Timeline of ITV in Wales

This is a timeline of the history of ITV Cymru Wales (ITV in Wales).

1950s
  • 1957
    • No events.
  • 1958
    • 14 January – At 4.45pm, TWW starts broadcasting.
  • 1959
    • No events.

1960s
  • 1960
    • No events.
  • 1963
    • Delays in switching on the transmitters at Arfon (north west) and Moel-y-Parc in the north east destroys the finances of WWN. Free programming from the ITV network, plus other support from its neighbours ABC, ATV and TWW just about kept the ship afloat, but Granada decided to dispense with its productions in the Welsh language, and the loss of this programming stream proved fatal to WWN.[1]
  • 1964
    • 26 January – Wales (West and North) Television stops broadcasting after going bankrupt. TWW offers a generous package to WWN's shareholders, in order to gain control of the territory, and kept the Teledu Cymru name on the air.[1]
  • 1965
    • For the first time, TWW is able to provide separate programming for Wales and West of England. This is made possible by the switching on of a second VHF transmitter St Hilary to effectively extend the ex-WWN transmitter network into south east Wales.[2]
  • 1966
    • No events.
  • 1967
    • 21 June – TWW loses its licence to the Harlech Consortium. TWW unsuccessfully fought the ITA's decision, both formally and through the press.[3] However, the ITA remained resolute that it is legally entitled to remove any contract at any time for any reason.[4]
  • 1968
    • 4 March – TWW stops broadcasting five months before its contract was due to expire, selling the final months of airtime to Harlech. However the new contractor is not yet ready to go on air so the ITA provides an interim service called Independent Television Service for Wales and the West.
    • 20 May – Harlech Television takes over the Wales and West of England franchise just over two months ahead of the planned hand-over date. It launches two news magazines – Y Dydd (The Day) in Welsh and Report Wales in English. Thy are broadcast for a full half-hour. Previously, TWW had provided short evening bulletins known as TWW Reports, presented jointly from studios in Cardiff and Bristol, where the station ran a joint news operation covering the two areas.
    • 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.
    • 14 September – The final edition of listings magazine Television Weekly is published. Listings are subsequently carried in an Wales and West of England edition of TVTimes which now becomes a national publication on 21 September.
  • 1969
    • No events.

1970s
  • 1970
    • 6 April – HTV starts broadcasting in colour and from this day, the station becomes known on air as HTV rather than Harlech Television.[5]
  • 1971
    • No events.
  • 1972
    • 16 October – Following a law change which removed all restrictions on broadcasting hours, HTV is able to launch an afternoon service.
  • 1973
    • No events.
  • 1974
    • 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.
  • 1975
    • No events.
  • 1976
    • No events.
  • 1977
    • No events.
  • 1978
    • No events.
  • 1979
    • 10 August – The ten week ITV strike forces HTV off the air. The strike ends on 24 October.

1980s
  • 1980
    • No events.
  • 1981
    • No events.
  • 1982
    • 23 September – HTV launches a weekly current affairs programme Wales This Week. To this day, the programme continues to be broadcast.[6]
    • 31 October – Programmes in Welsh are broadcast on HTV for the final time as from the following day, all Welsh language programmes both on BBC Wales and HTV transfers to the new Welsh fourth channel S4C.
    • 1 November – Following the launch of S4C, HTV Wales becomes a fully English language service and it renames its news programme to Wales at Six.
  • 1983
    • 1 February – ITV's breakfast television service TV-am launches. Consequently, HTV's broadcast day now begins at 9:25 am.
  • 1984
    • HTV opens a new studio complex at Culverhouse Cross due to its current studios at Pontcanna not having space for expansion to accommodate the increased studio production.
  • 1985
    • 3 January – The last day of transmission using the 405-lines system.
  • 1986
    • No events.
  • 1987
    • 7 September – Following the transfer of ITV Schools to Channel 4 (and S4C), ITV provides a full morning programme schedule, with advertising, for the first time. The new service includes regular five-minute national and regional news bulletins.
    • 28 September – HTV launches a new computer-generated ident.[5]
  • 1988
    • 22 August – HTV begins 24-hour broadcasting.[7]
  • 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. HTV adopts the ident.[5]

1990s
  • 1990
    • No events.
  • 1991
    • 28 April – HTV closes down its Night Club and instead simulcasts the overnight generic service from London.
    • 16 October – HTV retains its licence to broadcast when it bids the highest amount of a total of four applicants.
  • 1992
    • No events.
  • 1993
    • 1 January – To co-inside with the start of this new franchise period, HTV launches a new set of idents.[5]
  • 1994
    • 18 February – Flextech buys a 20% stake in the company, thereby clearing HTV's debts.[8]
    • 28 February – Wales at Six is replaced by Wales Tonight.[9]
  • 1998
    • 15 November – The public launch of digital terrestrial TV in the UK takes place.
  • 1999

2000s
  • 2000
    • Granada plc buys United's television interests, but competition regulations limited the extent to which one company could control the ITV network, and Granada was consequently forced to give up one of its ITV franchises. This resulted in a break-up of HTV, whereby its broadcast facilities and Channel 3 broadcast licence (and hence its advertising revenues) are sold to Carlton Communications plc, owners of Carlton Television, whilst the majority of production facilities are retained by Granada.
  • 2001
    • No events.
  • 2002
    • 28 October – On-air regional identities are dropped apart from when introducing regional programmes and HTV is renamed ITV1 Wales.
  • 2003
    • No events.
  • 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.
    • 2 February – HTV News is renamed ITV Wales News.
  • 2006
    • 29 December – HTV Ltd is renamed ITV Wales & West Ltd.[14]
  • 2007
    • No events.
  • 2008
    • No events.
  • 2009
    • 9 September – Digital switchover begins in Wales when the Kilvey Hill transmitter is the first of eight main transmitters to complete digital switchover.[15]

2010s
  • 2012
    • No events.
  • 2013
    • 14 January – As part of a rebranding of ITV Wales, a new logo is introduced and the Wales news magazine is renamed ITV News Cymru Wales in 2013.[16]
    • 22 September – A new weekly current affairs programme, Newsweek Wales, is launched and is broadcast at Sunday lunchtime.[17]
  • 2014
    • 1 January – ITV in Wales is now officially known as ITV Cymru Wales.[18]
    • 30 June – ITV Cymru Wales moves into a new facility on the ground floor of 3 Assembly Square, located next to the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff Bay.[19] and to mark the change, the Wales at Six name is reintroduced after 20 years.[9]
  • 2015
    • 25 August – ITV Cymru Wales begins broadcasting in HD.[20]

See also

References
  1. Graham, Russ. "Teledu Cymru". Electro Musicians Ident. Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  2. http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/405-Lines/tx-list.html#ITA Archived 2012-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. The Daily Telegraph, "'Capricious injustice' to TWW", 21 June 1967, quoted in Death of TWW: Telegraph 21/06/67, accessed 16 March 2008
  4. The Daily Telegraph, "Hill replies to Derby on TWW", 20 June 1967, quoted in Death of TWW: Telegraph 20/06/67, accessed 16 March 2008
  5. TV Live: HTV
  6. "Wales this Week celebrates thirty years of success". ITV. 2012-12-11. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12.
  7. Ident Central: HTV Nightclub
  8. Counsell, Gail (1994-02-18). "Debt cleared as HTV links with Flextech". The Independent. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  9. TV Live: ITV News Cymru Wales
  10. "Mirror Group Rebuilds STV Stake". MediaTel. 1995-10-24. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  11. Hollick secures a stake in HTV as fight for franchises hots up, The Independent, 25 October 1995
  12. Newman, Cathy (28 June 1997). "HTV succumbs to United News in £370m takeover bid". The Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  13. "Villages tune in to digital trial". BBC News. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  14. "ITV Wales and West Ltd". WebCheck. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  15. "Digital switchover for Wales unveiled". Digital Spy. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  16. ITV launches rebrand on air and online, itv.com, 14 January 2013
  17. ITV launches new programme Newsweek Wales, itv.com, 17 September 2013
  18. Ofcom agrees ITV news shake-up Jake Kanter, Broadcast Now, 23 July 2013
  19. http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2013-08-21/itv-cymru-wales-to-re-locate-to-cardiff-bay/
  20. ITV Cymru Wales HD launches on August 25, itv.com, 11 August 2015
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