ATV Network

From The TV IV

ATV Network (known officially as Associated TeleVision Limited) was a television station in the United Kingdom.

[edit] History

The station was one of the first two to be franchised by the British ITV network when it began operations on September 24, 1955 as the UK's second commercial TV station. It was originally known as the Associated Broadcasting Company upon sign-on, but the Associated British Picture Corporation objected, noting that their choice of the ABC acronym for their proposed ITV franchise, ABC Television, predated that of the original ABC, which then had to change its name to ATV in October 1955.

From the station's beginning (as the first ABC) and throughout its existence, ATV used a widely-recognized logo based on that of CBS Television in the United States, designed as what was called a "shadowed eye" with the ATV initials contained within. ATV's station identifications combined the logo with a three-note jingle played on vibraphone and celesta during the station's early years; when ATV switched to color broadcasting in 1969, it introduced its famous "In Colour" ID, with an orchestral jingle incorporating the three-note chimes as three colored circles merged into a white circle above the words "In Colour" and morphed into the ATV logo on a blue background. For syndication to American markets, the alternate spelling "In Color" was used for the ID.

ATV served as the weekend ITV contractor for London beginning on September 24, 1955 (two days after London weekday contractor Associated-Rediffusion), and began broadcasting as the weekday franchise for the Midlands region on February 17, 1956 (one day before ABC assumed the Midlands weekend contract).

ITV underwent major reorganization with the 1967 franchise renewal period, with the elimination of weekend franchises outside of the London area and geographical changes to several ITV regions. ATV lost the London weekend contract to London Weekend Television (which went to air on August 2, 1968), but it gained a full seven-day contract for the Midlands.

ATV had its Midlands contract renewed in the 1981 franchise round, but the Independent Broadcasting Authority (the governing body for commercial TV in the UK) expressed concerns about ATV's lack of regional programming and production. As a condition of its contract renewal, ATV was required to be based more clearly in the Midlands, to have separate studios for the East and West Midlands, and to have its parent company, Associated Communications Corporation, sell 49% of the station and rename it.

ATV signed off under that name for the final time on New Year's Eve 1981 and became Central Independent Television on January 1, 1982.