Television South (
TVS) was the broadcasting name associated with 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 holder in 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...
between 1 January 1982 and 23:59 on 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as
Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as
TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK broadcasting arm referred to as
TVS Television plc. On-air the company was known as TVS, Television South and eventually TVS Television.
TVS's coverage area coincided only partly with that of the present-day
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....
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....
), which was instead covered by the
ITV Midlands licenceeCentral 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...
.
Broadcasting commenced in 1982 following takeover of the franchise from
Southern TelevisionSouthern 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...
during the review of franchise holders in 1980. During their 11 year history, TVS produced a number of notable programmes for 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...
network including
C.A.T.S. EyesC.A.T.S. Eyes is a British television series made by TVS for ITV between 1985 and 1987.The series was a spin-off from The Gentle Touch and saw Jill Gascoine reprise her role as Det. Insp. Maggie Forbes, having left the police force to join a private detective agency called "Eyes" that is actually a...
and
The Ruth Rendell MysteriesThe 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...
, and challenged the monopoly of ITV’s ‘Big Five’ companies (
GranadaGranada 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...
,
YorkshireYorkshire 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...
,
CentralCentral 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...
,
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...
and
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....
) in controlling the allocation of primetime networked programming slots, although access was ultimately denied. They were a significant regional broadcaster producing a wide range of programmes for the region, with the flagship being the nightly award winning news programme
Coast to Coast produced as two separate editions for the south and south east.
They ceased broadcasting on 31 December 1992 after they lost the franchise to the present holder
Meridian BroadcastingMeridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the south and south east of England. The station owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
during the review of franchise holders in 1991. The company was sold to
International Family Entertainment Inc.ABC Family Worldwide Inc. is a producer and distributor of family entertainment and information programming worldwide. The company is owned by The Walt Disney Company and was founded in 1990 by Pat Robertson as International Family Entertainment Inc....
(IFE) in 1993.
1980 Franchise Review
TVS was formed to apply for the franchise for South and South-East of England under the working title of
South and South-East Communications Limited, following discussions between James Gatward (a television producer), Bob Southgate (a television executive who had previously worked at ITN and
Thames TelevisionThames 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...
) and Martin Jackson (a journalist). Finance was provided by Barclays Bank and the investment bank
Charterhouse. The franchise for this area was the most hotly-contested with seven other applicants besides TVS and the incumbent, Southern.
The company's Chief Executive was Lord Boston of Faversham assisted by James Gatward as Managing Director. James Gatward had been a former drama producer at Southern. Director of Programmes was Michael Blakstad, a former producer of BBC’s Tomorrow’s World and Head of Children’s Programming was Anna Home.
The
Independent Broadcasting AuthorityThe Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
(IBA) decided to review the franchises in 1980, with the changeover in franchise holders (where applicable) occurring on 1 January 1982. At the changeover, the IBA had decided to change the area covered from the south to include the south east and included the Bluebell Hill transmitter, associated relays and the main relay at Tunbridge Wells which previously were covered by ITV’s London contractors. To reflect this the contract area served by
Southern Television, which was previously titled the
South of England area was renamed
South and South-East of England. In order to serve the new region better the IBA expected the successful applicant to operate separate facilities for both the south and the south-east (known as a
dual-region), with new additional facilities to be built in the latter.
Following submission of their application, TVS were anticipating that they would be forced into a shotgun marriage with
Southern TelevisionSouthern 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...
, but won outright since their plans for a better mix of programmes and greater investment were considered good enough to operate the franchise alone. This was the official line given by the IBA, but it was also considered that Southern’s non-local ownership (the majority shareholders were companies based in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
) and their very conservative nature led to it being dropped in favour the more interesting proposals made by TVS in their franchise application.
Northam, Southampton
The first commercial television studios for the newly-created
South of England franchise were founded in Northam Road,
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...
by
Southern TelevisionSouthern 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...
when they were awarded the licence to broadcast in the south of England in 1957. The studios were originally the Plaza Cinema, and the building was selected for the new venture as the owner, the
Rank OrganisationThe Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. Its film division once distributed Universal Pictures releases in the UK...
, was a large shareholder in the new broadcaster. In 1967, and with the introduction of colour television in 1969, Southern built new, larger studios adjacent to the original development on land reclaimed from the
River ItchenThe River Itchen may refer to:*The River Itchen, Hampshire, in Hampshire, England*The River Itchen, Warwickshire, in Warwickshire, England...
. These were the facilities purchased by TVS (and later
MeridianMeridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the south and south east of England. The station owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
): TVS were delayed in the purchase of the site by Southern and therefore had to initially operate prior to launch from portakabins in the Southern car park, leading to Southern contemptuously naming them
Portakabin TV, as referenced in a satirical song performed by
Richard StilgoeRichard Henry Simpson Stilgoe OBE is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician. He is noted for clever wordplay as much as for his music....
on Southern's final programme. TVS finally completed the purchase of the Southampton site, equipment, news library and staff pension fund in August 1981. Also included in the sale was land purchased by Southern for planned new studios in Maidstone.
The Southampton base was the company's corporate headquarters and their primary production and transmission centre. Upon purchase TVS made significant investment, building a further studio to the rear of the existing site. TVS, when it lost its franchise bid, sold the studios to their successor Meridian in 1992 as part of an asset disposal designed to raise enough revenues to stay afloat to the end of the licence period.
After 11 years of (slowly declining) production at the site, in 2004,
MeridianMeridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the south and south east of England. The station owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
relocated to new and more modern, rented facilities on the Solent Business Park at
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:...
near
FarehamThe market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation....
. It is believed they had originally intended to be based here from the beginning of their licence period but decided instead to purchase the existing studios from TVS. The Southampton site is now derelict and earmarked for demolition and re-development (for housing) although it is unclear as to whether the site has actually been sold. The former studios were recently being used for secure lorry/truck storage. Demolition commenced in the summer of 2008 with the arrival of an asbestos removal company (The building contains considerable amounts of asbestos in the form of sound proofing and pipe insulation). Reports suggest that as the land was reclaimed from the river (and is essentially a flood plain) and also that unknown types of waste from the nearby shipyard was used to stabilise the site, it is struggling to achieve offers that match its supposed value. Plans for new homes on the site have also yet to be formally approved by the city council.
Vinters Park, Maidstone
The studios to serve the south-eastern section of Television South's transmission area were at
Vinters ParkThe 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...
near Maidstone in Kent.
The site was originally acquired by Southern Television who had commissioned a conceptual design for new studio facilities on the site. Following the award of the franchise to TVS, Southern sold the site to the new company at a premium.
Construction commenced in early 1982 and the first studios at the centre became operational in mid-1983. During the construction period, TVS served the south-eastern part of their area from the former Southern studios at Southampton and Dover (the latter closing when facilities at Maidstone became operational - see below).
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...
, though significant (and home to many networked shows) were ancillary to those in Southampton which were the company's corporate headquarters. Meridian, the new licensee, were not offered the studios as TVS initially intended to become an independent producer in 1993, however Meridian agreed to rent the newsroom and facilities for an initial 10 year period. However following the sale of TVS in 1993, the studios were acquired by TVS’s new owners IFE and Meridian's agreement came to a premature end. A newsroom and studio for the south east was subsequently set up on an industrial estate near New Hythe. Meridian have since returned to the site and use it as a news base as today they broadcast mainly from Hampshire.
Dover
The studios, on Russell Street, were originally the south-eastern base of Southern Television from which Scene South East and Scene Midweek were broadcast, and were essentially a news gathering operation with transmission facilities for regional news opt-outs. TVS used Dover as a regional studio for a year until completion of
Vinters ParkThe 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...
when they disposed of the site. The buildings have since been demolished and the site is now used as a car park.
TVS Television Theatre
TVS acquired the former Plaza Cinema in Gillingham,
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...
as a stop gap measure between the commencement of broadcasting and the completion of
Vinters ParkThe 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...
. The theatre was quickly converted for television use ready for the start of broadcasting.
The decision to operate a
television theatre was against the trend in television at that time (Both the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
and
Thames TelevisionThames 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...
were to dispose of similar facilities in the next two years).
Production at Gillingham was limited. It was used for several quiz shows and it was the base of the regional afternoon magazine show
Not for Women Only and TVS filmed the UK inserts for
Fraggle RockFraggle Rock is a children's television series with a total of 4 seasons and 96 episodes. The series originally ran from January 10, 1983 to March 30, 1987 on HBO in the United States, CBC Television in Canada, TV2 in New Zealand and TVS in the UK. Later Boomerang and Cartoonito broadcast it in the...
there. TVS sold the theatre in 1988. For a period afterwards the site was used for other activities before being demolished to make way for redevelopment. A campaign to have it listed failed as the large-scale conversion for television production had made it unsuitable for listing.
Regional Offices
TVS maintained sales offices in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
and several smaller offices throughout their region.
The Broadcasting Years
TVS began broadcasting at 9:25am on 1 January 1982. The new dual-regional station sprang to life with its new especially composed startup music - variously named but referred to in-house as
TVS Gallop, accompanied by a programme menu and clock. Continuity announcer Malcolm Brown, previously an announcer at
GranadaGranada 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...
, made the opening announcement:
"Good morning. It's New Year's Day 1982, and this is Television South. TVS, the new independent televisionITV 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...
company that's proud to serve both the South and South East of England. To begin with, we bring in the new with for the first time our symbol which will soon become very familiar."
Following the first airing of the station's first ident, the first programme to air was a
Coast to Coast special entitled
Bring in the New, presented by
Khalid AzizKhalid Aziz LVO DL started his career as a journalist, becoming the youngest producer in the BBC at Radio Leicester. And at the age of 24, the youngest presenter of a 6 o'clock BBC TV regional news programme, Look North from Leeds...
. A number of presenters made the transition from Southern to TVS. All production staff were transferred as part of the then union agreements within ITV that no technician should lose employment as a result of franchise changes. 200 staff were also recruited for the facilities at Gillingham and Maidstone although a small number of these were made redundant after the company went on-air as the studios struggled to reach production capacity, restricted by TVS's limited access to the ITV network.
TVS was soon recognised as an ambitious company (in contrast to the rather staid
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...
) that wanted to be a 'major player' within ITV and not be just a large regional company. At that time, networked programme schedules were agreed by a committee with representatives from the ‘Big Five’ ITV companies
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....
,
CentralCentral 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...
,
YorkshireYorkshire 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
GranadaGranada 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...
. The rationale was that the larger ITV companies should bear more of the production costs as their size enabled them to.
This led to criticism in some quarters that the larger of the remaining 'regional' ITV companies (TVS,
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...
,
STVScottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchise still active...
,
Tyne TeesTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and some of North Yorkshire...
and
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...
) found it difficult to get network access for their grander productions, or that they were left with
softer non-primetime sectors, such as children's and religious television.
TVS attempted to get the 'Big Five' turned into the 'Big Six', as during the mid-1980s its revenues were greater than those of Yorkshire Television, and often equal to those of LWT. The attempt failed (although TVS did form an alliance with LWT which enabled some of its shows to obtain primetime network status). Ultimately, in the
1990 Broadcasting Act the 'Big Five' committee was replaced with an independent
ITV Network Centre.
Programming
Regional programming was a key part of TVS's commitments to the
IBAThe Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
. TVS's News Service covered the entire dual region - a vast swathe of the South and South East of England. Two entirely separate editions of the TVS nightly regional news programme
Coast to CoastCoast to Coast was the flagship regional news programme produced by Television South, covering the south and southeast of England with separate news services for both parts of the dual-region between January 1982 and December 1992.-Beginnings:...
were developed to produce daily news coverage across the area. Both the South and South East editions won the Royal Television Society's awards for the Best News Programme of the Year, in 1983 (South East edition), and in 1989 and 1991 (South edition).
Apart from news, TVS produced a vast array of programming in-house including regional gardening (
That's Gardening), business (
Enterprise South), farming (
Farm Focus), investigative current affairs (
Facing South) and light entertainment (
Off the Record). An award winning title was the
Country Ways series, which examined the people and places of the region and continued in production for ITV Meridian until 2008.
TVS also innovated with the experimental
Afternoon Club, a dedicated programme encompassing a number of afternoon soap operas, quiz shows etc linked by general chat and guests etc. They also produced their own afternoon magazine show
Not for Women Only. The station was also instrumental in providing separate non-news programmes for the South, South East and Thames Valley areas including the chat show
Coast to Coast People and the listings guide
This Way Out.
In common with their predecessor, TVS had a strong performance in children's programming. Early successes included Saturday morning show
No. 73No 73, later re-titled 7T3, was a 1980s children's TV show produced by TVS. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings and ran from 1982 to 1988. The show starred, amongst others, Sandi Toksvig, Neil Buchanan and Andrea Arnold....
which was later networked,
On SafariOn Safari was a children's game show series set in the jungle that was produced by TVS, and aired on the ITV network for 4 series from 1982 until 1984. The show was hosted by Christopher Biggins and for the first season, was co-hosted by future EastEnders actress Gillian Taylforth.Series two, three...
(TVS's first pre-transmission production),
The Witches and the GrinnygogThe Witches and the Grinnygog is a children's novel by the writer Dorothy Edwards, published in 1981 and shortlisted for that year's Whitbread Prize for a children's book....
,
Fraggle RockFraggle Rock is a children's television series with a total of 4 seasons and 96 episodes. The series originally ran from January 10, 1983 to March 30, 1987 on HBO in the United States, CBC Television in Canada, TV2 in New Zealand and TVS in the UK. Later Boomerang and Cartoonito broadcast it in the...
,
The Boy Who Won the Pools,
Get FreshGet Fresh was a children's television programme that ran from 1986 to 1988 in the United Kingdom.-Premise:Broadcast on the Children's ITV network, the show starred Gareth Jones , Charlotte Hindle, and a puppet named Gilbert the Alien...
, and
Knights of GodKnights of God was a British science fiction children's television serial, produced by TVS and first broadcast on ITV in 1987. It was written by Richard Cooper, a writer who had previously worked in both children's and adult television drama...
. Later successes included
MotormouthMotormouth was a Saturday morning children's television series that was produced by Television South and aired across the ITVnetwork for four series, running between 1988 and 1992.. Each series generally ran from the autumn of one year to the spring of the next, as was common among many 'main'...
,
The StorytellerThe Storyteller is a live-action/puppet television series. It was an American/British co-production which originally aired in 1988 and was created and produced by Jim Henson....
,
TUGSTUGS is a British children's television series, first broadcast in 1988. It was created by the producers of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton, and only 13 episodes were made. It dealt with the adventures of two subanthromorphized tugboat fleets, the Star Tugs...
,
How 2How 2 was an informative children's programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1992, and STV Productions from 1993 to 2006. The original show - How - was produced by Southern Television from 1966 up until 1981 when the company lost its franchise to TVS. It was a regular fixture in the CITV...
,
Finders Keepers and
Art AttackArt Attack was a British children's television series revolving around art. It was one of ITV's longest running programmes, running from 1990 until 2007. It was presented throughout by Neil Buchanan...
.
As they became established TVS made significant contributions to network drama (through their tie-up with LWT) with shows such as the detective series
C.A.T.S. EyesC.A.T.S. Eyes is a British television series made by TVS for ITV between 1985 and 1987.The series was a spin-off from The Gentle Touch and saw Jill Gascoine reprise her role as Det. Insp. Maggie Forbes, having left the police force to join a private detective agency called "Eyes" that is actually a...
. The production of the
Inspector Wexford Mysteries (1987-1992), television adaptations of
Ruth RendellRuth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, , who also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, is a prolific English crime writer, acclaimed for her fine psychological thrillers and murder mysteries....
's novels, proved to be a success with over fifteen programmes being made over a ten-year period.
TVS also provided a number of networked factual and science-based programs including
In The Mouth of the Dragon and
The Real World which, for the first time in the UK, broadcast in 3D (the glasses were made available via the
TV TimesTVTimes is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by IPC Media, a subsidiary of Time Warner. It is known for its access to television actors and their programmes. In 2006 it was refreshed for a more modern look, increasing its emphasis on big star interviews and soaps...
).
Light EntertainmentLight entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances.-Light entertainment in Britain:In the early days of the BBC virtually all broadcast entertainment would be considered light by today's standards, as great pains were taken not to offend...
programming included a number of series starring
Bobby DavroBobby Davro is a British actor and comedian. He is mainly known for his work as an impressionist. He made his TV debut in 1981, but it wasn't until 1983 that he made his television breakthrough at Live from Her Majesty's...
,
Ultra QuizUltra Quiz was an elimination game show series that was produced by TVS and aired for three series and a total of 24 episodes on the ITV network from 9 July 1983 until 17 August 1985. Each series of eight editions was hosted by a different person: Michael Aspel hosted series 1, David Frost hosted...
,
Catchphrase,
ConcentrationConcentration was a TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. It aired on and off from 1958-1991, hosted by various hosts and played in various ways...
,
Summertime Special and the sitcoms
Perfect Scoundrels and
That's LoveThat's Love is a British television sitcom about the domestic problems of a young married couple, lawyer Donald and designer Patsy .-Plot:...
.
MTM Entertainment
TVS's franchise in a prosperous area generated large profits. Restrictions on network programming resulted in the search for non-television investments. Speculative small investments in UK companies were followed by the purchase of the American media company
MTM EnterprisesMTM Enterprises was an independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce The Mary Tyler Moore Show for CBS. The name for the production company was drawn from Moore's initials...
, founded by
Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms.Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as Dick...
and responsible for many US hit shows including
Hill Street BluesHill Street Blues is a serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Reruns are currently being aired on AmericanLife TV Network on weekday nights in the United States, and on weekday afternoons on digital network More 4 in the United Kingdom...
. MTM specialised in the syndicated television market (programmes made independently and sold to the major American television networks). Television South was renamed TVS Television in 1989.
TVS was banking on benefiting from this syndicated market and so borrowed heavily to finance the £190 million purchase with the expectation of huge financial rewards. The purchase initially boosted TVS profits, but a faltering US economy lead to a downturn in US television fortunes.
By 1989, uncertainty over the high price paid by TVS for MTM led to its share price falling in October 1989. TVS was also failing to secure network slots for its programming and they axed 200 jobs in Northam and Maidstone. As it entered the 1990’s, TVS's fortunes were poor and this would have an impact upon its chances of retaining its franchise when it came up for renewal in 1991.
The 1991 franchise battle
In 1990 a new Broadcasting Act was passed by Parliament, which deregulated broadcasting in the UK and removed the monopoly on programme production held by franchise holders. Changes to network broadcasting and the introduction of cable and satellite channels meant that ITV needed to be leaner and fitter to compete with its new rivals.
The Act saw the replacement of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) by the Independent Television Commission (ITC). The Act also changed the rules for the allocation of ITV franchises: In previous franchise battles, incumbents were judged on track record and future plans while new applicants were judged on potential and financial backing.
Incumbents and new applicants still had to undergo this examination but now also had to submit a cash bid, payable annually, via a single sealed bid based on what they valued the contract at. One other change made was that applicants no longer had to own production facilities or produce shows
in-house, allowing them to become publisher-broadcasters and opening up the ITV network to independent producers.
The original draft of the Broadcasting Act stated that the applicant with the highest cash bid would win; however following fears that this would financially stretch the network and diminish programme standards the concept of a 'quality threshold' was introduced. Incumbents and applicants had to pass this first before cash bids were even considered; even then if a cash bid was deemed to impact on plans the application could be rejected.
TVS passed the quality threshold - indeed, as the incumbent broadcaster it could hardly have failed to do as failure would have called the ITC's own regulatory regime into question. The lucrative nature of the TVS contract area made it one of the most desirable franchises in the UK. Despite preparing vast amounts of audience research, programming proposals and an extremely comprehensive application document for the ITC, the TVS board - now minus its founder James Gatward - calculated that it needed to outbid all opposition in order to retain its licence. This resulted in the "bid high or die" strategy - in which the management calculated the highest possible bid that TVS could possibly afford. The result of these calculations was a massive £59 million per annum payable for the next ten years. It was the highest bid ever made by any UK television broadcaster.
The ITC announced the results of the franchise battle by releasing simultaneous faxes to the contending companies. Two companies had passed the so-called programme "quality threshold" - TVS and Meridian Broadcasting. Of these two TVS's bid was the higher - and therefore should automatically have been awarded the licence for the South and South East of England. However the ITC asserted that there was now a third criterion, a requirement that the ITC could confidently expect the winning company to sustain its annual payments throughout the entire period of the 10 year licence. The ITC used this new criterian to foot-fault TVS and claimed that the company would not be able to sustain the proposed £59 million a year licence payments. The ITC then awarded the licence to Meridian Broadcasting who had bid only £36million per year.
The ITC refused every attempt to get it to explain its decision. Eventually on 7 November 1991 the issue was raised on the floor of the House of Commons:-
- Dame Janet Fookes: Can my right hon. Friend answer a riddle for me? How is it that Television South passed the quality threshold, offered by far the most money but still lost?
- Mr. Baker: That is a riddle for the ITC, not me, to answer. The ITC made the determination and it would be inappropriate for me to comment upon the matter, especially as I believe that it is now sub judice, because the company has applied for judicial review."
But although TVS had said it would consider a judicial review the legal advice that it received was that the prospect of success would be slim and the costs would be enormous. Whilst it carried on broadcasting to the end of its franchise period it began partially liquidating the company. The studio facilities at Southampton were sold to the incoming franchise winners Meridian Broadcasting - even though Meridian had said they intended to operate as a "publisher broadcaster" and would not be making anything like the amount of regional programming made by TVS. The Maidstone Studios were to be retained with the news facility being leased to Meridian as TVS planned to continue trading as an independent producer.
The unions started to negotiate with Meridian to absorb some of the 800 TVS staff facing redundancy as Meridian only planned to employ 370 staff as they intended to produce a far smaller amount of network programming and would use independent producers for the remainder of its programming.
It was ironic indeed that, in the event, the projections of advertising revenue on which TVS had based its massive bid turned out to be correct. However, only three years later, all the high-bidding licensees - including HTV which had virtually bankrupted itself to put forward a massive £25 million bid to win the Wales and West licence - were allowed to reduce their licence payments in some cases by more than half.
Closing night
TVS ceased broadcasting to the south and south east of England at just before midnight on 31st December 1992.
While most other ITV stations were broadcasting Thames' farewell programme
The End of the Year Show, TVS chose to opt-out and air its own final programme entitled
Goodbye to All That, a retrospective of TVS's programming presented by
Fred DinenageFred Edgar Dinenage is an English television host and newsreader, based in the south of England.Dinenage has appeared as presenter of many British television programmes , such as Gambit , Tell The Truth, How, and its successor How...
and
Fern BrittonFern Britton is an English television presenter, formerly known as the main co-presenter on the magazine programme This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She left the show on 17 July 2009, her 52nd birthday.- Early life :...
, pre-recorded in front of a studio audience earlier in the day.
The programme closed with an amended version of TVS' last main ident (along with the message 'Thanks for watching'), before crossing to Big Ben for the New Year chimes at midnight.
After 1992
TVS Entertainment was sold on 1 February 1993 to the American Company
International Family Entertainment Inc.ABC Family Worldwide Inc. is a producer and distributor of family entertainment and information programming worldwide. The company is owned by The Walt Disney Company and was founded in 1990 by Pat Robertson as International Family Entertainment Inc....
(IFE). Later that year in September, IFE launched a UK version of The
Family ChannelChallenge is a United Kingdom digital TV channel owned by Virgin Media Television.It was originally called The Family Channel from 1 September 1993 to 31 January 1997, which aired a mixture of genre shows mainly including sitcoms, game shows, dramas and entertainment.It was later re-branded as...
based in
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...
and using some elements of the TVS programme archive. Flextech were a partner in the venture, taking a 39% stake in the business.
In 1996 IFE sold its 61% share in the venture to Flextech and subsequently in March 1997 Flextech rebranded the channel to
Challenge TVChallenge is a United Kingdom digital TV channel owned by Virgin Media Television.It was originally called The Family Channel from 1 September 1993 to 31 January 1997, which aired a mixture of genre shows mainly including sitcoms, game shows, dramas and entertainment.It was later re-branded as...
, focusing mainly on game shows. Meanwhile, also in 1997, IFE was sold to Fox Kids Worldwide, which in turn was acquired by Disney in 2001. As a result, most of the TVS archive is now in their hands, although much of it is understood to be largely inaccessible due to the paperwork detailing programme contributors, rights agreements, etc, having been lost in the intervening years.
In 2006 the name "Television South Ltd", "TVS" and the colour logo device were transferred and re-registered at the Trademarks Office to lighting cameraman Keith Jacobsen, and TVS now trades as an independent production company.
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