List of ITV regions

The ITV television network of the United Kingdom is divided into a number of geographical regions.

Since 2002, all regions share the same programming except for regional news, weather, advertising and some local political content. Before then, the regions were independent stations, each with its own schedule and branding.

Current regions[edit]

The table below lists the current 14 regions and 23 sub-regions for ITV and its two associated channels, the timeshifted ITV +1 and the high-definition ITV HD.^[1][2][3]

While the main SD channels (ITV1, UTV, and STV) on the Freeview platform provide a service for all 23 sub-regions, some sub-regional services are not available on some of the other channels and platforms, and another service is substituted instead, as indicated in the table.

Most Freeview transmitter areas overlap to some extent, so ITV regional services can often be received beyond the service areas indicated. Regional and sub-regional news and weather coverage may extend to include overlap areas.

The other ITV channels such as ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4, are not divided into regions, and each broadcasts a single service across the country.

History[edit]

Regional branding 1955–2006[edit]

Independent Television began as a franchised network of independently owned regional companies that were both broadcasters and programme makers. Each regional station was responsible for its own branding, scheduling and advertising, with many peak-time programmes shared simultaneously across the whole network. The companies serving London, the Midlands, North West England and Yorkshire (which were the first to start broadcasting in 1955 and 1956) were responsible for making or commissioning the majority of nationally networked programmes; these companies were known as the "Big Four" before 1968 and the "Big Five" afterwards (reflecting the number of companies). Every company made its own regional programmes.

The network began with companies serving London in 1955, and gradually grew until all companies were on air by 1962, and continued to grow as more transmitters were provided for existing companies during the 1960s and 1970s. Over time, some companies lost their franchises and were replaced by others, and the regions covered by some franchises were changed. From 1993, mergers between ITV companies became possible; as a result, companies began to take each other over to increase efficiencies and to expand. By 2004, all of the ITV franchises in England and Wales were owned by the newly formed ITV plc, the four other franchises being Scottish TV, Grampian TV, UTV and Channel.

Regional continuity branding[edit]

The list below indicates the on-air brand names predominantly used by each regional company, which may differ from the official company name or franchise name. Each company used its own branding:

• as station identification in continuity announcements and programme trailers in its own region;
• within its own regional news programmes;
• as production logos on every programme that it made or commissioned (whether for local or national broadcast).^{[note 1]}

Thus companies' brands were often seen by viewers outside their own areas, especially the Big Four/Five brands. From 1989, a national ITV corporate identity was established, which saw regional brands combined with the national ITV brand, although the balance between regional and national brands varied from company to company.

By 2002, all regional companies in England and Wales were owned by either Granada plc or Carlton Communications. These companies carried identical schedules, except for regional news and weather which continued to use joint regional and ITV1 branding. At all other times national ITV1 branding alone was used in England but not Wales. Two years later, Granada and Carlton merged to form ITV plc. Regional branding in England was completely abolished in 2006.

Some regions were divided into sub-regions for the purposes of regional news and advertising, but these sub-regions were not usually identified by on-air branding and consequently are not shown here (with the exception of Wales and the West of England which, after 1964, were managed under a single franchise but are shown as separate regions).

1956, the initial "Big Four" companies
 

1956

1962, after all companies had begun broadcasting

1962

1965, after Teledu Cymru had been taken over by TWW and its area had been extended

1965

1968, after franchise changes
 

1968

1974, after minor boundary changes
 

1974

1982, after franchise changes
 

1982

1993, after franchise changes
 

1993

Historical branding in all regions of the ITV network

In the table above coloured highlights denote companies whose broadcasting times were limited:

• blue denotes weekdays only;
• pink denotes weekends only;
• yellow denotes breakfast time only (when all other ITV franchises were off air).

Ownership of regional companies[edit]

National branding from 2002[edit]

From 2002, all regional companies in England used national ITV1 branding alone for networked programmes. Similarly in Scotland, both the Scottish and Grampian regions were rebranded in 2006 as "STV" at all times.

National continuity branding[edit]

Continuity branding used for networked programmes, that is, excluding regional programmes.

Area	2002–2006	2006–2013	2013–2020	2020–2022	from 2022		2013
Northern Scotland	Grampian TV	STV
Central Scotland	Scottish TV
Northern Ireland	UTV			UTV / ITV[38][note 20]	UTV / ITV1
Channel Islands	Channel	ITV1 Channel Television	ITV		ITV1
England, Southern Scotland, Isle of Man	ITV1[note 21]
Wales	ITV1 Wales

Franchise and news regions[edit]

With all English franchises owned by ITV plc, there have been times when the news regions have not coincided with the official franchise regions. These exceptions are listed in the tables below. For the names of the regional news programmes, see ITV (TV network) § Regional programming.

ITV network regions and sub-regions continue to be used by ITV Media to sell different advertisements in each sub-region.

Area	2004–2006		2006–2009	2009–2013[39]	from 2014		Maps
Northern Scotland	Grampian Television		STV North
Central Scotland	Scottish Television		STV Central
Northern Ireland	UTV
Channel Islands	Channel Television			ITV Channel Television			Franchise regions 2002–2013   2002–13 franchises News regions 2002–2006   2002–06 news regions News regions 2006–2009   2006–09 news regions News regions 2009–2013   2009–13 news regions Franchise and news regions since 2014 2014 franchises & news regions
North East England		ITV Tyne Tees		Franchise: ITV Tyne Tees	ITV Tyne Tees
				News: ITV Tyne Tees & Border[40]
Southern Scotland, Cumbria		ITV Border			ITV Border
				Franchise: ITV Border
Isle of Man[41]				ITV Granada
North West England		ITV Granada
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire		ITV Yorkshire
East of England		ITV Anglia
Midlands		ITV Central	ITV Central
Oxfordshire			Franchise: ITV Central		ITV Meridian
			News: ITV Thames Valley[42]	News: ITV Meridian
Berkshire, northern Hampshire		ITV Meridian		ITV Meridian
			Franchise: ITV Meridian
South and South East England			ITV Meridian
London area		News: ITV London Franchises: ITV London Weekday and ITV London Weekend
Wales		News: ITV Wales			ITV Cymru Wales
		Franchise: ITV Wales & West
West of England					ITV West Country
		News: ITV West		News: ITV West and Westcountry
South West England		ITV Westcountry
				Franchise: ITV Westcountry

Production branding[edit]

Each regional company was not just a broadcaster but also a television production company. After mergers, all the production arms of the companies acquired by ITV plc were taken over by Granada Productions, which became ITV Studios in 2009. The two STV regions formed SMG Productions, which became STV Productions and then STV Studios.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]