From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster
Channel Television
(now known as
ITV Channel Television
). It provides the
ITV
service for the Channel Islands.
1960s
[
edit
]
- 1961
- September ? Channel gets permission to install a microwave relay station on the northern island of
Alderney
that would connect with another ITV station, initially
Westward Television
.
[2]
- 1963
- 3 March ? Channel launches a children's series called
Puffin's Pla(i)ce
. It is broadcast each week for the next 50 years, until it was moved online in 2013.
- 1964
- Channel is given a three-year extension to its licence. This is later extended by a further year.
- 1968
- 2 August ? A technicians strike forces ITV off the air for several weeks although management manage to launch a temporary
ITV Emergency National Service
with no regional variations.
1970s
[
edit
]
- 1970
- Channel formalises its relationship with
Westward Television
allowing a greater share of programming between the two franchise holders.
[2]
- 1971
- Channel enables a microwave link between
Guernsey
and Channel's headquarters on
Jersey
. This means that live studio contributions from the island to be broadcast for the first time.
- Channel's listings magazine
Channel Viewer
is closed and is replaced by a localised version of
TVTimes
.
- 1972
- 16 October ? Following a law change which removed all restrictions on broadcasting hours, ITV is able to launch an afternoon service. Channel does launch an afternoon service but it continues to restrict its broadcasting hours and it isn't until the middle of the 1980s that Channel broadcasts all day, every day.
- 1973
- 17 December ? The British government imposes early close downs on
BBC1
,
BBC2
and
ITV
in order to save electricity during the
Three-Day Week
crisis. This meant Channel Television would have to end its broadcast day at around 10:30pm. The restrictions were lifted from Christmas Eve 1973 until 6 January 1974, allowing people to enjoy the festive season programmes. The restrictions returned on Monday 7 January 1974.
- 1974
- 8 February ? The required early close downs of all UK television channels is lifted. Channel had been badly affected by the restrictions due to the loss of advertising revenue caused by the early close downs.
- The 1974 franchise round sees no changes in ITV's contractors as it is felt that the huge cost in switching to colour television would have made the companies unable to compete against rivals in a franchise battle.
- 1976
- 5 January ?
Channel Report
is broadcast for the first time. The name continues to be used until 2013.
- 26 July ? Channel begins broadcasting in colour, seven years after colour first started to be broadcast elsewhere in the UK. Delays were due to the cost of upgrading the studios and purchasing new equipment and due to the technical difficulties in providing a UHF link from the
UK mainland
to the
Channel Islands
.
[3]
- 1977
- All local programming is now made in colour.
- 1979
- Channel becomes the first ITV region to introduce
electronic news-gathering
(ENG) to its local news operation.
[2]
- August to October ? Channel is the only ITV region to continue to broadcast during the ten-week
ITV strike
because the unions realised action there could force the station out of business as its audience was so small it was vulnerable to any loss of advertising revenue, which would therefore act against the interests of a trade union's purpose of maintaining employment for its members. Channel provided a service based mainly on films, imports, extended local news coverage and regional programming.
1980s
[
edit
]
- 1981
- October ? Channel launches a local service for the
Oracle
teletext service.
[2]
- 1982
- 1 January ?
TSW
replaces
Westward Television
as the franchise holder for south west England and Channel receives its feed of the ITV network from the new licensee.
- 1983
- 1 February ? ITV's national breakfast television service launches. However, Channel continues not to broadcast during the morning when
ITV Schools
is not on air, resulting in a closedown period between the end of
TV-am
's programming and the start of Channel's broadcasts at around lunchtime.
- Channel's
Guernsey
base moves to larger facilities at St George's Esplanade.
- 1985
- 3 January ? The last day of transmission using the
405-lines
system.
- 1987
- 7 September ? Following the transfer of
ITV Schools
to
Channel 4
, ITV provides a full morning programme schedule, with advertising, for the first time. By 1987, Channel had finally started to broadcast programmes on weekday mornings throughout the year and therefore broadcasts the new programmes.
- 1988
- 30 May ? Channel begins 24-hour broadcasting, and simulcasts TVS' night-time service
Late Night Late
.
- Channel moves into larger facilities at La Pouquelaye, converted from the former offices of
Rediffusion
's Jersey operation.
[4]
[5]
- 1989
- 1 September ? ITV introduces its first official logo as part of an attempt to unify the network under one image whilst retaining regional identity. Channel does not adopt the logo, instead launching a computerised version of the logo it has been using since 1982.
[6]
1990s
[
edit
]
- 1991
- 16 October ? Channel retains its licence to broadcast when it bids the lowest amount allowed - £1,000. There had been a rival application, CI3 Group, formed in part by former Channel TV employees, which had tabled a higher bid, but it was dismissed due to it failing the quality threshold test.
- 19 October ? The final edition of
CTV Times
is published. It had remained on sale long after the other ITV regions had replaced their listings magazine with the
TVTimes
as it was feared that the company might cease trading without the revenue from its own magazine.
- 1993
- Channel refreshes its on-screen logo.
[7]
- 1996
- Channel launches a subtitling service for its local programmes.
[2]
- 1998
- Channel launches a new onscreen ident but retains its current logo on endcaps.
[6]
- 1999
- Channel launches a brand new ident.
[6]
2000s
[
edit
]
- 2002
- 28 October ? ITV's
2002 celebrity ident package
is launched and Channel begins using a variation of this look whereby the left side of the screen is taken up by its logo. A number of idents are used featuring different celebrities and some local ones made by Channel themselves are also used.
[9]
The change also sees ending of the use of an on-screen clock - Channel had been one of the last regions to stop using an on-screen clock.
- 2004
- January ? The final two remaining English ITV companies,
Carlton
and
Granada
, merge to create a single
England
and
Wales
ITV company called
ITV plc
. However, Channel remains separate from the newly formed ITV plc.
[10]
- In late 2004 Channel used idents of scenes from around the
Channel Islands
, with the logo in a stripe down the left side of the screen. Some elements of the network branding were also used.
[9]
- 2006
- 16 January ? Channel adopts the
ITV1
logo but shows a localised version of the national ident.
[7]
2010s and 2020s
[
edit
]
- 2011
- 23 November ?
ITV plc
buys Channel Television from the Yattendon Group.
[12]
- 2013
- 14 January ? Following ITV's 2013 rebrand, Channel's presentation is brought into line with the other ITV regions.
[7]
The rebrand also sees the name of Channel's news service change from
Channel Report
to
ITV News Channel TV
.
- 15 September ? After 50 years on air, children's programme
Puffin's Pla(i)ce
is broadcast for the final time, although it continued to be shown on Channel's website for a short time.
- 2015
- June ? Channel moves to its current, smaller premises at Castle Quay.
[13]
- 2017
- March ? Channel's licence is transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited.
- 2023
- 12 December ? ITV1 Channel Television begins broadcasting in HD on
Freesat
and
Sky
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
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]
ITV
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Channels
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Companies
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Divisions,
brands and
services
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ITV
(network)
franchises
and
regions
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franchises
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Current
regional
franchises
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Former
regional
franchises
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Unsuccessful
franchise bids
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Non-franchise
regions
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Timelines
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and regions
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Other
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Regulators
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Other
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