[1] During its 11-year history, TVS produced a number of notable programmes for the ITV network especially in the fields of drama, light entertainment and children's programming.

'[7] In the days before the start of the new franchise, the Independent Broadcasting Authority made it clear that they were happy about the service changes, and were particularly impressed with TVS in connection with new programming for the ITV network in areas in which the IBA wished for improvements, mainly children's output and the sciences.

[8][9] TVS's aims were for a different line of programming in the early evening slots, to win back the 50,000 viewers it claimed were switching over to rivals, due to the poor service provided by Southern.

The new dual-regional station sprang to life with its new specially composed start-up theme – variously named but referred to in-house as TVS Gallop – accompanied by a programme menu and clock.

A number of presenters made the transition from Southern to TVS; all production staff were transferred as part of the then-union agreements within ITV that no technician should lose employment as a result of franchise changes.

200 staff were also recruited for the facilities at Gillingham and Maidstone, although a small number of these were made redundant after the company went on-air, as the studios struggled to reach production capacity, restricted by TVS's limited access to the ITV network.

Financial director Lionel Ross said: We think that Television South remains a very good company but we carried out a review of our investments and decided to concentrate our energies elsewhere.

In 1985, an agreement was reached with LWT, which required help to fill its schedules with appropriate, domestically produced programming while not having to increase its budget; thus TVS was able to get more of its programmes onto the ITV network slots, such as Bobby Davro on the Box, Catchphrase, C.A.T.S Eyes, Five Alive, Kelly's Eye, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Summertime Special and other light entertainment programmes.

[18] The result was that the accounts revealed TVS had become bigger than Yorkshire Television in terms of advertising revenue, and was quickly catching up with the other Big Five ITV companies.

[21] In 1986, TVS were successful in buying Midem, an organisation that promoted trade fairs; and Gilson International, a Los Angeles distribution company selling programmes outside the US.

[24] Uncertainty over the high price paid by TVS for MTM, coupled with a collapse of a US syndication market which affected many other US stations,[25] plus a £5.7m write-off from the disposal of Super Channel[26] resulted in financial instability.

[30] In March 1991, four contenders were lined up to buy MTM, which would have seen the company being sold off for around £50m; there were hopes that the deal would be sorted by May before the ITV franchise application was submitted.

Changes to network broadcasting and the introduction of cable and satellite channels meant that ITV needed to be leaner and fitter to compete with its new rivals.

The original draft of the Broadcasting Act stated that the applicant with the highest cash bid would win; however, following fears that this would financially stretch the network and diminish programme standards, the concept of a 'quality threshold' was introduced.

Despite preparing vast amounts of audience research, programming proposals and an extremely comprehensive application document for the ITC, the TVS board – now minus its founder Gatward – calculated that it needed to outbid all opposition to retain its licence.

[citation needed] TVS could have sought a judicial review, but the legal advice that it received was that the prospect of success would be slim and the costs would be enormous.

However, only three years later, all the high-bidding licensees – including HTV, which had nearly bankrupted itself to put forward a £25 million bid to win back the licence for Wales and the West – were allowed to reduce their payments, in some cases by more than half.

While most other ITV stations were broadcasting the Thames Television farewell programme The End of the Year Show, Scottish and Grampian chose to opt out and instead aired their traditional Hogmanay special, while TVS chose to opt out and air its own final programme entitled Goodbye to All That, a 65-minute retrospective of its programming, presented by Fred Dinenage and Fern Britton and recorded in front of a studio audience at the Northam studios in Southampton on 13 December that year.

The programme closed with an amended version of the TVS ident, along with the message 'Thanks for watching' before crossing to Big Ben for the New Year chimes at midnight and the handover to Meridian Broadcasting.

In the Autumn of 1992, a number of American companies were interested in acquiring TVS, from the likes of TCW Capital, International Family Entertainment Inc. (IFE) and Lorne Michaels.

The following September, IFE launched a UK version of The Family Channel, based at The Maidstone Studios and using some elements of the TVS programme archive.

IFE was sold to Fox Kids Worldwide (a joint venture of News Corporation and Saban Entertainment),[48][49][50] which in turn was acquired by Disney in 2001.

One feature was a remote-control operated camera mounted on the roof of the centre, giving a clear shot of the Houses of Parliament for use as a live backdrop.

On 7 September 1987, following the departure of Dyke from TVS, the station's presentation was completely overhauled, with the new idents designed by John Hayman and a new jingle by composer Ed Welch.

73 (which launched the career of Sandi Toksvig, and was networked from its second series) On Safari, the British version of Fraggle Rock and being one of the biggest contributors to Dramarama.

As TVS established its deal with LWT, the company started to make significant contributions to the network with its own drama and entertainment series including: Catchphrase, C.A.T.S.

Eyes, numerous Bobby Davro series, and the successful television adaptations of the novels of Ruth Rendell, with more than 15 programmes being made over a 10-year period.

TVS also provided a number of networked factual and science-based programmes, including In The Mouth of the Dragon and The Real World, the latter of which was twice broadcast in 3D (a ground-breaking television first in the UK) with special glasses given away with the magazine TV Times.

TVS continued Southern Television's tradition of providing classical music programmes, but these were broadcast on Channel 4 instead of ITV, principally involving The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under conductor Owain Arwel Hughes.

Other contributions included opera from Glyndebourne and a performance of Mahler's 8th Symphony from Salisbury Cathedral to inaugurate Channel 4's stereo service on 28 July 1990.