Re-regionalization

Would you include Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire in your South Scotland Television region?

My idea and your idea about merging the Eastern half of Scottish with the the Scottish half of Border is the best thing that can happen to ITV in Scotland in a digital era.

I'm fed up as it is with "Glasgow Today" and "Oldfirmsport" totally dominating the scene where I live (plum in the middle North West of Edinburgh and North East of Glasgow).

How about a bit of fun? As they're fairly Central Scotland, they could have their own fun as we English do with the current Central News network. They too could Have Central Scottish News East, Central Scottish News South, Central Scottish News West and Central Scottish News North!

It ain't gonna happen, but I wouldn't say no to a trial of Look North Wales and South Wales Today, cos to be honest it's a different world up there..
It would at least be nice to have a sub-opt somewhere along the line -- we could have a studio in Swansea for Close-Up Pointing West South Wales Today.

I can see why Reporting Scotland would want to stay totally national, just for reasons of national identity if anything. But I find it quite incredible how they can bring together potentially the top of Shetland down to Dumfries, from Stornoway to Dundee, such a huge and varying geographical area to cover!

Agreed. I think the Westcountry region as it exists now is far too big. I'm all for seeing it covering only Devon and Cornwall, with maybe an overlap into those parts of Somerset and Dorset which are still considered part of the South West. I personally consider most of Westcountry's exclusive extension into Somerset and Dorset to be parts of either the West or the South, and definately not the South West.

Hmm, been thinking about this! - As for the BBC regions, I think the following should happen:

1) The Oxford and Hannington transmitters should become part of a new 'BBC Thames Valley' region, which would also include BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire.

2) The Surrey TV relays of Crystal Palace should be 'turned around' to face either Heathfield or Blue Bell Hill, and therefore become part of BBC South East. BBC Southern Counties Radio should be split back into two stations (BBC Radio Surrey and BBC Radio Sussex), in the light of greater editorial independence now being given to Oxford and Berkshire. They should also not rely on shared output from Solent every weekend afternoon.

3) The 'Cumbria' part of BBC North East & Cumbria should be linked back to BBC North West. North West Tonight should then be changed so it provides four different services / opt-outs (for, say, 15 minutes each evening at 6.30 pm, plus separate lunchtime, evening and weekend bulletins), for:
- Manchester, South Lancashire and Cheshire,
- Merseyside
- North Lancashire, Cumbria and the Lake District
- Isle of Man (is this legal and possible?)
Perhaps one of these opt-outs could become a region in it's own right eventually.

4) Reporting Scotland should have an opt-out for viewers based in the north of Scotland (in the ITV1 Grampian region?) and Wales Today should have one for the north of Wales.

5) The current opt-outs for the Channel Islands (Spotlight) and West Anglia (Look East) should remain.

I also think that BBC Solent for Dorset and BBC CWR should become radio stations in their own right other than just being sub-opts of Solent and WM. Any ideas for BBC Three Counties?

As for the ITV1 regions, the Network Centre really need to think about how they reflect local life. Granada and Carlton, imo, are increasingly forgetting that the ITV Network was set-up as a collection of 15/16 regional stations. It wouldn't surprise me if we lose the regional identities with the revamp due this year.

'Broadcast' say there are 27 ITV1 regions/sub-opts. Does anyone have a list of what they are and what transmitters they use? Thanks.

OK very interesting new dazza, but I think it's time to address a few of your points:

"1) The Oxford and Hannington transmitters should become part of a new 'BBC Thames Valley' region, which would also include BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire."

Yes and the programme should come from Reading or Oxford (I'm not sure which is best) and it should be called South Today. The region's name should be BBC South (Oxford) (or BBC South (Reading)).

"2) The Surrey TV relays of Crystal Palace should be 'turned around' to face either Heathfield or Blue Bell Hill, and therefore become part of BBC South East."

Yes this is a good idea but I don't think all the Surrey TV relays could pick up Heathfield or Bluebell (it's one word BTW) Hill. Some (like Guildford or Wonersh) might have to pick up Midhurst or Hannington.

"3) The 'Cumbria' part of BBC North East & Cumbria should be linked back to BBC North West. North West Tonight should then be changed so it provides four different services / opt-outs (for, say, 15 minutes each evening at 6.30 pm, plus separate lunchtime, evening and weekend bulletins), for:
- Manchester, South Lancashire and Cheshire,
- Merseyside
- North Lancashire, Cumbria and the Lake District
- Isle of Man (is this legal and possible?)
Perhaps one of these opt-outs could become a region in it's own right eventually."

No the people of North Cumbria would not like to be in the same TV region as Manchester. The BBC tried this from 1986 to 1991 and this move was not popular. Eventually (in 1991) North Cumbria rejoined the Look North (Newcastle) region. Cumbrians (especially folk from Carlisle) have more in common with Geordies than they do with Mancunians. Indeed, the Carlisle accent sounds almost identical to the Geordie accent. Plus, I think the Isle of Man needs its own ITV company (à la Channel Television) and also its own BBC region.

"4) Reporting Scotland should have an opt-out for viewers based in the north of Scotland (in the ITV1 Grampian region?) and Wales Today should have one for the north of Wales."

No, not opt-outs, seperate programmes (Reporting North Scotland/North Wales Today). People in Aberdeen don't care about what goes on in Glasgow and people in Llandudno are far from interested in events in Cardiff.

"5) The current opt-outs for the Channel Islands (Spotlight) and West Anglia (Look East) should remain."

No, the Channel Islands should become a seperate region from the South West (Channel Islands Today?) And all the "West Anglia" area west of Cambridge should be served by East Midlands Today and Central News (East).

Finally, new dazza, where do you live in the Meridian region?

I agree about a BBC Thames Valley region - and have suggested it here before! It would effectively cover the regions that both ITV Central South (Abingdon) and Meridian News (Newbury) broadcast to. It would be large enough to make editorial sense, and the areas have a degree in common.

I think the issues stopping it are :

1. Hannington is actually the main transmitter for many people quite a long way south, who receive it rather than Rowridge. At the moment they get the same BBC service from both, and the same ITV service apart from the local news - and Meridian Newbury seem to be aware of this and cover large stories that would otherwise seem to be out of their editorial patch.

2. Hannington is not a transmitter that the BBC distribute analogue to - it is effectively a relay of another BBC South transmitter's off-air signal (Rowridge I think - but I'm not sure). You can tell this when the off-air signal degrades due to co-channel interference in dodgy weather... Hannington drops down to rebroadcasting Crystal Palace (with the wrong BBC regional news) when the main off-air signal disappears. The Beeb would have to invest in a decent distribution feed to the transmitter, and make major changes to the transmitter before they could split it from BBC South.

As for Cumbria returning to the BBC North West region - doubt this will happen - it was a deeply unpopular change that was made, and then un-made, in the 80s I believe.

It is also very difficult to provide a Liverpool opt-out - the BBC and ITV have both considered it - given that most viewers in the BBC North West region point at Winter Hill - some in Liverpool do point at a smaller transmitter (effectively a relay) but it may not even be the majority of Liverpool viewers...

Coventry, Northampton, Rugby, Nuneaton, Hinckley, Leicester... all have a lot more in common with each other than Northampton does with Cambridge or Hertford, or Coventry does with Shrewsbury or Stoke on Trent.

There shouldn't be a Central south reagion anyway: Oxford is in the South East political region, and not in the Midlands- West or East.
A 'Thames Valley' region would then be received in north and east Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, south Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire...
I don't see how this region would make life any easier- do all these places have a lot in common?

[quote="noggin"]

2. Hannington is not a transmitter that the BBC distribute analogue to - it is effectively a relay of another BBC South transmitter's off-air signal (Rowridge I think - but I'm not sure). You can tell this when the off-air signal degrades due to co-channel interference in dodgy weather... Hannington drops down to rebroadcasting Crystal Palace (with the wrong BBC regional news) when the main off-air signal disappears. The Beeb would have to invest in a decent distribution feed to the transmitter, and make major changes to the transmitter before they could split it from BBC South.

quote]

I receive my programmes from the Hannington transmitter (can see it from the end of my garden), but in the 2 1/2 years I have lived in this area I have never seen the wrong BBC regional news transmitted. Has anyone ever seen any evidence of this?

I think you mean the former WWN area.
Eventually, with an extra main transmitter installed at St. Hilary, Cardiff (Ch 7), Teledu Cymru did transmit to the whole of the Principality.

I'm not saying it has happened recently - but it is there as a backup. For you to see the wrong region the rebroadcast receiver at Hannington, or the transmitter it is receiving, would need to have failed around the time at which a regional news bulletin is broadcast. As there are fewer than 90 mins of regional news bulletins a day, and transmitter failures quite unusual, the chances are you won't have seen it go wrong!

(The more likely reason for you seeing BBC London would be Southampton missing an opt!)

Thank you Noggin.

In reply to your question, I live in the Meridian East region, and work next door to the studios in New Hythe, Kent. Bring back Mike Debens!

My ideas were just something that I would like other people's views about. I certaintly didn't realise that the people of Cumbria didn't like being part of BBC North West! But surely, the present set-up is far from ideal either?

As for the South/Thames Valley split, doesn't anyone in Oxfordshire or Berkshire resent having their main news coming from Southampton? I certainly don't like BBC South East taking 'South on Sunday' from Southampton, and Meridian are occasionally guilty of this as well (but not as bad as TVS or Southern were). Does anyone know if the new BBC ONE current affairs programmes will be shared?

I know this is a TV forum, but I definitely think that BBC SCR should be split up again!