40 years since ATV, Southern & and Westward ended

[Markymark]

The Westward/TSW clip only existed as an audio clip for years until Kaleidoscope discovered it a few years ago

Of course it's the 40th anniversary of this classic:
https://youtu.be/bILspuKgfyM

The list of diverse performers in the credits at 4:40 reads like it could have been the B Side of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's Intro and the Outro

[Inspector Sands]

They were so bitter that during that final day of broadcasting they put the channel's logo with the words Southern Television 1958-1981 in the continuity booth behind the announcers.

Why does that indicate bitterness? Surely it's just a nice way of marking the end of the station.

I'm not saying there wasn't any animosity or anger from the management, but putting the dates on the announcers set isn't a sign of that.

[Roger Darthwell]

They were so bitter that during that final day of broadcasting they put the channel's logo with the words Southern Television 1958-1981 in the continuity booth behind the announcers.

Why does that indicate bitterness? Surely it's just a nice way of marking the end of the station.

I'm not saying there wasn't any animosity or anger from the management, but putting the dates on the announcers set isn't a sign of that.

I misunderstood, my apologies

[Markymark]

BBC South rather stupidly picked a fight with TVS in 1981 over their name.

The Beeb claimed viewers would be confused by a station called 'Television South', when they were called 'BBC Television South', and had a series of promos and ads saying' beware of imitations'

I remember the local paper publishing an editorial on the spat (which I seem to recall TVS more or less ignored) which basically said, 'FFS, grow up'

In the end, the on air name was simply 'TVS' of course

And didn't BBC Leeds get upset about Kahlid Aziz leaving them to join TVS as the main presenter of Coast To Coast (South) ? I recall a kurfuffle about the terms of his contract ?

[Roger Darthwell]

It has finally been found, a recording of the original performance of Portakabin TV by Richard Stilgoe, enjoy!

[gottago]

BBC South rather stupidly picked a fight with TVS in 1981 over their name.

The Beeb claimed viewers would be confused by a station called 'Television South', when they were called 'BBC Television South', and had a series of promos and ads saying' beware of imitations'

I remember the local paper publishing an editorial on the spat (which I seem to recall TVS more or less ignored) which basically said, 'FFS, grow up'

Was it also BBC South who also did that tedious and desperately snide news report on the launch of the region's first (?) local commercial radio station? It was posted a few months ago on the YouTube Gold thread I think.
[quote="Roger Darthwell" post_id=61002 time= user_id=1160]
It has finally been found, a recording of the original performance of Portakabin TV by Richard Stilgoe, enjoy!

[Roger Darthwell]

[quote=Markymark post_id=61000 time= user_id=1078]
BBC South rather stupidly picked a fight with TVS in 1981 over their name.

The Beeb claimed viewers would be confused by a station called 'Television South', when they were called 'BBC Television South', and had a series of promos and ads saying' beware of imitations'

I remember the local paper publishing an editorial on the spat (which I seem to recall TVS more or less ignored) which basically said, 'FFS, grow up'

Was it also BBC South who also did that tedious and desperately snide news report on the launch of the region's first (?) local commercial radio station? It was posted a few months ago on the YouTube Gold thread I think.
[quote="Roger Darthwell" post_id=61002 time= user_id=1160]
It has finally been found, a recording of the original performance of Portakabin TV by Richard Stilgoe, enjoy!

[James2001]

[quote="Roger Darthwell" post_id=61002 time= user_id=1160]
It has finally been found, a recording of the original performance of Portakabin TV by Richard Stilgoe, enjoy!

[Blubatt]

More than bitter, on the final edition of Day by Day they showed the chairman of Southern giving a very bitter and angry speech at their AGM followed by the infamous "Portakabin TV" song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r-iU85uTcA

Starts around 21 minutes in

A speech that boils down to 'This is not fair, this is inconcievable that we, the greatest ITV company on Earth, are being heralded to the top of the IBA's pyramid, and slaughtered for hopes of a fruitful harvest.

They were so bitter that during that final day of broadcasting they put the channel's logo with the words Southern Television 1958-1981 in the continuity booth behind the announcers. In the words of the great ITV In The Face documentary series ''If you lived in Surrey and only watched ITV, you might have come away with the impression that the world was going to end on New Year's Day''

The Death parade sequence of all the Southern faces who had become very familiar is a highlight of awkward and angry television. Fortunately, 9am on New Year's Day proved that the world was still spinning in Southampton, and TVS would go on to blunder its way through the yuppie era.

[Steve in Pudsey]

You can't imagine anyone burning bridges that way these days, seems even more remarkable in the days of only 3 channels.

Was it Meridian that placed newpaper ads in January 1993 thanking TVS for their professionalism in how they handed things over?

[Inspector Sands]

Although that line up of their faces contains a lot of people who'd turn up on TVS a few days later. It was only really the management who were out of a job.

One for Bluecortina... am I right in that very few people lost their jobs at the end of Southern? Were the transferring staff fairly happy about the change?

[James2001]

A speech that boils down to 'This is not fair, this is inconcievable that we, the greatest ITV company on Earth, are being heralded to the top of the IBA's pyramid, and slaughtered for hopes of a fruitful harvest.

Hard to think they thought it was remotely appropriate or professional to broadcast it. Though I doubt they cared at that point.

[Roger Darthwell]

A speech that boils down to 'This is not fair, this is inconcievable that we, the greatest ITV company on Earth, are being heralded to the top of the IBA's pyramid, and slaughtered for hopes of a fruitful harvest.

Hard to think they thought it was remotely appropriate or professional to broadcast it. Though I doubt they cared at that point.

I think that ultimately Southern's anger was more directed at the IBA than to TVS

[James2001]

I think that ultimately Southern's anger was more directed at the IBA than to TVS

Quite obviously it wasn't.

[Markymark]

BBC South rather stupidly picked a fight with TVS in 1981 over their name.

The Beeb claimed viewers would be confused by a station called 'Television South', when they were called 'BBC Television South', and had a series of promos and ads saying' beware of imitations'

I remember the local paper publishing an editorial on the spat (which I seem to recall TVS more or less ignored) which basically said, 'FFS, grow up'

Was it also BBC South who also did that tedious and desperately snide news report on the launch of the region's first (?) local commercial radio station? It was posted a few months ago on the YouTube Gold thread I think.

That was BBC South West, on the launch of Cornwall's ILR Pirate FM, well remembered though, it was a case of better to not report it at all if you don't like the idea of such a vulgar enterprise on your doorstep.