Westcountry Television, is 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 West of England, replacing its predecessor,
TSW (Television South West)Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-History:...
, from the 1 January 1993. The station is owned and operated by
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...
under the licensee of
ITV Broadcasting Limited (formerly
Westcountry Television Limited).
Covering
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
,
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
,
the Isles of ScillyThe Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of the British Isles. Traditionally administered as part of the county of Cornwall, the islands have had a unitary authority council since 1889...
and areas of
SomersetSomerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west...
and
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...
,
Westcountry forms part of the non-franchise
ITV South WestITV South West is a non-franchse ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV Westcountry and ITV West regions...
region, alongside ITV West (previously
HTV West).
On 16 February 2009, the new merged station launched a new regional news programme called
The West Country TonightThe West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV South West at its studios in Bristol...
.
Although Westcountry is intended for the South West of England, the station is received in areas of
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, via a strong signal at the Huntshaw Cross transmitter.
ITV Westcountry's main studios were based at the Langage Science Park, to the east of
PlymptonPlympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...
, near
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
.
Westcountry Television, is 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 West of England, replacing its predecessor,
TSW (Television South West)Television South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-History:...
, from the 1 January 1993. The station is owned and operated by
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...
under the licensee of
ITV Broadcasting Limited (formerly
Westcountry Television Limited).
Covering
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
,
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
,
the Isles of ScillyThe Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of the British Isles. Traditionally administered as part of the county of Cornwall, the islands have had a unitary authority council since 1889...
and areas of
SomersetSomerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west...
and
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...
,
Westcountry forms part of the non-franchise
ITV South WestITV South West is a non-franchse ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV Westcountry and ITV West regions...
region, alongside ITV West (previously
HTV West).
On 16 February 2009, the new merged station launched a new regional news programme called
The West Country TonightThe West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV South West at its studios in Bristol...
.
Overview
Although Westcountry is intended for the South West of England, the station is received in areas of
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, via a strong signal at the Huntshaw Cross transmitter.
ITV Westcountry's main studios were based at the Langage Science Park, to the east of
PlymptonPlympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...
, near
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. Plans for a purpose-built studio complex on the Plymouth waterfront had to be abandoned because of
TSW'sTelevision South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-History:...
legal challenge to the franchise award. The station also previously operated a network of seven local newsrooms and studios in
TorbayTorbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on April 1, 1998...
,
PenzancePenzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom.Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 20,255....
,
TruroTruro is a city in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population of 20,920. It is the only city in the county, and the most southerly city in Great Britain...
,
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
,
BarnstapleBarnstaple is a town in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon in South West England. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter....
, Weymouth and
TauntonTaunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
. Four of the studios produced two dedicated sub-regional news bulletins on weekdays, covering the West (
TruroTruro is a city in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population of 20,920. It is the only city in the county, and the most southerly city in Great Britain...
), East (
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
), North (
BarnstapleBarnstaple is a town in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon in South West England. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter....
) and South (
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
) of the region. It was the first ITV company to produce four separate news opt-outs.
In 2009, the Westcountry region, along with areas covered by
ITV WalesITV 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...
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...
will cease its analogue broadcasts as part of the switch to digital TV.
Pre-history
Westcountry Television was one of two rival consortia bidding against the incumbent
TSWTelevision South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-History:...
when the ITV franchises were put to tender early in 1991. Westcountry's original shareholders were
Brittany FerriesBrittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company was founded in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
and
South West WaterSouth West Water Services Limited is a water supply and sewerage utility company serving part of south west England. It was originally formed by the Water Act 1973 as one of ten regional water authorities formed by a merger of various statutory and local authority water undertakings...
; the latter investor attracted criticism as only three years earlier it was responsible for one of the worst water pollution incidents in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and which occurred within the contract area at
CamelfordThe Camelford water pollution incident occurred in the town of Camelford, Cornwall in July 1988.A driver of a vehicle belonging to South West Water accidentally emptied his load of aluminium sulphate into the wrong tank at the Lowermoor Water Treatment Works. The chemical entered the mains water...
. On 16 October 1991, Westcountry was announced as the winner, bidding £7 million a year against TSW's 16 million. Several local MPs were concerned that South West Water's involvement would lead to partiality in news items concerning the local water firm.
To begin with, the firm was housed at Brittany Ferries' offices in Millbay Docks, Plymouth with a view to building a purpose-built studio centre on the Plymouth waterfront. TSW launched a legal challenge to the franchise award, and after initially being refused permission to do so in the High Court, a legal action began which would last almost three months and went all the way to the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
.
In February 1992 the legal process found in favour of Westcountry and while they could now finally sign the franchise agreement, their original programme plans were hit by the delay. Following discussions with the
Independent Television CommissionThe Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
Westcountry announced on 1 April 1992 it had abandoned the plans to build new studios on the Plymouth waterfront, opting instead to convert an industrial unit at Langage Science Park, Plymouth. They also reduced their planned staffing levels - already far fewer than those of TSW - leading to an expression of disappointment by TSW's managing director Harry Turner.
Although Westcountry would be based in Plymouth, transmission for the channel was to be handled by
HTV WalesITV 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...
staff at HTV's presentation centre in
Culverhouse CrossCulverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 ,...
,
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
with continuity announcers based at the Plymouth studios. This arrangement lasted from the first day of broadcasting until shortly after regional continuity was abandoned in October 2002.
History
Westcountry, originally an independent company, replaced
Television South WestTelevision South West was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from the former Westward Television studios in Plymouth, Devon.-History:...
at 00:00 GMT on 1 January 1993. The first programme aired on the channel was a short promo voiced by
Bruce HammalBruce Hammal is a television voice-over artist. He can currently be heard making the announcements at the top of each hour on Sky News and on many Sky Sports promotions...
and
Trish BertramTrish Bertram is a British television continuity announcer and voice-over artist.-Background:Bertram has been a live TV announcer for over twenty five years, starting her career in 1982 with London Weekend Television...
(two of Westcountry's first trail voiceovers) welcoming viewers to Westcountry and promising higher levels of regional output, followed by the
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American actor, voice actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. He is the second-highest grossing actor in motion picture history. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian...
and
Dudley MooreDudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s and became famous as half of the popular television double-act he formed with Peter Cook...
film
Best DefenseBest Defense is a comedy film starring Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy. It was released in 1984 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The movie takes place as two parallel plots separated by several years: Moore is an engineer developing a targeting system on a tank for the United States Army and Murphy is an...
.
In 1996, Westcountry was purchased by
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...
(now
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...
), who by that time owned the London weekday (
Carlton TelevisionCarlton Television was the ITV franchisee for London and parts of the surrounding counties from 9:25am every Monday to 5:15pm every Friday . The company is now managed with London Weekend Television as a single entity , but the two companies are still separately licensed...
) and Midlands (
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...
) franchises. Subsequently, Westcountry was re-branded as
Carlton Westcountry in September 1999, although only referred on screen as
Carlton. On 27 October 2002, Carlton Westcountry lost its regional identity, and became known as
ITV1 Carlton prior to regional programmes only, while being known as
ITV1ITV1 is the generic brand, that is used by twelve franchises of the ITV Network in England, Wales, the Scottish Borders, the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their eleven...
at all other times. The franchise briefly became
ITV1 for the Westcountry in 2003, before being renamed as
ITV1 Westcountry upon the
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...
merger of 2004.
ITV1 Westcountry was used for a time after this, although the regional name was only verbally mentioned before any locally-produced programming.
Following a speech by
Michael GradeMichael Ian Grade CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman and is currently Executive Chairman of ITV plc, but has announced he will step down from his executive role by the end of 2009.-Early life:...
about regional broadcasting post-switchover at the 2007 Nations and Regions conference in
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
, there was speculation that ITV Westcountry and ITV West could merge operations, as part of further streamlining of regional operations. Rumours suggested that, while a newsroom (and separate regional identity) would be retained in the south west, the main
Westcountry Live programme would move to a studio alongside
The West Tonight at ITV West in Bristol (akin to the
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....
and
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...
news services at Whiteley). On 12 September 2007, ITV issued a statement to the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, saying that it wished to reduce the number of news studios from 17 to just 9. This includes merging
ITV WestITV 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...
with ITV Westcountry to form a non-franchise region,
ITV South WestITV South West is a non-franchse ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV Westcountry and ITV West regions...
, from Spring 2009.
Shortly after the 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...
gave final approval to the changes, the regional news service was phased out with the final broadcast from Plymouth aired on Sunday 15 February 2009. A new programme entitled
The West Country TonightThe West Country Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV South West at its studios in Bristol...
replaced the
Westcountry LiveWestcountry Live was the flagship regional news programme of ITV Westcountry, serving the South West of England.-History:The programme was first broadcast on Monday 4 January 1993 - four days after Westcountry Television took over the ITV regional franchise from Television South West...
on Monday 16 February 2009 but includes separate opt-out news bulletins (some of which are pre-recorded depending on the day's news) and weather forecasts for the Westcountry region. The new regional set-up also maintains newsrooms in Plymouth, Truro and Exeter.
Programmes
Westcountry has not made any notable contribution to the ITV network, but produced mainly regional programmes such as the main regional news programme
Westcountry LiveWestcountry Live was the flagship regional news programme of ITV Westcountry, serving the South West of England.-History:The programme was first broadcast on Monday 4 January 1993 - four days after Westcountry Television took over the ITV regional franchise from Television South West...
, current affairs (
Special Report for example) and several regional factual series.
Westcountry Lives main presenters were Richard Bath and Alexis BowaterAlexis Bowater is a British television journalist and presenter.-Biography:The daughter of Sir Euan, 3rd Baron Bowater and Lady Bowater of Chagford, Alexis was born and brought up in Chagford, Devon. She graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne with a Masters Degree in...
with Mark Tyler, Seth Conway, Jemma Woodman, Claire Manning, Kate Hignett and Shelley Roberts standing in.
Other regional programmes included:
Westcountry Update
- Weekly news review for the deaf and hard of hearing (1993-2004)
Westcountry Focus
- Westcountry's first regular current affairs series
Westcountry Life
- Short 30-second films reflecting aspects of life in the region (1993-96)
West Wise
- Short-lived inter-town quiz, one of Westcountry's first local programmes (1993)
Brief Encounters
- Feature series about unusual past times (1993-94)
On the Road to the Islands
- Jack Pizzey's tour of islands in the South West, later aired by Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
(1993)
Little River Journeys
- A look at the Westcountry region's waterways, later aired by Channel 4 (1995)
Richard Digance: For One Night Only
- Local entertainment series (1997-8)
Bendell at Bedtime
- Topical debate (2004)
Birthday PeopleBirthday People was a British children's television programme that ran for several years on the south west of England's regional channel Westcountry Television...
- Children's birthdays (1993-2005)
Westcountry Soccer Night - Local football magazine show (2004-8)
External links