ITV Regions Fault

So having no franchise rights means that (apart from opting out for the regional news inserts) they are obliged to show everything that comes up the line to them from LNN during those hours, because officially they're not UTV/STV/CTV during that time. They could technically, I assume, quite easily opt-out of a trailer or anything else, but not legally. Weren't UTV showing their watermark over Daybreak/Breakfast at one point - which under these rules must have been a breach?

Just harking back to the issue of regional names, they are surprisingly still referred to by the ITV1 presentation department. The transmission schedule refers to programmes such as Jeremy Kyle as produced by 'GRA', and others as produced by 'CAR' or 'LWT'. The networking is referred to as 'CAR to all' or 'ITN to all via CAR' - or, in the case of idents, 'CAR to all except STV GPN UTV (and occasionally CHA)', and the NTC is referred to as 'YTV' (for example when ads are sent up the line for them to record). And, the CAR/LWT split is still marked. so the weekend networking would be 'LWT to all', etc!

how do you know that then?, admittably I wouldn't be surprised if behind the scenes the regional names still exist.

And, of course, STV and UTV do not actually provide the regional news themselves during Daybreak.

They cannot complain about what's going on - the channel 3 franchises were awarded to run from 0925 to 0600. All that's happened is that ITV1 branding has started to appear during these hours.

The issue is whether 24 hour licences should be introduced come 2014.

Ah, I get around

Quite surprised to hear all that....

When you consider that all recorded network programmes are played out from Chiswick - regardless of their original source...

When you consider that LWT, Granada and so on don't really exist as standalone production houses - only ITV Studios London and Manchester divisions...

When you consider that other ITVplc regions don't do anything for the network...

When you consider that independent productions don't have to come through an ITV licensee anymore but go direct to the network centre... (not like A Thames Production for Central. A Central Presentation for ITV)

It sounds to me simply that nobody has changed the codenames or that someone with a sentimental attachment to the old days is having some fun.

There is one public place where most of the ITV legacy names still exist, and are still being referred to:-

http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when_do_i_switch

Complete with the explanation to people in the Oxford area that they're actually in the Central region although they now see Meridian News!!

Using the ITV regions for marketing purposes may have been the right thing a few years back but, such is the way the world went, I'm not convinced it was the right thing in hindsight. The thinking, a few years back, was that most people wouldn't know the name of their local transmitter but did know their ITV region.

We had the nonsense in Scotland of talking about switchover having ended in the STV North region and beginning a couple of weeks later in the STV Central region when the Oban area switched - although the main part of the STV Central region didn't start until seven months later.

Now - the last people who actually receive Central News will start switchover next week but the Central region doesn't complete the process til Oxford, to all practical intents now in the Meridian region, goes. If my brain is frazzled by this God help people who aren't actually interested - the very people who may actually have some problems with switchover.

Better to forget the umbrella regional names and just use geographical areas to explain switchover.

Don't think STV and UTV provide the local news for Daybreak (or GMTV) so I don't think they actually opt-out, and although technically they might have when they did (UTV unilaterally opted out without GMTV's permission a few years ago which was a huge breach - and they soon lost the local news contract) they were only doing so under contract to GMTV (who paid them to provide a local service)



Technically more recently probably, but at one point, the IBA switched the feeds to the transmitters ISTR (So TVam was routed direct - with out passing through STV equipment?)

It would have been a breach legally if they didn't have permission (say by buying or bartering the air-time)

Certainly TV-am never went anywhere near any of the regional ITV companies. The start of breakfast television made little, if any, difference to their control room operations.

I'm not sure how GMTV was routed. Certainly here there was still a synch disturbance at 0925 which suggests it wasn't coming through STV and the regional news was being inserted into the chain by some other means???

Indeed, it simplified them, no need for a full start up sequence leading up to 09:30hrs



GMTV was routed via LNN, with macro regional feeds, that soaked up a number of KRS circuits between the South Bank and BT Tower. There was a bespoke switching box (actually two; main and stby) that yours truly was involved in supplying at LNN when they upgraded their facilities to handle 16:9 and DTT in 98/99. It would rearrange the LNN outgoing feeds at 09:25. As far as I recall most, ITV regions passed the national GMTV feeds via their studios, although there was no opting out. There would have indeed been sync disturbance in the regions that didn't loop themselves in 24/7, though Meridian's visible disturbance was the synchroniser dealing with the hot cut, their actual station/output syncs remained stable

As someone mentioned above, all publicity surrounding digital switchover still uses the ITV regional names, all publicity here in Yorkshire refers to 'Yorkshire TV viewers' etc.

It's notable that even though part of the switchover scheme is run by the BBC, they didn't decide to use BBC regional or regional news names i.e 'BBC Yorkshire region' or the 'Look North (Leeds) region.

Also notable is that some digital switchover discussion refers to YTV as the 'Calendar region' thesedays, obviously because YTV is now nothing else but Calendar.

It's quite strange listening to discussions on the radio/tv etc name checking the likes of Belmont as if everyone is aware of the names of the transmitters. I bet the number of people who are aware of Belmont and Olivers Mount has increased massively in the last few months. (Many people would already be aware of Emley Moor)

In fairness, Digital UK is a body owned by ALL the PSB broadcasters... so it's not a BBC thing.

I think I'm correct in saying there's a technical reason for co-ordinating switchover according to the old ITV regions - or at least doing all the main transmitters in a particular area within a few weeks of each other. But that's quite different from whether or not it was the right way to communicate dates to the public.

In our case, "STV Central changes in 2010-11" is a bit vague whereas "Oban, Mull and Lochaber change in October 2010 and the rest of Central Scotland wll change in May and June 2011" actually sounds useful.