74-720: The Zoo Gang is a 1974 ITC Entertainment drama series that ran for six one-hour colour episodes, based on the 1971 book of the same title by Paul Gallico . Five French Resistance fighters, known by their animal-based code names (the Wolf, the Tiger, the Elephant, the Leopard and the Fox), fought during World War II . Their efforts came to a stop when one of their number, Claude Roget (the Wolf),
148-470: A complete list of ITC produced and distributed programmes. ITC had no studios of its own. Programmes were made in several facilities but most notably at ABPC 's Elstree film studios (not to be confused with ATV 's nearby Clarendon Road Studios , Borehamwood, which was a live/videotape facility, and now known as BBC Elstree). However, the MGM-British Studios complex at Borehamwood , and
222-523: A contract, mainly due to a perceived conflicts of interest resulting from the business operations of Grade and Littler. By the time of the merger ABDC were well advanced with their plans whilst ITPC planned to operate as an independent producer selling their shows to the new network contractors. When financial problems hit ABDC, the Independent Television Authority , the governing body of ITV, invited Grade and Littler to join
296-471: A deal with producer David Gerber . Interscope would eventually return to common ownership with ITC following its acquisition by PolyGram. In addition to television programming, ITC also produced several films. In 1976, the company teamed up with General Cinema Corporation to form Associated General Films, and produced films including Voyage of the Damned , Capricorn One , and The Eagle Has Landed ;
370-629: A decade before colour television existed in the UK), and ITC combined high production values with exotic locations and uses of variations on the same successful formula for the majority of its television output. Although most of the ITC series were produced in Britain, ITC often worked with Television Programs of America (TPA) and several series were filmed in America. Possibly the earliest ITC series produced in
444-576: A few exceptions: The Adventures of Robin Hood and the other swashbuckling adventure series of the late 1950s and early 1960s were released on DVD by Network, as was Strange Report . Many of the drama shows from the 1960s and 1970s have since been released by Network as limited edition box sets. In 2005, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the company, Network released a DVD box set entitled ITC 50 featuring episodes from eighteen different ITC productions. The Walt Disney Company has owned
518-528: A fraction of its costs; Grade himself retired from active film production, commenting that it would have been cheaper to "lower the Atlantic." Cussler himself told People Weekly Magazine, "The film was so poor, it boggles the mind." After the films' failures, ITC and EMI agreed to sell AFD and the distribution rights to its library to Universal Pictures , though the AFD films which were then in post production at
592-467: A legacy of its London contract, well outside its Midlands franchise) was hampering the region, so it insisted that the new applicant for the franchise be more clearly based in the region and have separate facilities for the East and West Midlands . ATV Midlands Limited , a shell company created by ACC solely for the franchise process, applied successfully for the contract. As a condition of its award, ACC
666-400: A low profile, largely subsisting on made-for-television films and other projects, as well as the distribution of their back-catalog; the company also picked up television distribution rights to Kings Road Entertainment titles. In 1987, ITC and HBO signed an exclusive agreement for ITC to handle distribution of HBO's original films. Later that year, the partnership was expanded on further as
740-534: A majority of the ITC Entertainment library were assumed from Lionsgate Home Entertainment (whose predecessor, Artisan Entertainment , had held rights to ITC's back catalogue since the early 1990s, and had been licensing ITC's TV output since the 1980s). American video distribution rights to ITC's feature film catalog were originally licensed to Magnetic Video in 1980, and that company's successors – 20th Century-Fox Video and CBS/Fox Video – retained
814-488: A part of the transition from ATV to Central). The final blow came in the summer of 1982, when majority control of ACC was sold to Australian financier Robert Holmes à Court . Grade had thought Court to be a friend, and allowed him to purchase majority control of ACC; upon doing so, Court promptly performed a boardroom coup against Grade and fired many of ACC and ITC's staffers (even, as Grade sadly noted, his tea lady). Following Court's assumption of control, ITC kept
SECTION 10
#1732802484102888-531: A programme called The Adventures of Robin Hood . Weinstein proposed making the series for ITV and simultaneously marketing it in the United States through an American TV distribution company, Official Films . The series was a big success in both countries, running from 1955 until 1959 on CBS and ATV London. Grade realised the potential in overseas sales and colour television (the last 14 episodes of The Adventures of Sir Lancelot were filmed in colour
962-592: A total of 15,000 hours of programming. Granada plc merged with Carlton in 2004, and all of ATV's national archive programming has been taken into their ownership. The regional news archive from both ATV and Central, plus some regional programmes, are stored at the Media Archive for Central England at the University of Lincoln. For most of its time on air, ATV's main production centre was based at Elstree , Borehamwood , Hertfordshire , near London, where
1036-650: Is best known for being the company behind many successful British cult TV filmed series during the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Saint , Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) , Danger Man , The Baron , Gideon's Way , The Champions , The Prisoner , Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons , Stingray , Joe 90 , Interpol Calling , Man in a Suitcase , Strange Report , Department S , The Persuaders! , Jason King , The Adventurer , The Protectors , Space 1999 , and Return of
1110-509: The Muppets franchise since 2004, including ITC productions The Muppet Show , The Muppet Movie , and The Great Muppet Caper , although Universal Pictures retains domestic theatrical rights to the latter two productions. The Jim Henson Company owns the ITC production The Dark Crystal as it had bought the film from the company after production had completed. While Universal retains both domestic and international theatrical rights to
1184-518: The Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and subsequently to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the " Big Four " until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television , under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands. ATV
1258-695: The Rank Organisation 's Pinewood and Shepperton Studios were also used. Ghost Squad was made at the Independent Artists Studio in Beaconsfield . Associated Communications Corporation ATV Network Limited (originally Associated TeleVision , and usually shortened to ATV ) was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to
1332-467: The 'litespots' of the 1970s. Noting it felt the iconic symbol was best left in the past. The majority of ITC programmes were first broadcast by ATV and distributed in the UK by them. Similarly, ATV's productions were distributed by ITC outside of the UK, with most ATV idents replaced with those for ITC. As a side note to ATV's television activities, the company also set up a music publishing division. This
1406-644: The ABDC consortium. This provided the money required and put Littler and Grade in control of the new company, sidelining Collins. The new company was originally named the Associated Broadcasting Company ( ABC ), but the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), which wished to call their station "ABC" and ran a large chain of cinemas under those initials , successfully sued for prior ownership of
1480-525: The ATV trademark and it was acquired by Associated Television Productions Ltd which has produced programming for the Made Television network of local television channels. The company, ATV Network Limited, was re-established in 2006 headed by former ATV cameraman, director and Head of Children's Drama Alan Coleman. It aims to promote and celebrate the legacy of Lew Grade's ATV, with a new logo, based on
1554-792: The Associated Broadcasting Development Company, had insufficient funds to start broadcasting, so the ITP owners were brought into the consortium—now renamed the Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC)—and Lew Grade came to dominate it. In 1957, now known as Incorporated Television Company (ITC), the company became a subsidiary of Associated Television (ATV)—the name ABC had adopted after threats of legal action from fellow ITV company Associated British Cinemas (Television) Ltd —and produced its own programmes for ATV and for syndication in
SECTION 20
#17328024841021628-570: The Foley Street centre was also used to transmit a management-run national ITV service during the ITV technicians' strike of August 1968. ATV's Midlands studios were originally based in Aston , Birmingham , jointly owned by ATV and ABC under the banner Alpha Television . They supplied both ATV and ABC, and supplemented production from Elstree. In readiness for colour television, a large 'state of
1702-829: The French police. The series is set in Nice on the French Riviera . Guest stars include Philip Madoc , Peter Cushing and Jacqueline Pearce . Roger Delgado also appeared, although he had died in a car crash before the series was broadcast. The theme song was composed by Paul and Linda McCartney . The score was composed by Ken Thorne . Both are available on the Network compilation The Music of ITC , Network 7959016. Airdates given here are for ATV ; other ITV regions airdates varied. The series aired on CBC-TV in Canada in
1776-677: The ITC and EMI films initially released by AFD. The AFD fiasco was just one blow against Grade's entertainment empire; Grade found himself essentially ejected from ITV following the 1980 franchise round, which stipulated that ACC needed to sell the majority of its shares in ATV and turn ATV Midlands into a new business, Central Independent Television ; the Independent Broadcasting Authority had previously criticized ATV's lack of commitment to their Midlands broadcast area, in favor of creating big-budget productions alongside ATV at their Elstree studios (which were sold as
1850-479: The ITC television and film library from PolyGram/Seagram for £91 million, which reunited the programme library of ATV and Central Television and doubled the stock of its library division ( Carlton International ), giving it a total of 15,000 hours of programming. Carlton chairman Michael Green said: 'The ITC library is a jewel in the crown. We can now unite it with the other gems from Britain's film and television heritage in our excellent library.' In 2004, Carlton
1924-626: The Mysterons . ITC also funded Anderson-created programmes aimed at the adult market, including UFO and Space: 1999 . It was at ITC's request that Fanderson , "the Gerry Anderson Appreciation Society," was founded. Another ITC children's series was The Adventures of Rupert Bear , the first television outing for the Daily Express cartoon character. ITC (in partnership with the Italian company RAI )
1998-583: The Saint . Some ATV videotaped productions, usually recorded at ATV Elstree Studios , were produced as 'international productions' and distributed overseas with ITC branding - these included The Muppet Show , Brian Clemens' Thriller and The Julie Andrews Hour , the latter of which was taped at ABC-TV studios in Hollywood. ITC got its start as a production company when former American producer Hannah Weinstein approached Lew Grade. Weinstein wanted to make
2072-482: The US was Fury , a Saturday morning live-action series, about a beloved ranch horse, which starred Peter Graves and ran on NBC in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1963 Gerry Anderson 's Anderson-Provis (AP) Films became part of ACC and produced Fireball XL-5 , the hugely successful children's series Thunderbirds and, under its successor company Century 21 Television/Cinema Productions, Captain Scarlet and
2146-473: The United States. It also distributed ATV material outside of the UK. From 1966 to 1982 it was a subsidiary of Associated Communications Corporation after the acquisition of ATV. The initials 'ITC' stood for two different things: Independent Television Corporation for sales to the Americas, and Incorporated Television Company for sales to the rest of the world. The American Independent Television Corporation
2220-1000: The Wood Green Empire, the Hackney Empire , the former Highbury Film Studios , and briefly, the New Cross Empire, but it soon became clear these were inadequate and it was decided to convert the Elstree studios from film to electronic production. The first of four studios there opened in November 1960. Playout and presentation for ATV London was based at a separate master control facility at Foley Street in Central London, which included two studios for continuity and smaller-scale programming, such as Police 5 . Shortly after ATV ceased transmission in London,
2294-405: The adventures of the remaining gang of four resistance fighters reunited decades later to scam habitual con artists and criminals in order to take their money and use it for good causes. Despite their ages, they put their skills and experience to use to raise enough money to construct a hospital in memory of Claude. The gang is (reluctantly) aided by the son of Manouche and Claude, an inspector in
The Zoo Gang - Misplaced Pages Continue
2368-549: The art' television studio was built by ATV, the ATV Centre off Broad Street near the centre of Birmingham . This replaced the Aston studios, which were sold. The ATV Centre was in use until 1997 although two of the production studios had been 'mothballed' in the early 1990s as demand for production studios fell. As of June 2014, the complex has been partially demolished to be replaced by the upcoming Arena Central development, with
2442-435: The caption 'In Colour', the three lightspots fully merge forming a single cream dot which then animates out into the ATV shadowed eye, fully formed, in yellow, while the background dissolves from light grey to dark blue. The score for the ident featured four trumpets, four trombones, timpani and vibraphone in a twelve beat fanfare for the station, by ATV's musical director Jack Parnell and arranged by Angela Morley . This ident
2516-449: The company forged a deal with producer David Gerber in 1993. In the meantime, it entered into a financing agreement with Interscope Communications to handle U.S. and foreign sales of its telemovies. In 1990, ITC briefly attempted to enter the lucrative American game show market, with a syndicated revival of Tic-Tac-Dough , which had previously run from 1978 to 1986 in syndication, alongside Barry & Enright Productions . However,
2590-474: The company was renamed ATV Network Limited . During the 1970s, ATV received much criticism over its lack of local programming, particularly for the east of its region; such critics held that local shows had a Birmingham focus. In 1980, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) decided that ATV's lack of regional programming and production (it had a major studio centre at Elstree in Hertfordshire ,
2664-459: The documentary features presenters, actors, announcers and behind-the-scenes staff talking about their time working there, and the programmes that were made there. Contributors include Chris Tarrant , Shaw Taylor , Jane Rossington and Bob Carolgees . In the 1981 franchise review, the IBA ordered that for ATV Midlands to keep the franchise the Elstree centre must be sold and a studio centre built in
2738-483: The east of the region. ATV Midlands, renamed Central Independent Television , needed an immediate start for separate East and West Midlands facilities. The new east site was at Lenton Lane, Nottingham , and the land had been bought while ATV was still in control. Planning issues delayed construction so Central purchased an independent production studio in the city (at Giltbrook ) as its East Midlands newsroom. Industrial action prevented this centre from being used, with
2812-503: The entertainment business to the Grade family's companies (which included large talent agencies and theatre interests) although the ITA said that ITP were free to make their own programmes which they could sell to the new network companies. ITP put most of the production budget into producing one show, The Adventures of Robin Hood (ITV, 1955–59). However, the winner of one of the contracts,
2886-473: The film, its home video and television broadcast rights are licensed to Shout! Factory. ITC produced and distributed a wide range of content across both film and television, over several decades. ITC productions and distributions crossed many different genres – from historical adventure, to spy-fi and action, and later into both children's and adult science-fiction – as well as films covering many different subjects. The ITC Distributions page offers
2960-588: The first two years of ITV and start-up costs. The London weekday contractor Associated-Rediffusion shouldered some of ATV's losses and further funding was achieved by selling shares to the Daily Mirror newspaper. The company structure was changed several times until 1966, when ATV and ITC both became subsidiaries of the Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), formed by turning the old structure on its head. This marked
3034-401: The former ACC, including the rights to the ATV logo and company name, the ATV news archive (via its purchase of Central) and finally in early January 1999, the company bought ITC's television and film library from PolyGram/Seagram for £91 million, which reunited the programme library of ATV and Central Television and doubled the stock of its library division Carlton International , by giving it
The Zoo Gang - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-476: The height of disco music, was released 20 June 1980, by which time disco's popularity had diminished and the form was experiencing a backlash from music listeners. The poorly reviewed film ultimately grossed $ 2 million on a $ 20 million budget. On 1 August 1980, the release of the poorly received Raise the Titanic! met with pre-release criticism from the novel's author, Clive Cussler , and recouped only
3182-440: The home of the Media Archive for Central England, where most of ATV's and Central's programmes are archived. ATV's logo has always consisted of a shadowed eye, inspired supposedly by the logo of CBS . This shadowed eye with the letters ATV inside came to represent the company. The first ident featured a single eye shape, moving to reveal the shadowed eye, and animating so that each of the letters ATV animate in accompanied by one of
3256-407: The letters ATV, which animate in to the same musical score, with the other vertical stripe housing the logo and the stations airing times, either displaying both or those of the region being viewed in. the final stripe is horizontal, with the caption 'Presents' inside. The next ident, launched in 1959, featured the shadowed eye zooming into the screen, whilst the familiar letters animate in as in
3330-501: The main studio building off Bridge Street standing derelict, pending the commencement of further demolition work. The Alpha Tower remains as a listed building . A documentary about the ATV Centre was released in 2011 by MACE ( Media Archive for Central England ). Entitled From ATVLand In Colour (referring to the nickname used on ATV's children's programme, Tiswas , and the building being purpose-built for colour broadcasting),
3404-484: The majority of ATV's earlier programming was produced and distributed. The Elstree studios had been film studios since 1914, and when ATV acquired them in May 1958, the intention was to use them for ITC TV shows shot on film. One of the first productions to be filmed was The Adventures of William Tell . ATV London used a number of other converted locations for live and video-taped shows during its first decade on air, such as
3478-560: The name. After the Associated Broadcasting Company had been operating for three weeks the name was changed to Associated TeleVision Ltd (ATV). The logo, designed for "ABC" and tweaked for "ATV", was a "shadowed eye" inspired by the CBS logo and reputedly designed by Lew Grade on a transatlantic flight back from the US. The logo is one of the most recognisable in broadcasting. The Associated Broadcasting Company began broadcasting in its own right on Saturday 24 September 1955, after jointly presenting
3552-479: The network's opening night on Thursday 22 September. The name ATV was first seen in London on Saturday 8 October 1955. The company won two contracts, the weekend contract for London and the Monday–Friday contract for the Midlands . The latter service opened on 17 February 1956, with ABPC's ABC Weekend TV providing the weekend programmes. The company ran into financial difficulty due to the staggering losses of
3626-411: The new owners started an asset-stripping programme at ITC. In November 1988, ITC Entertainment was bought by its management. In January 1995, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment bought ITC for $ 156 million, with Grade returning as chairman for life, bringing him back into control of ITC until his death in 1998. Carlton Communications spent much of the 1980s and 1990s buying up the intellectual property of
3700-728: The new studios ready by the time it was resolved. In 1983 the Elstree centre was sold to the BBC for around £7 million, and is now home of the soap EastEnders . East Midlands Television Centre in Nottingham began operation in September 1983 but was officially opened by H.R.H. Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, in March 1984. The studio was eventually sold in 2004 to the University of Nottingham as an independent facility and as
3774-721: The partnership ended the following year. Other films produced by ITC include The Boys from Brazil , The Return of the Pink Panther , The Last Unicorn , and a number of Jim Henson Company productions: The Dark Crystal and the first two Muppet films, The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper . Initially, ITC productions were licensed out to other US studios for release until 1979, when ITC partnered with another UK-based production company, Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment , to create Associated Film Distribution , which would release films produced by each company, as well as pick-ups from other production companies. In 1979,
SECTION 50
#17328024841023848-607: The playing of the National Anthem (an organ recording made at St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham ). The newly reformed company, Central Independent Television plc , began broadcasting with an extended promo at 9.25am that morning. Central inherited the studios at ATV Centre, Birmingham and ATV Elstree along with land that ATV Midlands had purchased for their new Nottingham studio centre. Central also maintained control of ATV's news archive and regional programmes, along with programming already in production or being shown at
3922-509: The point where Lew Grade advanced from being the greatest influence over the company to taking control. ATV's main impact was in variety and light entertainment . In the contract and region changes in 1968, ATV lost the weekend franchise in London to the London Television Consortium , later renamed London Weekend Television , but its Midlands contract was renewed and extended for the full seven days. At this point
3996-450: The previous versions. This was altered in 1964 to add either the region name below it, or the word 'Presents' if the programme was an outside broadcast. The company's most recognisable ident, however, is the one launched in 1969. Called Zoom 2, it was the ident that heralded colour broadcasts to the region for the first time. Starting with three lightspots of red, blue and green that grow individually and combine to form six colours above
4070-479: The renaming, ITC attempted to branch out more into series and the lucrative first-run syndication market. In 1990, ITC placed Marble Arch up for sale amid financial losses; it was ultimately sold to Interscope Communications , a film and television production company who assumed Marble Arch's former duties in exchange for ITC's handling of distribution and co-financing of Interscope projects. The company did not return to first-run television production until 1993, via
4144-703: The rights for several years afterwards; video rights were licensed to J2 Communications beginning in 1988 (under the ITC Home Video branding). This came to an end following a legal dispute between ITC and J2 over the rights to the National Lampoon IP then-owned by J2, which ITC had attempted to auction off without J2's knowledge or consent. As for ITC's television output, Carlton (and later Granada and now ITV) released some of these shows on DVD both in Europe and North America. There were however
4218-649: The show was off the air by March 1991, mainly due to a glut of syndicated game show offerings during the 1990–91 season, as well as several changes in gameplay which were criticized, as was host Patrick Wayne . In 1995, PolyGram purchased the company for $ 156 million. with Grade once again returning to ITC to act as a consultant until his death in December 1998. In 1997, it was absorbed into PolyGram Television . On 10 December 1998, Universal Studios' parent, Seagram purchased PolyGram for $ 10.2 billion. In early January 1999, Carlton Communications bought
4292-534: The subsidiary Black Lion Films was founded in the manner of Euston Films (owned by Thames Television ), but its best remembered production, The Long Good Friday , was sold on to HandMade Films . In the summer of 1980, two films released by AFD within six weeks of each other helped lead to the distribution company's dissolution. Can't Stop the Music , designed to be a showcase for the Village People at
4366-687: The summer of 1974. In the U.S., the series was broadcast by NBC , two episodes per night for three nights in July and August 1975. The complete series was released on Region 2 DVD on 2 July 2007. Actor Barry Morse ( The Tiger ), by then the last surviving regular actor from the series, provided an introduction in the DVD extras. He died the following year. The complete series was released in high-definition on Blu-Ray disc by Network Distributing on 21 May 2018. ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company ( ITC ), or ITC Entertainment as it
4440-406: The third ITA franchisee to go on air, and was extended until Monday, 29 July 1968. Subsequent to the changes made by the ITA to the regional structure of the ITV network, ATV lost its London franchise, but was awarded the franchise to provide a seven-day service for the Midlands region which started on Tuesday, 30 July 1968 and was finally extended until 00:34 on Friday, 1 January 1982. The company
4514-455: The three musical notes on the ident score. The caption below read Associated TeleVision Ltd. , the only time the station's full name was displayed in an ident. The shadowed eye however was out of proportion, attributed to the hurry to redraw the ident following the name change from ABC. Shortly after the launch of the Midlands franchise, the ident was again changed to an ident consisting of five stripes. Three of four vertical stripes contain
SECTION 60
#17328024841024588-553: The time of changeover and schools programming; the rest of the ATV archive was sold by ACC. ACC later divested itself of the remainder of Central after the Australian investor Robert Holmes à Court staged a boardroom coup and forced Grade to cede control. ACC remained in control of ITC and Stoll-Moss Theatres until 1988 when The Bell Group, the owners of ITC were taken over by the Bond Corporation . Subsequently,
4662-503: The time were still ultimately released by AFD, to handle the release of the remaining pictures still in production at the time of the sale, beginning with The Legend of the Lone Ranger , and including On Golden Pond , Sophie's Choice , The Dark Crystal , and The Great Muppet Caper . As of this writing. the various copyrights have reverted to their respective owners, but Universal still maintains theatrical rights to most of
4736-534: The two companies struck a deal to co-produce more HBO-exclusive films (HBO would retain home video rights, while ITC took foreign and broadcast TV distribution rights). During 1988, The Bell Group, the owners of ITC were taken over by the Bond Corporation . Subsequently, the new owners started an asset-stripping programme. In November 1988 ITC Entertainment was bought by its management. In 1990, ITC abandoned television production and concentrated on low-budget feature films. TV production at ITC would not resume until
4810-718: Was acquired by Granada plc (which then renamed itself ITV plc ). ITV Studios continues to release ITC's original output through television and Internet-streaming repeats, books and DVD and Blu-ray releases. Today, the underlying rights are generally owned by ITV Studios Global Entertainment via ITV plc and its respective predecessors, although in most cases Shout! Factory now holds full worldwide distribution rights (with US theatrical distribution handled by Shout!'s Westchester Films division, passed on from former distributors Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Park Circus ). In turn, Shout!'s video distribution rights in North America to
4884-690: Was also behind Franco Zeffirelli 's Biblical mini-series Jesus of Nazareth , Moses the Lawgiver , and the Gregory Peck television film The Scarlet and the Black . In 1978, ITC launched a subsidiary, Marble Arch Productions , for American-produced programmes, which in 1982 was renamed to ITC Productions. Outside of telefilms and mini-series, Marble Arch only ever produced two sitcoms, Maggie , which ABC aired from 1981 to 1982 and The Two of Us , which aired on CBS, also that same season. After
4958-537: Was awarded its first franchise by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide the Independent Television service at weekends for the London region. This service started on Saturday, 24 September 1955, the second ITA franchise to go on air, and was extended until Sunday, 28 July 1968. ATV was also awarded the franchise to provide the weekdays Independent Television service for the Midlands region. This service started on Friday, 17 February 1956,
5032-645: Was betrayed to the Gestapo by a contact called Boucher. During their interrogation of him, Roget—who was the husband of Manouche (the Leopard)--was shot dead before her eyes. Twenty-eight years later, Thomas Devon (the Elephant) spots Boucher (going under the name of Rosch) in his shop. The surviving members of the Zoo Gang drop what they are doing and rendezvous for vengeance. The rest of the series follows
5106-498: Was forced to sell 49% of the company, relinquish executive roles, sell the Elstree studios and rename the company to demonstrate that it was effectively a new business. ATV ceased broadcasting at 12.34am on the morning of Friday 1 January 1982 (the night of Thursday 31 December 1981), following Scottish Television 's networked Hogmanay Show. The final closedown was marked by a brief tribute to ATV from original announcer Shaw Taylor before duty announcer Mike Prince signed off with
5180-432: Was formed from the merger of the Associated Broadcasting Development Company (ABDC) under the control of Norman Collins , and the Incorporated Television Programme Company ( ITC ) under the control of Prince Littler and Lew Grade , two showbusiness agents. Both companies had applied for a contract to become one of the new ITV stations. ABDC won the contract but had insufficient money to operate it; ITC failed to win
5254-401: Was formed in 1958 as a joint venture with Jack Wrather . In September 1958 it purchased Television Programs of America (TPA) for $ 11,350,000. Wrather sold his shares to Lew Grade at the end of the decade. The large foreign sales achieved by ITC during the British government's export drives of the 1960s and 1970s led to ACC receiving the Queen's Award for Export on numerous occasions. ITC
5328-402: Was known as ATV Music and existed initially to publish TV-related music, such as theme tunes, composed by its in-house composers. It was formed after ATV acquired a substantial share of Pye Records . This company was eventually split away from the parent company and went through numerous different owners as well as buying into other established music publishers including Northern Songs , which
5402-567: Was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. Television mogul Lew Grade set up the Incorporated Television Programme Company (ITP) with Prince Littler and Val Parnell in 1954. Originally designed to be a contractor for the UK's new ITV network, the company failed to win a contract when the Independent Television Authority felt that doing so would give too much control in
5476-420: Was used from the introduction of colour in 1969 right until the ATV name ceased to be used in 1982. In addition to this, a variation was produced which only featured a white dot on a black background, growing and transforming into the white shadowed eye for programmes still being shown in black and white. Company names: On-air names: Initials used: In 2015, ITV Broadcasting Ltd surrendered its rights to
#101898