40 years since ATV, Southern & and Westward ended

[James2001]

Is the full version of that ITN midnight coverage online anywhere? I've only ever seen it as recorded off-air from Thames/Carlton and TSW/Westcountry, both of which cut away shortly after midnight to run their own indroductory programmes. I assume the other regions (apart from TVS/Meridian who didn't even show the beggining bit, just cutting straight into big ben, then fading to their own introductory show) showed it in full?.

[reworP wehttaM]

[quote=RDJ post_id=61167 time= user_id=831]

[Neil Jones]

Is the full version of that ITN midnight coverage online anywhere? I've only ever seen it as recorded off-air from Thames/Carlton and TSW/Westcountry, both of which cut away shortly after midnight to run their own indroductory programmes. I assume the other regions (apart from TVS/Meridian who didn't even show the beggining bit, just cutting straight into big ben, then fading to their own introductory show) showed it in full?.

Well according to this:
https://tvforum.uk/forums/post992150#post-992150 - Carlton didn't show that bulletin at all. That entire shot of Big Ben from midnight onwards was supposedly pre-recorded, so whatever ITN were outputting was probably closer to what TVS/Meridian (and others) were showing (there is a clip later in the thread from Westcountry which is the same shot as Meridian).

I believe all ITV companies took that bulletin into the new year (for obvious reasons companies on the south coast opted out after two or three bongs as did Carlton) But yes I've never seen a video of the full ITN bulletin that hasn't been sourced from Thames.

[Markymark]

Would that have been caused by the final cutting of the lines from Derrys Cross (TSW) to Westcountry (HTV Bristol)?

It was NTL (in their guise as the newly privatised ex IBA transmitter dept) They had built the new digital distribution network from HTV Cardiff to WC in Plympton, and the internal within the region transmitter links

So they had to switch over the BT circuits feeding TSW to Caradon and Stockland Hill, to be fed from their new digital circuits

[Markymark]

Going back to 1981/2 another question, did Thames make any mention on NYE of the loss of Bluebell Hill viewers?

In fact was there any advance local publicity in the Medway towns about the arrival of TVS?

I do recall reading about bemusement on Jan 1 because TVS showed the movie, Close Encounters on Jan 1st, which the rest of the network (exc Southern) had shown a few days earlier.

Something not unusual today, but quite different 40 years ago!

[i.h]

Would that have been caused by the final cutting of the lines from Derrys Cross (TSW) to Westcountry (HTV Bristol)?

Unlike the Thames/Carlton switch to LNN and the same tx suite in Southampton from TVS/Meridian, TSW to Westcountry was unique in the fact that TX came from a different facility in another part of the country.

Also a different telecoms supplier. I don't think it's on youtube but there's a very ropey recording of NTL promoting what they did for Westcountry - lots of microwave links to connect Plymouth + the regional outposts + Cardiff + the transmitters, with a bit of capacity left over to handle their internal phone system too. I can't find where I saw it, though.

I suppose part of that was driven by the need to get on air much more quickly than anticipated, though it likely was more advanced than what BT might have offered at the time

edit: lol, if I read the last page first I'd have seen Mark's post

[Inspector Sands]

Going back to 1981/2 another question, did Thames make any mention on NYE of the loss of Bluebell Hill viewers?

In fact was there any advance local publicity in the Medway towns about the arrival of TVS?

I do recall reading about bemusement on Jan 1 because TVS showed the movie, Close Encounters on Jan 1st, which the rest of the network (exc Southern) had shown a few days earlier.

Something not unusual today, but quite different 40 years ago!

On their first programme TVS welcome their new viewers in North Kent and Essex watching via Bluebell Hill. They also mention that one relay which served the Tunbridge Wells area wasn't being switched over till Monday. So an even more odd situation there with a small pocket of Kent holding out from TVS and only seeing Close Encounters once

[Inspector Sands]

In the very early days to the run up to TVS taking over they were obviously negotiating with Southern over the Northam centre. At one stage TVS ‘threatened’ to pull out of negotiations and build a new centre in an industrial park just off the M3 by Eastleigh. It was in the local papers at the time, I think their new centre was based on a then existing warehouse complex occupied by Nurden and Peacock (?) who were fruit and veg wholesalers. A complete non-starter given the timescale and obviously common sense prevailed in the end.

Is that fairly near where Meridian ended up 30 years later?

It would be interesting to find out what the deal was between the two over the building. Obviously TVS had access to the facilities a while before NYE as there's were sets built and programmes made well in advance. In fact the 'Birth of a station' documentary shown on day 1 of TVS is in YouTube and it had Southern VT clock.

[Hatton Cross]

Is that fairly near where Meridian ended up 30 years later?

Nope. If you look at Southampton on Google Maps (other online cartography are available) then Eastleigh is about 5 miles due north of the City Centre.

Where Meridian went after the closure of the Northam Studios, was to a out of town industrial estate unit in Fareham, out to the east just off the M27.
Ironically, it's a stones throw away from another industrial estate where the Captial Radio owned central south coast cluster of radio stations were/are still based (Ocean & Power, now Heart and Captial)

[Markymark]

Is that fairly near where Meridian ended up 30 years later?

Nope. If you look at Southampton on Google Maps (other online cartography are available) then Eastleigh is about 5 miles due north of the City Centre.

Where Meridian went after the closure of the Northam Studios, was to a out of town industrial estate unit in Fareham, out to the east just off the M27.
Ironically, it's a stones throw away from another industrial estate where the Captial Radio owned central south coast cluster of radio stations were/are still based (Ocean & Power, now Heart and Captial)

Yes the Segensworth estate. In fact Global's site (ex Capital, Ocean, Power etc) is one side of a roundabout, Wave 105 (now Bauer) are the other side .

Meridian ITV are on the Whiteley (locally known as Shitely?) estate the other side of the M27. Also home to Telestream (who now own the remnents of Tektronix, once purveyors of fine broadcast test equipment)

Where TVS had threatened to build isn't that far from Chilworth where BSB's uplink site was, since taken over and expanded considerably by Sky

[Inspector Sands]

Amazingly that seems to be the original Ocean Sound building from when it won the license in the mid 80s?

Meridian moved between buildings in that estate didn't they

[Markymark]

Amazingly that seems to be the original Ocean Sound building from when it won the license in the mid 80s?

Yep, the very same. The mast has always been there. They had hoped to use it to receive Capital from London off air in order to broadcast the Network Chart Show in stereo, but the signal wasn't good enough, so it got pressed into use for an OB Rx

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.8698243,...312!8i6656

I visited in 1987 just as they were adding the Winchester opt-out service, called 'The Light FM', so they'd just built a third on air studio, as they were already running separate programmes for Portsmouth and Southampton. That was before the four way split a year later. Ocean, Power, Light, and Gold.

Meridian moved between buildings in that estate didn't they

Yes, across the road. They even removed all the RAID HDDs from the servers, moved the server chassis across and re installed the discs again. Switched on, and it all worked, no content lost I gather !

[Mike]

Central really did seem to find its feet and self confidence during the mid 80s, and produced some great programming mixed with innovative presentation. I suppose it had the finances to do that backed with the talent and experience that ATV had shaped.
The build up to the start of Central in the local press was good too. Gentle teasing of a mysterious white globe seen in the sky over the Midlands, with little explanation.

The 'UFO' teasers weren't just in the local midlands papers, they also appeared as full page ads in the national press.

I agree, Central's pres and branding developed into something superb as the 80s progressed.

I remember watching Central News first prog on Jan 1 82 too, via Oxford. The family VCR was very busy those two days !

I'd forgotten that it was also in the national press, maybe they had more of it featured in the local Midlands press which is why I recall that?
Working outside the old Central studios on Bridge Street a few years ago, I did note that although it was long derelict and part demolished, the old railings outside the building still were painted in the Central colours - as seen in this Goolge image from 2008.
[Edit - I've just looked and they were removed back in 2014 or 2015, and I thought I had only been there a few years ago - frightening....}
https://www.google.com/maps/@52.4778816,...312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@52.4779004,...384!8i8192

They were just about still standing in 2020 - obscured by construction hoarding. The site is now part of the Arena Central complex and the HSBC UK HQ sits where Central House used to.

Up until 2015 at least (when I was in the area for a meeting) there were still signs around Alpha Tower that read 'Central Television' that had been painted over in the same brown as the background to obscure the text.

[Bluecortina]

In the very early days to the run up to TVS taking over they were obviously negotiating with Southern over the Northam centre. At one stage TVS ‘threatened’ to pull out of negotiations and build a new centre in an industrial park just off the M3 by Eastleigh. It was in the local papers at the time, I think their new centre was based on a then existing warehouse complex occupied by Nurden and Peacock (?) who were fruit and veg wholesalers. A complete non-starter given the timescale and obviously common sense prevailed in the end.

Is that fairly near where Meridian ended up 30 years later?

It would be interesting to find out what the deal was between the two over the building. Obviously TVS had access to the facilities a while before NYE as there's were sets built and programmes made well in advance. In fact the 'Birth of a station' documentary shown on day 1 of TVS is in YouTube and it had Southern VT clock.

I think subsequent posts have mostly answered your queries. I would imagine TVS paid Southern to use the facilities as required. Southern was run by accountants after all.

[russty_russ]

Is the full version of that ITN midnight coverage online anywhere? I've only ever seen it as recorded off-air from Thames/Carlton and TSW/Westcountry, both of which cut away shortly after midnight to run their own indroductory programmes. I assume the other regions (apart from TVS/Meridian who didn't even show the beggining bit, just cutting straight into big ben, then fading to their own introductory show) showed it in full?.

Well according to this:
https://tvforum.uk/forums/post992150#post-992150 - Carlton didn't show that bulletin at all. That entire shot of Big Ben from midnight onwards was supposedly pre-recorded, so whatever ITN were outputting was probably closer to what TVS/Meridian (and others) were showing (there is a clip later in the thread from Westcountry which is the same shot as Meridian).

I believe all ITV companies took that bulletin into the new year (for obvious reasons companies on the south coast opted out after two or three bongs as did Carlton) But yes I've never seen a video of the full ITN bulletin that hasn't been sourced from Thames.

Might be worth me bringing this fab upload into the mix from Mark Lipscomb who was in the Thames TV Control room on that sad night of 31st Dec 1992. You will see at the strike of midnight, Big Ben was paused whilst Carlton began broadcasting. I'm also curious what the Thames programme slide is in the top right hand corner of the screen is for.

https://twitter.com/marklipscomb/status/...37472?s=20

Looking at the handover with this link you can obviously tell where the switching took place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JT6-X6YaCc&t=295s