Wales (West and North) Television, known on screen as (, Welsh for "Wales Television") and often abbreviated to WWN, was the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
"
Independent Television" (commercial television) contractor awarded the franchise area serving North and West Wales, from 1962 (franchise awarded 6 June 1961). It began transmitting on 14 September 1962, and ceased on 26 January 1964 through financial failure; the franchise area was soon combined with the South Wales and West of England area, operated by
TWW.
[ Contains information and images of WWN's idents.][ Contains a detailed account of WWN's life and some images of WWN's idents.] TWW retained the Teledu Cymru name in the former WWN franchise area, as did successor
Harlech
Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 197 ...
during their
emergency transitional franchise, only retiring the name when they were able to officially take over.
History
The geography of Wales presented a daunting problem to the
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" (ITV (TV network), ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ITA exi ...
(ITA). The populous area of Wales in the South were already being served by
TWW, which had begun broadcasting in 1958, while the north-east of the country and much of the north coast was served by the North of England weekday and weekend franchise holders,
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
and
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, operating since 1956; the interior of north Wales could not receive
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
transmissions at all.
[
The ITA was pressured, by a consortium of Welsh-speaking businessmen, into setting up a new North and West Wales region; the ITA asked the ]Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...
to allow this, which he did, with strict provisos: the new service must not offer viewers in Wales a choice other viewers did not have, and at the last minute, the Postmaster General insisted that the new station should, on its own, produce ten-hours-a-week of programmes in Welsh, without relying on Welsh language programmes produced by Granada (and ABC) and TWW.[
These punitive regulations were accepted, and the contract was awarded in 1961 to Wales Television Limited, which was later changed to Wales (West and North) Television Limited, following objections from TWW who felt that the original name was intruding on their area, though WWN dropped the parenthesis at every possible opportunity. WWN was to use three VHF transmitters, at ]Preseli
Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills.
Creation
Th ...
(covering the south west), Arfon (north west) and Moel-y-Parc in the north east. When the Preseli transmitter came online on 14 September 1962, so did WWN, making it the 17th and last of the original ITA franchises to launch. However, the delay in introducing the transmitters at Arfon and Moel-y-Parc, until later in 1963, destroyed the morale and the finances of WWN. Free programming from the ITV network, plus other support from its neighbours ABC, ATV and TWW just about kept the ship afloat, but Manchester's Granada Television decided to dispense with its productions in the Welsh language, and the loss of this valuable programming stream proved fatal to WWN.[
TWW offered a generous package to WWN's shareholders, in order to gain control of the territory, and kept the Teledu Cymru name on the air for four years after the demise of its parent company on 26 January 1964.][ TWW successor ]Harlech
Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 197 ...
also retained the Teledu Cymru name when TWW's early termination of service forced them to run an emergency transitional franchise, only retiring the name when their franchise began properly.
Studios
WWN's studio complex was located in Western Avenue, Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, despite the fact that this area was not served by WWN but by their rivals TWW. It was from here their programmes were made and their headquarters were. The company did, however, have a regional office and news studio in the region located in Bangor. Following the acquisition of WWN by TWW, the Western Avenue base was closed, with all operations moved to TWW's Pontcanna
Pontcanna () is a district and community in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is located a short distance to the west of the city centre, and its borders are approximately indicated by Western Avenue, the River Taff, Cowbridge Road East, Llandaff R ...
base, also in Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. To accommodate the addition Teledu Cymru presentation, the Pontcanna studios received a large upgrade. It is believed that the Bangor base was retained by TWW. The studios on Western Avenue were eventually demolished and replaced by the new headquarters for the WJEC examining board.
Identity
WWN's on screen identity featured a stylised dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
against a black background with the 'Teledu Cymru' name beneath. This ident, it is believed, was the only one used by the station, whose existence was very short. Following the takeover from TWW however, the ident was modified. The dragon emblem was retained, as was the Teledu Cymru name, with the only addition being a caption below with TWW's logo and a legend stating 'Network for Wales'. The ident also now animated on screen in sections to the tune of TWW's ident. Following TWW's loss of contract, the Teledu Cymru name was once again utilised by the Independent Television Service for Wales and the West
Independent Television Service for Wales and the West or ITSWW was a temporary emergency service provided by the ITA in light of the early termination of service of the previous franchise holder, TWW after they lost their ITV franchise in 1967 ...
that ran the franchise until HTV could begin broadcasting.[ Contains a video of WWN's later ident, following TWW's takeover.][ Contains images of WWN idents.]
See also
* TWW
* Independent Television Service for Wales and the West
Independent Television Service for Wales and the West or ITSWW was a temporary emergency service provided by the ITA in light of the early termination of service of the previous franchise holder, TWW after they lost their ITV franchise in 1967 ...
* HTV
* ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
* History of ITV
The history of ITV, the United Kingdom " Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1955.
Independent Television began as a network of independently-owned regional companies that were both broadcasters and programme makers, beginn ...
References
External links
Harlech House of Graphics
(unofficial fan site)
Television Wales and the West at TV Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wales West And North Television
ITV franchisees
Television channels in Wales
Television channels and stations established in 1962
1964 disestablishments in Wales
Television channels and stations disestablished in 1964
1962 establishments in Wales