ITV regions debate

[KrazyKei]

Hi all,

Just now me and a friend had an argument over whether the separate regional ITV brands would work today over a single unified ITV channel. (STV withstanding) My friend said he preferred the regional brands, comparing them to PBS. So I'm curious to hear your opinions on it. Would the regions have worked today or was the unification necessary?

Thanks for reading!

The romantic in me would love to see the regional brands come back. Could it happen? I don't think so and like many on here, ITV unification was necessary because of the pooling of resources and income. However, I don't see why separate regional channels shouldn't be set up on alternative platforms like Samsung, Roku etc as there are many other ways of making money these days including subscriptions, merchandising etc.

I know that we are close to the 2024 franchise auctions for ITV but if you want me to be honest, nothing exciting will happen from it as ITV along with STV will keep their franchise areas. That's not to say that I live in hope that something that will shock everyone will happen.

[TJTSW]

I don’t think Regional Branding would work now sadly as being from Devon our local news comes from Bristol which they don’t really give too hoots about us down here, they try but I switched off, and anytime I do turn on itv West Country News it’s always pre recorded version so either I’m unlucky or we get the most prerecorded news ever ?

Only the presenters are based in Bristol, they have a editor who decides the running order in Plymouth and there are correspondents in Cornwall and across Devon.

True, but that doesn’t come across on screen so always feels Bristol centric,, the reporters as you say are based around the Cornwall & Devon & Somerset seems a safe space for them to include the same stories for east and west versions, 

I guess the changes made in 2009 which the merged regions was executed soo badly, until 2013 when the improvements happened but still doesn’t feel right but when you look at the bbc regions they seem to be going down the same route, I guess with bbc regions you get the quirkiness that none of the studios are the same even if the branding and graphics are lol

[Blubatt]

Im just going to be a maverick and pitch this idea: Bring back the pre-2002 ident/presentation model, but with centralised playout and programming. Localised Continuity, generic idents with the region name and a smaller ITV logo. Rename the ITV plc production companies to some of the old regional names (Emmerdale being made by Yorkshire, Corrie being made by Granada). Do it that way.

[Jon]

Im just going to be a maverick and pitch this idea: Bring back the pre-2002 ident/presentation model, but with centralised playout and programming. Localised Continuity, generic idents with the region name and a smaller ITV logo. Rename the ITV plc production companies to some of the old regional names (Emmerdale being made by Yorkshire, Corrie being made by Granada). Do it that way.

Why?

[XIII]

Im just going to be a maverick and pitch this idea: Bring back the pre-2002 ident/presentation model, but with centralised playout and programming. Localised Continuity, generic idents with the region name and a smaller ITV logo. Rename the ITV plc production companies to some of the old regional names (Emmerdale being made by Yorkshire, Corrie being made by Granada). Do it that way.

The chances of that happening are zero.

[bluecortina2]

Obviously we are where we are but back in 2002 when the franchises were first just renewed was there any real opposition to that happening from potential bidders.   I can't recall any but I'm sure it would have been an obvious tactic of any competition to offer to keep a stronger regional identity and stronger backbone of regional programming, though perhaps having been burnt in the 90s by companies making promises that ultimately the regulator had to allow them to backtrack on they thought the status quo was better.

IIRC there was a provision in either the licences or the legislation for auto renewal.
So if anybody wanted to come in, somebody else would want out first.  So if there was any interest it was moot anyway,.

The C3 etc licence award decision lies entirely within the remit of the Secretary of State at the DCMS. There is no process of autorenewal. Nadine Dorries will take advice from Ofcom but she can totally disregard that advice if she so chooses, she can direct Ofcom to enter in negotiations with the current licence holders to renew their licences subject to changes to their service provision and terms and conditions if they can agree them or she can simply decide to open up the licences to other parties. It’s her choice.

At this point in the last C3 etc licence review Jeremy Hunt decided to renew the then existing C3 licences subject to Ofcom and ITV, STV and C5 agreeing to some changes to some service provisions, Hunt then left that position and his successor Maria Miller could have chosen a different path but decided to endorse Hunt’s decision. 

Unless something has changed that procedure is being followed now and we have reached the point where Ofcom is publishing its advice to the Secretary of State.

[NancerOnTheLIVEForum]

Im just going to be a maverick and pitch this idea: Bring back the pre-2002 ident/presentation model, but with centralised playout and programming. Localised Continuity, generic idents with the region name and a smaller ITV logo. Rename the ITV plc production companies to some of the old regional names (Emmerdale being made by Yorkshire, Corrie being made by Granada). Do it that way.

Please don't.

[Steve in Pudsey]

If the BBC One North thing a) actually happens and b) is a success that might prompt ITV to do something similar. It shouldn't be too big a stretch to have dual branded idents play out for each region with a generic announcement.

[Roger Darthwell]

If the BBC One North thing a) actually happens and b) is a success that might prompt ITV to do something similar. It shouldn't be too big a stretch to have dual branded idents play out for each region with a generic announcement.

Very brief off topic, but BBC One North is indeed going to happen, Clean Feed has hinted at it quite a lot these past few days

[technologist]

As itv plays out the north from the north it is north that difficult
One would think …..
The BBC it’s just using the resilience it has on Red Bee playout
Which was used when the Broadcast centre blew its drives,

[Jon]

If the BBC One North thing a) actually happens and b) is a success that might prompt ITV to do something similar. It shouldn't be too big a stretch to have dual branded idents play out for each region with a generic announcement.

How would it be quantified as a success though? People aren’t going to watch more programmes they don’t won’t to watch due to the continuity announcers having a slightly more northern twang. I’m not against the idea, but I can’t see that it’s being done for anything other than political reasons and there certainly won’t be any commercial reasons for ITV to do it.

[NancerOnTheLIVEForum]

Apologies if this sounds stupid but... what was the point of two London franchises for different parts of the week?

[London Lite]

Apologies if this sounds stupid but... what was the point of two London franchises for different parts of the week?

The London franchise as a 7 day a week operation would be too big compared to the other franchises, so it was decided to split it into two.

[Mike]

I'm sure there were, pre-1968, other Weekday/Weekend splits too (ATV Midlands weekdays, ABC on weekends?)

[bluecortina2]

I'm sure there were, pre-1968, other Weekday/Weekend splits too (ATV Midlands weekdays, ABC on weekends?)

ATV were the Midlands Mon-Fri and London Sat-Sun.
Granada were the whole of Northern England Mon-Fri (There was no separate YTV franchise area pre-1968).
ABC were the Midlands plus Northern England Sat-Sun.