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112-408: In Defence is a four-part British television legal drama series, created and partially written by Mike Cullen, that first broadcast on ITV on 26 June 2000. The series stars Ross Kemp and Sophie Okonedo , and follows Sam Lucas (Kemp), a lawyer and legal detective, who takes it upon himself to investigate cases where the police have failed to uncover enough evidence to secure a conviction. The series

224-461: A gentlemen's agreement between the two sides not to poach each other's imported shows. Thames paid £55,000 a show compared to the £29,000 of the BBC. The deal brought condemnation from the BBC and from other ITV stations, who feared the BBC would poach their imports, pushing up prices. The BBC planned to delay transmission of the episodes of Dallas that it already had, with the hope to broadcast them at

336-529: A 13-part documentary series about the era of the America silent cinema. This series, produced by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill , was followed by the company sponsoring Thames Silents , a project undertaken by Brownlow and Gill of the restoration and screenings (in a limited number of cinemas and on television) of major films from the silent era. The two men followed Hollywood with series dedicated to leading comics of

448-491: A 35% pay rise. Two years later in May 1977, another strike occurred when production assistants at Thames refused to operate new video equipment. Thames proceeded to sack all the technicians for breach of contract. The following month, both sides backed down over the issues, with all technicians returning to work. The worst strike to hit the network originated at Thames. Failure to reach agreement on pay increases and shift allowances in

560-557: A British military ceremony in Gibraltar . The documentary was regarded almost as treason by many Conservative politicians, and The Sunday Times made claims about one of the witnesses interviewed which were later found to be libellous. The following year, in 1989, Thames ended the contract of Benny Hill , a stalwart at the station since 1969. It was believed that the comedian was dismissed because his shows were considered offensive and politically incorrect , but John Howard Davies said

672-486: A Thames subsidiary founded in 1976 which made animated series for children. During the hours after Rainbow and before the children's slot, Good Afternoon was transmitted, a magazine programme. It began after the IBA allowed non-schools broadcasting in this period of the day, when the government relaxed the regulations around daytime television and featured interview editions undertaken by such broadcasters as Mavis Nicholson , and

784-504: A central service under the STV brand. The company had several disputes with ITV plc in the late 2000s and early 2010s over network programming. STV aimed to broadcast more Scottish programmes at peak times and so removed several key ITV plc programmes from their schedule in July 2009 including The Bill , Midsomer Murders and Lewis . Despite STV's explanation of expense, ITV plc were angered by

896-411: A considerable amount of syndicated unscripted US programmes in daytime during the 90s, such as Judge Judy and The Jerry Springer Show . By 1996, ITV had been quiet with US series in primetime, particularly as Channel 4 and Sky One increased the competition for securing the most popular US dramas and sitcoms. However, that summer, ITV debuted the primetime soap Savannah , in a 9pm Friday slot. It

1008-426: A contract with Morecambe & Wise . The comedians had worked for the BBC since 1968 with major national success, but the decisive factor leading the duo to leave the corporation was Thames's offer to feature them as main leads in a film made by the company's Euston Films subsidiary. The comedy duo's leading scriptwriter, Eddie Braben , did not initially move to ITV with them, and with Eric Morecambe's failing health,

1120-488: A couple of hours after midnight, replacing gambling broadcasts: the time between the news and the shopping is usually kept for re-runs, with ITV repeating its primetime entertainment shows, films, or sports programming from ITV4. ITV continues with its regular scheduled programming after the shopping service finishes at around 3am with showbiz news bulletin FYI Extra and repeats, many of which have on-screen BSL signing for

1232-400: A dedicated CITV programming block now broadcasting on ITV2 every morning, from 2 September 2023. Schools programming on the network began in 1957 in some regions and expanded as more regions began broadcasting. It was a contractual obligation for some ITV companies to broadcast schools programming, and this was initially broadcast as part of the normal scheduling. The programmes were moved into

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1344-521: A light-touch regulator, the ITC ; companies became able to purchase other ITV regional companies and franchises were now being awarded based upon a highest-bidder auction, with few safeguards in place. This heavily criticised part of the review saw four operators replaced, and the operators facing different annual payments to the Treasury : Central Independent Television, for example, paid only £2,000—despite holding

1456-448: A lucrative and large region—because it was unopposed, while Yorkshire Television paid £37.7 million for a region of the same size and status, owing to heavy competition. Following the 1993 changes, ITV as a network began to consolidate with several companies doing so to save money by ceasing the duplication of services present when they were all separate companies. By 2004, the ITV network

1568-711: A monthly political programme, most non-news regional programming in the English regions was dropped by ITV plc in 2009, although it continues in Wales and the Channel Islands, as well as on STV and UTV and ITV Border in Scotland from 2014 to cover mainly Scottish politics whilst ITV Border in England broadcast network programming . On 14 January 2013, ITV plc regional news programmes titles were discontinued in favour of more generic branding under

1680-481: A public service broadcaster, the ITV network is obliged to broadcast programming of public importance, including news, current affairs, children's and religious programming as well as party election broadcasts on behalf of the major political parties and political events, such as the Budget. The network also needs to produce accessible output containing subtitles, signing and audio description. In exchange for this programming,

1792-460: A reputation for drama with such series as Jenny, Lady Randolph Churchill (1974), with Lee Remick as the mother of Winston Churchill . It won an Emmy as the best series in its category, as Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978), about the abdication crisis , did later. Other successful series in the genre from this period include Shades of Greene (1975–76), Rock Follies (1976), and Armchair Thriller (1978–80). These programmes were made in

1904-483: A segment for broadcast during the day in the 1960s, under the banner Independent Television for Schools and Colleges and from 1987 were broadcast on Channel 4 in the ITV Schools on Channel 4 segment. In 1993, this segment became Channel 4 Schools and later in 2000 4Learning . These strands of programming consisted of schools programming from all the ITV companies or from independent sources. The schools strand itself

2016-457: A separate entity, but it, along with Talkback's own logo continued to be used separately until 2006, when a new logo for Talkback Thames was introduced. However, on 1 January 2012, the Thames brand was revived and Talkback Thames has now been split into four different labels: Boundless, Retort, Talkback and Thames , within the newly created FremantleMedia UK production arm. From its formation in 1954,

2128-462: A sign language service within the broadcast as part of its quota and licence requirements. ITV's strong daytime line-up helped by programmes such as This Morning , Loose Women , Dickinson's Real Deal and game shows Tipping Point and The Chase are very popular, achieving the highest audience share during the daytime slot. In recent years the network has tried to use formats that ITV Studios own outright (whether they have originated in

2240-487: A weekly consumer programme, which eventually became a programme in its own right; Money-Go-Round . Thames also produced The World at War (1973–74), a 26-part history of the Second World War using unseen footage and interviews, often of high-level participants. The series, narrated by Laurence Olivier , was commissioned in 1969, took four years to produce, and cost a record £4m (approx £47m in 2018). Thames gained

2352-534: Is branded as ITV1 in most of the UK except for central and northern Scotland, where it is branded as STV . It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition, eliminating what had been the monopoly of BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990 , it has been legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from

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2464-425: Is not owned or operated by one company, but by a number of licensees, which provide regional services while also broadcasting programmes across the network. Since 2016, the fifteen licences are held by two companies, with the majority held by ITV Broadcasting Limited, part of ITV plc. The network is regulated by the media regulator Ofcom who is responsible for awarding the broadcast licences. The last major review of

2576-453: Is now defunct, with no particular branding segment used. ITV was originally very reliant on broadcasting American series, with westerns such as Gunsmoke and Rawhide in particular being considerable successes for the network during its earlier years. Action drama The Fugitive and sci-fi anthology The Twilight Zone were also broadcast by various regions in the early 1960s, with Batman and I Dream of Jeannie shown later on in

2688-558: The ITV News title with the region listed as the subheading. However some "heritage" brand names were retained including Calendar , Granada Reports and Lookaround . On 28 June 2014, ITV News Cymru Wales returned to its historic name of Wales at Six . The network broadcasts children's programming under the CITV (Children's ITV) strand. Children's programming was originally provided during weekday afternoons and weekend mornings, however following

2800-519: The ITV News brand. ITN has long been respected in the news industry as a source of reliable information and news, and as a result the service has won many awards for their programmes, the latest being in May 2011 when News at Ten was named best news programme by the Royal Television Society and BAFTA . The ITV National Weather forecast was first broadcast in 1989, using data supplied by

2912-667: The Independent Television Authority (ITA) offered broadcasting licences to different companies for weekday and weekend service in its first three Independent Television network locations, the London area, the Midlands, and the North. The initial six contracts were parcelled out to different companies. Associated-Rediffusion (Rediffusion) won the London weekday service while Associated Television (ATV) operated weekends. ATV also won

3024-623: The Independent Television Authority (ITA, then IBA after the Sound Broadcasting Act) to heavily regulate the industry and to award franchises. The first six franchises were awarded in 1954 for London, the Midlands and the North of England, with separate franchises for Weekdays and Weekends. The first ITV service to launch was London's Associated-Rediffusion on 22 September 1955, with the Midlands and North services launching in February 1956 and May 1956 respectively. Following these launches,

3136-453: The Met Office , and was presented by a number of weather forecasters. The forecasts are sponsored with the sponsor's message appearing before and after the forecast. The forecasts are made immediately after the main national news bulletins. Prior to the creation of the national forecast, each regional company provided its own regional forecast. The regional forecasts today are incorporated into

3248-660: The Post Office Tower and the Tower of London —it was named Thames Television, after the River Thames . This name had been previously considered and rejected by London Weekend Television. On 30 July 1968, Thames began broadcasting to London. The opening week was disrupted by sporadic strike action; the following week, the action had spread to all of ITV and resulted in the creation of a management-run ITV Emergency National Service for some two weeks. Each week Thames broadcast from

3360-558: The Sid James vehicle Bless This House (1971–76), and Love Thy Neighbour (1972-76), with a controversial take on race relations. Another sitcom, Man About the House (1973–76), was successful enough for two spin-offs, George and Mildred (1976–80) and Robin's Nest (1977-81). The company took over the This Is Your Life format in 1969, several years after the BBC had dropped

3472-458: The Unwind slot, but this was eventually phased out and replaced with the aforementioned news and information service. This overnight programme service is very different to what used to be shown on the network in the years after 24-hour broadcasting was introduced - this included new entertainment, imports, sports and other information programmes, and, in some regions, a job finder service, however due to

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3584-896: The Unwind with ITV sequences to fill small pieces of time before this. Teleshopping on ITVBe starts at 01:00 and continues until 07:00. There are some occasions when other coverage means this cycle of programmes get misplaced, for example a live event overnight, such as the Super Bowl or the Oscars , both of which ITV started airing in 2024, or, over Christmas, failing to sell Teleshopping slots, meaning more repeats, films and long Unwind sequences are used as filler instead. Overnight, STV broadcasts an overnight rolling news and information service, mixing reports from STV News and other information-based services, instead of ITV's shopping slot and Unwind . Due to STV opt-outs, this service can start later than or earlier than ITV's teleshopping. STV originally simulcast

3696-585: The 1979 pay round resulted in technicians switching off power to the transmission facilities at the Euston Road centre on 6 August. After management restored power, the technicians walked out. Within four days, all but one ITV station had gone off-air after the ACTT asked members at other companies to walk out in claim for a 15% pay rise. The network was off the air for 10 weeks. Other Thames shows included This Week (known as TV Eye between 1979 and 1985), Rumpole of

3808-657: The 75% limit as possible. The group cut the number of regional news programmes offered from 17 in 2007 to 9 by 2009, resulting several regions being merged to form one programme, including the Border and Tyne Tees regions, the Westcountry and West regions and the removal of sub regional programming, with some regions only represented by pre-recorded segments. Sub-regions were restored in 2013. STV Group plc owns two franchises, covering central and northern Scotland, through subsidiary companies STV Central and STV North, broadcasting

3920-527: The Authority to offer the possibility of a programme company of real excellence." The resultant company was awarded the contract to serve London on weekdays. Control of the new company would be given to ABC, a move unpopular with Rediffusion. Questioning the ITA's decision, Rediffusion attempted to slow down the merger: only the threat of giving the licence solely to ABC made it relent. To assist Rediffusion financially,

4032-458: The BBC, via the IBA, £300,000 in compensation to make up the shortfall in additional cost for new episodes of Dallas . The most controversial programme Thames broadcast was the documentary " Death on the Rock ", part of the current affairs This Week series. The programme questioned the authority of British troops who had shot dead suspected IRA members allegedly planning a terrorist attack on

4144-610: The Bailey , the game shows Strike It Lucky , Give Us a Clue and Name That Tune , and the drama Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest . Thames sitcoms during the 1980s and early 1990s included Keep it in the Family , Never the Twain , After Henry , and Mr. Bean . The Mr. Bean pilot episode , starring Rowan Atkinson as the titular character, was first broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990, and

4256-529: The Channel 3 franchises was in 1991, with all operators' licences having been renewed between 1999 and 2002 and again from 2014 without a further contest. While this has been the longest period that the ITV network has gone without a major review of its licence holders, Ofcom announced (following consultation) that it would split the Wales and West licence from 1 January 2014, creating a national licence for Wales and joining

4368-450: The ITA awarded more franchises until the whole country was covered by fourteen regional stations, all launched by 1962. The network has been modified several times through franchise reviews that have taken place in 1963, 1967, 1974, 1980 and 1991, during which broadcast regions have changed and service operators have been replaced. Only one service operator has ever been declared bankrupt, WWN in 1963, with all other operators leaving

4480-432: The ITA insisted that the new company have two sets of shares: voting shares which would allow ABC to have control (with 51%) and 'B' shares which were to be split equally between the two, thus sharing profits fairly. The structure of the new company was also a problem. A merger between the two existing contract holders A.B.C. Television Limited and Rediffusion Television Limited was impossible, owing to internal politics, as

4592-749: The ITV network is available on all platforms free to air and can be found at the top of the EPG of all providers. Since the launch of the platform in 1998, all of the ITV licensees have received gifted capacity on the digital terrestrial television platform. At present, the companies are able to broadcast additional channels and all choose to broadcast the ITV plc owned ITV2 , ITV3 , ITV4 and ITVBe in their region. UTV and STV (formerly Scottish Television and Grampian Television ) previously broadcast their own services – UTV2 in Northern Ireland and S2 in central and northern Scotland – until 2002, when they adopted

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4704-521: The ITV network's history goes back to 1955, many regional franchisees changed over the years. Some of the most important names in the network's past – notably Thames , ABC and ATV – have no connection with the modern network. The origins of ITV lie in the passing of the Television Act 1954 , designed to break the monopoly on television held by the BBC Television Service . The act created

4816-777: The ITV plc channels. Despite this, STV was given a broadcasting licence for what would become the STV2 channel in 2013, however this was short-lived and the channel closed in 2018. The broadcasters all make use of the Digital 3&4 multiplex, shared with Channel 4 . CITV launched in March 2006 (closed September 2023). ITV Encore launched in June 2014 (closed May 2018) and ITVBe launched in October 2014. ITV Box Office launched in February 2017 (closed January 2020). On 13 September 2022, ITV confirmed that during

4928-572: The ITV1 channel and the UTV channel – now branded as ITV1, and STV Group , which runs the STV channel . The ITV network is a separate entity from ITV plc, the company that resulted from the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004. ITV plc holds the Channel 3 broadcasting licences for every region except for central and northern Scotland, which are held by STV Group. Today, ITV plc simply commissions

5040-436: The Midlands and North, who would instead be served by a single seven-day schedule. The London weekday/weekend split schedule remained the same, although the weekend contract was extended to include Friday evenings, but was opened to new applicants. As a result of the changes to the schedule, ABC was at risk of losing both of its existing franchises, the weekend services that would be going away. Consequently, ABC applied for both

5152-402: The Midlands seven-day operation and the contract to serve London at the weekend, preferring the latter. It was widely expected that the company would be awarded the London weekend franchise. Instead, after an impressive application by a consortium led by David Frost and others, this market was awarded to what became London Weekend Television . This led to a serious problem for the ITA as ABC

5264-545: The UK with their Lifted Entertainment company or have come from production companies they own abroad), though some popular programme formats like The Masked Singer have still been acquired from other companies abroad. Currently ITV are behind the formats for Dancing on Ice , The Voice UK (the format originally coming from their Dutch production company) and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! , while forthcoming music game show Walk The Line has been co-developed by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment and ITV. Since

5376-490: The authority. During the interview process, several members of Rediffusion management also appeared in interviews for applicants for other regions, principally the consortium of which David Frost was a member, as well as the interview for Rediffusion, leading the ITA to question the loyalty at the company. The outcome proposed by the ITA was a " shotgun marriage " between ABC and Rediffusion. "The combination of these two companies," announced ITA Chairman Lord Hill , "seemed to

5488-400: The breakfast service. All licences listed here were renewed until the end of 2024. Licences in England and Wales were held by the individual regional ITV plc owned companies prior to November 2008. The appointment to provide national news for Channel 3 is also subject to approval by Ofcom. This appointment has been held by ITN since the channel's inception, and has also been approved through

5600-424: The broadcaster. However, following the success of Without Motive , a fellow ITV stablemate which Kemp filmed concurrently alongside In Defence , his contract was renewed, with a second series of Without Motive commissioned. The series has yet to be released on DVD, and remains unrepeated since its initial broadcast. In Defence was co-produced by Helen Gregory and Louise Mutter through Granada Television , and

5712-416: The children's show Magpie (1968–80), intended as a rival for Blue Peter on BBC1 , and The Tomorrow People (1973–79), a science fiction series commissioned as an answer to the BBC's Doctor Who . For preschool children there was Rainbow , which started in 1972 and ran for 20 years. The programme used animation and graphics created by Stop Frame Productions, which later became Cosgrove Hall ,

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5824-406: The company had treated the ITA high-handedly in interviews. In the early days of ITV, the company had worked hard to keep the network on-air during financial crises that threatened the collapse of other companies, particularly Granada. It was reported that Rediffusion's chairman Sir John Spencer Wills felt the ITA owed his company a 'debt of gratitude' for this, a comment which particularly annoyed

5936-399: The creation of ITV Network Limited (and given Channel Television is now owned by ITV plc), it has been replaced by an affiliation system. Approved by Ofcom, this results in ITV plc commissioning and funding the network schedule, with STV and UTV paying a fee to broadcast it. All licensees have the right to opt out of network programming (except for the national news bulletins), but, unlike

6048-488: The crime from 1998 and its return to the hour long slot and then became much more a soap opera in 2002 (when individual story titles were dropped) until coming full circle dealing predominantly with crime again in about 2007 for the last few years of its existence. In January 1985, the company made a deal with international distributors for US production company Lorimar to purchase the UK broadcasting rights for US drama Dallas , at that time transmitted on BBC1 . This broke

6160-451: The day of Monday 19 September, the day of the state funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II , all programming schedules on ITV's digital channels will be scrapped, with the main ITV News coverage being shown live and uninterrupted on every channel. This was the first time ITV decided to do this, with the company keeping their digital channels' schedules mostly as advertised in the run up to

6272-547: The deaf community. Replacing the information-based ITV Nightscreen slot in 2021 was Unwind With ITV , programming produced in association with the Campaign Against Living Miserably . At around 4am each night this mindfulness programme shows calming shots of natural landscapes and relaxing animations for around an hour, with versions of the footage also seen on ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4. These three channels continue programming until around 02:30, sometimes using

6384-400: The decade. Due to the varying schedules of many ITV regions, acquired content was not broadcast by some franchises. By the 1970s, most ITV regions were airing the likes of Hawaii Five-O , Happy Days , and The Brady Bunch . 1972 also saw the beginning of ITV's daytime programmes at lunchtime, a slot that would become associated with the many Australian soap operas that were broadcast in

6496-466: The decision was taken because of falling ratings, very high production costs and Hill was looking tired. The show at its peak had 21 million viewers, while the last episode had nine million. Through the early 1980s, Thames experienced a series of local disputes while management deliberately confronted contractual ‘rackets’, and pursued the introduction of new technologies based on operational requirements rather than precedent. For Thames’s management, this

6608-436: The decision, as a recent schedule change had made The Bill central to their programming, and broadcast the programmes on ITV3 as well to ensure Scottish viewers could see the programmes. On 23 September ITV plc was reported to be in the process of suing STV for £20 million, as ITV felt dropping the shows constituted a breach of network agreements; STV subsequently counter-sued ITV plc for £35 million. The dispute

6720-411: The end of 2024. For over 60 years of ITV, its homegrown programmes have become among the best remembered as well as being extremely successful. Before the 1990s, nearly all of the content for the channel was produced by the fifteen franchise licensees: the regional companies. However, following legislation in the Broadcasting Act 1990 imposing a 25% quota for commissioning of independent productions,

6832-539: The end of its ITV franchise. These included Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983), Jack the Ripper (1988), Capital City (1989–1990), Selling Hitler (1991), and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1992). The Bill (1984–2010) began as a one-hour series of separate stories in 1984, but from 1989 until 1998 was broadcast several times a week, usually in a 30 minute slot. Its storylines became overly melodramatic and focussed far more directly on particular police characters rather than

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6944-485: The end of their runs. A heavy emphasis on action, fantasy and science fiction series was also placed by ITV during this 1980s, with The A-Team , Buck Rogers in the 25th Century , and Airwolf being broadcast by the network, as well as the likes of Baywatch and SeaQuest DSV by the 1990s. ITV also picked up a glut of older-skewing CBS dramas through that period, including Murder, She Wrote and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman . In February 1989, in tandem with

7056-467: The ending of productions such as World in Action ( Granada Television ), This Week ( Rediffusion London / Thames Television ), First Tuesday ( Yorkshire Television ), Network First , Survival ( Anglia Television ), and Weekend World ( LWT ) and their replacement with populist shows such as Tonight . News at Ten was also axed in 1999, although it was reinstated in 2001. In December 2009,

7168-567: The eventual run lasted beyond Thames holding of its franchise. Less well-known is its adaptation of Andy Capp (1988), starring James Bolam . Two of its post-franchise sitcoms found more success when they transferred away from ITV – Men Behaving Badly , which moved to the BBC in 1994 and Is It Legal? , which moved to Channel 4 in 1998. Both were written by Simon Nye and co-produced by independent company Hartswood Films . A few years after The World at War , Thames broadcast Hollywood (1980),

7280-713: The fields of sports coverage and drama productions, and it continues to schedule national news in primetime. Breakfast Television programmes have been broadcast on ITV at breakfast since 1 February 1983. It was initially run by an independent contractor - TV-am , and later GMTV - until GMTV Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November 2009. Historically, ITV aired breakfast programmes from 6am until 9.25am but ITV extended this to 10am on weekdays on 6 January 2020. and now broadcasts two breakfast programmes on weekdays - Good Morning Britain and Lorraine . Good Morning Britain keeps viewers up to date with all

7392-497: The final edition of ITV's long-running arts programme, The South Bank Show was broadcast. ITV's primetime schedules are dominated by its soap operas, such as the flagship Coronation Street and Emmerdale . At the start of the 21st century, ITV faced criticism for including a large amount of "reality TV" programmes in the schedule, such as Celebrity Fit Club , Celebrity Wrestling and Celebrity Love Island . In its defence, ITV does continue to show its major strengths in

7504-500: The funeral (with a few amendments for cancelled sporting events on ITV4) and all royal coverage being on their main channel. ITV plc owns thirteen of the fifteen franchises and broadcasts to England, Wales, southern Scotland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland through its subsidiary company ITV Broadcasting Limited. The company also owns the breakfast television licence , which as of January 2020, broadcasts across

7616-597: The last appearance of Nigel Kneale 's best known creation in Quatermass (1979). In this era, Euston also made single one-off dramas such as The Naked Civil Servant (1975). On 1 December 1976, the punk band the Sex Pistols were interviewed live on Thames's regional news magazine programme, Today . Members of the group uttered obscenities during their interview with Bill Grundy . Grundy, in his introduction, said they are "as drunk as I am", but later claimed his comment

7728-472: The latest news, sports, features and weather, whilst Lorraine predominantly focuses on celebrity interviews, recipes, fashion and showbiz. Until 27th August 2023, the service would show a simulcast of the CITV channel, but since that service has closen has shown a mix of repeated programming whilst the CITV service that still exist broadcasts at breakfast time on ITV2 (which has the CITV block), ITV3, ITV4 and ITVBe from 7am show other repeats some of which provide

7840-560: The launch of the CITV channel in 2006, all children's programming, with the exception of the weekend ITV Breakfast slot, were relocated from the ITV line-up to the CITV channel in 2007, a move which was challenged by Ofcom in April 2007. In 2023, ITV announced that CITV would cease broadcasting as a linear channel, and would be replaced by ITVX Kids , a streaming media service which launched in July 2023. The CITV channel closed on 1 September 2023, with

7952-420: The main regional news bulletins, and in the summer months, includes a pollen count. Currently only new episodes of long-form news and current affairs programmes like Exposure , Peston and On Assignment are being scheduled after News at Ten , with the latter title only appearing on a monthly basis, typically on the last Tuesday of the month. The channel broadcasts a partnership teleshopping service for

8064-445: The network as a result of a franchise review. Separate weekend franchises were removed in 1968 (with the exception of London) and over the years more services were added; these included a national breakfast franchise from 1983 onward—operating between 6:00 am and 9:25 am—and a teletext service. The Broadcasting Act 1990 changed the nature of ITV; the then regulator the IBA was replaced with

8176-514: The network between 6:00 and 10:00am each morning using the Good Morning Britain (previously Daybreak ) and Lorraine names. The company broadcasts a centralised service under the ITV1 brand. In Northern Ireland, ITV used the UTV brand name as the name of the channel until April 2020. The group also owns ITV Studios , the production arm of the company and formed from an amalgamation of all

8288-526: The network launching its national weather forecast, and as part of a new early evening lineup which involved the shortening of Children's ITV, Australian soap Home and Away was acquired by ITV, particularly to compete with the success of rival Australian soap opera Neighbours on BBC One. ITV also broadcast Beverly Hills, 90210 beginning in early 1991, in the same Saturday teatime slot that Baywatch had occupied, although some episodes were broadcast in later time slots. It moved to Sky One beginning with

8400-511: The network schedule centrally; programmes are made by its own subsidiary ITV Studios and independent production companies. Regional programming remains in news and some current affairs series. In Northern Ireland, ITV plc used the brand name UTV as the name of the channel, until the ITV channel was rebranded as ITV1; it is still, however, used for local programming shown there. This was the name used by former owner UTV Media (now known as News Broadcasting ). ITV plc bought UTV in 2016. Although

8512-473: The network started, Independent Television News Limited (ITN) has held the contract to produce news for the ITV network, with 30-minute national news bulletins currently broadcast at 1:30 pm , and 10:00 pm, and an hour-long bulletin at 6.30pm. These bulletins were broadcast under the ITN brand from 1955 until 1999, when a new network identity reinforced the ITV brand, resulting in the new bulletins being broadcast under

8624-485: The network with a long-running, broad-based and extensive series of programmes, several of which either continue or are well-remembered today." Thames covered a broad spectrum of commercial public-service television, with a strong mix of drama, current affairs and comedy. After Thames was acquired by FremantleMedia it was merged with another Fremantle company, Talkback , to form a new independent production company, Talkback Thames ; consequently, Thames ceased to exist as

8736-486: The new shows never gained the audiences or matched the esteem they had previously enjoyed. One of the early anchor presenters was radio DJ Tom Edwards . Like most of ITV, Thames was beset by conflicts with trade unions, notably the Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians ( ACTT ). A two-week technicians strike in the summer of 1975 shut down the whole of ITV with the technicians being bought off with

8848-491: The new station, the only individuals named or specified in all 15 franchise awards. ABC had majority control of the new company and the make-up of its board predominantly (and eventually fully) came from ABC. The use of ABC's old studios at Teddington meant the workforce was predominantly ex-ABC, although those at Kingsway were ex-Rediffusion. After some discussion as to the name of the new company—some directors favoured ABC London, while others suggested Tower Television to reflect

8960-524: The newly expanded schedule, including The Sullivans and The Young Doctors . By the 1980s, more were added to the schedule, such as Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice . In primetime by the 1980s, ITV was broadcasting the likes of Hill Street Blues (which ITV began showing just one week after its debut on NBC in the United States) and L.A. Law . It was also early in the decade when Australian evening soap opera Prisoner: Cell Block H

9072-408: The newly separated West region to Westcountry Television , to form a new licence for the enlarged South West of England region. All companies holding a licence were part of the non-profit body ITV Network Limited, which commissioned and scheduled network programming, with compliance previously handled by ITV plc and Channel Television . However, due to amalgamation of several of these companies since

9184-517: The number of programmes from independent production companies not connected to the traditional ITV network, has increased rapidly. Notable examples include Talkback Thames (one half of which, Thames Television , was itself a former ITV franchisee), producers of The Bill and co-producers of The X Factor , and 2waytraffic , producers of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? . From the late 1990s, ITV's long-standing commitment to strong current affairs and documentary programming began to diminish with

9296-426: The other analogue channels at the time: BBC1 , BBC2 and Channel 4 . ITV was for four decades a network of separate companies that provided regional television services and also shared programmes among themselves to be shown on the entire network. Each franchise was originally owned by a different company. After several mergers, the fifteen regional franchises are now held by two companies: ITV plc , which runs

9408-454: The previous system, will receive no fee refund for doing so. Therefore many do not opt out due to pressures from the parent company or because of limited resources. Prior to the affiliate system being introduced, STV would frequently (and sometimes controversially) opt out of several popular network programmes – such as the original run of the first series of Downton Abbey – citing the need to provide more Scottish content to its viewers. As

9520-504: The production departments of the regional licences they own. The company produces a large proportion of ITV's networked programming (around 47%, but previously as high as 66% according to some reports ), with the rest coming primarily from independent suppliers (under the Broadcasting Act 1990, at least 25% of ITV's total output must be from independent companies). ITV plc hopes to increase the amount of in-house programming to as close to

9632-410: The same time Thames broadcast its new purchases. Ultimately, pressure from several ITV companies (especially Yorkshire Television ) to the IBA, forced Thames to sell the series back to the BBC at a loss. Bryan Cowgill , the managing director of Thames left the company, as he believed his position was untenable since the board was unwilling to support his plans to buy the series. In October, Thames paid

9744-450: The series was axed by ITV's then head-of-drama, Nick Elliott. A behind-the-scenes documentary, Best Defence , directed by filmmaker Peter Markham, was broadcast alongside the series, detailing the journey from commission to production, as well as interviews with the cast and behind the scenes footage from the set. ITV (TV network) ITV , legally known as Channel 3 , is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It

9856-468: The show in 1964. Another BBC favourite was comedian Benny Hill , the star of The Benny Hill Show (1969–89), who was placed under contract. Hill spent most of the rest of his career with Thames. The Sooty Show , cancelled in 1967 by the BBC, now aired on Thames and began on the first day of transmission. It continued after Harry Corbett 's retirement in 1975 with his son, Matthew Corbett , and lasted on Thames until late 1992. The company also produced

9968-617: The silent era, Unknown Chaplin (1983) and Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987). A programme on Harold Lloyd ( The Third Genius ) followed in 1989. Hollywood and the Chaplin series were narrated by the actor James Mason . Unusually for a commercial broadcaster, Thames also produced lavish versions of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream . Thames's subsidiary production company Euston Films continued to produce many of Thames's highest-profile drama contributions to ITV network programming to

10080-643: The small audience this was phased out and replaced by more relaxed and niche programming. Before 24-hour broadcasts, ITV's franchises simply closed down and restarted the following morning with ITV Morning News , followed by breakfast TV. The regional ITV companies are required to provide local news as part of their franchise agreement together with local weather forecasts, with the main local bulletin at 6pm and regional bulletins located after each national news programme. In addition to this, traditionally ITV companies would provide other regional programming based on current affairs, entertainment or drama. However, apart from

10192-569: The start of transmissions on Monday until its handover to London Weekend Television at 19:00 on Friday. (From 1982, the handover time was 17:15.) The former ABC studios at Teddington became Thames's main production base. Thames's corporate base moved to its newly constructed studios and offices on Euston Road (next to Euston Tower ) in 1970, when it relinquished Television House , Rediffusion's former London headquarters. The Teddington studios were highly desirable, as they had participated in colour experiments and were already partially converted by

10304-518: The then standard 'hybrid' studio video/location film format, but the British industry was in the slow process of dropping the multi-camera studio format for drama, excepting soaps, to making the genre entirely on film. The Thames offshoot Euston Films was founded in 1971 to specialise in drama output made entirely on film, then still a rare practice. Euston made the police series The Sweeney (1975–78), Danger UXB (1979), and Minder (1979–94), plus

10416-607: The third season. ITV reshuffled its daytime schedules in the Autumn of 1993, and just a few months prior, Central began broadcasting the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street . The revamp saw more ITV companies pick it up, with Scottish Television the only region to reject the series outright. Central also broadcast the Australian soap opera Echo Point around the same time, although no other franchises picked it up. ITV also aired

10528-497: The time of the franchise change, and as such had been sought after by both Thames and LWT. When Thames was formed, the new company acquired numerous other properties of the former franchise holders. Rediffusion's main studio complex at Wembley was leased to London Weekend Television by order of the ITA before being sold to Lee International in 1977. ABC's Midlands base in Aston, Birmingham (see Alpha Television ), co-owned with ATV,

10640-476: The variety show Opportunity Knocks , Armchair Theatre , the last series of The Avengers , and the detective thrillers Callan and Public Eye , all inherited from ABC. The comedy Do Not Adjust Your Set , though, originated with Rediffusion, and if nominally a children's show, was one of the forerunners of Monty Python's Flying Circus . More conventional sitcoms, all of which began in Thames's early years, included Father, Dear Father (1968–73),

10752-403: The weekday service in the Midlands, while ABC Weekend TV operated the weekend service. Granada Television won daytime service in the North, and ABC the weekends. Geographical and structural changes to the network led to the first significant shakeups of the network, a process that started in 1967 to take effect from 1968. As part of these changes, the separate weekend service was eliminated in

10864-485: The year prior. It saw nowhere near the same levels of success, and was dropped by the network after just three episodes. It later resurfaced in late night before moving to BBC One in 2000. Thames Television Formed as a joint company, it merged the television interests of British Electric Traction (trading as Associated-Rediffusion ) owning 49%, and Associated British Picture Corporation —soon taken over by EMI —owning 51%. Like all ITV franchisees at that time, it

10976-402: Was a broadcaster, a producer and a commissioner of television programmes, making shows both for the local region it covered and, as one of the "Big Five" ITV companies, for networking nationally across the ITV regions. After its loss of franchise in 1992, it continued as an independent production company until 2006. The British Film Institute describes Thames as having "served the capital and

11088-507: Was a considerable success for ITV's standards, and it became the highest rated new American series of that year. Despite this success, ITV moved the show for its second season, no longer networking the series and moving to late night slots. ITV tried again at broadcasting an American drama series in September 1997, with the ABC legal drama The Practice , which ran in the same slot that Savannah had

11200-405: Was a joke, and had allowed the bad language to illustrate the character of the individuals in the group. The interview filled two minutes at the end of the programme, but the production team feared trouble in the studio if they stopped the programme mid-air. Thames's telephone switchboard was jammed by complaining viewers. Responding to the incident, Thames said in a statement: "Because the programme

11312-457: Was a materialist operation with a clear dimension, and to weed out unscrupulous bargaining and working practices. In the summer of 1984 a major strike was called, this time, over Thames's management unilaterally issuing new rostering schedules (overtime payments for transmission staff), and the use of new cameras and editing equipment. There were no internal discussions of the potential savings that could be derived from new shift patterns, but there

11424-572: Was a merger between their respective parent companies Associated British Picture Corporation and British Electric Traction . The answer was found to be a new holding company , Thames Television (Holdings) Ltd. ABC's parent, the Associated British Picture Corporation was taken over by EMI in 1969, and in 1979 became part of Thorn EMI . The ITA ordered ABC's managing director Howard Thomas and its director of programmes Brian Tesler to be appointed in similar capacities at

11536-478: Was a popular station, whose productions earned vital foreign currency - one such series was The Avengers . Its station management and presentation style were also well-admired. While they were still in the running for the seven-day service in the Midlands, it was clear this would be won by ATV, who was also a large earner of overseas revenue, having won the Queen's Award for Export in 1966. In programming, Rediffusion

11648-427: Was a strong sense that union controls had to be removed before the company embarked on increasing its operations. The technicians walked for a few hours on Monday 30 July, but the station was able to return just one day as management and administration staff took over their roles. On Monday 27 August, ATTC technicians walked out again over the new shift patterns; the strike ended on 3 September 1984, at 1p.m. after

11760-438: Was bought by ITV, and was broadcast after News at Ten . By 1982, Channel 4 had launched, and despite originally being related to ITV, it competed against its parent network to screen popular American programmes such as St. Elsewhere and Cheers , although the latter did receive a single ITV broadcast as part of a night showcasing Channel 4 programmes. Both Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law had moved from ITV to Channel 4 by

11872-480: Was co-written by Maxwell Young and Abigail Fray, and was initially billed as a "star-vehicle" for Kemp, as part of a "golden handcuffs" deal to lure Kemp away from the BBC . The series broadcast weekly until 17 July 2000. The first episode drew in just over seven million viewers, although by the end of this series, figures had dropped to just 4.9 million. Poor ratings led to the series being axed by ITV, which in turn led to discussions regarding Kemp's contract with

11984-420: Was ended in 2011 with STV agreeing to pay ITV plc £18 million. The signing of the new affiliation deal has resulted in STV paying a flat fee for all networked programming, and so to drop any programmes is unlikely due to the large costs involved. There are fifteen regional licences, covering fourteen regions (there are separate weekday and weekend licences for the London region), and one national licence for

12096-412: Was live, it was impossible to foresee the language that would be used." The press continued to be interested in the incident for several days. Grundy was suspended and Today ended soon afterwards; his career never recovered. Over time, Thames replaced Today with a more conventional news offering as seen on other ITV stations. Thames at Six was launched, later Thames News . In 1978, Thames secured

12208-400: Was one of a number of projects commissioned by the broadcaster as "star vehicles" for Ross Kemp. Each of the four episodes in the series begins by outlining details of a specific crime committed, before Lucas attempts to gather further evidence and bring the perpetrator to justice. Despite rumours that a second series was in the pipeline, no further episodes were produced, and in November 2000,

12320-451: Was originally considered stuffy but in the previous contract round of 1964, it had re-invented itself, dropping the name Associated-Rediffusion in favour of the trendier Rediffusion London, to reflect the cultural changes of the time, with its output altered accordingly. By the time of the 1967 negotiations, Rediffusion believed that its contract renewal for London weekday service was a formality, and its application reflected this complacency:

12432-493: Was owned by five companies, of which two, Carlton and Granada had become major players by owning between them all the franchises in England, Wales, the Scottish borders and the Isle of Man. That same year, the two merged to form ITV plc with the only subsequent acquisitions being the takeover of Channel Television , the Channel Islands franchise, in 2011; and UTV, the franchise for Northern Ireland, in 2015. The ITV network

12544-520: Was sold in 1971 when ATV moved to new colour television facilities. Its northern base in Didsbury , Manchester , was used by Yorkshire Television prior to its Kirkstall Road studios in Leeds being completed, and eventually sold to Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, with a lease on sales offices in central Manchester being surrendered. The station continued formats inherited from its predecessors. These included

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