ITV Protocol for Failed TV-am Switch at 6am
“Suspect this was the TC at LWT acting on the hoof (the rather hesitant fading back up of the ITV logo suggesting this), presumably having seen on an off-air monitor that the switch to TV-am hadn't happened. But it does raise the question: was there any official protocol if the switch to TV-am failed at 6am, and the ITV contractor remained on air?”
Summary
The handover from TV‑am to the regional ITV contractors was a manual process that included a built‑in interval to allow the switch to be completed. If TV‑am failed to start at 6 am, the regional contractor’s own feed would remain on air until the handover could be effected. This was the official fallback procedure.
Sources 60 searched
- Timeline: ITV 1955-today | Media business | The Guardian
Within weeks the much vaunted presenters Anna Ford and Angela Rippon quit as the service struggles in the ratings battle with BBC1's rival breakfast service. Dyke is brought in from LWT to sort things out managerially and commercially.
- Timeline: How ITV got where it is today | ITV plc | The Guardian
ITV's largest companies launch a half-hearted satellite service, called Super Channel, the first indication they would fail to exploit the dawning multi-channel age.
- TV-am - Wikipedia
Programmes originally ran from 6 am to 9:15 am, with Daybreak, then Good Morning, Britain filling weekday mornings. This was followed by a 10-minute interval before the start of the regional ITV franchises at 9:25 am. This interval was needed because the process of the switching the broadcast signals from TV-am to each regional company was still manual and this gap gave British Telecom the required time to complete this task.
- ITV (TV network) - Wikipedia
It was initially run by an independent contractor - TV-am, and later GMTV - until GMTV Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November 2009. Historically, ITV aired breakfast programmes from 6am until 9.25am but ITV extended this to 10am on weekdays on 6 January 2020.
- Timeline of TV-am - Wikipedia
The 10-minute interval between ... the switch of the broadcast signals from TV-am to each regional ITV franchise becomes an automatic process. The IBA extends TV-am's hours to 9:25am to allow for continuous programming. TV-am's refreshed schedule begins. Programming begins at the later time ...
- ITV (Creator) - TV Tropes
The ITV companies best known outside the UK were Granada, Thames Television, and London Weekend Television (LWT). ATV, although a major network provider, used a sister company, ITC Entertainment, to distribute shows internationally.
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