Television Networks: How Did We Get Here?

[Markymark]

One thought on the later BBC Radio one - don't Radio Wales/Scotland/Ulster derive from localised versions of Radio 4? I could be wrong, though, I don't know what frequencies they used.

They were opt outs on Radio 4's (and before that the Home Service) MW frequencies. Hence they could only be launched as full time services once Radio 4 moved to Long Wave.

The last Radio 4 opt out was for the South West, that was replaced by BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall. East Anglia had one too, not sure if they count to be included on the timeline here though

The Home Service/R4 regional and national opts were also on FM.

In the nations as you say these morphed into Radios Scotland, Ulster, and Wales on MW when R4 moved to LW in Nov 78.

Although R4 in Scotland was rebranded R Scotland around the time ILR Clyde launched, and similarly Ulster when ILR Downtown started in 76. Funny that!? ?

However it's a bit more complicated regarding R4 FM. The slot of '92-95' was taken by Radio Scotland, and Ulster. In Wales the allocation was taken by Radio Cymru. In other words R4 wasn't available on FM in the nations again until the 90s, when it was given a 103 to 105' slot. Oh and in Wales in 2018 most of R3's FM relays were handed over to Radio Wales

All that said, I don't think that can or should be represented on the charts?

[BBI45]

A timeline for Channel Nine in Australia is now available on the Google Spreadsheet. I will be sharing all timelines on there in the future as people seem to prefer them there as opposed to PDF.

My next step will be to make corrections to the radio spreadsheets and add those to Google, followed by Network 10 Australia. Beyond that, I'm not 100% sure on what I'll be doing. As such, I really need your suggestions. If there is a timeline that you want to see for something TV or Radio related from here in the UK, or elsewhere in the world, please drop me a PM. I want to know what you all want to see.

[Bogdan222]

As some of you may have seen on Metropol, I have recently been working on a collection of spreadsheets showing how different local radio stations have been merged into the networks we have today. The efforts of which can be seen below.

BBC Radio (Pre-1967)
BBC Radio (Post-1967)
Capital
Heart
Gold & Smooth
Greatest Hits Radio
Full Spreadsheet

I am delighted to say that I am making the jump to television networks, with an table for ITV now available to download.

There are two reason why I am sharing this here. The first reason is that I quite enjoy putting these together, and I hope you will enjoy having a look through them. The second reason ties in quite nicely with the first, as I would like to know what other TV networks from around the world you would like to see.

I have some ideas about what networks I could cover, but I'd like to know what you want to see. Please feel free to discuss my efforts here, and if there's a network you would like me to have a look at, drop me a PM and I'll have a look at what I can do.

EDIT: Google Spreadsheet

The Network Merger Spreadsheets Are Awesome Including The Tv And Radio We Need A Kiss And Hits Radio Network Merger Spreadsheets

[BBI45]

I've just updated the spreadsheet again. As per, keep sending me ideas.

Change Log:

[list=]Radio timelines added to spreadsheet

Radio Victory removed

DevonAir removed

Redifussion & London Weekend Television corrected

Jazz FM corrected

BBC Radio Swindon added

BBC Radio Devon removed from Dorset section

All other reports were investigated but not acted on due to either lack of solid evidence / dates, or due to a short broadcasting period. [/list]

EDIT: Before anybody beats me to it, I'm aware that the Channel Islands have two new BBC stations from today. I'll add them once I've gotten details nailed down.

[W. Knight]

Thank you for compiling the lists! The who does where here is way easier to understand than going through pages of Wikipedia.

For the ITV part, I see you're dividing the stations' time periods by on-screen names (if I'm not mistaken), eg TTTV and Westward. If so, maybe adding the mouthful “TVS Television” era (1989-92) to the TVS part??

Otherwise, good work! Would love to see the changes in US TV affiliations in different markets next, but I know it'll be much more tedious...?

[BBI45]

Would love to see the changes in US TV affiliations in different markets next, but I know it'll be much more tedious...?

Funny you mention that. I did have a look at that, before promptly screaming and breaking down in tears. :lol:

I do have an idea for how to get around it. When I get to it, I plan to take both the capital & largest city in each state, and track how the affiliations have switched between stations in those cities over time. However, don't be surprised if that gets released section-by-section.

[BBI45]

After hours of work (mostly head banging as a result of very little happening branding wise), the Hits Radio Network timeline is now available.

My plan now is to finish the Network 10 timeline before moving on to either the Canadian networks, or some form of timeline for the American networks. I do plan to do a timeline for Sky, but I am leaving that until after next month's changes kick in.

[BBI45]

Hello everybody. I hope you are all doing well.

I would like to apologise for the lack of any updates. A mix of work, a very stubborn cold, and less-than-great mental health means that I've not been able to put much effort in. However, I do want to let you all know of my intentions with this project going forward.

• I have started working on a timeline for the Sky network. I'm not sure when it will be released, but I hope to have it ready for when Sky One closes. Given the wide and varied history of Sky, I reckon that once I can properly dive in, I'll happily chip away at it for a few hours.

• As already noted, I have completed the timelines for the Seven and Nine networks in Australia. I plan to get the 10 network done at some point, but it's not the most exciting as far as I can tell, so I'm doing it more for the sake of completion. I also plan to update the formatting to focus more on what the channel is branded as on air. You can expect this update alongside the Network 10 table.

• I'm wanting to cover the Canadian TV networks in the not too distant future. I have made a very small start by putting together a timeline for the Omni Television network (manage your expectations). I hope to make further ground on this front after completing the Sky table.

• Finally, I am still planning to put together some form of timeline for the U.S. television networks. However, be warned that due to the extensive size of both the country and my plans, these efforts will be released over time.

Once again, apologies for the lack of updates. I hope to be putting these timelines together at a faster pace at some point in the near future.

[BBI45]

I am back again. I decided that if I'm doing to do a timeline for Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, I'd be better off doing those separately.

As a result, I am delighted to say that the Sky timeline is now available.

I would also like to add a couple of points. Firstly, given the upcoming expansion of the Greatest Hits Radio network, and suspected upcoming condensing of the Capital radio network, these timelines will be updated once all details I need are confirmed (mainly around advertising splits for GHR, and if (or rather when) Capital Mid-Counties will be merged with Capital Midlands).

And secondly, given my efforts on these timelines, I thought it would be worthwhile putting together a video to accompany the timelines for Capital, Heart & Smooth. I hope you enjoy.

https://youtu.be/vnLWW45bB-8

[Steve in Pudsey]

Please don't apologise for having other things going on - we all appreciate your work on these

[Inspector Sands]

Looks like this YouTube channel has a similar idea
https://youtube.com/channel/UCw2oiZbzgXXU0fgas02upIQ

[BBI45]

Looks like this YouTube channel has a similar idea
https://youtube.com/channel/UCw2oiZbzgXXU0fgas02upIQ

Well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike.

[BBI45]

I hope you're all enjoying the timelines, as I have another four* to share with you.

• KMFM
  
• More Radio
  
• CBC (Canada)
  
• Affiliate Changes in Alabama & Alaska, U.S.A.
  

They are all available on the Spreadsheet. I am also taking a little time to try and improve the legibility, so any views on this front would be appreciated.

As usual, I hope you enjoy.

[BBI45]

Nothing extra to share but a very small update today. I have started work on CTV in Canada and will be sharing that (along with more U.S. states in the near future). I was also hoping to be able to update the GHR table to include Imagine Radio, but the reports has left me somewhat confused.

Whilst it is clear what is happening to what used to be Imagine Radio, High Peak Radio and Ashbourne Radio. However, it seems some changes are also being made to the former Peak FM license. As far as I can tell, listeners in Chesterfield will get Derbyshire news, but Yorkshire programming, but I'm not sure if listeners in Matlock & Bakewell (my home area) will be in the same situation as Chesterfield, or switching to Midlands programming.

If anybody can make more sense of it than me, please let me know.

[BBI45]

Popping back up once again with an update (albeit a somewhat negative one).

I have previously mentioned here that my mental health recently hasn't been amazing, and unfortunately, it's still proving to be an issue. As a result, I have been looking at other ways to enjoy myself. Whilst I have enjoyed making these timelines, they can sometimes be a bit laborious and I've found myself enjoying them less as time has gone on. It's also somewhat challenging to continue when I feel like nobody is really that bothered about this anymore.

As a result, I'm slowing down my efforts. I don't want to stop entirely, but this will become something which I steadily chip away at, as opposed to diving in and doing a few hours of research and compiling. I will instead be focusing more on other things that I enjoy, which includes making TV- & Radio-related videos.

I'll leave you all for now with an updated Greatest Hits Radio timeline, which now includes the former Imagine Radio stations, and a compilation of radio news jingles from Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, put together by myself and [mention]Josh[/mention].

https://youtu.be/0tZO3oZbKXs