ITV Cymru Wales
Based in | Cardiff, Wales |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Wales |
First airdate | 1 January 2014 |
Replaced | ITV Wales & West |
Owned by | ITV plc |
Website |
itv.com/wales itv.com/walesprogrammes |
ITV Cymru Wales previously known as Harlech Television and HTV Wales is the ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region serving Wales and the West of England. The licence continues to be held by ITV Broadcasting Ltd, along with all other ITV plc held Channel 3 licences. As of January 2014, the former HTV companies are still legally named ITV Wales and West Group Ltd and ITV Wales and West Ltd. Each of these companies is, along with most other regional companies, owned by ITV plc, listed on www.companieshouse.gov.uk as a "Dormant company".[1]
The current nightly national news programme for Wales is ITV News: Wales at Six. The company also produces current affairs and features programming in both the English and Welsh languages for the parent ITV channel and for S4C
History
The broadcasting licence was created following the split of HTV Wales & West.[1] It is hoped that the separate licence will benefit local viewers.[2]
In May 2012, OFCOM raised the possibility of a stand-alone licence for Wales.[3]
On 25 August 2015, ITV Cymru Wales began broadcasting in HD (prior to this HD viewers in Wales received ITV Central HD), including the company's news service and non-news programming including current affairs and documentaries.[4]
Programming
ITV Cymru Wales produces around six hours a week of national news, current affairs and features programming in English – its flagship programme Wales at Six broadcasts each weeknight at 6pm with shorter ITV News Cymru Wales bulletins throughout the day and during the weekend.
The news service is supplemented by regular current affairs programmes including Newsweek Wales on Sunday lunchtimes, the long-running investigative series Wales This Week and the political review Sharp End on Monday nights. Several feature series are also broadcast throughout the year – including rural affairs series Coast and Country, political interview strand Face to Face, sports chat show In Touch and documentary series such as Helimeds and Time of Your Life.
ITV Cymru Wales also produces Welsh language output for S4C – in the fields of current affairs, features, drama and entertainment. Two of its flagship titles figure among S4C's longest-running and most popular programmes - the rural documentary series Cefn Gwlad with Dai Jones and the investigative current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar.
References
- 1 2 ITV Cymru Wales news shake-up under new Ofcom licence, Huw Thomas, BBC News, 23 July 2013
- ↑ Ofcom agrees ITV news shake-up Jake Kanter, Broadcast Now, 23 July 2013
- ↑ "Licensing of Channel 3 and Channel 5: A report to the Secretary of State under section 229 of the Communications Act 2003". Ofcom. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ↑ ITV Cymru Wales HD launches on August 25, itv.com, 11 August 2015