The future of regional TV

What do people think the future of regional TV is?

In a multi-channel world, will regional programmes disappear from BBC1/ITV1 in favour of new specific regional channels.

Will regional news ever be integrated into the ITV News Channel and BBC News 24?

Will digital channels use regional programmes to fill it's schedule?

Will all regional programmes soon be local versions of national programmes, like Inside Out, or will Pop Idol begin with regional heats before the national finals?

And will the digital age see a wealth of smaller regional services available to viewers?

And most importantly, will anyone reply to this thread?

: In a multi-channel world, will regional programmes disappear from BBC1/ITV1 in favour of new specific regional channels.

Hope not - surely the model of regional broadcasts opting-out of a sustaining service is as much valid for multi-channel digital FTA/FTV in the next decade, as it was for the BBC and ITV VHF broadcasts in the 60's?

: Will regional news ever be integrated into the ITV News Channel and BBC News 24?

Yes, as could the proposed sub-sub-regional streams be included in in the loop applications now used for headlines etc. Given the right level of broadcast capacity, or making D-SAT robust enough to allow the "opt-out" to take place at the viewers box would allow a sub-region to opt-out onto any suitable channnel.

: Will digital channels use regional programmes to fill it's schedule?

That already happens a bit. Presumably its right that a programme (say a doc) intend for a specific regional audience would be shown on the shoulders of the peak in its area, and then shown to a wider geographic audience, but possibly specialist audience on a channel more related to the material. So say if Anglia remade "Timpson's Churches" it would show this (say) Sunday early evening locally, but on ITV3 (say) nationally on a weekday afternoon.

: Will all regional programmes soon be local versions of national programmes, like Inside Out, or will Pop Idol begin with regional heats before the national finals?

That seems to be a trend, but it may only be that. Your idea re Pop idol is brilliant. , although ITV would probably try to use "kit build" regionals to displace genuinely local productions.

: And will the digital age see a wealth of smaller regional services available
to viewers

This probably depends on arguments about the funding model that will come out of the OfCom PSB review. I reacon that its unlikely that such stations could sustain on either a licence topslice, or an advertising funded basis. But were rules allowing local authorities to become involved relaxed, a mixture of funding including controlled Concil sponsorship may well be able to sustain basic local stations.

Possibly an "Arts Council of the Air", funded by licence top slicing and/or commercial TV levy, could act to commission or part sponsor local programme production. This would grant a source of materialof a reasnoble quality to the basic local stations.

Its difficult too se the commercial sector producing anything commercially that wouldn't be a direct competitor to ITV. Anything that does compete against ITV, has to do so on ITV's terms. So, it could exist and could be local, but wouldn't bee the type of station that you suggest.

Perhaps one model may be to fund/guide Channel4 into commissioning and broadcasting programmes specific to local areas. Perhaps ITV could be required to subvent this in exchange for a relaxation of their PSB obligation for regional non-news programming?

: will anyone reply to this thread

Apart from a boring old sheep?

In my opinion ITV will stop all its regional bradcasting and opt outs as soon as it can. The only regional output ITV will make will be the regional news. As far as I can see, the regional ITV companies are just news producers now and all fall under the ITV News sector of ITV plc. All production has now been transferred to Granada.

The BBC however, supposedly a "National" channel seems to be picking up on ITV's lack of commitment to the regions. It has recently set up all the regions on D-Sat and it is creating new regions such as the new Milton Keynes region covering the Home Counties.

I think that BBC1 will carry a much more regional structure in future whereas ITV1 will continue with its anti-regional stance.
I can't see Ofcom standing in their way either.

Maybe Greg Dyke will become ITV's top dog soon and reinvent Regional ITV???

Yes, this does seem to be the direction that things are heading in.

Funny how things turn out.

The whole point of ITV1, when it launched in 1955, was regionality. And for many decades, the BBC's regional offerings seemed like the poor relations.

Now that balance ha largely swapped over - ITV increasingly "turning it's back" on the regions, and the BBC becoming more regional (albeit mainly, only really in terms of regional news magazines).

If you'd have said to anyone in 1955 that, by the early 21st Century, this "swap" would have happened, who'd have believed you?

That's true - the regions are part of the ITV News Division, network production remains on the Granada core sites. The licences do however retain as legal entities, and hold a commitment to non-news regional programming. Part of the justification for putting these operations under News was that "most of them (local programmes) come out of the newsroom" (forgot who the quote was from, Shapps I think?).

A lot of ITV's regional programmes are made very cheaply (and often very well) by independents. Presumably these will now be commissioned by the News Division, although of course there's nothing to prevent such a commission going to Granada, or even ITN.

I would hardly say the BBC's regional output is brilliant - one half hour programme a week a few weeks a year, plus a slot in The Politics Show. Regional News on BBC1 may be on a par on weekdays, but the weekend service is terrible and needs serious improvement.

My main gripe though with BBC English regions is the on screen presentation looking like something the worst TV Forum mockers (no names mentioned ) would be proud of.

It is true that the BBC's regional output is not huge but I can see it becoming greater as ITV pulls away from the regions.

ITVs regions do have a legal responsibility to broadcast regional programmes and the licenses still mean that each region is a subsidiary company but they are all now grouped under ITV News. All regional programmes are now made by ITV News operating as the regional company. The reason why the endcaps say "ITV Central" etc is because they cannot say "ITV News" for breach of the regional commitments. They need to be seen to be producing original programmes in the region.

BBC is a national broadcaster and ITV is a regional broadcaster. Why are the roles shifting?

Because ITV is determined to become the commercial version of the beeb, and the BBC is trying to do its public service duty and give the UK some regional TV.

Weak regulation, if you allow a commercial licencee to do what it wants - it will.

No it wasn't. regionality was the means to the end, not the other way round.

IT was made regional to split up the money and make things competitive

Yes it was. The ITV "network" was a collective of individual franchises issued by the then ITA and designed to reflect the individual regional differences of the United Kingdon and to foster an improved sense of community within the areas served. Commercially, the individual investors who competed for the franchises were those who would sell advrtising time in order to pay for, and profit from, their investment in programme-making.

I worked in regional television (in the early 1970s) when it was exactly that - and each regional ITV station was uniquely identifiable. In general, they had a strong loyalty with their viewers. In fact, despite the fact that Westward Television lost its South West regional ITV franchise in 1981 its successor-but-one (Carlton Westcountry) is still referred to by local people in Devon and Cornwall as "the Westward". That speaks volumes for the bland, hygienic and ethereal output of the current "franchisee" (whatever that is today).

I don't think we should worry about the future of regional TV - the whole of TV is shooting itself in the foot and will soon be consigned to the history books anyhow.

CB

I suspect that you're both right, Mr Scutta because that was the condition that the original legislation led to. CB, because than was the position that was reached after a few decades of ITA managed evolution.

The enabling legislation called for a "competitive" system of commercial broadcasting. Nobody ever tested in court whether this mean that the commercial companies should compete against each other, or if he whole thing were deemed to be competing against the BBC. The ITA's lawyers interpreted that there should be competition at the core of ITV, but that there would be monopoly regional contractors outside the core.

The intention was that in the 3 core regions (London. Midlands and North) there should be 2 competing companies. This meant 6 franchises, but only 3 and a half companies as ATV and ABC held two franchises each, and ABC and Associated Redifusion had an overlapping share holding.

The 2 franchises in each core region ran on the same transmitters, one on weekdays, the other at weekends. The core companies competed with one another, but were gifted domestic incomes sufficient to meet their programming needs. Programmes were supplied by the core at a (ITA regulated) low tariff to the regional companies. The intention was that separate transmitters would be provided at some point, at least in the core regions. There would have been 2 core ITVs, one can speculate that these would have been :-

ITV "blue" = ABC and Associated Redifusion.
ITV "orange" = ATV and Granada.

The core companies really had few regional obligations, whereas the regional companies were voluntarily tripping over themselves to produce programmes. Firstly, to brand themselves (as they had promised to do n their franchise bids). Secondly, in an attempt to prove their worth to the ITA and the core companies, in the hope of reaching the holy grail of selling network programmes.

Having franchises share transmitters on a timeshare was supposed to be a stop-gap to the creation of 2 separate networks, although it was not exactly clear technically how this was to be done. VHF Band III was to have had a Channel 14, which the radio astronomers were supposed to have objected to. It did have a Channel 13, which the BBC usurped.

So, in the 1960s, the idea of 2 ITV networks scuppered; the ITA turned to the idea of monopoly regions overall, with the one exception of London. This was the point in time where Lew Grade and Lord Bernstein started to get in trouble over local programming. The North region was split down the Pennines rather than Friday nights, and ATV lost its London weekend franchise but gained the midlands full-time. It was even politely suggested that companies should actually have their headquarters in the region, and even that directors should live there.

So, both views are vividly correct. ITV went from being dominated by barrrow-boys to feudal lairds, in about 15 years. This sort of thing happens in Britain.