Border's "chopsticks" are a representation of the Border TV region with the "V" the Solway Firth...
To say that "ITV" was 50 in 2005 is correct...but the individual programme contractors obviously started transmission at different times. Border, Granada, Associated Rediffusion, Westward etc were franchise holders who had a licence to broadcast for a set period of time from transmitters allocated to them by the Independent Television Authority. Most "older" viewers still refer to ITV by the old programme company names. In other words, people in the ITV Border region speak about watching Border, not ITV. The same applies elsewhere. I know plenty of people who refer to ITV 1 as Tyne Tees, Yorkshire or Granada. And, of course, STV has been STV in Central Scotland since 1957. The original logo for "Scottish Television" looked like a coat of arms with a lion rampant in the top right corner with S top left and T and V at the bottom.
I don't think ATV was ever ABC as such. ATV held the weekday franchise in the Midlands and the franchise for Saturday and Sunday in London (Associated Rediffusion held the weekday franchise for London until Thames took over in 1968) ABC, with their triangular logo, broadcast at weekends only in both the Midlands and the North. (Granada only broadcast Monday to Friday until franchise renewal time in 1968) The Granada region also included Yorkshire until that year, there was no separate company or programming from Emley Moor.
[quote]To say that "ITV" was 50 in 2005 is correct...but the individual programme contractors obviously started transmission at different times. [/quote]
If we're being technical ITV was 50 in 2004 because the ITA was created by the Television Act 1954 and could potentially have allowed contractors to start broadcasting from that year.
My issue is that just because London had ITV from 1955, 2005 became the 'official' national 50th birthday of ITV. There's certainly nothing wrong with acknowledging it nationally, but IMO it was a bit much when regional news programmes started 'taking a look back over the past 50 years' when ITV hadn't been available in the given region for 50 years; the overtones of the entire ITV50 promotion were to try and forget the past and pretend that ITV had existing as a single integrated entity nationally since 1955.
[quote]Most "older" viewers still refer to ITV by the old programme company names. In other words, people in the ITV Border region speak about watching Border, not ITV.[/quote]
I think you'll find that the 'old' companies still exist - each ITV region is a franchise held by a separate limited company which together form the ITV Network. (that is except the new Thames Valley service, which apparently doesn't need a franchise, nor apparently does it matter that Central and Meridian are breaking the terms of their own franchise agreements by now providing only a dual news service when a triple one is required - OFCOM of course hasn't batted an eyelid).
[quote]I don't think ATV was ever ABC as such.[/quote]
It *was* known as ABC. What is often forgotten is that ATV London actually launched as ABC. It was forced into a hasty rebrand shortly after launch following complaints from ABPC who allready used the ABC brand for their cinema chain, and cruicially, had accepted a contract (ABC were actually *offered* their licences as opposed to applying for them) to operate the two Midlands and North weekend services with which they wanted to use the same brand.
Has there EVERY been Bad programmes made by ITV regional companies?
??
Of course there has. I can point to a fair number programmes TTTV for example made over the years. Some of their live shows were a total and utter shambles
One can only hope they do something like this when Tyne Tees is 50 in 2009.. Can't see it happening though..
cwathen posted:
I think you'll find that Tyne Tees has allready had it's 50th birthday; as of September 2005, ALL ITV stations were 50 years old. There was never a time when some parts of the country had ITV and some didn't. And down in the south west, Westcountry absolutely did not make a programme called 40 years of ITV in 2001, 4 years before looking back at 50 years of ITV within the regional news.
Tyne Tees Television didn't start broadcasting until 1959, therefore viewers in the North East never had an ITV station whilst other regions in the country did, so regardless on how old ITV is, Tyne Tees will be 50 years old in 2009. And also to contradict what you're saying, how come Tyne Tees celebrated it's 40th in 1999, according to your way of thinking Tyne Tees would've celebrated it's 40th in 1995 when ITV turned 40.
Has there EVERY been Bad programmes made by ITV regional companies?
??
Of course there has. I can point to a fair number programmes TTTV for example made over the years. Some of their live shows were a total and utter shambles
Can't say that any of Border's programmes fall into this category.... but then, since Border's contribution to the network was limited to "Mr & Mrs", "The Joke Machine", "Krazy Kitchen" and the occasional edition of "Highway" and "Get Fresh", it's not surprising really.
Southern, in its closing months, made the dire "Take a Letter Mr Jones" as a starring vehicle for the late John Inman, while TSW's opening programme in 1982 has gone down in the annals of TV history as one of the worst shows ever aired - even making it into one of those "100 Top TV Moments from Hell" or something like that. When a show is included in one of these lists, then you know that it really was poor.
:-(
A former member
what was it called:http://www.thecustard.tv/linksandlists/100momentsfromhell.html
also: 90 ITV's paper-folding show Origami (1968-72)
Can't say that any of Border's programmes fall into this category.... but then, since Border's contribution to the network was limited to "Mr & Mrs", "The Joke Machine", "Krazy Kitchen" and the occasional edition of "Highway" and "Get Fresh", it's not surprising really.
I was referring to regional programmes, as that's what I thought 652.... meant. I saw one or two live Border regional programmes that could be referred to as a shambles as well
Can't say that any of Border's programmes fall into this category.... but then, since Border's contribution to the network was limited to "Mr & Mrs", "The Joke Machine", "Krazy Kitchen" and the occasional edition of "Highway" and "Get Fresh", it's not surprising really.
I was referring to regional programmes, as that's what I thought 652.... meant. I saw one or two live Border regional programmes that could be referred to as a shambles as well
That was possibly because the hire period for the OB unit was just about up....
