Local Flavours

[Humphrey Hacker]

If this isn't a suitable topic then by all means remove it. There is an article on Transdiffusion about how 2 licences in each of the first ITV areas could have changed the path ITV took

It's a TLDR article so I'll provide a précis. Some of the ideas were

1. The creation of mini-networks with "ITV1" being run by Granada and ABC and "ITV2" being run by Rediffusion and ATV allying with local backers

2. Local news being co-operated between the "big 4"

3. UHF transmitters allowing some of the smaller companies to expand into nearby areas.

Any thoughts?

https://www.transdiffusion.org/2001/08/01/affiliations

[TVenthusiasm]

I think the channels being run by different regional companies would be a good idea as instead of having all channels controlled in the same building, you could have the main ITV1 service controlled in London, then ITV2 done from Manchester, for example

[Neil Jones]

"Affiliations" makes it sound so American. It's probably only one step away from "our friends at K&B Construction" or whatever.

With regards to the article at hand, it's very "alternative history", so what could have happened is very different from what would have happened, but because that never happened, your guess is as good as mine as to how plausible that system was.

Of course it could be argued the current "Local TV" is the closest equivalent to that model, and we all know how that turned out.

[Brekkie]

The irony of the ITV franchise network is the franchises were created so that on the one hand there was competition, but on the other hand there wasn't. I do wonder how different TV might have panned out and whether strong regional services would have lasted longer had at some point in the 80s or 90s the new national channels had been awarded on a similar regional level to ITV to try and encourage competition within each region. I don't think it was ever really on the cards when C4 was launched, but there was certainly talk of C5 being more city based, though I think that might have been under one national owner rather than franchises issued on a local level.

[lobster]

I’ve also wondered if the regional structure would have been more sustainable - and even still be around today - if the country has been carved up into fewer, larger itv regions - say 6 or 7 - some of the smaller players like Grampian, Boarder and Westcountry never really stood a chance of having enough resources to become big national contributors of programming..

[Humphrey Hacker]

Its my belief that ITV lacked stability in its early days. The piecemeal beginnings of the franchises coupled with the widespread opposition from not the BBC but from many in "the establishment" place them in a very rocky position. We know now that Granada and Rediffusion came to a "gentlemen's agreement" where the latter agreed to underwrite the former's debts in exchange for a share of Granada's profits.

Obviously the idea of an "ITV1" and "ITV 2" from the very start would have angered the BBC who would have demanded a second channel to compensate. Having a more unified schedule might have helped to stabilise them quicker than they eventually did. A system of "majors" and "regionals" would also have solidified the network's regionality.

[From The North]

I’ve also wondered if the regional structure would have been more sustainable - and even still be around today - if the country has been carved up into fewer, larger itv regions - say 6 or 7 - some of the smaller players like Grampian, Boarder and Westcountry never really stood a chance of having enough resources to become big national contributors of programming..

I think this is an interesting idea, and would certainly have sustained the regional model for a little longer than it did survive, but the inevitable would have happened anyway, in the age of multi channel and non-linear. Fewer larger regions is kind of what happened anyway in the late 90s / early 00s (MAI, Carlton, Granada, STV). The issue with the franchising model as it was, is a bit like the current Railways franchising model in that they are really monopolies, so in order for it truly to have been sustained, it might have been better to have true competition with other terrestrial commercial channels like 4 and 5 being based on the same lines, and perhaps as national franchises (NI, Wales, Scotland, England split 3 or 4 ways).

[Humphrey Hacker]

With 2 ITV channels there would I feel be more of a choice between serious and entertaining programmes.Weekdays would be the serious factual stuff eg World In Action Vs This Week and weekends dedicated to entertainment with The Golden Shot Vs The Avengers.