ITV Emergency National Service
Encyclopedia
The ITV Emergency National Service was the management response to the near-complete Independent Television
technicians strike immediately after the 1968 franchise changes took effect.
During the national ITV
technicians' strike of August 1968, the individual companies were off the air for several weeks and an emergency service was presented by management personnel with no regional variations. This was the first time that a uniform presentation practice was adopted across all regions. This did not happen again until ITV's first few days back on air following the technicians' strike of 1979, which blacked out the channel for 75 days.
switching centre at Foley Street in London
, while a team of ex-ABC
announcers based in both Teddington
and Foley Street provided presentation.
The announcing team for the special service was mainly David Hamilton
, John Benson, Sheila Kennedy and Philip Elsmore
, who would all continue as Thames
announcers when the regional services restarted at the end of the strike.
The service was mounted at short notice after several days of blank screens. The management team behind the emergency service had needed to create a quick and simple Independent Television national presentation style. The term 'Independent Television' was chosen for the 'temporary national station' (the term 'ITV
' was relatively little used until the 1970s) and a range of simple, text-only captions was provided.
No station symbol was used - the ident was simply the name in upper-case characters. A clock was borrowed from the ABC studios at Teddington and the ABC triangle on the clock was mostly covered with tape.
was tried along with a local start-up tune before switching to the national output. On day two, a London 'Picasso' and national theme was used. From day three, a networked tuning signal was used. To avoid confusion over regions, the ITA provided the Foley Street centre with a copy of the blank 'Picasso' containing no regional identifier. A version with the words 'Independent Television' was commissioned but did not arrive until the final few days of the service and was only used briefly at the end of the period.
, which also featured in The Prisoner
) was chosen as the daily opening music.
was introduced, charging £2000 for 30 seconds of advertising time before 7pm and £3500 after 7pm. Prior to the strike, a 30 second advert in the London region alone would have cost £1,200. Although large national companies benefited from the lower rates, local companies who had previously advertised in their relevant region only were unable to do so during the Emergency National Service.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
technicians strike immediately after the 1968 franchise changes took effect.
During the national ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
technicians' strike of August 1968, the individual companies were off the air for several weeks and an emergency service was presented by management personnel with no regional variations. This was the first time that a uniform presentation practice was adopted across all regions. This did not happen again until ITV's first few days back on air following the technicians' strike of 1979, which blacked out the channel for 75 days.
Presentation
All programmes played during the service were repeats or had been pre-made for forthcoming transmission. Other than continuity, there was no live material. The programmes were transmitted from the Associated TeleVisionAssociated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
switching centre at Foley Street in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, while a team of ex-ABC
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
announcers based in both Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
and Foley Street provided presentation.
The announcing team for the special service was mainly David Hamilton
David Hamilton (Radio DJ)
David Hamilton is a British radio presenter. Since his broadcasting career began in 1959, Hamilton has hosted over 12,000 radio shows and more than 1,000 TV shows...
, John Benson, Sheila Kennedy and Philip Elsmore
Philip Elsmore
Philip Elsmore in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire) was a continuity announcer on Thames Television between its inception in 1968 and the station's demise in 1992, having made both the first and last continuity announcements for the station...
, who would all continue as Thames
Thames Television
Thames 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....
announcers when the regional services restarted at the end of the strike.
The service was mounted at short notice after several days of blank screens. The management team behind the emergency service had needed to create a quick and simple Independent Television national presentation style. The term 'Independent Television' was chosen for the 'temporary national station' (the term 'ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
' was relatively little used until the 1970s) and a range of simple, text-only captions was provided.
No station symbol was used - the ident was simply the name in upper-case characters. A clock was borrowed from the ABC studios at Teddington and the ABC triangle on the clock was mostly covered with tape.
Tuning signals
On the first day of the service, an insert of the local 'Picasso' tuning signalTest card
A test card, also known as a test pattern in North America and Australia, is a television test signal, typically broadcast at times when the transmitter is active but no program is being broadcast...
was tried along with a local start-up tune before switching to the national output. On day two, a London 'Picasso' and national theme was used. From day three, a networked tuning signal was used. To avoid confusion over regions, the ITA provided the Foley Street centre with a copy of the blank 'Picasso' containing no regional identifier. A version with the words 'Independent Television' was commissioned but did not arrive until the final few days of the service and was only used briefly at the end of the period.
Daily opening music
This short service was not wholly consistent in presentation, and opened on some days with Picasso card and ident, whilst on other days only the ident card appeared. A march (Here Comes The Band by Robert FarnonRobert Farnon
Robert Joseph Farnon was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a famous composer of original works , he was recognised as one of the finest arrangers of his generation...
, which also featured in The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
) was chosen as the daily opening music.
Advertising
With a national service being provided, all advertising spots needed to be sold on a national basis. Therefore a new rate cardRate card
A rate card is a document containing prices and descriptions for the various ad placement options available from a media outlet.Like the rack rate at a hotel, this is generally the maximum price that one may pay...
was introduced, charging £2000 for 30 seconds of advertising time before 7pm and £3500 after 7pm. Prior to the strike, a 30 second advert in the London region alone would have cost £1,200. Although large national companies benefited from the lower rates, local companies who had previously advertised in their relevant region only were unable to do so during the Emergency National Service.
External links
- Vision On
- A version of this article originally appeared on the Transdiffusion group of websites; the text was released under the GFDL.