ITV

**Independent Television** (abreviated to **ITV**) is a British television station.

## History

### 1955-1969

ITV was formed in 1955, after the Television Act 1954 was passed, which allowed commercial television to be broadcast in the UK. The act also created the Independent Television Authority (ITA), which regulated commercial television. The ITA decided that ITV would be restricted to showing 7 hours of imported content per week, so that British jobs would be protected.  The first television advertisement was for Gibbs SR Toothpaste, which was the first television advertisement to be broadcast in the UK.  Initially, ITV was only broadcast in London, through the Associated Rediffusion franchise. More ITV regional franchises were awarded over the next ten years. By 1965, all areas of the UK could receive ITV. In the first 10 years, the franchises made very big profits; Roy Thomson, the owner of Scottish Television, described owning the franchise as "a licence to print money". In 1962, the Pilkingon Review was commissioned, which criticised ITV for "triviality" in its broadcasts, which the report said was "more dangerous to the soul than wickedness". In 1969, ITV began broadcasting in colour.

### 1970-1979

Between 1970 and 1971, technicians at ITV went on a colour strike, where they refused to make programmes in colour. The reason behind this strike was that staff were fighting for a payrise after they began using colour equipment. In 1972, the ITA were renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). In 1975, ITV's Teletext service, ORACLE, was launched. In 1979, ITV franchises became involved with major disputes with trade unions, resulting no programmes being broadcast on ITV for 11 weeks.

### 1980-1989

In 1980, the IBA announced that a new slot for a breakfast television franchise had been made avaliable. The slot was given to TV-AM. TV-AM began broadcasting in 1983. However, TV-AM experienced many problems. There was a dispute between the actor's union Equity and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, who wanted to pay actors who featured in advertisements broadcast on TV-AM less money than if they were broadcast on the normal ITV service. As a result, Equity went on strike and TV-AM struggled to find any advertisers. The breakfast slot was three hours long. The first hour was known as Daybreak, and was devoted to news and current affairs. The rest of the slot was known as Good Morning Britain. The programme received poor ratings compared to the BBC's Breakfast Time programme. However, later in the decade, TV-AM became one of the most profitable television stations in the world. In 1987, ITV Schools Programmes were moved onto Channel 4. In 1988, ITV held the ITV Telethon, its first national telethon, which raised funds for many causes. Also in 1988, ITV began broadcasting throughout the night.

### 1990-1999

The 1990 Broadcasting Act brought about several changes in the way ITV was run. The transmitter network was privatised and the regional and breakfast franchises were awarded to the highest bidder in an auction. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) was also set up to replace the IBA. In 1991, TV-AM lost the breakfast franchise from 1993 onwards to GMTV. The 1992 edition of ITV Telethon was the subject of protests by people with disabilities, who were unhappy with the negative portrayal of people with disabilities in the telethon. GMTV began broadcasting in 1993. Teletext Ltd also took over from ORACLE in providing teletext services.
In 1998, ITV launched ITV 2, a digital channel.

### 2000-2009

In 2000, ITV launched ITN News, a 24-hour news digital channel. In 2001, the ITV channel was renamed ITV1. In 2004, ITV launched ITV3, a digital channel aimed at viewers who were over 35 years old. In 2005, ITV launched ITV4, a digital channel aimed at male viewers. In 2006, ITV launched the CiTV channel. In 2008, ITV launched ITV HD, a digital channel which broadcast programmes from ITV1 in High Definition.

### 2010-2019

In 2010, ITV launched ITV2 HD, ITV3 HD and ITV4 HD. In 2013, ITV1 reverted back to being called ITV. In 2014, ITV launched ITVBe, a channel aimed at female viewers.

## Programmes and viewing figures

In 2018, the most watched programmes on ITV channels were:

* Vera
* Coronation Street
* Britain's Got Talent
* Ibiza Weekender
* Survival of the Fittest
* Celebrity Juice
* Plebs
* Love Island

The programmes with the highest viewing figures ever on ITV are:

1. The Royal Variety Performance- 14 November 1965
2. Coronation Street- 2 January 1985
3. The Royal Variety Performance- 10 November 1963
4. The Silver Jubilee Royal Variety Gala- December 1977
5. The Benny Hill Show- 14 March 1979
6. Coronation Street- 18 December 1980
7. Sale of the Century- 19 November 1977

* = Coronation Street- 9 January 1985
* = Coronation Street- 16 January 1985

## Controversies

### Parliamenty opposition

When the act of Parliament that created ITV was passed, it was opposed by Labour MPs. Labour said they would abolish the act when it was next elected to government, but later changed their position on this and allowed ITV to remain.

### Populist output

For much of ITV's history, there have been accusations that ITV's content is too populist. The Pilkington Review was critical of ITV's populist output, especially game shows. In 2010, ITV's cheif executive, Adam Crozier, said that the channel's content had to appeal to the "lowest common denominator" to attract viewers.

### Advertising on ITV

The type of products and services being advertised on ITV have also been critisised. A report in the Guardian criticised the number of advertisments for gambling companies broadcast during the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches, when many children were watching. Advertisements for cosmetic surgery during the reality series Love Island on ITV2 were also criticised.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/radio-television-bbc.htm
2. ↑ https://www.itvplc.com/about/history/1955
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-jTzHji8JSEC&pg=PA15&dq=ITV+history&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirl9vw3NLgAhXsRxUIHW4fC7AQuwUIKzAA#v=onepage&q=ITV%20history&f=false
4. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-first-ad-on-television-1601624.html
5. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34312606
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/22/newsid\_3131000/3131477.stm
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 http://www.communicationethics.net/journal/v12n1/feat1.pdf
8. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/genome/entries/bee96f81-0c42-4466-9f06-9d548ab79610
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F6hZGqwVEA4C&pg=PA69&lpg=PA69&dq=itv+colour+strike&source=bl&ots=uwQMDTDku4&sig=ACfU3U1GqflHGKbQGpRJv1q\_E8m\_GO6lnw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiSvo2U-NLgAhV6TBUIHRy2Cvw4FBDoATABegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=itv%20colour%20strike&f=false
10. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=I\_axCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA505&dq=independent+broadcasting+authority&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7vv3hiNPgAhUGTRUIHWESAU84FBC7BQhFMAU#v=onepage&q=independent%20broadcasting%20authority&f=false
11. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fZW\_VCjjn8EC&pg=PA33&dq=oracle+teletext&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiOpPn2itPgAhWVShUIHUqEAPMQ6AEINTAC#v=snippet&q=1978&f=false
12. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PdpKE-\_HrVQC&pg=PA70&dq=ITV+history&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirl9vw3NLgAhXsRxUIHW4fC7AQuwUIVzAI#v=onepage&q=ITV%20history&f=false
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WpQ\_esoMKLMC&pg=PA99&dq=TV-AM+ITV&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2rYutjdPgAhU9QxUIHYB5CikQuwUIKzAA#v=onepage&q=TV-AM%20ITV&f=false
14. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/bruce-gyngell-pink-thinking-tv-pioneer-dies-aged-71-699155.html
15. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KwzYIYCE4jsC&pg=PA129&dq=itv+schools&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN\_c\_OlNPgAhVFSxUIHTXFClAQuwUIRzAF#v=onepage&q=itv%20schools&f=false
16. ↑ http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/23321/1/CST11%202charlesworthFINAL%20with%20revisions%20DC.pdf
17. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DR5\_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA135&dq=itv+night+time+broadcasting&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7\_dnCpNPgAhUNQxUIHQH9AYwQ6AEIQTAE#v=onepage&q=itv%20night%20time%20broadcasting&f=false
18. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22120480
19. ↑ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment\_data/file/235644/0292.pdf
20. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/media-another-telethon-what-help-is-that-if-youre-disabled-itvs-fund-raising-marathon-does-more-harm-1531897.html
21. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-34732084
22. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/gallery/2009/jul/16/television-itv
23. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-jTzHji8JSEC&pg=PA29&dq=itv2+launch+1998&hl=en&sa=X&redir\_esc=y#v=onepage&q=itv2%20launch%201998&f=false
24. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/mar/11/tvnews.television
25. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jul/02/itv.broadcasting
26. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3641506.stm
27. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/aug/05/digitaltv.broadcasting
28. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv\_and\_radio/4683605.stm
29. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/13/mondaymediasection17
30. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/oct/17/digitaltvradio-ofcom
31. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10848396
32. ↑ https://metro.co.uk/2013/01/14/itv-rebrand-goes-live-with-new-logo-finally-in-use-3351745/
33. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/12/itv-new-channel-itvbe-the-only-way-is-essex
34. ↑ https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-launch-itvbe
35. ↑ https://www.tvbeurope.com/data-centre/most-watched-tv-programmes-in-the-uk-2018-revealed
36. ↑ https://www.theweek.co.uk/78129/the-uks-top-20-most-watched-tv-programmes-of-all-time
37. ↑ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1325962/ITV-dumbed-appeals-lowest-common-denominator-say-bosses.html
38. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jul/15/children-bombarded-with-betting-adverts-during-world-cup
39. ↑ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/736887/love-island-2018-megan-barton-hanson-alexandra-cane-mya-boob-job-advert-banned

## External Links

* ITV's Consumer Website
* ITV's Business Website