ITV (TV network)
The first ITV service to launch was London's Associated-Rediffusion on the 22nd of September 1955. This event marked the end of a nineteen-year monopoly held by the BBC Television Service, which had been established in 1936. The origins of this new network lie in the passing of the Television Act 1954. That legislation created the Independent Television Authority to award franchises and regulate the industry heavily. The act was designed specifically to break the monopoly on television held by the BBC. The first six franchises were awarded in 1954 for London, the Midlands, and the North of England. Separate franchises existed for Weekdays and Weekends during those early years. The Midlands and North services launched later, in February 1956 and May 1956 respectively. Following these initial launches, the authority awarded more franchises until the whole country was covered by fourteen regional stations. All fourteen stations were operational by 1962.
Granada Studios was built in 1954 to house the broadcaster Granada Television. Granada Television opened in 1956 and remains the only franchisee to stay an ITV contractor since the creation of the network. The Granada studios closed in 2013 after decades of service. Only one service operator has ever been declared bankrupt, WWN in 1963. All other operators left the network as a result of franchise reviews rather than financial collapse. The network has been modified several times through franchise reviews that took place in 1963, 1967, 1974, 1980, and 1991. During these periods, broadcast regions changed and service operators were replaced. By 2004, the ITV network was owned by five companies. Two major players, Carlton and Granada, had become dominant by owning all the franchises in England, Wales, the Scottish borders, and the Isle of Man. That same year, the two merged to form ITV plc. Subsequent acquisitions included the takeover of Channel Television in 2011 and UTV in 2015. Today, fifteen regional licences are held by just two companies: ITV plc and STV Group.
The last major review of the Channel 3 franchises occurred in 1991. All operators' licences have been renewed between 1999 and 2002 and again from 2014 without further contest. The network is regulated by the media regulator Ofcom which awards the broadcast licences. Since 2016, the fifteen licences are held by two companies with the majority held by ITV Broadcasting Limited. All companies holding a licence were part of the non-profit body ITV Network Limited. This body commissioned and scheduled network programming while compliance was handled separately. Due to amalgamation of several companies, this system has been replaced by an affiliation system. Approved by Ofcom, this results in ITV plc commissioning and funding the network schedule. STV and UTV pay a fee to broadcast it. All licensees have the right to opt out of network programming except for national news bulletins. They receive no fee refund for doing so. Many do not opt out due to pressures from the parent company or limited resources. Prior to the affiliate system, STV would frequently opt out of popular network programmes like Downton Abbey to provide more Scottish content.
Before the 1990s, nearly all content for the channel was produced by the fifteen franchise licensees. Following legislation in the Broadcasting Act 1990, independent production companies began to increase rapidly. A quota imposed at that time required twenty-five percent of total output to come from independent suppliers. From the late 1990s, long-standing commitments to strong current affairs and documentary programming began to diminish. Productions such as World in Action, This Week, and First Tuesday ended during this period. These were replaced with populist shows such as Tonight. News at Ten was also axed in 1999 before being reinstated in 2001. The final edition of the arts programme The South Bank Show aired in December 2009. ITV's primetime schedules are now dominated by soap operas like Coronation Street and Emmerdale. At the start of the 21st century, the network faced criticism for including a large amount of reality TV programmes. Examples included Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Wrestling, and Celebrity Love Island. Despite these changes, ITV continues to schedule national news in primetime and maintains major strengths in sports coverage and drama productions.
ITV holds joint rights for the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship with the BBC. They have shown every World Cup live since 1966 on a shared basis. This arrangement has been in place since the 1960s. ITV shares the rights for the FA Cup with the BBC after previously doing so from 1955 to 1988. The network held live rights to the competition from 1998 to 2001 and from 2008 until 2014. The 24/25 season added the Carabao Cup to its portfolio. ITV also broadcasts highlights of the World Superbike Championship and the British Superbike Championship. Their flagship motorsport coverage is of the British Touring Car Championship which they have shown in full since 2002. ITV had previously covered Formula One for twelve seasons from 1997 to 2008. In horse racing, ITV became the exclusive free-to-air home of British racing starting the 1st of January 2017. Boxing was a regular fixture on ITV screens until the mid-1990s when the network lost premier contracts to Sky Sports. ITV returned to boxing in 2005 but decided to stop covering the sport entirely by 2010. Darts coverage resumed in 2007 after being dropped in 1988.
Since the launch of ITV, there have been concerns from politicians and the press regarding programme audiences and advertisers. Advertisers are reluctant to buy advertising space around low viewing programmes. This creates pressure on ITV to broadcast more popular programmes in peak times. The situation became more profound in the early 21st century following relaxation in regulation. A significant increase in commercial channels occurred during this period. Programmes from the reality television genre including celebrity and talent show subgenres became a dominant presence on the channel in the 2000s. This led to accusations of ITV 'dumbing down' their programmes. Critics argued the network appealed to the 'lowest common denominator'. These accusations stand at odds with the network's status as a public service broadcaster. ITV is also heavily criticized for scaling back its regional programmes including regional news. In November 2008, the company cut the number of regional news programmes offered from seventeen to nine. Several regions were merged to form one programme while others received only pre-recorded segments. Sub-regions were restored in 2013 but the reduction remains a point of contention among viewers and regulators.
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Common questions
When did the first ITV service launch in London?
The first ITV service to launch was Associated-Rediffusion on the 22nd of September 1955. This event marked the end of a nineteen-year monopoly held by the BBC Television Service which had been established in 1936.
Which company has remained an ITV contractor since the network's creation?
Granada Television remains the only franchisee to stay an ITV contractor since the creation of the network. The Granada studios closed in 2013 after decades of service while WWN became the only operator declared bankrupt in 1963.
Who currently holds the fifteen regional licences for the ITV network?
All fifteen regional licences are now held by just two companies: ITV plc and STV Group. ITV plc holds the majority of these licences through its subsidiary ITV Broadcasting Limited as regulated by Ofcom.
What legislation created the Independent Television Authority to regulate the industry?
The origins of the new network lie in the passing of the Television Act 1954. That legislation created the Independent Television Authority to award franchises and regulate the industry heavily to break the monopoly on television held by the BBC.
When did ITV become the exclusive free-to-air home of British racing?
ITV became the exclusive free-to-air home of British racing starting the 1st of January 2017. Prior to this date the network had covered Formula One from 1997 to 2008 and returned to boxing in 2005 before stopping coverage entirely by 2010.