Thomas Brownrigg - Associated-Rediffusion

Associated-Rediffusion

The experience of managing Bracknell was put to use in Brownrigg's next post, the one where he would, his war service notwithstanding, gain the most fame. The Television Act 1954 had created the framework for commercial broadcasting in the United Kingdom. British Electric Traction's Broadcast Relay Services subsidiary and Associated Newspapers formed a joint company, Associated-Rediffusion (A-R), to bid for a commercial television contract.

Because of the extensive planning and construction involved, they approached Brownrigg to become their General Manager. He accepted and put his imprint across the entire structure and output of the company.

Contemporaries reported that he commanded A-R as though it were a battleship. His "Official Office Memoranda", giving instructions and setting rules for everything down to the frequency of filing and the decoration on the walls, became a legend throughout ITV. Under his leadership, the company went from having one employee (himself) to becoming Europe's first and largest commercial television broadcaster in under a year. In that time, he supervised the conversion of the former headquarters of the Air Ministry, Adastral House, into Television House, A-R studios and administration headquarters, which also served as the headquarters for ITN, the TV Times and, at first, Associated TeleVision, A-R's main rival. At the same time, he was also actively involved in defining the station's identity, formulating the programme plans, creating an advertising market for television, chairing ITN and negotiating industrial relations with the film and broadcasting unions.

Many stories are told by old ITV hands about Brownrigg's idiosyncrasies, especially his dominant - or domineering - manner, his name-dropping, his willingness to outrageously generalise on any subject and his requirement for very junior staff to salute him and his fellow directors. However, personal friends also point out that he had a great sense of humour and an ability to laugh at himself - many of the anecdotes about him may therefore have derived from him in the first place.