TV Regional News

[bradford758]

Yes, you have Nick Owen on BBC and Bob Warman on ITV two veterans of the genre.

When I was in Portsmouth just after christmas I couldn't believe Fred Dineage was still on the local ITV version down there. Not sure if Bruce Parker is still on the BBC .

Anyone remember Fred on "How" in the old Southern days and on World of Sport - he must be getting on in years.

There seem to be a lot of Veterans on Local Magazine Programs - any others in other ITV/BBC Regions - apart from Jackie Bird in Scotland.

Some of them may have been about long enough to have featured on Nationwide in it's hey day

BBC Look North (Yorkshire edition) is often co-hosted by veteran Harry Gration.
BBC Look North (Lincolnshire) has Peter Levy, not sure how old he is but was heard on Pennine Radio 235 (Bradford), one of the first IBA commercial radio stations.

Sent from my 4009X using Tapatalk

 

[northwichcat]

The ITV/STV broadcasting areas can be broken up into "micro-regions" for advertising purposes so it would be technically possible to localise news broadcasts further. I'm not sure if the BBC would be able to do this.

In theory ever transmitter could show something different but in practice that would be too expensive. There is sometimes the option of a local segment within a regional program, depending where transmitters are. However, that wouldn't work for all regions e.g. Liverpool and Manchester could not have separate local segments.

Channel 4 allow (or used to allow) advertisers to target a specific area opposed to the whole UK e.g. North of England, Scotland, Midlands etc. but they've never done any regional programming that I'm aware of.

BBC's regional budget is also restricted. Unlike ITV they don't do any regional programs in England in HD, even North West Tonight isn't broadcast in HD despite being done from a HD equipped studio (the same studio as used for Breakfast.) In the North West we've also seen some of the more high profile people moved off regional work to reduce the cost of regional programming.

 

[northwichcat]

Yes, you have Nick Owen on BBC and Bob Warman on ITV two veterans of the genre.

When I was in Portsmouth just after christmas I couldn't believe Fred Dineage was still on the local ITV version down there. Not sure if Bruce Parker is still on the BBC .

Anyone remember Fred on "How" in the old Southern days and on World of Sport - he must be getting on in years.

There seem to be a lot of Veterans on Local Magazine Programs - any others in other ITV/BBC Regions - apart from Jackie Bird in Scotland.

Some of them may have been about long enough to have featured on Nationwide in it's hey day

BBC North West used to have Gordon Burns (who hosted the Krypton Factor) until he retired aged 67. Dianne Oxberry has been weather person for BBC North West since the mid-90s (having worked on the Simon Mayo show and the 8:15 from Manchester prior to that.)

ITV Granada Reports has had some long serving people as well. A certain weather forecaster in his 60s would probably still be on if it wasn't for his criminal conviction. While reporter Paul Crone and newsreader Lucy Meacock have both been there for around 25 years. Lucy is one of few regional newsreaders who can say they have been part of a BAFTA award winning team for regional news, something that resulted in her being asked to do some national work a few years ago.

 

[AM9]

...
BBC's regional budget is also restricted. Unlike ITV they don't do any regional programs in England in HD, even North West Tonight isn't broadcast in HD despite being done from a HD equipped studio (the same studio as used for Breakfast.) In the North West we've also seen some of the more high profile people moved off regional work to reduce the cost of regional programming.

The BBC will be rolling out local news and programmes in HD starting later this year. When HD went mainstream they made a commitment of platform neutral programming (terrestrial/satellite/cable) which meant local HD content couldn't be provided without paying for additional satellite channels. Some local news is already available in HD, either because the studio is wired and equipped for it, (London news comes from the same building as the national output), or because there is an increasing practice of local provision of major news reporting into the national programmes.
The delay has also been due to upgrading of circuits and switching on network and local centres. Buying new cameras is not seen as a constraint.

 

[northwichcat]

The BBC will be rolling out local news and programmes in HD starting later this year. When HD went mainstream they made a commitment of platform neutral programming (terrestrial/satellite/cable) which meant local HD content couldn't be provided without paying for additional satellite channels. Some local news is already available in HD, either because the studio is wired and equipped for it, (London news comes from the same building as the national output), or because there is an increasing practice of local provision of major news reporting into the national programmes.
The delay has also been due to upgrading of circuits and switching on network and local centres. Buying new cameras is not seen as a constraint.

Like I mentioned North West Tonight comes from a HD equipped studio but if you switch to BBC One HD on Freeview at 6.30pm on weekdays in the North West there's a red screen with a message that HD programming recommences at 7pm.

 

[anti-pacer]

When I lived in the North East we got Look North (BBC) or North East tonight (ITV) with, for a long time, Mike Neville. Both went down hill when he left/retired. He was a proper local news anchor. Respected, knowledgeable, formidable, witty and with a sense of humour and fun. He was on local TV news for 40+ years (32 of them on the BBC) and is a North East legend and institution. You don't get them like that these days.


MK is slightly odd as we seem to get BBC Anglia and ITV Berkshire news.

The North East regional news on BBC/ITV seems to stretch as far south as Harrogate and Wetherby, although a friend of mine lived in Denholme near Keighley, quite high up, and also got North East regional news. It seems Bilsdale TV transmitter has quite a signal.

Where you are now in MK, your ITV news is "Thames Valley", part of Meridian. It covers Bucks, Berks, Oxon, and parts of Wiltshire. As it's from Abingdon I would probably say it's probably more appropriate than you getting your news from elsewhere. You're not Midlands, London or Anglia in my opinion. BBC South can also be picked up in MK I believe.

 

[Senex]

The North East regional news on BBC/ITV seems to stretch as far south as Harrogate and Wetherby, although a friend of mine lived in Denholme near Keighley, quite high up, and also got North East regional news. It seems Bilsdale TV transmitter has quite a signal.

Quite a large part of York gets its signal from Bilsdale, including where I am. I actually find it much more interesting to have the news centred on Newcastle and stretching up to Berwick and across to Whitehaven (bearing in mind recent political events) rather than getting the boring Leeds/Bradford stuff that I got where I lived before, on the other side of the river, from Emley Moor.

What is really odd is that if I go for the local news on ITV HD, I find myself getting the North West edition -- only on non-HD do I get the NE version.

 

[DarloRich]

When I lived in York we got North East news. With old fashioned TV signals you could assign one channel to Yorkshire and one to Tyne Tees

When i lived in Darlo we got our signal from Bilsdale as did North Yorkshire, Teesside and south Durham. When i lived in Newcastle the signal came from Pontop Pike

 

[radamfi]

What is really odd is that if I go for the local news on ITV HD, I find myself getting the North West edition -- only on non-HD do I get the NE version.

ITV have not yet rolled out regional news to all areas in HD on Freeview. To start with, the whole country got London on ITV1 HD (as it was called then), then a few other regions, such as NW, Midlands, South started a few months later. If your region is not covered then you get a neighbouring one. Currently there are 7 variations of ITV HD compared to 15 in standard definition. On satellite (via Sky or Freesat) there are more regions available in HD but still not all.

 

[northwichcat]

ITV have not yet rolled out regional news to all areas in HD on Freeview. To start with, the whole country got London on ITV1 HD (as it was called then), then a few other regions, such as NW, Midlands, South started a few months later. If your region is not covered then you get a neighbouring one. Currently there are 7 variations of ITV HD compared to 15 in standard definition. On satellite (via Sky or Freesat) there are more regions available in HD but still not all.

The old ITV Granada studios got HD in time for the leaders debate in the lead up to the 2010 general election and once the studios were equipped all northern regions got Granada Reports on the ITV HD channel on Freeview.

Sometimes the ITV regional forecast is done by a national weather presenter or someone in another studio and not always a HD studio so the news can be in HD but the weather in SD.

It seemed quite silly that they modified the old Granada news room to tie in with ITV dropping the yellow colour scheme a few months before they moved to a brand new studio at MediaCity!

 

[SteveP29]

One of the problem with ultra-regional channels is the problem that there really is nothing on. STV Glasgow is the prime example of this. The programming schedule seems to consist of reruns of Take The High Road and Taggart, with sub regional news that can really scrape the barrel some days.

STV Edinburgh seems to be a propaganda channel for STV, the programmes are dull as ditchwater, next to nothing original, they do show Peter and Roughie's Football Show, watched a couple of episodes but stopped when I realised it was nothing cutting edge, had no actual footage to show, they just got their mates into the studio to talk about next to nothing, with 'in laughs' that you had to be there and experience to understand (how many of us have ever had access to changing rooms at professional football clubs on matchdays?). Then there was the fact I had to turn the tv up to about 55 to hear what they were saying, it is THAT badly produced/ recorded.

 

[SteveP29]

When I lived in the North East we got Look North (BBC) or North East tonight (ITV) with, for a long time, Mike Neville. Both went down hill when he left/retired. He was a proper local news anchor. Respected, knowledgeable, formidable, witty and with a sense of humour and fun. He was on local TV news for 40+ years (32 of them on the BBC) and is a North East legend and institution. You don't get them like that these days.


MK is slightly odd as we seem to get BBC Anglia and ITV Berkshire news.

I didn't realise how good Look North and Northern Life were until I moved away, HTV West was putrid (only saving grace was Gill Impey, nice to look at, I mean). Was even worse when I visited family in the middle of Dorset, caught in the middle between Meridian and TSW, so consequently, no local news stories at all for them.
STV is a shambles, for some reason I just find it unwatchable, thankfully having Sky at home, I can tune to BBC NE & Cumbria at 6:30 if I want to watch some regional news (I barely bother with Reporting Scotland, its Glasgow based and Glasgow centric and thinks there are only 2 football teams in Scotland)

 

[SteveP29]

When i lived in Darlo we got our signal from Bilsdale as did North Yorkshire, Teesside and south Durham. When i lived in Newcastle the signal came from Pontop Pike

I found out about 10 years ago when I started seeing a girl from Redcar that Tyne Tees has 2 separate transmissions of their 6pm regional news, in the Newcastle,/ North Durham area from the Pontop Pike transmitter, you got the Newcastle bulletin presented by Pam Royle and A N Other, and in Teesside area you got the Middlesbrough bulletin presented by Andy Kluz

 

[anti-pacer]

Quite a large part of York gets its signal from Bilsdale, including where I am. I actually find it much more interesting to have the news centred on Newcastle and stretching up to Berwick and across to Whitehaven (bearing in mind recent political events) rather than getting the boring Leeds/Bradford stuff that I got where I lived before, on the other side of the river, from Emley Moor.

What is really odd is that if I go for the local news on ITV HD, I find myself getting the North West edition -- only on non-HD do I get the NE version.

It's odd that 15 miles north of the ITV and BBC Yorkshire studios in Leeds, it's generally North East rather than Yorkshire local TV, so half of Yorkshire can't get Yorkshire based news, yet as far south as Heanor in Derbyshire - a town that's within 10 miles of both Nottingham and Derby - they can hear all about what's happening in Yorkshire.

 

[me123]

STV Edinburgh seems to be a propaganda channel for STV, the programmes are dull as ditchwater, next to nothing original, they do show Peter and Roughie's Football Show, watched a couple of episodes but stopped when I realised it was nothing cutting edge, had no actual footage to show, they just got their mates into the studio to talk about next to nothing, with 'in laughs' that you had to be there and experience to understand (how many of us have ever had access to changing rooms at professional football clubs on matchdays?). Then there was the fact I had to turn the tv up to about 55 to hear what they were saying, it is THAT badly produced/ recorded.

Does make you wonder; if that's the programming in the Capital City, what the hell are they going to show on STV Ayr?

 

[HSTEd]

Like I mentioned North West Tonight comes from a HD equipped studio but if you switch to BBC One HD on Freeview at 6.30pm on weekdays in the North West there's a red screen with a message that HD programming recommences at 7pm.

Honestly I would have preferred that they just pick a HD capable news broadcast to show in that slot to everyone.
Even if it just the London one, perhaps with a banner scrolling at the bottom saying that programming would recommence.

 

[Busaholic]

Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset/Dorset get their local BBC news from a studio in Plymouth and to say their news output is Plymouth-centric is an understatement. At one time there was a notional Truro (Cornwall) input but that got cut out years ago. I rarely bother with it.

Talking of long-standing regional presenters, my late mother-in-law was a big fan of Stuart Hall on the NW show for decades and, if she hadn't already died by then, would have been consternated by his subsequent defenestration.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

When I've been down in Wiltshire, the signal comes from Mendip but I have often wondered if it is possible to recieve Meridian by swinging the areial around or getting a hi-gain to Hannington? Its probably possible, I suppose.

In Yorkshire I recieve Yorkshire, yet one of my reletives can get Granada on their set even though their only three miles from me.

 

[DarloRich]

I found out about 10 years ago when I started seeing a girl from Redcar that Tyne Tees has 2 separate transmissions of their 6pm regional news, in the Newcastle,/ North Durham area from the Pontop Pike transmitter, you got the Newcastle bulletin presented by Pam Royle and A N Other, and in Teesside area you got the Middlesbrough bulletin presented by Andy Kluz

I didn't know they still did that - i thought TTTV had gone to one operation