✩ Newsnight reports on the ITV franchise outcomes

From the archives of www.transdiffus...
Newsnight devotes half of its programme to looking into the results of the ITV franchise round announced that morning.
With grateful thanks to Adrian Ruck.

[@LEGOGames1000YT]

0:19 For those wondering, Sunrise Television had to change its name to GMTV (Good Morning Television), due to intervention by Sky Television, whose breakfast programme on Sky News was (and has been, since the name is still today) called Sky News Sunrise Edition.

[@GeoNeilUK]

It was very true about ITV going downhill after the 1990 Act, it's kind of turning itself around now, no thanks to Carlton.
Newsnight didn't mention that Granada wre teaming up with the Evening Chronicle to go after Tyne Tees' franchise and lost, though it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had North West TV won out over Granada (ITC proabably felt they couldn't get rid of both Thames AND Granada, one of them had to stay)
Also, Sir David Frost teamed up with Sir Richard Branson to bid for quite a few franchises (CPV-TV I think it was) and didn't get any of them, perhnaps ITC saw what happened with LWT and TV-am and couldn't see someone else bailing him out a third time.

[@sillygoose635]

Yep, CPV TV.

[@snubvibetno3833]

I'm 29 as I write this but I still remember Carlton taking over from Thames and thinking it was weird and rubbish! I mean if a 5 year old is thinking that...

[@jamesdelboy]

I'm glad the Scottish Television retained it's right to broadcast in Central Scotland if they lost ITV would have to take over it would be renamed ITV Scotland

[@AlexanderEdoh2013]

This is from 16th October 1991.

[@dlamiss]

Granada retained the franchise in 1991 for just two words.. "Coronation street"

[@gentsw13]

I feel certain that if Granada Television had 'lost' Granada Productions would have continued to produce Coronation Street for the highest bidder.

[@sillygoose635]

@@gentsw13 Much like Thames.

[@goodolgranite8247]

@@gentsw13 Actually, if Granada lost, all of their most popular shows (Coronation Street, World In Action etc) would have been sold to the UK's Satellite Broadcasters.

[@jamesmt142]

I don't agree with this.
Firstly, the Granada group were cash rich enough that they could have easily bought their way back into the system.
Secondly, Coronation Street didn't have guaranteed access to the network Post 1993 anyway. The network unmercifully axed Take The High Road and had it not been for Phil Redmond and an aeroplane, Emmerdale would have gone with it!

[@jasejj]

Phil Redmond was an idiot. There was a good reason that YTV and TTTV passed their respective quality tests. Both had well-proven records for quality, and both had realistic programme plans that were properly costed. There was definitely an argument for striking both companies for business plan, but that's a different argument.
NWTV was a totally different animal altogether. 25 hours a week of poorly-funded local programming, made using semi-professional equipment, was never going to cut it. Ironically, if NWTV had just taken YTV's plan and photocopied it, they'd most likely have won.

[@ivaneurope]

Yorkshire and Tyne Tees supported Redmond's bid on Granada, while Granada supported the rival bid for Tyne Tees. And in the end Granada had the last laugh by not only booting Redmond's bid, but also taking over the newly formed Yorkshire-Tyne Tees, but not before the cheepskate Bruce Gyngell tried to ruin both stations by rebranding them as Channel 3. Basically, franchises were conspiring against each other. Well, in the North at least
Mind you that both YTV and TTTV (as well as HTV) were on the cusp to be axed by the ITC on business plan grounds (another asterisk in the overcomplicated process that was the 1991 Great Franchise War...erm Franchise Awards)

[@stephenguppy3466]

TV-am had nobody to blame but themselves. TSW took over from Westward TV in 1981 because Westward's chairman, Peter Cadbury, was more interested in running a flight service than a tv channel, but TSW were a pale imitation of Westward and paid the price with a ridiculously-high bid which was disallowed. Thames were one of the great ITV stations but lost to Carlton, who were crap.

[@chrisrowe7503]

Thames should have stayed and Granada should have gone. As for Carlton they planned on wiping out ITV the second they took over London. More or less immediately they took over Central and then Westcountry. Soon enough Granada got outside help to wipe the rest out. Both Granada and Carlton planned what they did from the second they won their franchises. Had Thames of won then rightfully they would have wiped out all the remaining companies. They were the biggest, richest and most successful franchise in history and still exist as a subsidary today.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Pretty sad seeing this.

[@skyfuzzball8312]

Press F to Thames Television

[@MrThecarebear]

Looking at the standard of British TV in the current climate (2023), Richard Hoggart was right. ITV has become a dung heap.

[@rtc9063]

Melvyn Bragg got that wrong. I didn’t see anyone losing interest in Sky Sports after a couple of years

[@MrThecarebear]

If you're a sports fan of course. Although Sky Sports is as tacky as a new coat of gloss, as is the whole modern system of multichannel choice. More channels, less quality and now selling to the lowest common denominator possible. My dad always proclaimed that 4 channels was adequate for the UK. Why do we want to be like America?.