Tvam- Timeslot

[JK1985]

Sensible to a degree, however when you are starting to cut and cut so much, that it affects the quality onscreen, that is when it is called into question.

[James2001]

Though their response to that would be "what are you going to do, take away our licence?"

[James Martin]

Sensible to a degree, however when you are starting to cut and cut so much, that it affects the quality onscreen, that is when it is called into question.

But the ITC couldn't do a thing about it. They were never going to force blank screens between whenever they'd had enough and 01/01/93.

And as I've said before they were not the only contractor to start phoning it in during the wind-down period.

[JK1985]

You only have to look at Thames Television in their winding down period. Yes they made redundancies, but at least they continued with a very good news service for London during 1992. Thames were a prime example of how to wind down and exit gracefully, in addition to cost savings.

[Whataday]

You only have to look at Thames Television in their winding down period. Yes they made redundancies, but at least they continued with a very good news service for London during 1992. Thames were a prime example of how to wind down and exit gracefully, in addition to cost savings.

I think gracefully is pushing it. They spent most of 1992 scrapping with Carlton.

[nwtv2003]

You only have to look at Thames Television in their winding down period. Yes they made redundancies, but at least they continued with a very good news service for London during 1992. Thames were a prime example of how to wind down and exit gracefully, in addition to cost savings.

The thing is Thames were still obligated to provide a local news service until the very last day. They would have slowly let staff go throughout the year rather than making the changes obvious on screen at a local level. At a national level Thames didn’t do a great deal in 1992, in comparison to previous years. The only shows they made as normal were the ones that they knew would be on after 1993, like The Bill. Unlike TV-am, Thames were still going to be around, but not as a broadcaster.

Obviously TV-am put their names forwards to be part of random applications such as the national teletext franchise after 1993, the only thing they actually won was part of the Virgin Radio consortium, but they sold off their share pretty quickly.

[James Martin]

You only have to look at Thames Television in their winding down period. Yes they made redundancies, but at least they continued with a very good news service for London during 1992. Thames were a prime example of how to wind down and exit gracefully, in addition to cost savings.

That'll be the same Thames Television who immediately axed all kids programmes and put repeats out through 1992 and did the same to anything which wasn't transferring to an Independent Production.

A significant chunk of the workforce was also let go well before Dec 92.

[Robertclark125]

When TV-am infamously "covered" the Brighton bombing, with just telephone reports from John Stapleton, had the franchise been taken off them there and then, what would've replaced it on a temporary basis, and could TV-am have submitted a bid in the new battle?

[Neil Jones]

When TV-am infamously "covered" the Brighton bombing, with just telephone reports from John Stapleton, had the franchise been taken off them there and then, what would've replaced it on a temporary basis, and could TV-am have submitted a bid in the new battle?

I would argue if TV-am lost the franchise because of the botch job they made of coverage of the Brighton bombings, there wouldn't be any point in letting them apply again, surely as they've already demonstrated the hash job they made of it that led to the stripping of the franchise in the first place? Its like losing your driving licence because you drank far too much, drove anyway and subsequently wrapped the car round a lamppost wiping out a school walking bus in the process and then wondering why your licence was suspended for ?

Plausible we could have seen some makeshift programming similar to what happened in Wales (the so-called "Independent Television Service for Wales and the West" when TWW threw all their toys out the pram after losing their licence in 1968 to Harlech), only with a less clumsy name until somebody else could be appointed through the normal avenues.

[JK1985]

You only have to look at Thames Television in their winding down period. Yes they made redundancies, but at least they continued with a very good news service for London during 1992. Thames were a prime example of how to wind down and exit gracefully, in addition to cost savings.

That'll be the same Thames Television who immediately axed all kids programmes and put repeats out through 1992 and did the same to anything which wasn't transferring to an Independent Production.

A significant chunk of the workforce was also let go well before Dec 92.

Can you name me the children's programmes produced by Thames Television in 1991 that were axed? Rainbow was the one I could remember.

[James Martin]

Rod, Jane and Freddy was the other big one, with the last new episodes airing in December 1991, which shows you just how quickly they pulled the plug.

[James Martin]

When TV-am infamously "covered" the Brighton bombing, with just telephone reports from John Stapleton, had the franchise been taken off them there and then, what would've replaced it on a temporary basis, and could TV-am have submitted a bid in the new battle?

I would argue if TV-am lost the franchise because of the botch job they made of coverage of the Brighton bombings, there wouldn't be any point in letting them apply again, surely as they've already demonstrated the hash job they made of it that led to the stripping of the franchise in the first place? Its like losing your driving licence because you drank far too much, drove anyway and subsequently wrapped the car round a lamppost wiping out a school walking bus in the process and then wondering why your licence was suspended for ?

Plausible we could have seen some makeshift programming similar to what happened in Wales (the so-called "Independent Television Service for Wales and the West" when TWW threw all their toys out the pram after losing their licence in 1968 to Harlech), only with a less clumsy name until somebody else could be appointed through the normal avenues.

In 1984 the unions, at the absolute height of their power, would have dictated it ultimately; this being just before the first management service from Thames a few weeks later and the first weakening of their supremacy.

When Centre Radio in Leicester collapsed in 1983 Radio Trent in Nottingham got IBA approval to mount an interim service (who won the contract for the replacement anyway) but the unions blocked it.

What actually happened is the IBA confronted Gyngell over the issue and asked for news to be bought up to standard by January 1985. Gyngell said in response, "if that's what you want you might as well close the station down now - because I'm not going to lose any more money. However, if you give me until February 1986, I will see that TV-AM produces a sustainable model that meets your expectations." In such uncharted waters I don't think Gyngell's proposal - ultimately accepted by the IBA - was unreasonable.

[James2001]

You only have to look at Thames Television in their winding down period. Yes they made redundancies, but at least they continued with a very good news service for London during 1992. Thames were a prime example of how to wind down and exit gracefully, in addition to cost savings.

That'll be the same Thames Television who immediately axed all kids programmes and put repeats out through 1992 and did the same to anything which wasn't transferring to an Independent Production.

A significant chunk of the workforce was also let go well before Dec 92.

Can you name me the children's programmes produced by Thames Television in 1991 that were axed? Rainbow was the one I could remember.

Mike and Angelo certainly wasn't, it continued for another 7 years after Thames' demise.

[Robertclark125]

Where were the locations of each of the TV-am regional inject studios, and what occupies them now? I know the one in Newcastle Upon Tyne was in an office block in Jesmond, and is now occupied by other tenants.

[Neil Jones]

An archive post on TV Forum suggests what was a TV-am inject studio (presumably London or something outside of Breakfast House) ended up in the hands of Nickelodeon (although that's hardly surprising considering the Camden Lock studios were sold to MTV) and later found its way to the National Media Museum in Bradford. I presume it (the museum) is still there in some form.

They did have a "studio" of some sort in Birmingham but I couldn't tell you where it was,. I want to say Aston but I think that's an entirely different thing.