ITV (Independent Television)
Launched	September 22, 1955
Owned by	ITV Network Limited (consisting of ITV plc, SMG plc, UTV Media plc, Channel Television Ltd.)
Audience share	18. Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial UTV Media plc (formerly Ulster Television plc and UTV plc is a Broadcasting and New Media company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television (ITV contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962 6% (April 2008, [1])
Slogan	"Get Ready" (1989) "TV from the Heart" (1999)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	www.itv.com
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue	Normally tuned to 3
Freeview	Channel 3
Satellite
Sky Digital	Channel 103
Freesat	Channel 103
Astra 2D	10758V 22000 5/6
Cable
Virgin Media	Channel 103
Tiscali TV	Channel 3
UPC Ireland	Channel 110 (UTV)
Internet Television
itv.com	Any Page (ITV London)

Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located British English or UK English ( BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the Analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom is traditionally the method most people in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man used to receive Freeview is an operator of free Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom, using the DVB-T standard Sky Digital is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting 's digital Satellite television service transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28 Freesat is a British Free-to-air digital Satellite television service developed by the BBC See Also Astra 2A co-located satellite Astra 2B co-located satellite Astra 2C co-located satellite Virgin Media Inc (formerly known as ntlTelewest, after a merger of NTL Incorporated with Telewest Global Inc Tiscali TV may refer to Tiscali TV (Italy, IPTV service in Italy Tiscali TV (UK, IPTV service in the United Kingdom UPC Communications Ireland Limited, which trades primarily under the brand name Chorus NTL, is Liberty Global Europe 's operation in Ireland For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based Internet television (Internet TV or iTV is Television distributed through the Internet. itvcom is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's biggest commercial Television broadcaster which operates 12 regions of the ITV network under the ITV1 Brand ITV London is the collective brand name and identity used by Carlton Television and London Weekend Television in the London ITV region In the United Kingdom the term " Public service broadcasting " (PSB refers to broadcasting intended for the public benefit rather than for purely commercial A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations British television broadcasting started in 1936 and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media through which there are up to 600 channels ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, the number 3 having no real meaning other than to distinguish it from BBC One, BBC Two and Channel 4 - prior to this, the network had no legal overall name. The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began In part, 3 was assigned as televisions would usually be tuned so that the regional ITV station would be on the third button, the other stations being allocated to that of the number their name contained.

ITV is to be distinguished from ITV plc, the company that resulted from the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004 and which owns all of the Channel 3 broadcasting licences in England, Wales, the Scottish/English Border and the Isle of Man. ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial Granada Limited (previously called Granada plc Granada Group plc and Granada Media plc is a former British media and previously Catering conglomerate Carlton Communications Limited (previously Carlton Communications plc was a British media company England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Anglo-Scottish border (or English-Scottish border) runs for 96  Miles nbsp(154  km) between The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical Similarly ITV1 is the brand used by ITV plc for the Channel 3 service in these areas. This article deals with the ITV1 brand name as it is broadcast at present ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial

Organisation

Map of ITV regions showing current ITV regions, including split of Meridian into Thames Valley and Tyne/Tees split. Most regional names now appear rarely onscreen, usually only during regional news and weather.

Unlike practically all other TV channels in the United Kingdom, ITV is not owned by one single company, although it has come close in recent years. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ofcom licences fifteen companies to provide regional Channel 3 services in various areas of the UK, with a separate franchise for the national breakfast service between 6:00am and 9:25am, and two franchises for London, for a weekday service and a weekend service. The Office of Communications (Y Swyddfa Gyfathrebiadau or as it is more often known Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the Communication The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The licences were last put out to full tender in 1991, since then they have been renewed on a rolling basis.

In addition to ITV plc as mentioned above, central and northern Scotland are served by SMG plc, the owner of the two franchises completely within Scotland, (branded as STV), Northern Ireland is served by UTV, under that name, whilst the Channel Islands are served by Channel Television, Ltd., also under the name ITV1. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. STV is the brand used by both ITV licensees in Northern and Central Scotland formerly known as Grampian TV (now legally STV North Ltd Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television (ITV contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962 This article deals with the ITV1 brand name as it is broadcast at present In the Republic of Ireland ITV plc formerly had a 45% share in the television station TV3, which shows many ITV shows such as X-Factor and Hells Kitchen. This was sold in 2007, but the programming supply agreement continues. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. UTV is also available in the vast majority of homes in the country in any case.

Additionally, Channel 3 has since 1983 included a national breakfast franchise, currently held by GMTV, and has a national contractual teletext provider. GMTV ( Good Morning Television) is the national ITV Breakfast television contractor broadcasting in the United Kingdom. Teletext (or "broadcast Teletext" is a Television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early

National teletext provider

The Public Teletext Licence^[1] allows the holder to broadcast a text-based information service around the clock on Channel 3 (as well as Channel 4 and S4C) frequencies. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru meaning Channel Four Wales) is a television channel in Wales Teletext on ITV had been provided since 1974 by ORACLE, and since 1993 is provided by Teletext Ltd., whose news, sport and TV listings pages rival that of the BBC's television offering, Ceefax on terrestrial and BBCi on digital. ORACLE (from "Optional Reception of Announcements by Coded Line Electronics" was a commercial Teletext service first broadcast on ITV in 1974 Teletext Ltd is the provider of Teletext & Digital Interactive services for ITV, Channel 4 and Five in the United Kingdom. Ceefax (phonetic for "See Facts" is the BBC 's Teletext information service Teletext Ltd. also provides digital teletext for the Channel 3 services, as well as the text output for both Channel 4 and S4C (which is covered under the same licence) and Five (under a separate licence). Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru meaning Channel Four Wales) is a television channel in Wales

Digital Channel 3

Since 1998, each of the Channel 3 franchises have received gifted capacity on digital terrestrial television (DTT). Digital Terrestrial Television ( DTTV or DTT) is an implementation of digital technology to provide a greater number of channels and/or better quality of picture and As per the original agreement, each regional ITV contractor broadcasts its Channel 3 service from 9:25am to 6:00am daily, with the breakfast operator broadcasting in the remaining hours. However, unlike analogue broadcasts, the assigned capacity across DTT is able to carry multiple television services which, like Channel 3, are broadcast by the regional franchisee between the hours of 9:25am and 6:00am, with the breakfast contractor operating between 6:00am and 9:25am.

At present, all franchisees opt to broadcast ITV plc-owned channels, being ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and the CITV Channel, as opposed to broadcasting their own. ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial ITV2 is a 24 hour a day Free-to-air entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV3 is an entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. ITV4 is a UK Television station which launched on November 1, 2005, the channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day The CITV Channel is a British children's TV station from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. Up until 2002, UTV in Northern Ireland ran a service known as UTV2, while both Scottish and Grampian ran S2. For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of ITV2 is a 24 hour a day Free-to-air entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the Grampian Television (now legally known as STV North Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is the ITV franchisee for the North of Scotland based ITV2 is a 24 hour a day Free-to-air entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of The breakfast operator, currently GMTV, is obliged to broadcast between the hours of 6:00 and 9:25am daily. GMTV ( Good Morning Television) is the national ITV Breakfast television contractor broadcasting in the United Kingdom. Alongside the Channel 3 GMTV service, GMTV also broadcasts GMTV2, which is broadcast on the same capacity as ITV2 and the CITV Channel. GMTV2 is a British digital television station owned by GMTV, a consortium of ITV plc and The Walt Disney Company. ITV2 is a 24 hour a day Free-to-air entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of The CITV Channel is a British children's TV station from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The company also holds a third GMTV3 licence however it currently sells this gifted capacity to ITV plc to broadcast ITV3 24 hours a day. ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial ITV3 is an entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. ITV is available all across the UK and is also available in the Rep. of Ireland on free to air and Digital satellite.

Channel 3 shares its space with Channel 4 on Multiplex 2, known as Digital 3&4. Digital 3&4 is a consortium consisting of regional Channel 3 companies and Channel 4 Television Corporation, which operates a multiplex broadcasting from

Public service broadcasting

The right granted by Ofcom of Channel 3's nationally-available status on both analogue and digital television comes with responsibility, in the form of public service broadcasting. Alongside the BBC, Channel 4 and Five, the members of the ITV Network and GMTV all have a responsibility to broadcast various programming of public importance on their analogue stations. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began This includes quotas for news, current affairs, independent and European programming, children's and religious programming, and output containing subtitles, signing and audio description. In addition, Channel 3 stations are legally obliged to screen party election broadcasts on behalf of all the major political parties, and also other political events such as the Budget.

All the companies holding a franchise are members of ITV Network Limited (formerly the Independent Television Companies' Association Limited), a not-for-profit body. It is this body that commissions programmes for the network, and schedules the network programming. However, in practice ITV plc, which owns eleven of the fifteen licences, dominates the system. ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial

Much of the originated networked programme output (around 50%, but previously up to 65% according to some reports) is contributed by ITV Productions, the production arm of ITV plc (consisting of the consolidated regional companies' network production departments), although a growing number of programmes are commissioned by the Network from independents (a minimum of 25% of total output, as stipulated by the 1990 Broadcasting Act). Granada Productions is one of Europe 's leading commercial television production and distribution companies ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial In addition, the entire network is obliged to broadcast national news sourced by a common contractor (currently ITN). ITN ( Independent Television News) is a major news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. All stations have the right to opt out of national programming (except for the national news) but generally do not, since most are owned by the one company and the others have limited resources for non-networked productions.

Franchise details

The table below lists current franchises and the franchise holder.

1. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Grampian Television (now legally known as STV North Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is the ITV franchisee for the North of Scotland based STV is the brand used by both ITV licensees in Northern and Central Scotland formerly known as Grampian TV (now legally STV North Ltd Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of UTV Media plc (formerly Ulster Television plc and UTV plc is a Broadcasting and New Media company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. UTV Media plc (formerly Ulster Television plc and UTV plc is a Broadcasting and New Media company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television (ITV contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962 Yattendon Investment Trust plc is a private British company owned by the Iliffe family. The Anglo-Scottish border (or English-Scottish border) runs for 96  Miles nbsp(154  km) between The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical Border Television (now legally known as ITV Border is the ITV franchisee for the border region between England and Scotland (including the south of Scotland much of Cumbria ITV plc ( is a British media company that operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television contractor for North East England. Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. Yorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise North West England is one of the nine official Regions of England. Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. The West of England is a loose term given to the area surrounding the City and County of Bristol, England. HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales and West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England. This article is mainly about the English Midlands For other uses see Midlands (disambiguation. Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central and now legally ITV Central Ltd, is the British Independent Television contractor ITV Thames Valley is an ITV news region covering the Thames Valley area of the United Kingdom. The East of England is one of the nine official Regions of England. } Anglia Television is the ITV station for the East of England which has been broadcasting since 27 October 1959. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Carlton Television is the British ITV franchisee for London and parts of the surrounding counties from 925am every Monday to 5 ITV London is the collective brand name and identity used by Carlton Television and London Weekend Television in the London ITV region ITV London is the collective brand name and identity used by Carlton Television and London Weekend Television in the London ITV region Southern England is an imprecise term used to refer to the southern Counties of England. South East England is one of the nine official Regions of England. Meridian Broadcasting (now legally known as ITV Meridian is the holder of the ITV franchise for the south and south east of England. South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England replacing its predecessor TSW (Television South West, on 1 January 1993 Teletext Ltd is the provider of Teletext & Digital Interactive services for ITV, Channel 4 and Five in the United Kingdom. Daily Mail and General Trust plc ( is one of the Europe's largest media companies and has interests in national and regional Newspapers, Television GMTV ( Good Morning Television) is the national ITV Breakfast television contractor broadcasting in the United Kingdom. ITV1 Branding is used overnight
2. This article deals with the ITV1 brand name as it is broadcast at present Branding is usually just "ITV1"
3. to 1968 Granada Television's franchise included most of what is now Yorkshire Television's franchise area and operated a weekday only contract
4. Also uses CITV branding for children's output at the weekend and on digital services

History

Main article: History of ITV

Independent Television was created following the Television Act 1954. CITV (short for Children's ITV or Children's Independent Television) is the brand name used for the Majority of Children's television output The history of ITV, the United Kingdom "Independent Television" commercial network goes back to 1954 The Television Act 1954 was a British law which permitted the creation of the first commercial Television network in the United Kingdom, ITV. The Independent Television Authority was set up to control and review the network. The Independent Television Authority ( ITA) was a body created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" ( In the three main areas – London, the Midlands and the North of England – ITV was launched in September 1955, February 1956 and May 1956 respectively. This article is mainly about the English Midlands For other uses see Midlands (disambiguation. The shape of the ITV Network and the course it has taken down the years has largely been controlled by regular refranchising rounds which occurred in 1964, 1968, 1974, 1982, and 1993. These rounds saw regions and franchise areas reshaped and franchise holders changed. Additionally, since the Broadcasting Act 1990 the consolidation of ITV companies has also had an important bearing on the direction of the network. The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism

Future

ITV share of viewing 1992-2008 BARB figures

With more channels to choose from, digital television is increasingly putting pressure on the ITV network's ratings and advertising revenues. This has led a number of requests by franchisees to reduce the networks public service commitments. For example, most recently, ITV has shown interest in reducing its children's output. Critics of the broadcaster have also pointed to the reduction in commitment to regional programming and presentation.

Perhaps the most controversial change was the scrapping of the flagship late evening news programme, News at Ten in 1999, replacing it with a later, irregular scheduled and shorter news bulletin. "News at Ten" is also a name of track on New Clear Days by The Vapors, and was a follow-up to " Turning Japanese " ITV argued that the move would enable it to make the evening schedule more diverse and flexible, allowing them to show feature length films without a news break. News at Ten was brought back in January 2008, With just 3. 8 million viewers compared to 4. 9 million viewers who watched the BBC's Ten O'Clock News.

Such actions on the part of ITV together with a move to more populist programming has led to many commentators to accuse ITV of 'dumbing down'. The term "dumb-down" was coined by Ken E Smith of Colorado according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which has the official definition of the term as used by Mr In its defence, ITV does continue to show its major strengths in the fields of sports coverage and drama productions, and the production of 'high-brow' programming such as The South Bank Show has continued. The South Bank Show is an award-winning Television arts magazine show made by London Weekend Television, presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast However its long-standing commitment to strong current affairs programming has diminished with the ending of productions such as World in Action (Granada), This Week (Rediffusion/Thames), First Tuesday (Yorkshire Television) and Weekend World (LWT) and their replacement with populist shows such as Tonight. World in Action was a current affairs series produced by Granada Television in the United Kingdom in the 25 years from 1963 to Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. This Week was the name of a weekly current affairs series screened on the ITV network in the United Kingdom, produced for the network by Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties Yorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise Weekend World was a British television political series made by London Weekend Television (LWT and broadcast from 1972 to 1988. Tonight is the name of a British television newsmagazine produced by Granada Television for the ITV network since 1999, when it replaced the

The threat to "Channel 3" advertising revenues has also led franchisees to increasingly diversify their businesses. Most notably, ITV plc owns five additional digital-only television channels, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV Channel and Men & Motors and also time-shift channels of ITV2 and 3. ITV2 is a 24 hour a day Free-to-air entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV3 is an entertainment Television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. ITV4 is a UK Television station which launched on November 1, 2005, the channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day The CITV Channel is a British children's TV station from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. Men & Motors is a men's lifestyle Television channel in the UK. This diversification has also led to numerous notable failures such as ITV Digital in 2002, which was owned by ITV plc's predecessors Carlton and Granada. ITV Digital was a British Digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network

Programmes

For over 50 years of Independent Television, the homegrown programmes have become the most lovable and remembered as well as being extremely successful. Before the 1990s, nearly all of the content for the channel was produced by the fifteen franchise licensees: the regional companies.

However, in the last decade, and following legislation in the Broadcasting Act 1990 imposing a 25% quota for commissioning of independent productions, the number of programmes from independent production companies not connected to the traditional ITV Network, has increased rapidly. The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism Notable examples include talkbackTHAMES (one half of which - Thames Television - was itself a former ITV franchisee), producers of The Bill and co-producers of The X Factor, and 2waytraffic, (previously Celador), producers of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Talkback Thames is a British television production company a division of FremantleMedia (part of the RTL Group) Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties The Bill is a long-running British Television Police procedural, named after a slang term for the police. For versions in other countries see The X Factor (TV series. The X Factor is a British Television This article is about the television production company For the metal band see Cellador. In the United Kingdom, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a Television Quiz show which offers a maximum Cash prize of one million

Increasingly ITV's primetime schedules are dominated by its soap operas, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, and popular cop drama The Bill (produced by TalkbackThames). A soap opera is an ongoing episodic work of Fiction, usually broadcast on Television or Radio. Coronation Street (commonly known as 'Corrie' is an award-winning Soap opera created by Tony Warren Emmerdale, known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989 is a British Soap opera that has aired on ITV since 1972 The Bill is a long-running British Television Police procedural, named after a slang term for the police. At the start of the 21st century, Independent Television faced criticism for including a large amount of 'reality TV' programs in the schedule, such as Celebrity Fit Club and Celebrity Wrestling. Celebrity Fit Club is a Reality television series which followed eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity Celebrity Wrestling was an ITV show broadcast in 2005, which involved two teams of celebrities competing against each other in Wrestling style

Since then, ITV has struggled to regain viewers' trust, as inexpensive programming has not paid dividends. ITV plc have been working to restore this, as the major provider of programming.

News

National and International

Main article: ITV News

Since the network started Independent Television News Limited has held the contract to produce news for the ITV Network. ITV News is the name given to news broadcasts on the British television network ITV. ITN ( Independent Television News) is a major news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. News bulletins are broadcast at 5:30am, 1:30pm, 6:30pm, and 10:00pm.

Regional

The regional ITV companies provide local programmes tailored for the regional audiences. All the ITV companies provide a main local bulletin at 6pm (preceded in the UTV and STV regions by a more features-based programme at 5:30pm), as well as other local features and sport programming. For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based STV is the brand used by both ITV licensees in Northern and Central Scotland formerly known as Grampian TV (now legally STV North Ltd

Sport

Main article: ITV Sport

ITV covers many popular sports. ITV Sport is a Sport producer and brand name owned by ITV plc. The channel emphasises coverage of football (it holds the UK terrestrial rights to the UEFA Champions League). Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered See also List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup is a seasonal club The channel shares coverage of international football events such as the World Cup with the BBC. The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international Association football In the STV region it also has the rights to the highlights of SPL matches which are shown on its Scotsport programme. STV is the brand used by both ITV licensees in Northern and Central Scotland formerly known as Grampian TV (now legally STV North Ltd The Scottish Premier League, currently known as the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for sponsorship reasons and often known as the Premier League or SPL Scotsport is a Scottish sports television programme It was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest running Sports It also covers Formula 1 racing and other motorsport, rugby, and other sports. Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School The channel won the rights to broadcast The Boat Race in 2004. The Boat Race, also known as the University Boat Race and The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University

On 30 March 2007, The Football Association confirmed that it had agreed a new four-year £425m television deal for ITV and Setanta Sports to show FA Cup and England international matches. Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey Setanta Sports (sɛˈtantə is a sports broadcaster based in Ireland, operating 12 channels in 24 countries The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This represents a 42% increase on the existing deal with the BBC and BSkyB. British Sky Broadcasting ( BSkyB — Sky Television and BSB) is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the

Children's

Main article: CITV

The network broadcasts children's programming under the CITV (Children's ITV) strand. CITV (short for Children's ITV or Children's Independent Television) is the brand name used for the Majority of Children's television output Children's programming is broadcast across the network on weekend mornings. Children's programmes were removed from the ITV line-up in 2006,a move which was challenged by Ofcom in April 2006. In 2006, ITV plc launched their own Children's channel under the CITV brand.

The future

ITV Plc

On 12 September 2007, ITV plc announced a major five-year restructuring plan^[3] targeting entertainment as their top priority to bring to the ITV networks. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. A major overhaul of the regional structure of ITV was also proposed. ^[4] The proposals would see consolidation of ITV plc's regional news programmes in England and Wales, with regions now broadcasting one service per region rather than multiple tailored local services (for example: ITV Yorkshire would no longer broadcast separate Northern and Southern regions). Yorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise The proposed changes would also fully merge ITV Border with ITV Tyne Tees and ITV West with ITV Westcountry, effectively ending two regions' tenure as independent players within ITV. Border Television (now legally known as ITV Border is the ITV franchisee for the border region between England and Scotland (including the south of Scotland much of Cumbria Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television contractor for North East England. HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales and West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England. Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England replacing its predecessor TSW (Television South West, on 1 January 1993 Any changes would be subject to full approval by Ofcom. The Office of Communications (Y Swyddfa Gyfathrebiadau or as it is more often known Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the Communication

There would be a certain amount of expansion elsewhere — ITV Network Limited currently commissions around 54% of its programmes from ITV Plc's in-house production units. ITV plc hope for this to be increased to the maximum 75% allowed by the regulators over the coming years.

Future Franchise Rounds

It is generally unknown if there will be any further franchise rounds held by Ofcom; the last was in 1993. Carlton Television (now part of ITV plc) had their license renewed without a contest in 2004, and UTV's expires on 31 December 2008. For other uses of the UTV acronym see UTV (disambiguation UTV (formerly Ulster Television) is a Television channel based Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common If there isn't a franchise round by 2009, it will be the longest ITV has gone with the same contractors.

References

See also

• List of ITV channels
• List of British television channels

External links

The ITV companies

• ITV homepage at itv.com
• ITV plc at itv.com
• itvlocal.com
• smg.plc.uk, stv.tv
• utvmedia.com, u.tv
• channeltv.co.uk, channelonline.tv
• gm.tv

Unofficial sites about ITV

• Transdiffusion Broadcasting System — a British communications history website
• Independent TeleWeb — a history of ITV
• The Historical Television Website — focusing on television in Southern England
• Harlech House of Graphics — a site about ITV in Wales and the West of England
• Tyne Tees Logo Page — about the North East England broadcaster
• The TV Room — British and Irish television presentation
• Ray Fitzwalter on the 'Rise & Fall of ITV' London Frontline Club, May 2008. ITV (Independent Television is the original British advertising television network This is a list of TV services available on digital terrestrial satellite internet streaming and cable systems in the United Kingdom. itvcom is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's biggest commercial Television broadcaster which operates 12 regions of the ITV network under the ITV1 Brand itvcom is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's biggest commercial Television broadcaster which operates 12 regions of the ITV network under the ITV1 Brand