Timeline of TSW

This is a timeline of the history of Television South West (TSW) and its predecessor Westward Television.

Westward
  • 1961
    • 29 April – Westward Television starts broadcasting. Westward had fought off 11 competing bids to win the licence to broadcast to south west England.[1]
  • 1962 to 1967
    • No events.
  • 1968
    • 22 April – The Huntshaw Cross transmitting station opens, providing better reception across north Devon.
    • August – A technicians strike forces ITV off the air for several weeks although management manage to launch a temporary ITV Emergency National Service with no regional variations.
    • September – The final edition of Westward's listings magazine Look Westward is published. Listings are subsequently carried in a Westward edition of TVTimes which now becomes a national publication.
  • 1969
    • 17 January – Westward merges with the Keith Prowse company, due to Westward's chairman Peter Cadbury also being chairman of Keith Prowse.[2]
    • Later in 1969 – EMI purchases Keith Prowse Music Publishing from Westward.[3]
  • 1970
    • January – Peter Cadbury is sacked, and re-hired within days as the chairman of the Westward board, after he made outspoken remarks against the levy imposed on advertising revenue imposed by the IBA.[4]
  • 1971
    • 13 September – Westward begins broadcasting in colour, but only from the Stockland Hill and Caradon Hill transmitters, and to mark the change, Westward's ident is re-shot in colour.[5]
  • 1972
    • 16 October – Following a law change which removed all restrictions on broadcasting hours, ITV is able to launch an afternoon service.
  • 1974 to 1978
    • No events.
  • 1979
    • 10 August – The ten week ITV strike forces Westward Television off the air. The strike ends on 24 October although Westward staff returned to work a few days before the rest of the country.
  • 1981
    • Early in 1981 – Rather than waiting until after its franchise ends, Westward's management decide to sell up quickly to TSW which purchases Westward Television for £2.38 million.
    • 11 August – TSW goes on air in all but name, continuing to use the Westward name until the end of the year.
    • 31 December – At just before midnight, Westward Television says goodbye rather than at the end of the day's programmes as the other companies that lost their franchises did.[7]

TSW
  • 1982
    • 1 January – TSW launches at midnight and closes down for the night 40 minutes later with TSW branding.[8]
  • 1983
    • TSW concludes a two-year £4 million investment programme in its studios which sees the introduction of new production equipment and the building of an additional studio.
  • 1984
    • No events.
  • 1985
    • 3 January – The last day of transmission using the 405-lines system.
    • May – TSW unveils a computerised version of its ident.[9]
  • 1986
    • Channel Television switches its feed of the ITV network from TSW to TVS.
  • 1987
    • 7 September – Following the transfer of ITV Schools to Channel 4, ITV provides a full morning programme schedule, with advertising, for the first time. The new service includes regular five-minute national and regional news bulletins.
    • TSW changes the name of its regional news programme from Today South West to Today.[10]
  • 1988
    • 2 September – TSW begins 24-hour broadcasting.[11]
  • 1989
    • TSW renames its news programme from Today to TSW Today.[12]
    • Autumn – TSW chooses to refresh its on-screen presentation rather than use the 1989 ITV corporate look.[13]
  • 1991
    • 16 October – The ITC announces that TSW has lost its licence. It loses out to Westcountry Television. Westcountry had tabled a lower bid but the ITC awarded the licence to Westcountry because it felt that TSW’s bid of £16.1 million was too high.[14] Westcountry was the second highest of the other two applicants and was awarded the licence with a bid of £7.82 million.
  • 1992
    • February – TSW’s appeal to have the ITC’s decision to relieve TSW of its licence fails when it is rejected by the House of Lords.[15]
    • 31 December – At just before midnight, TSW stops broadcasting as after the chimes of Big Ben, the new licensee, Westcountry takes over as franchise holder for south west England.
  • After 1992
    • TSW undertakes a reverse takeover with the White Ward Group, makers of safety footwear and associated articles. The name of the company was changed to UK Safety Ltd, and traded for a number of years, before entering administrative receivership.
    • The directors of TSW create the TSW Film and Television Archive, one of the first and largest of what has now become a network of regional film archives. It was later renamed the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA)[16] and it holds the entire surviving back catalogue of both Westward and TSW programmes

See also

References
  1. Obituary: Peter Cadbury, Daily Telegraph, 18 April 2006
  2. "Westward in merger discussions", The Guardian, Thursday, 16 January 1969, p.10
  3. "EMI: A brief history", BBC News, 24 January 2000. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  4. "Mr Cadbury back as chairman of Westward TV", The Guardian, Friday, 30 January 1970, p.22
  5. TV Live: Westward Television
  6. BBC News ITV franchise changes ATV, Southern & Westward, TV-AM 28th December 1980 28 December 1980
  7. Audio of the handover from Westward to TSW
  8. Audio of the handover from Westward to TSW
  9. TV Live: Television South West
  10. TV Live: Television South West
  11. TV Ark: ITV Overnight Services
  12. TV Live: TSW News
  13. TV Live: Television South West
  14. TVS's £54m bid 'threatens profits'. Melinda Wittstock, Media Correspondent. The Times, Tuesday, 6 August 1991.
  15. Wittstock, Melinda (6 February 1992). "TSW franchise appeal dismissed". London, United Kingdom. p. 2. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  16. http://www.swfta.org.uk
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