Westcountry Television
Encyclopedia
Westcountry Television, is the ITV
franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW (Television South West)
, from the 1 January 1993. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc
under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited (formerly Westcountry Television Limited).
Covering Devon
, Cornwall
, the Isles of Scilly
and areas of Somerset
and Dorset
, Westcountry forms part of the non-franchise ITV West & Westcountry
region, alongside ITV West (previously HTV West). Although Westcountry is intended for the South West of England, the station is received in areas of South Wales
, via a strong signal at the Huntshaw Cross transmitter.
On 16 February 2009, the newly merged station launched a new regional news programme called The West Country Tonight
.
In February 2009, the Westcountry region, along with areas covered by ITV Wales and Granada
ceased its analogue broadcasts as part of the switch to digital TV.
when the ITV franchises were put to tender early in 1991. Westcountry's original shareholders were Brittany Ferries
and South West Water
; the latter investor attracted criticism as only three years earlier it was responsible for one of the worst water pollution incidents in the United Kingdom
and which occurred within the contract area at Camelford
. 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.
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 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 Commission
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.
at 00:00 GMT on 1 January 1993. The first programme aired on the channel was a short promo voiced by Bruce Hammal and Trish Bertram
(two of Westcountry's first trail voiceovers) welcoming viewers to Westcountry and promising higher levels of regional output, beginning with the words, "Happy New Year, and welcome to Westcountry, your new ITV station for the South West." The promo was followed by the Eddie Murphy
and Dudley Moore
film Best Defense
.
In 1996, Westcountry was purchased by Carlton Communications
(now ITV plc
), who by that time owned the London weekday (Carlton Television
) and Midlands (Central
) 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 ITV1
at all other times. The franchise briefly became ITV1 for the Westcountry in 2003, before being renamed as ITV1 Westcountry upon the ITV plc
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.
about regional broadcasting post-switchover at the 2007 Nations and Regions conference in Cardiff
, 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 Meridian
and Thames Valley
news services at Whiteley). On 12 September 2007, ITV issued a statement to the City of London
, saying that it wished to reduce the number of news studios from 17 to just 9. This includes merging ITV West with ITV Westcountry to form a non-franchise region, ITV West & Westcountry
, from Spring 2009.
Shortly after the broadcasting regulator OFCOM
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 Tonight
replaced the Westcountry Live
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 during the main 6pm programme and in the weekday late bulletin after News at Ten. Separate daytime bulletins for the region were reintroduced in September 2011.
's legal proceedings, these plans were scrapped. The company opted instead to convert an industrial unit at Langage Science Park, Plymouth to their headquarters. The station also operated a network of seven local newsrooms and studios in Torbay
, Penzance
, Truro
, Exeter
, Barnstaple
, Weymouth and Taunton
.
Although Westcountry would be based in Plymouth, transmission for the channel was to be handled by HTV Wales staff at HTV's presentation centre in Culverhouse Cross
, Cardiff
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.
Following the merger to form ITV West & Westcountry
, all of Westcountry's opertaions were transferred to HTV
's West headquarters in Bristol
, where the regional news programme would remain and where all transmission operations would be based. The only operation left in Plymouth is a small newsroom gathering news from that area, alongside two newsrooms in Truro
and Exeter
.
. These four regions were based at their newsrooms around the region and produced a small opt out segment of the main programme featuring local news. These four regions were the North region, operated from the Barnstaple
bureaux, East from Exeter
, West from Truro
and the South being produced from Westcountry's Plymouth
headquarters. They were the first ITV company to produce four opt outs for their region.
From 5 September 1999 however, the look changed drastically, as the Carlton
'Star' ident package was launched on the network. The look, featuring a start up film involving hearts would flash out to reveal the Carlton name over a spinning star background. The Westcountry name was only used on the news programme Westcountry Live. This package lasted until the 28 October 2002, when regional continuity was lost.
In its place, a national ITV1
branding package, with local idents featuring the ITV1 logo on the left hand side of the screen with Carlton logo below. This remained until the beginning of 2004, when the Carlton name was remved from regional idents, which instead featured four colour cubes randomely located in a scene from the region. The ITV1 logo was located in the bottom right corner with the caption ITV1 for the Westcountry located beneath. Following the 2004 ITV rebranding, the new local ident featured the national ident of three cubes containg the letters 'ITV' above a large cube '1', with the addition of the regiona nem below. A few blunders occurred however. To begin with, Westcountry's local ident had the word West beneath which was later replaced as West Country. The ident was finally amended to show the right name at approximately the same time that regional idents were abandoned. The Westcountry brand has disappeared from screens and the news service.
, current affairs (Special Report for example) and several regional factual series.
Westcountry Lives main presenters were Richard Bath and Alexis Bowater
with Mark Tyler, Seth Conway, Jemma Woodman, Claire Manning, Kate Hignett and Shelley Roberts standing in.
Other regional programmes included:
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...
franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW (Television South West)
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.-Origins and Launch:...
, from the 1 January 1993. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 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 Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
and areas of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, Westcountry forms part of the non-franchise ITV West & Westcountry
ITV South West
ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...
region, alongside ITV West (previously HTV West). Although Westcountry is intended for the South West of England, the station is received in areas of South Wales
South Wales
South 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.
On 16 February 2009, the newly merged station launched a new regional news programme called The West Country Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The 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 West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...
.
In February 2009, the Westcountry region, along with areas covered by ITV Wales and Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
ceased its analogue broadcasts as part of the switch to digital TV.
Franchise award
Westcountry Television was one of two rival consortia bidding against the incumbent TSWTelevision 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.-Origins and Launch:...
when the ITV franchises were put to tender early in 1991. Westcountry's original shareholders were Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries
Brittany 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 commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
and South West Water
South West Water
South West Water provides drinking water and waste water services throughout Cornwall and Devon and in small areas of Dorset and Somerset. South West Water came into being in 1989 with the privatisation of the water industry...
; the latter investor attracted criticism as only three years earlier it was responsible for one of the worst water pollution incidents in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and which occurred within the contract area at Camelford
Camelford water pollution incident
The Camelford water pollution incident involved the accidental contamination of the drinking water supply to the town of Camelford, Cornwall, England with 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate in July 1988...
. 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.
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 Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. 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 Commission
Independent Television Commission
The 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.
Franchise operation
Westcountry, originally an independent company, replaced Television South WestTelevision 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.-Origins and Launch:...
at 00:00 GMT on 1 January 1993. The first programme aired on the channel was a short promo voiced by Bruce Hammal and Trish Bertram
Trish Bertram
Trish 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, beginning with the words, "Happy New Year, and welcome to Westcountry, your new ITV station for the South West." The promo was followed by the Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
and Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley 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 the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
film Best Defense
Best Defense
Best 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 Communications
Carlton Communications
Carlton 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 taken over by Granada plc to form ITV plc with Carlton gaining 32% of the new company....
(now ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 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 Television
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
) and Midlands (Central
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is 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 ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , 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...
at all other times. The franchise briefly became ITV1 for the Westcountry in 2003, before being renamed as ITV1 Westcountry upon the ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 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.
ITV West & Westcountry
Following a speech by Michael GradeMichael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
about regional broadcasting post-switchover at the 2007 Nations and Regions conference in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, 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 Meridian
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
and Thames Valley
ITV Thames Valley
ITV 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 London
City of London
The 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 West with ITV Westcountry to form a non-franchise region, ITV West & Westcountry
ITV South West
ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...
, from Spring 2009.
Shortly after the broadcasting regulator OFCOM
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
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 Tonight
The West Country Tonight
The 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 West & Westcountry at its studios in Bristol...
replaced the Westcountry Live
Westcountry Live
Westcountry 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 during the main 6pm programme and in the weekday late bulletin after News at Ten. Separate daytime bulletins for the region were reintroduced in September 2011.
Studios
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. However, following the delay caused by TSWTelevision 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.-Origins and Launch:...
's legal proceedings, these plans were scrapped. The company opted instead to convert an industrial unit at Langage Science Park, Plymouth to their headquarters. The station also operated a network of seven local newsrooms and studios in Torbay
Torbay
Torbay 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 1 April 1998...
, Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
, Weymouth and Taunton
Taunton
Taunton 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....
.
Although Westcountry would be based in Plymouth, transmission for the channel was to be handled by HTV Wales staff at HTV's presentation centre in Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse 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 , and...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
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.
Following the merger to form ITV West & Westcountry
ITV South West
ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...
, all of Westcountry's opertaions were transferred to HTV
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
's West headquarters in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, where the regional news programme would remain and where all transmission operations would be based. The only operation left in Plymouth is a small newsroom gathering news from that area, alongside two newsrooms in Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
.
Sub-Regions
Up until 2009, Westcountry operated four opt-out news regions for their news programme Westcountry LiveWestcountry Live
Westcountry 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...
. These four regions were based at their newsrooms around the region and produced a small opt out segment of the main programme featuring local news. These four regions were the North region, operated from the Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
bureaux, East from Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, West from Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and the South being produced from Westcountry's Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth 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...
headquarters. They were the first ITV company to produce four opt outs for their region.
Identity
Between 1 January 1993 and 5 September 1999, Westcountry's presentation featured that of a large 'W' shape on a frosted screen over a background video of a nature scene. The idents were made so that the scene could only be seen clearly through the 'W' shape. Accompanying the video was a trill little jingle featuring string and flute instruments. This presentational package lasted throughout the whole period, with the only change that of a form-up added made out of diagonal lines.From 5 September 1999 however, the look changed drastically, as the Carlton
Carlton Communications
Carlton 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 taken over by Granada plc to form ITV plc with Carlton gaining 32% of the new company....
'Star' ident package was launched on the network. The look, featuring a start up film involving hearts would flash out to reveal the Carlton name over a spinning star background. The Westcountry name was only used on the news programme Westcountry Live. This package lasted until the 28 October 2002, when regional continuity was lost.
In its place, a national ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , 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...
branding package, with local idents featuring the ITV1 logo on the left hand side of the screen with Carlton logo below. This remained until the beginning of 2004, when the Carlton name was remved from regional idents, which instead featured four colour cubes randomely located in a scene from the region. The ITV1 logo was located in the bottom right corner with the caption ITV1 for the Westcountry located beneath. Following the 2004 ITV rebranding, the new local ident featured the national ident of three cubes containg the letters 'ITV' above a large cube '1', with the addition of the regiona nem below. A few blunders occurred however. To begin with, Westcountry's local ident had the word West beneath which was later replaced as West Country. The ident was finally amended to show the right name at approximately the same time that regional idents were abandoned. The Westcountry brand has disappeared from screens and the news service.
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
Westcountry 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 Bowater
Alexis Bowater
Alexis Bowater is a former British television journalist and presenter.-Biography:The daughter of Sir Euan, 3rd Baronet Bowater and Lady Bowater, Alexis was born and brought up in Chagford, Devon. She graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne with a Bachelor's Degree in English and...
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 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(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 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)