ITV Central
| Type | Region of television network |
|---|---|
| Branding | ITV1 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
First air date | 1 January 1982 |
| Founded | December 28, 1980 by Mateo Collins Bethany Renwick Cody Taylor |
| Motto | The One to Watch |
| TV transmitters | Sutton Coldfield, Waltham, Ridge Hill, The Wrekin, Oxford, Lichfield, Membury |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, West Midlands |
Broadcast area | Midlands |
| Owner | ITV plc |
Key people | #Staff |
| Dissolved | lost on-air identity on 27 October 2002 (now known as ITV at all times) |
Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Affiliation | ITV |
Official website | www |
| Language | English |
| Replaced | ATV (in-name-only) |
| Subsidiary | Central Video |
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ITV Central (previously known as Central Independent Television and commonly referred to as simply Central), is the ITV franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the restructuring of ATV and began broadcasting on 1 January 1982. The service is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.
The British Film Institute describes Central as having "served the midlands and parts of the network with a long-running, broad-based and extensive series of programmes, several of which either continue or are well-remembered today." Central covered a broad spectrum of commercial public-service television, with a strong mix of highbrow arts, dramedy, musicals, educational, and animated series.
Historically, Central made a major contribution to the ITV network schedule (especially in various genres), although today its main responsibility is the regional news service.
History[edit]
During the 1970s, ATV (the previous Midlands license holder), was often criticized for its lack of regional output and character. Although ATV had purpose-built a modern color production complex in the centre of Birmingham, most of its major productions were recorded at its main studios at Elstree in Hertfordshire, a legacy of the period when the company had also served London at the weekends until 1968, with its corporate headquarters still being in Central London.
ATV attempted to address its problem in October 1980 as part of its franchise reapplication, with with plans for a second major facility in the area to be based in Nottingham (as part of the Independent Broadcasting Authority's plan for the contract to provide separate news coverage for both the East Midlands and the West Midlands). The company name would also be changed into ATV Midlands Limited, thus reinforcing the greater regional focus. The IBA accepted ATV's assertion that ATV Midlands Ltd planned to take a more local identity and awarded the contract to ATV Midlands Limited on the basis that further changes were to be implemented, including that the parent company would divest 49 per cent of its shareholding in ATV Midlands Ltd in an attempt to introduce local shareholders, and that ATV Midlands Limited's registered office should be within the region. To demonstrate this change of share structure, the IBA insisted that ATV change its company name into orders to show that it was a substantially new company due to the requirement for a dual region.
The station began transmitting on 1 January 1982 (9:25AM) with an authority announcement by duty announcer Susan Evans, followed by an extended five-minute promo entitled Welcome to Central; which was voiced by Peter Wheeler. The special mainly focused on previewing the company's network and regional programming, but also showed the schedule for Central's first day of transmission.
