United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB) is an affiliation of three British independent television production companies and broadcasters. The primary function of its predecessor, the Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA), was to represent independent British television interests as a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The current members of UKIB are the ITV Network Centre, the four ITV licence holders, Channel 4, and S4C.
History
UKIB was formed in 1981, when the Association of Independent Radio Contractors (AIRC) was admitted as an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It replaced the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), formerly the Independent Television Authority (ITA) as the second British EBU member.
Once ITCA was admitted as a fully active EBU member, the AIRC joined with UKIB to form the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) in June 1996. In July 2006, it merged with the Radio Advertising Bureau to form Radiocentre, the industry body for UK commercial radio. Following the merger, CRCA cancelled its EBU membership.
The IBA continued to exist until it was disbanded by the Broadcasting Act 1990, which replaced it with the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Radio Authority.
Members
Service nameBroadcast areaLicence holderBroadcast sinceFirst broadcast in that region and not since the first franchises were heldParent companyEBU abbreviation ITV Network ITV1STVUTV United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man ITV Network Limited 1955 ITV plcSTV Group plc UKIB/ITV ITV (Channel 3) companies ITV Anglia East of England ITV Broadcasting Limited 1959 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/ANG ITV Border England–Scotland border ITV Broadcasting Limited 1961 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/BTV ITV Central MidlandsUp to 1968, the service for the Midlands region was provided by ATV from Monday to Friday and by ABC Weekend TV at weekends. ITV Broadcasting Limited 1956 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/CEN ITV Channel Television Channel Islands ITV Broadcasting Limited 1962 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/CHA ITV Granada North West EnglandUp to 1968, the service for a single Northern area consisting of both the current North West region and most of the current Yorkshire region was provided by Granada Television from Monday to Friday and by ABC Weekend TV at weekends. and Isle of ManCoverage was transferred from ITV Border and Tyne Tees to ITV Granada following digital switch-over in the Isle of Man in July 2009. ITV Broadcasting Limited 1956 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/GRA ITV London (Carlton) London Weekday ITV Broadcasting Limited 1955 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/LDN ITV London (LWT) London Weekend ITV Broadcasting Limited 1955 ITV plc ITV Meridian South and South East England ITV Broadcasting Limited 1958 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/MER ITV Tyne Tees North East England ITV Broadcasting Limited 1959 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/TTT ITV Wales Wales ITV Broadcasting Limited 1958 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/WALES ITV West West of England ITV Broadcasting Limited 1958 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/WEST ITV West Country South West England ITV Broadcasting Limited 1961 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/WES ITV Yorkshire Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and North Norfolk ITV Broadcasting Limited 1956 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/YTV STV Central Central Scotland STV Central Limited 1957 STV Group plc UKIB/STV STV North North of Scotland STV North Limited 1961 STV Group plc UKIB/STVN UTV Northern Ireland UTV Limited 1959 ITV plc UKIB/ITV/UTV Channel 4 Channel 4 England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern IrelandNow available in Wales but is designated for the rest of the United Kingdom Channel 4 1982 Channel Four Television Corporation UKIB/C4 S4C S4C Wales Sianel 4 Cymru/Channel 4 Wales 1982 S4C Authority UKIB/S4C
Digital channels Besides the main ITV, Channel 4, and S4C channels, there are several digital-only channels: ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITV Quiz, owned by ITV plc, and E4, E4 Extra, More4, Film4 and 4seven operated by Channel 4.
Eurovision Song Contest The 's entries in the Eurovision Song Contest have been entered by the BBC each time. However, the 's Junior Eurovision Song Contest entries were broadcast and selected by ITV from to , before ITV withdrew in due to low viewing figures. ITV were also set to host the contest in Manchester, but pulled out of hosting due to financial and scheduling issues, as well as the previous years poor viewing figures. The contest was eventually held in Lillehammer, Norway.
S4C announced on 9 May 2018 that would debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Minsk, Belarus. However, S4C withdrew from the contest in , citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for their withdrawal, and have not returned since. On 25 August 2022, it was confirmed that the United Kingdom would return to the contest in in Yerevan, Armenia, with the BBC replacing ITV as the country's broadcaster.
Notes and references
Footnotes
References
External links ITV STV Channel 4 S4C (Welsh) S4C (English)