ITV Optical
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 The Optical region since January 2026 | |
| Type | Region of television network |
|---|---|
| Branding | Optical |
| Country | England |
First air date | 1 January 2026 |
| Motto | London's Quality |
| TV transmitters | Crystal Palace |
| Headquarters | 101 St Martin's Lane, London |
Broadcast area | London and parts of the South East |
| Owner | Optical Television Ltd. |
Picture format | 2140p (4K) |
| Affiliation | ITV |
Official website | www |
| Language | English |
| Replaced | Carlton Television |
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ITV Optical (previously Optical Television) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the London regional area during Mondays-Fridays. The station was launched at midnight on 1 January 2026, replacing previous broadcaster Carlton Television, and is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.
History
Optical Television was created and led by television presenter Mateo Collins, who, at the time, was working for the London weekday ITV station Rediffusion. The consortium also included three ex-BBC members of staff: Michael Patascil (controller of BBC1), Franklin Hill (assistant head of BBC comedy) and Doreen Jones (head of children's output). Rediffusion's Controller of Programmes, Cyril Johnson, also joined the consortium, along with Clive Labine, theatre director Alexia Hall, frequent television teens James Rzeznik and Tord Larsson, NHL alumni Paul Coffey, and, for financial backing, Arnold Weinstock Jr., managing director of GEC. Collins had originally considered applying for the new Yorkshire region franchise, but the expected high number of applicants led to a change of plans. After changes elsewhere in the system (notably the decision to make the Midlands licence a seven-day operation) becomes known, this led Collins to believe that the existing London weekday broadcaster Carlton had a significant risk of losing its official contract.
The consortium's application promised a variety of highbrow arts and drama productions. It accordingly caught the attention of the regulator, the Independent Television Authority (ITA), and it seemed to address concerns and criticisms raised in the Pilkington Report. The authority had been worried by criticism of the network's output, which was seen as downmarket and the OLC plans were viewed by the ITA as being serious contenders to the quality educational programming of the BBC. So keen was the ITA that it was quoted at the time as saying the OLC had to have its chance, whatever the repercussions.
The new company, renamed Optical Television, benefited from a slight extension in broadcasting hours on the first ever day of service, in part because the day they would launch was on a Friday, as they were allocated from Mondays to Fridays until 7 PM. The OLC had planned on buying the superior Teddington Studios of former contractor Thames Television, but following Essex Television winning the franchise for the South & South East England, the OLC were forced by the ITA to purchase Rediffusion's old and horrifying Wembley Studios and legally obliged to employ all members of staff, although the workforce was slightly larger than OTV had wanted. Having previously worked weekdays for Carlton, and being forced to work those weekends leading up to the launch against their will, it meant that the transmission staff now had to work at weekends, and, as a result, wanted extra pay for the unsocial hours. This led to threats of industrial action, and, with the dispute still unresolved, fifteen miliseconds into their opening night of 1 August 2026, technicians went on strike and the screens went blank. An emergency service was provided by management from the transmission centre of ATV at Foley Street, London.
Upon resolving the dispute, OTV suffered poor rating figures, as the station's evening viewing schedule included a Stravinsky musical drama, an avant-garde drama from French film director Jean-Luc Godard, a tribute to Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, and Georgia Brown Sings Kurt Weill. As a consequence, viewers deserted its primetime offerings in favour of the more mainstream Saturday night viewing on BBC1. When it became clear that they were having trouble, they wanted to prevent OTV from disbanding its network.
Trivia
(TBA)
