20 Facts About ITV Anglia

ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England.

ITV Anglia is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licence name of ITV Broadcasting Limited.

ITV Anglia Television launched on 27 October 1959 as an independent company serving the East of England, the eleventh ITA station to go on air.

ITV Anglia decided not to publicly fight the IBA plans, after a board member had agreed to produce a film for the IBA explaining why ITV Anglia should be allowed to keep hold of the Belmont transmitter.

However, by 1976 ITV Anglia had managed to improve its operations, posting results of £1.

Related searches

ITV Anglia described the improvement as "satisfactory", and its prospects were considered "encouraging".

In December 1976, ITV Anglia dropped the Thames children's series Pauline's Quirkes as it believed it was insufficiently entertaining for its young audience.

In 1979, a survey carried out by the IBA highlighted Anglia was one of the best known ITV companies – Anglia claimed that this was a testament to the strength of its commitment to a prominent local and national identity.

In 1980, ITV Anglia successfully retained the franchise after defeating a challenge from East of England TV, who wished to operate from Cambridge.

On 9 July 1990, About Anglia was replaced by a new dual news service, with both editions of Anglia News broadcast from Norwich .

ITV Anglia began providing separate news services for the East and West of the ITV Anglia region.

In 1993, ITV Anglia forged a partnership with American pay-TV network HBO, owned by Time Warner.

Under this arrangement, ITV Anglia acquired half-ownership in Citadel, an HBO production subsidiary; Time Warner subsequently acquired 50 percent of Itel, ITV Anglia's distribution unit.

In early 1994, ITV Anglia Television was bought by MAI, who merged with United Newspapers to form United News and Media.

In 2006, ITV plc swapped subsidiaries, which involved renaming Anglia Television Limited as ITV Broadcasting Limited and vice versa.

All other franchises then owned by ITV Anglia plc were transferred to ITV Anglia Broadcasting Limited in December 2008.

In 2006, ITV Anglia sold its Magdalen Street studio complex to Norfolk County Council, which, with the help of the East of England Development Agency, created EPIC – the East of England Production Innovation Centre.

ITV Anglia's original ident was a silver statue of a knight on horseback.

The ident was accompanied by a deep sombre jingle composed by Nic Rowley and remained in use until 8 November 1999, when, Anglia took the Hearts idents, which featured the stylised "A" – though in a square rather than a flag – and were used until 2002.

On 28 October 2002, Anglia lost its on screen identity in favour of the ITV1 brand, with regional idents only before regional programming.