The ITV television network in the United Kingdom began as a group of regional stations, each with its own identity. Each station used its own idents to establish an individual identity.
In 1989, the first attempt to establish a national ITV corporate identity was made, combining regional brands with a new national ITV brand. The attempt met with only limited success: some companies never adopted the ITV branding, while many others later diluted or abandoned the ITV component over time. A second attempt in 1998 was more successful but was still rejected or significantly modified by some companies.
In 2002, a significant change in appearance occurred when all ITV regions in England adopted national continuity. Regional logos disappeared, and regional names were mentioned only before regional programmes. This effectively transformed ITV1 in England into a national channel with slots for regional opt-outs—similar to BBC One—rather than a collection of independent regional broadcasters sharing programmes.
The unification was further consolidated in 2004 when Granada plc acquired Carlton Communications to form ITV plc. By this time, the two companies had acquired all the regional Channel 3 companies in England and Wales. ITV plc later went on to acquire Channel Television in the Channel Islands and UTV in Northern Ireland.
This article examines the history of the presentation of the ITV brand on the main ITV network. The other digital channels owned by ITV plc also adopted logos similar to the main ITV channel but with different colour schemes and background images; however, these are not covered in this article.
Before 1981 When ITV was established in 1955, each regional company had its own unique logo and identity for use and identification within the network. The name "ITV" was rarely used on air and had no associated broadcast logo.
From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) regulator used a matching pair of logos for ITV and Independent Local Radio (ILR), although these appear to have been used solely in print.
1981 – September 1989 From 1981, a generic, 'blocky-looking' logo was occasionally used throughout the 1980s, often appearing in a rainbow colour scheme for promotions produced by the "Big Five" franchises: Thames Television, LWT, Granada Television, Yorkshire Television, and ATV (which had by then rebranded as Central Independent Television). It was also used on holding slides by some regions and Channel 4 (for cross-promotion purposes). However, it was never widely adopted as the central element of an identity.
September 1989 – October 1998
A new generic ITV logo was introduced on 1 September 1989, accompanied by the first national on-air identity, designed by English Markell Pockett with music composed by Lord David Dundas. The logo formed the centrepiece of an entire branding package, which included a national logo and regional variations for each of the ITV franchises. Each franchise's distinctive element was incorporated into the "V" of the ITV logo.
The ident typically began with the franchise's logo, followed by a sliding sequence featuring an Arctic tern, a couple in period dress, Big Ben, an athlete, and a pair of dancers, before transitioning to the regional ITV logo. In addition, each franchise received a regional clock, trailer style, network font, and break bumpers as part of the package.
However, the new look did not go as the designers had intended:
Anglia Television, Channel Television, TVS, TSW, and Ulster Television did not adopt the look at all. However, the logo appeared on network trailers, end boards (identifying the company that produced the programme or feature), and at the start of some networked programmes, such as Morning Worship. Granada Television used a modified version to align with their existing branding package. Yorkshire Television altered its moving ident on 7 January 1991, replacing the triangle shape with their full 'chevron' logo, which zoomed into the centre of the screen at the end of the ident. A different font was also introduced.
The use of the 1989 ITV branding varied across regions and was dropped at different times: Scottish Television used the ident sparingly alongside its own and discontinued it by early 1990. Granada Television replaced their altered version of the ident in 1991 with their own branding package. Thames Television ceased using the 1989 package entirely a few weeks after losing their franchise to Carlton Television in 1991. They replaced it with their own presentation package, introduced on 3 September 1990. Tyne Tees Television returned to their own new-look package on 25 February 1991 but retained the music in subsequent idents. LWT discontinued the package after 30 August 1992. HTV completely dropped the look and introduced their own presentation package with a new logo on 1 January 1993. Central Television initially used the original version but quickly revised it, adding variations linked to their branding, including their own fanfare. In September 1990, Central launched a new presentation package that still featured the ITV logo in some idents, though these were gradually phased out on 31 January 1993. Border Television used the generic ident for news junctions around 1991 but primarily adopted new idents recycled from ITV seasonal packages, retaining the same jingle. From September 1994, the generic ident was no longer used. Yorkshire Television discontinued the package after 21 October 1994 and introduced their own versions. Grampian Television continued using the 1989 generic ident until ITV's new corporate logo was introduced in October 1998. By this time, they had been acquired by SMG.
October 1998 – October 2002
On 5 October 1998, the ITV logo was changed to a lowercase design in blue and yellow. On 8 November 1999, the next generic look was launched, designed by English and Pockett with music by Lord David Dundas, both of whom were involved with the previous look. The main theme of this look was the ITV slogan "TV from the heart." There were three variations of the ident:
Opening Film: This featured a heart shape at the end, followed by a transition to a spinning hearts background with the region name and the ITV logo below it, sometimes with their logo in a small box above the name, or occasionally just the ITV logo on its own. Standalone: The ITV logo formed from lines coming across from the sides of the screen over the spinning hearts background. The ITV logo fully formed on a spinning hearts background. With the regions: The name, logo, and ITV logo formed from lines coming across from the sides of the screen over the spinning hearts background. The name, logo, and ITV logo were fully formed on a spinning hearts background.
The lines and static idents could also feature a brown-tinted spinning hearts background, which was used during daytime schedules. This look was accompanied by a clock superimposed on the spinning hearts background, as well as promotions provided by ITV's Network Promotions Unit. A "heartbreak" bumper was also included. Upon launch and over time, some changes were made to the look:
In 2000, the website addresses of the Granada and UNM-owned regions were added. On 11 August 2001, ITV changed its name to ITV1, and the logo was updated accordingly. Border Television did not use their logo with this look. HTV and LWT used their logo in place of their name on the end slides. In November 2001, an animated "itv.com" website logo was added to the bottom of the idents for all regions. By November 2001, most regions had discontinued the live-action startups. To facilitate cross-channel promotions, the logos of ITV2 and the ITV Sport Channel were also added to the idents.
As with the previous look, not all companies adopted it:
The Granada and UNM-owned regions—Granada Television, Tyne Tees Television, Yorkshire Television, LWT, Meridian Broadcasting, and Anglia Television—along with the then-independent Border Television, all fully adopted the look. The Carlton-owned regions—Carlton Television, Central Independent Television and Westcountry Television—adopted most elements of the look, except for the idents. Instead, on 6 September 1999, they launched their own version of the hearts, designed by Lambie-Nairn, rather than using the generic idents. This look meant both the Westcountry Television and Central Independent Television brands were retired in favor of the Carlton brand. The idents featured an animation with dynamic hearts, ending with a star flashing in the top-right corner of the heart to reveal the Carlton Television logo, with a star next to it, the ITV logo underneath, and the Carlton website at the bottom, set against a rotating star background. Channel Television fully adopted the look, creating a complete rebrand using its elements. Major changes included a new logo (featuring comets forming a heart around a spinning globe) and a new slogan, "The Heart of the Islands." They used the idents but with a completely different soundtrack and were the only region to use the clock ident. HTV was owned by UNM, so they initially adopted the Hearts look. However, when the UNM-owned regions were sold to Granada, HTV was instead sold to Carlton due to competition concerns. Because HTV is now owned by Carlton, in July 2001, they adopted a hybrid ident of the Heart and Star. The new idents started with one of the Carlton animations, but the flash was shaped like a heart and zoomed out to form the "V" of the HTV logo, overlaid on the same blue spinning hearts background as before. UTV, Grampian Television, and Scottish Television did not adopt the look and instead continued with their own branding. Both Grampian Television and Scottish Television later adopted a unified look featuring a blue square, which lasted from 2000 until 2003.
Once again, similar to the previous look, it was dropped at different times:
LWT dropped the look on 24 March 2000 following constant complaints from its staff, replacing it with their own video wall idents, which lasted until 2002. The Granada-owned regions—Granada Television, Tyne Tees Television, Yorkshire Television, LWT, and by then, Meridian Broadcasting, Anglia Television, and Border Television—dropped the hearts on 28 October 2002. The Carlton-owned regions—Carlton Television, Central Independent Television, Westcountry Television, and by then, HTV—dropped the stars on 28 October 2002. They were all replaced by the celebrity idents, which lasted until 2004. Channel Television dropped the heart idents on 28 October 2002 but retained the clock for a few more months. They also kept the hearts logo and slogan until these were replaced with the January 2006 rebrand.
October 2002 – October 2004
On Monday 28 October 2002, a new ident package was rolled out across the regions, featuring the central theme of a celebrity posing 'backstage'. The clip would show the celebrity relaxing when they were supposedly off-screen. By this point, the 'ITV1' logo had been softened with smoother edges and would animate into the bottom right-hand corner, formed from three aligned blue blocks and one yellow block.
This package also coincided with the centralisation of continuity from the English, Isle of Man, and Scottish Border regions to London. As a result, announcers were sourced from a national team of six, broadcasting live from the Carlton/LWT continuity booth, even during regional idents. Wales, however, retained its own announcers for the time being.
The ITV1 brand replaced regional branding across the majority of the network, with regional idents restricted to use before local news and other regional programming, except in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where regional idents remained in use for all programming. The regional idents varied subtly: