename Ulster Television until 1993, by your logic of using the troubles and changing to appeal to both sides of community they would have done it in 1969 when the troubles began. The reason the change to UTV was a commercial one as the name was constantly being used since it started just like Scottish Television is now branded STV and the whole Channel 3 network ITV and at the end of the day they are a commercial broadcaster.
Bringing in the pedantic side of things - Ulster is a bit of a misnomer anyway, isn't it? Only part of Ulster is in Northern Ireland.
I know that Granada is some way away from Manchester, but that was an ongoing heritage situation - the station was still called Granada at switchover. I can't see ITV reverting UTV back to Ulster, especially given the sensitivities. They've been extremely cautious so far.
If anything, UTV would eventually become ITV. I still reckon that's the gameplan, but we can only see.
See also Holland. And America. And, let's face it, England.
And I have the same problem with any of these being used instead of the correct term. Holland = Netherlands. America = the US. The UK is the UK - saying England as a replacement for the UK is not acceptable.
To be fair yes Ulster encompasses 9 counties and 6 is Northern Ireland but the name has stuck for 57 years either as Ulster or UTV. If you want to know why in 1921 the split was 6 Counties which became Northern Ireland instead of 9 of Ulster look at Irish history and Edward Carson
I don't think a return to the name Ulster in this day and age would really cause uproar however I agree if a change was to happen it would probably change to ITV NI
The word "Ulster" apparently isn't an issue at the Beeb, where Radio Ulster retains its original branding. I know they use Radio Foyle for their opt out service partly to sidestep the Derry/Londonderry issue.
Yes but if R Ulster were being established today it would have a different name. BBC guideline state that "Ulster"'should not be used as a synonym for Northern Ireland.
Don Anderson's '50 Years of UTV' makes reference to the rebranding of the station and sheds some light on the thinking behind it. Prior to the decision in 1992 to rebrand as UTV, there had been internal arguments about whether the station was called UTV or Ulster Television. When Brum Henderson was in charge, he insisted on 'Ulster Television' - he hated the acronym and would reprimand anyone he heard using it. Even though at the station there was an insistence that it must be 'Ulster Television' and the announcers always referred to it in that way, the Belfast Telegraph, Irish News and (Brum's brother's newspaper) the News Letter, were writing about 'UTV'.
However, John McCann realised the importance of the vernacular and when Brum moved on, the station was rebranded as UTV and the slogan 'UTV is your TV' was born. As John McCann put to it (to Don Anderson): "If you could make television for that street out there, everybody in that street would watch it. You can't because the economics don't work. But if you can get across the message to all the streets that you are their local television station, then people are much more likely to watch. Of course, the programmes still have to be right, they have to be good."
As Don goes on to point out, the rebranding also saw the station remove as much on-screen reference to ITV as it could. It wanted to hammer home the localness of UTV. It rebadged all programme trailers with a UTV logo. UTV was shouting 'Local, local'. It was also the only ITV company to retain in-vision continuity announcers. Alan Bremner, the then head of local programming, believed people here liked it. He chose people like Julian Simmons - who could really engage with the viewer - people loved the camp presence.
The word "Ulster" apparently isn't an issue at the Beeb, where Radio Ulster retains its original branding. I know they use Radio Foyle for their opt out service partly to sidestep the Derry/Londonderry issue.
Yes but if R Ulster were being established today it would have a different name. BBC guideline state that "Ulster"'should not be used as a synonym for Northern Ireland.
The most important word in this post is the word "If" - please stop making this Ulster thing sound like an issue. It really isn't.
If any of this was true then Radio Ulster would be renamed immediately. In fact, their Breakfast show is even called Good Morning Ulster. So what you're claiming is completely untrue.
I guess this means we'll have to rename the University Of Ulster and our local bus service Ulsterbus.
The word "Ulster" apparently isn't an issue at the Beeb, where Radio Ulster retains its original branding. I know they use Radio Foyle for their opt out service partly to sidestep the Derry/Londonderry issue.
Yes but if R Ulster were being established today it would have a different name. BBC guideline state that "Ulster"'should not be used as a synonym for Northern Ireland.
The most important word in this post is the word "If" - please stop making this Ulster thing sound like an issue. It really isn't.
If any of this was true then Radio Ulster would be renamed immediately. In fact, their Breakfast show is even called Good Morning Ulster. So what you're claiming is completely untrue.
I guess this means we'll have to rename the University Of Ulster and our local bus service Ulsterbus.
I don't think anyone is suggesting renaming anything already called Ulster. Using "Ulster" as a shorthand for NI is controversial (as these things often are) and ITV would be well advised to avoid it. Note that the BBC News Style Guide.
Quote:
Ulster
Acceptable if in a direct quote or part of a title (for example, the Ulster Unionists). But we should not use as an alternative to Northern Ireland - since the ‘six counties’ north of the border are only a part of Ulster. Ulsterman/Ulsterwoman can be used in a direct quote.
Yes but if R Ulster were being established today it would have a different name. BBC guideline state that "Ulster"'should not be used as a synonym for Northern Ireland.
The most important word in this post is the word "If" - please stop making this Ulster thing sound like an issue. It really isn't.
If any of this was true then Radio Ulster would be renamed immediately. In fact, their Breakfast show is even called Good Morning Ulster. So what you're claiming is completely untrue.
I guess this means we'll have to rename the University Of Ulster and our local bus service Ulsterbus.
I don't think anyone is suggesting renaming anything already called Ulster. Using "Ulster" as a shorthand for NI is controversial (as these things often are) and ITV would be well advised to avoid it. Note that the BBC News Style Guide.
Quote:
Ulster
Acceptable if in a direct quote or part of a title (for example, the Ulster Unionists). But we should not use as an alternative to Northern Ireland - since the ‘six counties’ north of the border are only a part of Ulster. Ulsterman/Ulsterwoman can be used in a direct quote.
You could say anything they use is controversial and while I personally don't agree with this the name Northern Ireland is controversial for Republicans for example with Sinn Fein referring to the North of Ireland. You also have people that take offense on the name of our second city is called Derry or Londonderry.
I honestly don't see Ulster as an issue and neither do Ulster Bank, Ulster Museum, Ulster Grand Prix, University of Ulster etc. and if ITV wish to use it I don't see much objection to it, whether ITV use it or not is another question.
The most important word in this post is the word "If" - please stop making this Ulster thing sound like an issue. It really isn't.
If any of this was true then Radio Ulster would be renamed immediately. In fact, their Breakfast show is even called Good Morning Ulster. So what you're claiming is completely untrue.
I guess this means we'll have to rename the University Of Ulster and our local bus service Ulsterbus.
I don't think anyone is suggesting renaming anything already called Ulster. Using "Ulster" as a shorthand for NI is controversial (as these things often are) and ITV would be well advised to avoid it. Note that the BBC News Style Guide.
Quote:
Ulster
Acceptable if in a direct quote or part of a title (for example, the Ulster Unionists). But we should not use as an alternative to Northern Ireland - since the ‘six counties’ north of the border are only a part of Ulster. Ulsterman/Ulsterwoman can be used in a direct quote.
You could say anything they use is controversial and while I personally don't agree with this the name Northern Ireland is controversial for Republicans for example with Sinn Fein referring to the North of Ireland. You also have people that take offense on the name of our second city is called Derry or Londonderry.
I honestly don't see Ulster as an issue and neither do Ulster Bank, Ulster Museum, Ulster Grand Prix, University of Ulster etc. and if ITV wish to use it I don't see much objection to it, whether ITV use it or not is another question.
No, but many do. Northern Ireland or NI are the most neutral ways of referring to the place by name IMHO.
But I think the point is the UTV gets round those problems entirely. And I know what the U stands for! 😁
The BBC News style guide issue with using Ulster is not one of controversy, it's one of accuracy.
For example... you can refer to the "Ulster Hospital" as that is the name of an actual hospital.
You cannot refer to "budget cuts to hospitals across Ulster"... as the budget cuts would only be in hospitals across the six counties of Ulster which are in the UK, and would not include the other three counties which are in the RoI. Therefore using "Northern Ireland" is the accurate term.
TL
toby lerone 2016
By the way I agree Northern Ireland is the best term for the place but don't see any offense if ITV rebrand UTV and want to call their news bulletin ITV News Ulster or something like that although I do think ITV Northern Ireland or ITV NI will probably be more likely.
Or alternatively, things could just stay as they are, given that there has been zero indication that they intend to change UTV to ITV.
Seriously, if they are going to do that, why haven't they already? If there is going to be an uproar (which, let's be honest, there wouldn't be), then why not get it out of the way sooner rather than later? What is to be gained by delaying it? What they have now works.
Because they feel that easing the changes in over time will cushion the blow than an all out change that will anger viewers and get negative reactions/publicity from them? If you give them ITV in all but name then changing the name will not be as much of a shock. Remember viewers were coming from amateurish presentation and graphics to something very slick and modern looking. It was easier for ITV to pass it off as a refresh for UTV instead of a full on rebrand which included a name change.
I do believe at some point in the future, UTV as a name will be phased out and we will have ITV NI.
:-(
A former member
I think people may be right about UTV going, but I do believe alot of people are incorrect at the speed of the change-over. I think it will be a much slower pace, and alot of people will be looking at ITV to see what it does with this election.