Westward Television start-up

Before the days of 24-hour TV most of the English regional broadcasting stations commenced their daily schedules at around 4pm. An 'overture' piece was usually shown along with transmitter information for TV engineers. Westward Television, the ITV franchise which covered the southwest of England from 1961 - 1981, started up each day with what was probably the very best of them. Paul Lewis wrote the delightful 'English Suite' music soundtrack and the montage of scenes, following the transmitter info card, features scenes which encompass the entire region the station beamed its cheery smile to.

Westward TV is gone but will not be forgotten by anyone lucky enough, as I was, to grow up from childhood to adult under its friendly glow.

More info and nostalgia to enjoy on British regional tv broadcasting at www.transdiffusion.org

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• westward
• television
• regional
• broadcasting
• startup
• England
• westcountry
• overture
• Paul
• Lewis
• An
• English
• Suite

[ingenious4t]

Brilliant, thanks for posting

[Tubemeister77]

@ingenious4t My pleasure; I'm pleased that you enjoyed it along with the rest of the Westward TV Start-up fanclub. Maybe I'll have to think about issuing membership certificates and badges!! :-D

[leggybird100]

this is a beautiful start up sequence which I've never seen before, having been brought up in the North East. I do miss the regional identity of the old stations and think it's a real shame that they are gone. Thanks for this lovely posting!

[Tubemeister77]

@leggybird100 A great pleasure to share with everyone. I just wish the quality was better but I'm working on it! ;-)

[KennnnnnyTucky]

Great memories of waking up and watching this early in the morning as a kid. Not sure we had a colour telly at first. Fantastic music. This was when TV meant something. They said that digital would mean huge choice, instead we have lost the investment in a few high quality channels and replaced it with hundreds of stations putting out rubbish.

[Tubemeister77]

@KennnnnnyTucky ...and it's rubbish writ large! Back in the 1980s a tv pundit talking on a prog re the future of tv broadcasting in Britain said this very thing would happen - more choice = less quality. TV scheduling should be a serendipity which challenges, surprises, entertains and educates - which it was in the 1970s - but with the advent of multi-channels has, with few exceptions, made mediocrity mainstream.

[WABBIT8]

I love this tune. And it brings back memories of my summer holidays at my gran's in EXETER. Cheers for posting this!

[mikeyboystone1969]

this brings backchildhood memories....

[davespot111]

I always thought the cutest part of this video was the woman slowly walking up the hill with a plastic bag of shopping at 3.34. i used to watch this after coming home from school... but it's been deleted on this clip.. anyone else remember that bit?.

[gibsosgerbil]

Taken From The Chris Hoyle Philiadelphia Orchestra called

"The South East Blues Theme" way back In The Early 1960's.

[MrBrianzero]

Wow did that bring back memories and a tear to my eye, thank you.

[stinsonvoyager]

I've just lost thirty-odd years. Wonderful.

[bohaynowell]

My family always referred to ITV as Westward, even when TSW and Westcountry came along. It's a real shame that the pride in TV seems to have gone: my boyfriend works in transmission and is the only one who cares about things like aspect ratios! Depressing...

[Bodybuilder1945]

@Tubemeister77 Unfortunately, just when the licences were coming up for renewal, the London based Board of Westward fell out with the managers and programme makers in Plymouth. There being no confidence within the company that the Board and the managers could overcome their difference the then IBA had no choice but to remove Westward's licence to broadcast.