Meridian Broadcasting (now legally known as ITV Meridian) is the holder of the
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
franchise for the
south and south east of EnglandSouth East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. The station owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.
It has been broadcasting since 1 January 1993, when it replaced
TVSTelevision South was the broadcasting name associated with the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 23:59 on 31 December 1992...
. The main headquarters were situated at studios in Northam,
SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
(previously used by both
SouthernSouthern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until 1 January 1982. It also used the name Southern Independent Television, on-air, from 1964 until its demise...
and TVS), but in
December 2004December 2004 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- →-Deaths in December:*30 Artie Shaw*29 Julius Axelrod*28 Jacques Dupuis*28 Jerry Orbach*28 Susan Sontag*26 Reggie White...
they moved to part of an office building on the Solent Business Park, near
WhiteleyWhiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west.-Location:...
,
HampshireHampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
; as a result, Meridian's role has gradually been reduced from producing a wide variety of regional and network programming (as it did since 1993, when it inherited a large studio complex in Southampton) to producing little more than regional news bulletins which are a contractual obligation (as it does today).
- Note: Prior to 9 February 2009, ITV's
ITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
"South & South East" franchise area coincided only partly with that of the South East England government regionSouth East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, as it did not include the Oxford transmitter regionThe Oxford transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land above Ordnance Datum to the north east of the city of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England . It has a guyed steel lattice mast which is in height to the top of the main steel structure. Mounted above...
(OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
and SwindonThe Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England. It is centred on the town of Swindon and forms part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire...
), which was instead part of the legal "MidlandsCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central was the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
" franchise area; it also includes parts of DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
and WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
which are in the South West England regionSouth West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, covering including Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It has a population of almost five million, and includes the area often known as...
.
The first programme shown on Meridian was
Meridian - The First 10 Minutes, a ten-minute outside broadcast from
Winchester CathedralWinchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun and is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and...
, presented by
Debbie ThrowerDebbie Thrower is a British television presenter who has anchored for ITV Meridian's flagship news programme Meridian Tonight since its inception in 1993...
and previewing the station's forthcoming output.
Meridian Broadcasting (now legally known as ITV Meridian) is the holder of the
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
franchise for the
south and south east of EnglandSouth East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. The station owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.
It has been broadcasting since 1 January 1993, when it replaced
TVSTelevision South was the broadcasting name associated with the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 23:59 on 31 December 1992...
. The main headquarters were situated at studios in Northam,
SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
(previously used by both
SouthernSouthern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until 1 January 1982. It also used the name Southern Independent Television, on-air, from 1964 until its demise...
and TVS), but in
December 2004December 2004 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- →-Deaths in December:*30 Artie Shaw*29 Julius Axelrod*28 Jacques Dupuis*28 Jerry Orbach*28 Susan Sontag*26 Reggie White...
they moved to part of an office building on the Solent Business Park, near
WhiteleyWhiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west.-Location:...
,
HampshireHampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
; as a result, Meridian's role has gradually been reduced from producing a wide variety of regional and network programming (as it did since 1993, when it inherited a large studio complex in Southampton) to producing little more than regional news bulletins which are a contractual obligation (as it does today).
- Note: Prior to 9 February 2009, ITV's
ITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
"South & South East" franchise area coincided only partly with that of the South East England government regionSouth East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, as it did not include the Oxford transmitter regionThe Oxford transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land above Ordnance Datum to the north east of the city of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England . It has a guyed steel lattice mast which is in height to the top of the main steel structure. Mounted above...
(OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
and SwindonThe Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England. It is centred on the town of Swindon and forms part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire...
), which was instead part of the legal "MidlandsCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central was the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
" franchise area; it also includes parts of DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
and WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
which are in the South West England regionSouth West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, covering including Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It has a population of almost five million, and includes the area often known as...
.
History
The first programme shown on Meridian was
Meridian - The First 10 Minutes, a ten-minute outside broadcast from
Winchester CathedralWinchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun and is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and...
, presented by
Debbie ThrowerDebbie Thrower is a British television presenter who has anchored for ITV Meridian's flagship news programme Meridian Tonight since its inception in 1993...
and previewing the station's forthcoming output. Thrower opened the broadcast with the following words:
"Happy New Year as you join Meridian live from Winchester Cathedral. Hello, I'm Debbie Thower and welcome to 1993 and a double celebration. This magnificent cathedral in Winchester was completed 900 years ago this year and your new ITV station, Meridian, has been on air now for little over nine seconds. For centuries, this cathedral has been a symbol of continuity. And tonight, we recognize the value of preserving what's best."
Other launch day programmes included
Michael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
's documentary
First Night on Meridian and the first
Meridian News bulletins for the South, South East and West sub-regions.
Other Meridian-commissioned programmes that were introduced included
Wizadora for pre-school children, plus
ZZZap and
Eye Of The Storm for older children. Later on other children's programming was introduced including
Dog and Duck for pre-school children. Drama became a successful genre for Meridian, with
Peter KosminskyPeter Kosminsky is an English Director, Actor and Producer. He has directed both Hollywood films such as White Oleander and television films like The Government Inspector and The Project.-Biography:...
's hard-hitting
No Child of Mine (co-produced by Stonehenge Films, United Productions and Meridian for
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
) tackling the emotionally difficult subject of child abuse, winning Meridian a BAFTA. Later, the same production team tackled vicious childhood bullying in
Walking on the Moon for
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
.
HornblowerHornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
was a Sunday night success for ITV and another Sunday night favourite,
Where the Heart IsWhere the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
, transferred production from
AngliaAnglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
to Meridian in 2004.
When
TVSTelevision South was the broadcasting name associated with the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 23:59 on 31 December 1992...
took over from
SouthernSouthern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until 1 January 1982. It also used the name Southern Independent Television, on-air, from 1964 until its demise...
in 1982 the south-east region was enlarged by switching the Bluebell Hill transmitter from
ThamesThames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992. It was both a broadcaster and a producer of television programmes, making shows both for the local region it covered...
/
LWTLondon Weekend Television is the ITV network franchise holder for London and the South East at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5:15pm. to Monday mornings at 5:59am....
, resulting in a new centre in Maidstone, but when Meridian took over the franchise, they created a new "West" sub-region around the Hannington transmitter in order to improve the area's local news coverage, using a small news studio based at a converted warehouse in Newbury. This studio has since closed, as has the company's studio centre at Northam in Southampton, which closed in 2004. Production of
Meridian TonightMeridian Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Meridian , serving the South and South East of England , and usually broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest....
and local programmes moved to new headquarters in Whiteley. In December 2007, the empty studios at Northam were being used as a secure lorry park, with the back lot used as an overflow car park for St Mary's Stadium. In the summer of 2008, the empty studios started to be dismantled with plans for a multi-storey block of flats to be built.
Sub-regions
Until early 2009, ITV Meridian operated 3 sub-regions. The last sub-regional bulletins for the South and South East regions were aired on Friday 6th February 2009. The new pan-regional edition of Meridian Tonight began on 9 February 2009, presented by Sangeeta Bhabra and Fred Dinenage.
Prior to this, the sub regional news programmes were as follows:
- ITV Meridian South East (Kent
Kent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
, MedwayMedway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County Council, though still within the...
, East SussexEast Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:See main article:History of Sussex...
, South EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
and Brighton and Hove);
- ITV Meridian South (Brighton and Hove, West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, southern HampshireHampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, the Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
, PortsmouthPortsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...
, SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, BournemouthBournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the Borough of Bournemouth, England. The town has a population of 163,444 according to the 2001 Census, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is the largest town on the south coast and the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, PoolePoole is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
and eastern DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
);
- ITV Thames Valley - this replaced ITV Meridian West which served northern Hampshire
Hampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
, BerkshireBerkshire is a county in the South East of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters...
and parts of SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
, when it merged with neighbouring Central SouthCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central was the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
to create a single ITV Thames ValleyITV Thames Valley was a non-franchise ITV news region covering the Thames Valley area of the United Kingdom from 4 December 2006 until 8 February 2009. It served the south/south-eastern area of the legal Central franchise and the north/north-western area of the legal Meridian franchise...
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1791328,00.html. Its news programme was called Thames Valley TonightThames Valley Tonight was a regional news programme broadcast to part of the ITV Network in the Thames Valley area of southern England. The Thames Valley news region was launched on Monday 4 December 2006 and ceased to exist on 8 February 2009....
, and although ITV Thames Valley was not branded as Meridian, it was broadcast from Meridian's studios. It was the biggest of the three sub-regions adding OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, the SwindonSwindon is a large town and unitary borough authority in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in south west England. It is midway between Bristol, west, and Reading, east. London is east....
area and BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
to the Meridian West counties.
The South and South-East regions produced their own editions of the flagship news magazine
Meridian TonightMeridian Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Meridian , serving the South and South East of England , and usually broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest....
(6pm weeknights), alongside further
Meridian News bulletins throughout the day. As of February 2009 there are pan-regional bulletins, including morning ones during
GMTVGMTV is the national ITV breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GMTV Ltd, comprising ITV plc and The Walt Disney Company...
which are branded
GMTV NewsGMTV News was the brand name for the regional news service in the south coast of England and the Thames Valley, from 5th December 2006 until 6th February 2009....
. The sub-regions retain their own local advertisements too, but otherwise, programmes across the whole Meridian region are identical. From 2004, all of the bulletins for all three sub-regions came from studios in the same building in Whiteley,
HampshireHampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. Some considered this controversial, particularly as the Meridian South East programme for
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
,
East SussexEast Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:See main article:History of Sussex...
and South
EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
was presented by anchors from a studio in
HampshireHampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders , Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, 60 miles from the nearest part of the South East region (
BrightonBrighton is a town in the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain...
) and 160 miles from its furthest point (
BroadstairsBroadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in East Kent, England, east of London with a population of about 22,000. Situated between Margate and Ramsgate, it is one of the seaside resorts on the Isle of Thanet, known as the "Jewel in Thanet's crown". The town's crest motto is "Stella...
). This practice wasn't a new one though, as Anglia had been broadcasting both editions of
Anglia News/
Anglia TonightAnglia Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Anglia , serving the East of England, and usually broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest...
from Norwich for the east and west of the region since their inception in June 1990, covering a geographical area roughly the same size in length as Meridian's.
A newsroom plus the main technical production and transmission end of the programmes is centred in Whiteley - but there is a south-east newsroom with reporters based at
The Maidstone StudiosThe Maidstone Studios is a television studio complex with radio studio facilities based at Vinters Park in Maidstone, Kent UK.It is home to a varied selection of independent British television programming including quiz shows such as Catchphrase and popular children's shows such as CITV's Art...
. Meridian South-East had originally used these studios before moving in 1994 to a studio at
New HytheNew Hythe is a village in mid-Kent, England on the banks of the River Medway approximately 5 miles northwest of the county town of Maidstone. It derives its name from the Old English word Hythe, meaning haven or landing place....
near Maidstone in
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
.
Thames Valley TonightThames Valley Tonight was a regional news programme broadcast to part of the ITV Network in the Thames Valley area of southern England. The Thames Valley news region was launched on Monday 4 December 2006 and ceased to exist on 8 February 2009....
was also produced at the Whiteley headquarters, with the former Central South studio in
AbingdonAbingdon is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire in Southern England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places which claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town...
serving as a satellite newsroom remaining in a small part of the building.
Under cost-cutting plans announced by ITV in September 2007 and agreed to by the UK's broadcasting regulator
OfcomThe Office of Communications or, as it is more often known, Ofcom, is the independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established in the enabling device, the , but received its full authority from the Communications...
in October 2008, the region's three evening news broadcasts - Meridian South, Meridian South East and Thames Valley - would become one. The new programme now covers a large part of England, stretching from Kent and south Essex to Dorset as well as north to Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Around half of the main evening edition of
Meridian Tonight and the weekday late bulletin is split between a combined Meridian South/Thames Valley area and the South East region.
Over half of those people are due to be made redundant under plans published by the broadcaster in October 2008. All employees who wished to remain with the company were obliged to re-apply for jobs. Some staff opted for voluntary redundancy and many others have been left without jobs. The new scaled-down pan-regional programme started in February 2009.
Identity
Meridian's original
identStation identification is the practice of radio or television stations or networks identifying themselves on air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name...
featured an exploding mix of orange, yellow and blue, which then came together to form the familiar sun/face logo. The unusual logo design is reportedly inspired by maritime images (the sun/moon face is a recurring feature on compasses, sextants and other nautical artefacts used in the navigation of ships), appropriately reflecting the south's long seafaring history and naval credentials. The name "Meridian", which derives from the Latin
meridionālis meaning "of the south", may also be linked to the Prime Meridian (the boundary between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres of the globe, and a key landmark in the measurement of time), which passes through the middle of the region, although this has not been confirmed.
Under several different formups and backgrounds, the sun/face logo was in use until 2002 when the station was re-branded as 'ITV1 Meridian'. The original logo was last seen at the start of the late-night weather forecast on 5 December 2004, and on 1 February 2005 it was replaced with a banner simply saying 'ITV Meridian', the 'official' name of the franchisee. The station is simply known as 'ITV1' at all times.
Ownership
Meridian Broadcasting was founded as a consortium of Mills & Allen Int. Selectv ,15% the program makers and Central 20% who advised the consortium. Central along with Selectv were instumental in winning the franchise as a low bidder. (MAI).. In 1994, MAI bought
Anglia TelevisionAnglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
, and in 1995 it was a major shareholder in the consortium that won the franchise for Channel 5.
In 1996, MAI merged with United Newspapers (via an
agreed takeoverThe phrase mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another...
by United) to form United News and Media (UNM). The resulting company owned the
Daily ExpressThe Daily Express is a conservative, British tabloid newspaper. It is a middle-market title, the flagship title of Express Newspapers and is currently owned by Richard Desmond...
newspaper, Meridian, Anglia, and a large shareholding (through the
Yorkshire PostThe Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
) in Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television, the owners of
Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise. Up until 1974, this was primarily the three Ridings of Yorkshire and associated areas served by the Emley Moor television transmitter...
and
Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and some of North Yorkshire...
. This stake was sold to
Granada TelevisionGranada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England and the Isle of Man.It is the only one of the original four ITA franchisees from 1954 that survived as a franchise holder into the twenty-first century. Broadcasting began on 3 May 1956, with the company originally...
, allowing them to take control of the two franchises. In 1997, UNM bought
HTVITV Wales & West, previously known as HTV, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, owned and operated by ITV plc from studios in Cardiff and Bristol...
.
UNM had spent several years attempting to merge with either Granada Group or
Carlton CommunicationsCarlton Communications was a British media company. It was led by Michael Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it merged with Granada plc to form ITV plc. It is most well-known as the former parent of Carlton Television Limited, but was also involved...
, but negotiations came to nothing. Instead, in 2000, UNM sold its broadcasting and newspaper interests and became
United Business MediaUnited Business Media is a business providing business information services principally to the technology, healthcare, media, automotive and financial services industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index....
. Meridian, Anglia and HTV were acquired by Granada, but the UK
Broadcasting ActThe Broadcasting Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada regarding broadcasting of radiocommunications...
, at that time, did not allow one company to control that number of franchises. Granada gave HTV to Carlton, in return for Carlton relinquishing the 20% stake in Meridian that it had inherited from
Central Independent TelevisionCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central was the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
.
In 2002, Granada and Carlton decided to consolidate the separate brandings for the ITV franchises that they controlled, this consolidation became even more apparent after Granada and Carlton merged to form
ITV plcITV 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 terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
.
Productions
Some of Meridian's notable contributions to the national television network include:
- Hornblower
Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
- Monkey Business
Monkey Business is a long-running TV series about the exploits of various primates who reside at Monkey World, a rescue centre and sanctuary for primates in Dorset, United Kingdom. The series features Jim and Dr. Alison Cronin, directors of Monkey World, as they travel around the world rescuing...
- The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 1987 and 2000.The series comprised adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell. Many are based on her extensive range of short stories...
(1993-2000; previously TVSTelevision South was the broadcasting name associated with the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 23:59 on 31 December 1992...
)
- That's Esther
Esther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting That's Life! and her child protection activities as founder of the charity ChildLine. Rantzen also advocates the work of the Burma Campaign UK...
- Wizadora
Wizadora was a children's television programme broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom from 1993 to 1998. The series was created by Don Arioli and Caroline Cullum. It starred Wendy van der Plank as 'Wizadora', and then from 1996, Lizzie Mcphee. The show was filmed by Meridian Broadcasting.The...
- ZZZap!
Zzzap is a British children's television programme that was aimed primarily at deaf children. The concept of the show was a giant comic that has been brought to life. The show ran from 8 January 1993 until 21 September 2001, and was produced by The Media Merchants and Meridian Broadcasting...
- No Child of Mine
- Walking on the Moon
"Walking on the Moon" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, Reggatta de Blanc. The song was The Police's second number one hit single in the United Kingdom after "Message in a Bottle", but didn't chart in the United States. It is one of The Police's more reggae-influenced songs...
- Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...
(transferred from Anglia)
- Sooty's Amazing Adventures
A one season animated spin off of the popular puppett show SootyIn this incarnation of the famous bear he is a full bodied bear; free from the puppeteer's hand.-Setting:...
External links