History of ITV

In the episode, core character Grace Archer was fatally injured in a fire, and it was seen as a ploy to keep loyal viewers and listeners away from the new station.

All the franchises had launched by September 1962: ITV was admitted as an active member of the European Broadcasting Union through the Independent Television Companies' Association Ltd together with the ITA on 1 January 1960.

The new licences also included clauses which took into account the promise of an "ITV2" UHF channel to be launched if the Conservative Party won the 1964 general election.

WWN ran into trouble when it had problems with the construction of its transmitter network, as well as strict provisions in its contract to produce a large amount of Welsh-language programming.

Roy Thomson, the Canadian founding chairman of Scottish Television, described the ownership of an ITV franchise as "a licence to print money".

Another franchise review was called by the ITA on 12 June 1967, for contracts running from the end of July 1968, that was to drastically change the structure of ITV itself.

The review aimed to ensure that the ITV system was ready for the impending arrival of colour broadcasting, and also to again allow for the potential start of ITV2, should the Conservatives win any general election held after 1970.

The behaviour of some of the companies only reinforced the ITA's assumptions of 'arrogance' following the few changes in the last franchise round: Rediffusion London's department managers also popped up in similar roles for rival applications and TWW reapplied for their contract under both their own name and that of WWN/Teledu Cymru as a tax dodge.

In addition, the Independent Television Publications company was formed to produce a national ITV programme schedule listings magazine.

The unions asked for payments to be made in those cases; the companies responded by drawing the line, and wildcat strikes broke out in the weeks before and after the changes came into effect.

This did not, however, spread immediately across the United Kingdom, as some regions had to wait a few more years before colour was available: This was primarily due to the cost incurred in purchasing new broadcasting equipment and the subsequent studio upgrade that usually accompanied it.

The British government imposed early close downs of all three television channels (BBC1, BBC2 and ITV) from 17 December 1973 in order to save electricity during the Three-Day Week, following overtime ban by the National Union of Mineworkers between strike action in the power supply industry and effects of the oil crisis.

The early close downs forced ITV (including 14 regional companies) to end their broadcasting day at 10.30pm, thus costing the network much of its advertising revenue.

The service began to see improved takings following a heavy promotional campaign using the slogan Page the Oracle and the inclusion of the software as standard in most new television sets at the beginning of the 1980s.

It began at London's Thames Television when electricians, who were EETPU members, refused to accept what they considered to be a derisory pay increase.

[citation needed] When Thames' management consequently ordered the striking staff to "return or else", the broadcasting union, the ACTT, instructed members at thirteen other ITV stations to walk out in solidarity.

[citation needed] The only company unaffected was Channel Television, as the unions recognised that industrial action there could lead to the station's closure, as its small audience made it vulnerable to any loss of advertising revenue.

The franchise round concluded with the following changes: This period saw the ITV companies, and the BBC, expand their services further into the day than previously.

Another expansion came on 14 September 1987, when ITV Schools programming was transferred to Channel 4 (and S4C), freeing up a large section of the daytime schedule for new shows.

Following the changes laid out in the Broadcasting Act 1990, a franchise round was announced by the ITC on 16 October 1991 for licences beginning 1 January 1993.

Due to their bids being barred on business plan grounds and therefore deemed 'too high', TSW and TVS attempted to obtain a judicial review of the ITC's decisions, and of the wording of the 1990 Act.

Also in 1997, United News and Media, the evolution of MAI and owner of Meridian Broadcasting and Anglia Television, purchased HTV; however, few departments were consolidated.

However, all but Carlton Cinema closed shortly into the new millennium, mainly due to low viewership and cost-cutting in light of the cost of funding ONdigital.

Studio and production facilities were replicated many times over, many of which were becoming costly to maintain due to age and difficult to justify following technological advancements.

[17] This channel became notable for airing programmes such as classic 1960s ITC Entertainment series and alternative sports such as the British Touring Car Championship.

The launch of the simulcast service saw the end of the last Granada channel, Men & Motors, which was closed down on 1 April 2010 to make room for ITV1 HD on other platforms.

This move reflected the significant shift towards digital viewing in the UK, and the British government's desire to switch off analogue television signals altogether by 2012.

In September 2007, the then chairman of ITV plc, Michael Grade, announced huge cost-cutting plans for the company which would see the number of regional news programmes cut from seventeen to nine.

In November 2009, ITV plc gained full control of the breakfast broadcaster, GMTV, when it bought the 25% stake of The Walt Disney Company for £18 million.

[23][24] On 19 October 2015, it was announced that ITV plc would purchase UTV Media's TV interests for £100 million, subject to regulatory approval.