Final Broadcast
In 1980, all ITV regional franchises were up for renewal and the IBA decided that ATV's lack of regional programming and production was hampering the Midlands. It insisted that the new applicant for the franchise should be more clearly based in the region and have separate facilities for the East and West Midlands. Although ATV won the new franchise, it was required to change its name and restructure the company.
The final edition of ATV Today aired at 6pm on 31 December 1981 and was presented by John Swallow with Wendy Nelson reading the station's last news bulletin. The following day, the programme was replaced by Central News, which would launch separate news services for the East Midlands in 1983 and the south of the region in 1989 before reverting to a largely pan-regional service in 2009.
Read more about this topic: ATV Today
Famous quotes containing the words final and/or broadcast:
“Again and again, faith in a possible satisfaction of the human race breaks through at the very moments of most zealous discord because humankind will never be able to live and work without this consoling delusion of its ascent into morality, without this dream of final and ultimate accord.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“Radio news is bearable. This is due to the fact that while the news is being broadcast the disc jockey is not allowed to talk.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1951)