Christmas has gone by, and I almost forgot posting this video as part of the holiday celebrations! This 1996 bizarre and well-produced promo from Canal 9 Buenos Aires shows a tired Santa Claus being assisted by the channel’s stars (including journalists) to make toys for the festivities.
Includes a cameo from the flamboyant Alejandro Romay (the station’s owner), dressed up as a king, which fitted him very well . It was his channel and he used to appear there all the time (hosting shows, election night coverages or filling in for newscasters), being one of its well-known personalities.
I have often wondered if Australia adopted a similar approach to TV the way the UK did, particularly with a model like ITV where there were specific broadcasters for each area.
I think that map only shows the official coverage of the transmitters whereas in reality the footprints went much further. Overlaps aren’t shown either - in lots of areas viewers could easily receive two or more regions with no specialist equipment - rabbit ears on a portable TV, for example, brought them in.
So in the white bits, especially parts of western Scotland and what I think are the Pennines between Granada and Yorkshire, you would generally get something.
Here’s today’s map, for comparison - with the exception of STV, everywhere else looks pretty much the same on air apart from the ads, regional news, and the occasional regional politics show. There are a couple of extra opt outs on UTV and ITV Wales.
30 years ago this week, British TV changed forever: 3 of ITV’s regional companies (Thames, TVS and TSW, along with the breakfast service TV-am) said goodbye and were replaced by new franchise holders. Here’s the very last local news bulletin from Thames, fronted by Graham Miller (who usually did sports). It’s followed by the London weather (voiced by announcer Philip Elsmore) and by a compilation promo with brief snippets of shows produced by Thames during its 24 years on the air.
According to an old post by user Thinker on the defunct TV Forum, TF1 was later replaced by Antenne 2, presumably when the former was privatized in the late 1980s, and then by TV5, the satellite/cable channel now known as TV5Monde.
And still with this… here’s how Thames ended its 23-year career serving London, before switching to new franchise holder Carlton, whose brash, low-brow and sensationalistic programming and the “Television for London” idents from Martin Lambie-Nairn never became a favorite with viewers (although they improved after buying Midlands franchise holder Central).
The TVS region was replaced by Meridian, part owned by Central. They received better reception thanks to a great focus on local shows and the launch of a third regional studio in Newbury.
TSW was replaced by Westcountry TV, whose awarding attracted controversy, as one of its shareholders had been involved in a big incident in its service area, and its involvement could cause partiality when covering the issue. However, it launched with praise, specifically for the local shows, but the big W idents by English & Pockett never impressed viewers due to its lack of movement and the loss of live, in vision presentation.
This moment also marks a turning point in the history of the ITV network itself, as the incoming mergers between companies caused the loss of regional identities over time, and a decrease in local shows and the quality of programming. The ITV1 rebrand in 2022 and the formation of ITV plc in 2004 sealed the fate of the network’s decline, only to recoup after its Charter was reviewed by Ofcom in 2012 and the famous 2013 rebrand and an increase in production expenses.
Here’s a special report from the same day, presented by Nicholas Owen, with aired shortly before This Morning with Richard and Judy…
And here’s how This Morning and talk show People Today covered the moment…
Back to 1993, TV-am (already part owned by Nine) was replaced by GMTV, a consortium of LWT, Scottish TV, Disney and The Guardian, which wanted to offer a more family friendly alternative to BBC and TV-am, with news offering a more “positive” approach to coverage and heavy emphasis on lifestyle, entertainment and content “you can use”, downplaying on hard news and politics. The format received negative reviews and low ratings, resulting on GMTV switching, over the following months, to a TV-am like format, increasing its news provision after signing a deal with Reuters and launching a politics show with Alastair Stewart the following year, and refocusing its weekend programs to children, including the first UK broadcast of Barney and Friends, but overall it became much fluffier than its predecessor.
Three days later, Carlton and LWT launched a new regional news show for London, a seven day effort called London Tonight. It became one of the few initial successes of Carlton and the new LWT, who partnered as London News Network to produce the show. Originally an hour-long show, it was produced from the LWT premises, in a street-side studio overlooking the South Bank, and it became a very brash show, with a style inspired by CityPulse, which emphasized tabloid reporting, a focus on hyperlocal content, a dedicated focus on local politics, increased coverage of sport, culture and entertainment, and even American-style weather and traffic reports. To add credibility to the new show, Alastair Stewart left ITN to join the new joint venture. A glimpse of the launch days…
Here we go. A place where we can talk about PSA’s
Here has to be one of the most infamous PSA’s ever. “It’s 10 PM. Do You Know Where Your Children Are?”. Going all the way back to the 60’s, it is one of the most famous PSA’s out there. The most famous example of these PSA’s belongs to WNEW Fox 5 New York. Here’s a few examples:
(Great. After just 11 minutes the topic gets closed, and is moved into here.
This infamous PSA dates back to the 60s, as the increasing violence against youngsters in many cities led to many cities imposing curfews to control the situation. The first reported use of the phrase was on Los Angeles channel 9 (KHJ, now KCAL), which was soon followed by most Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) stations. WNYW has used the PSA since 1967, when New York City began suffering an increase from crime (but never imposed curfew restrictions); it also coincided with the launch of its 10 O’Clock News. It still airs today. The PSA also has evolved during special circumstances, such as the ongoing pandemic, which led to the phrase being changed during the citywide lockdowns.
The other station that is know for using it is WKBW in Buffalo, which used the phrase during its heyday between the 60s and 80s. They dropped it in 2003 coinciding with a massive but botched rebrand of the station, but returned to use between 2008 and 2017, when the Scripps mandate came into full force at the station.
. It was his channel and he used to appear there all the time (hosting shows, election night coverages or filling in for newscasters), being one of its well-known personalities.
