The company broadcasts to the region from transmitters at Hannington, Midhurst, Rowridge, Whitehawk Hill, Hastings, Heathfield, Tunbridge Wells, Bluebell Hill, Dover[2] and, since 2015, Oxford (previously part of the ITV Central region), as well as associated relays.

At the stroke of midnight, following Westminster clock tower chimes, technicians switched from Television South to the programme Meridian – The First 10 Minutes, a 10-minute outside broadcast from Winchester Cathedral presented by Debbie Thrower and previewing the station's forthcoming output.

Meridian advertised their presence as the new ITV contractor heavily; promotions began appearing on TVS several weeks before the launch and the new company's logo was also incorporated into the product for the first advert shown on the station – the special edition Ford Fiesta Meridian, available through Southern Ford dealers.

[9] Shortly after, MAI began to expand by buying Anglia Television, the ITV franchise for the east of England, in 1994.

[14] In 1999, plans emerged of a merger between UNM and rival Carlton Television;[15] however, these talks failed when it appeared that Meridian Broadcasting would have to be sold off as a condition of the deal.

The plans resulted in over half of Meridian's existing staff being made redundant; all employees wishing to remain with the company were obliged to re-apply for jobs.

In 2013 proposals were approved by Ofcom that reversed the 2009 consolidation of ITV Meridian's regional news programmes, resulting in the reinstatement of the three sub-regions (South, East and Thames Valley).

[26] When Meridian originally won the franchise in 1991, its plans were to purchase buildings, not unlike its current arrangement today: with a small studio for continuity and local news.

[28][30][31][32] These new headquarters at Forum One, Solent Business Park, contained a newsroom plus the main technical production and transmission arms of the programmes including three small news studios.

In summer 2008, Meridian's former studios at Southampton started to be dismantled, and it was planned to build a multi-storey block of flats.

[33] Over the weekend of 22–23 October 2011, ITV Meridian moved to new premises in Fusion Three, on the same business park at Whiteley and across the road from its previous office.

[34] The new headquarters are again located in a conventional office building, and include two small studios, one of which is used for ITV News Meridian.

[36] Under cost-cutting plans announced by ITV in September 2007 and agreed to by the UK's broadcasting regulator Ofcom in October 2008, the region's three sub-regions would be replaced with one programme.

[37] In the former Thames Valley region, plans were also approved for a ten-minute opt out within the 6pm programme for the south of England and a full late night bulletin on weekdays after News at Ten.

From their launch this featured an exploding mix of orange, yellow and blue, which came together to form the distinctive sun/moon face logo.

[8][38][39] The unusual logo design was reportedly inspired by maritime images (the sun/moon face is a recurring feature on compasses, sextants and other nautical artefacts used in the navigation of ships), appropriately reflecting the south's long seafaring history.

[8][38] This ident was replaced on 5 October 1998 by one with a yellow background and featuring a small ITV logo underneath the Meridian name.

Meridian Broadcasting was originally intended to function as a publisher-broadcaster, commissioning most programmes from independent producers and with in-house production largely restricted to regional news, sport and current affairs.

Meridian also geared a large amount of its network output towards younger viewers, with independent commissions including Wizadora for pre-school children, plus ZZZap!, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, It's a Mystery, The Vanishing Man, Jane Austen's Emma, William and Mary and Eye of the Storm for older children.

Meridian's two-part production In the Name of Love in 1999 starred Tara Fitzgerald, Tim Dutton and Mark Strong, and was written by Sarah-Louise Hawkins and directed by Ferdinand Fairfax.