ITV1

Name and branding

From its founding in 1955 the channel was known nationally as Independent Television (later ITV) and locally by the regional branding of the local ITV franchise operator. (For the history of the channel, see the main ITV article). Up until 1989, only the local regional name would regularly be seen on-air however. In 1989, the network introduced dual branding on-air for the first time, with a common ident featuring the ITV logo designed for all the stations, although in the event less than half of them used it. Under dual-branding, the ITV name and logo was used alongside the existing regional name and logo. In 1998, a new ITV logo was launched and in 1999, a second common ident (once again using dual-branding) was launched, under the theme, "TV From The Heart". This was used by most stations in England and Wales, although the stations owned by Carlton used a different package with the same "heart" theme, but with the Carlton branding more prominent. The network was renamed ITV1 on 11 August 2001, with the increased uptake of digital TV and the existence of ITV2. Initially this entailed re-edits of the existing dual-branded idents.

Related Topics:
1955 - ITV - Carlton - 11 August - 2001 - Digital TV - ITV2

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However from 28 October 2002, in England and Wales (where all the franchises are owned by ITV plc), the station dropped regional identification before most programming and adopted a unified branding of ITV1 (ITV1 Wales in that nation).

Related Topics:
28 October - 2002 - England - Wales - ITV plc

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Local programmes are often branded as ITV1 (Region Name) outside of London, e.g. ITV1 Central or ITV1 Tyne Tees. However, the process of consolidation within the ITV plc company means that these names are themselves being phased out, e.g. ITV1 Tyne Tees is increasingly seen credited to ITV1 Yorkshire.

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The UK nations of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have different branding on the channel, in view of the national audiences they serve. In Wales, the local licensee, HTV (also owned by ITV plc) broadcasts under the name "ITV1 Wales" (or "ITV Day Wales") before all programmes. In the Scottish Television (Central Scotland), Grampian (Northern Scotland) and UTV (Northern Ireland) regions (none of which are owned by ITV plc), the "Scottish TV", "Grampian TV", and "UTV" names continue to be used before all programmes.

Related Topics:
Wales - Scotland - Northern Ireland - HTV - Scottish Television - UTV

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On November 1st, 2004, the channel adopted a new on-air look to coincide with the launch of ITV3. The new look was designed mainly to improve cross-channel promotion across the ITV network.

Related Topics:
November 1st - 2004 - ITV3

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