Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: When did the network ITV begin?
The history of ITV, the United Kingdom "Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1954. As of 29 February 2016, there are fifteen regional licences for the ITV Network, shared between two owners: ITV plc (13 licences), and the STV Group (2 licences).
Prior to 1 January 1988, each programme on ITV would be preceded by the identifier of the regional company that had produced the show, and this would be broadcast throughout the network, in other words by all companies showing the programme. It meant that viewers across the country would see a Yorkshire Television logo and hear the corresponding fanfare before "Emmerdale Farm" and Scottish Television idents before "Take the High Road". In consequence, most ITV-produced series shown abroad would also be preceded by the producing company's logo – for example, PBS presentations of "Upstairs, Downstairs" featured the London Weekend Television logo and fanfare before the start of the programme. Beginning in 1988, these were largely replaced by endcaps. Since the consolidation of the ITV network in the early 2000s, these have generally disappeared, UTV and STV being the only notable exceptions.
On Friday August 24, 1962, Trinidad and Tobago Television was launched one week before the two-island state of Trinidad and Tobago became an independent nation on 31st August 1962 within the British Commonwealth. Mervyn Telfer, a former Radio Trinidad announcer, read the first broadcast, the 7PM News. The two channels to transmit the service to the new twin island state were channels 2 and 13. News shown during that first week included highlights of Independence Day preparations.
Nickelodeon launched on April 1, 1979 (as the first ever all children's network) on Warner Cable franchises across the country. Nickelodeon's name was proposed by New York based creative director/designer Joseph Iozzi, who also created the channel's first logo and original advertising campaign. Iozzi saw the word "nickelodeon" as a natural fit for the proposed children's channel: "The Nickelodeon was a turn of the century device for dispensing entertainment. The sound of the word was nice and rolled off the tongue easily". Hauser ultimately selected Iozzi's proposal out of a list out of 150 names. The other proposed names for the channel included The Savoy Channel and The Rainbow Network.
On 1 February 2015, HGTV launched in Australia on Australian IPTV service Fetch TV. Programming from the network also airs free-to-air on Nine Network's digital network 9Life.
Some British television programs, particularly those made by or for ITC Entertainment, were shot on colour film before the introduction of colour television to the UK, for the purpose of sales to U.S. networks. The first British show to be made in colour was the drama series "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" (1956–57), which was initially made in black and white but later shot in colour for sale to the NBC network in the United States. Other British colour television programs include "Stingray" (1964–1965), which was the first British TV show to be filmed entirely in colour, "Thunderbirds" (1965–1966) and "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons" (1967–1968). However, most UK series predominantly made using videotape, such as "Doctor Who" (1963–89; 2005–present) did not begin colour production until later, with the first colour "Doctor Who" episodes not airing until 1971.
When television broadcasts in the UK were resumed after a break due to the Second World War, it was decided to introduce a television licence fee in order to fund the service. When first introduced on 1 June 1946, the licence covering the monochrome-only single-channel BBC television service cost £2 (equivalent to £ as of ). The licence was originally issued by the General Post Office (GPO), which was then the regulator of public communications within the UK. The GPO also issued licences for home radio receivers powered by mains electricity and was mandated by laws beginning with the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904, to administer the licensing system. Households which bought a TV licence did not need to hold a separate radio licence as the TV licence covered both TV and radio reception.
On April 27, 2009, British TV began showing the series on ITV2, immediately following the finale of Hell's Kitchen, also hosted by Marco Pierre White, on ITV1 of which 6 of the episodes being aired, although episode 7 was not shown on Monday at 8 o clock as would be expected, and there has been no explanation as to what has happened to the series in the UK or why the episode was not shown.
"The Line" was first mentioned March 18, 2014 at Game Show Network's (GSN's) 2014−15 upfront presentation in New York City. The series, created by ITV Studios, was green-lit on July 15, 2014, with Davis and Bailey being announced as co-hosts of the show. When discussing the show's format, GSN's Executive Vice President of programming and development Amy Introcaso-Davis explained, "We have taken something most people dislike – waiting in line – and turned it into the most fun you have ever had, with cash, prizes and 500 new friends."
The station's digital channel is multiplexed:
On May 25, 2015, KTVT launched a digital subchannel on virtual channel 11.2 to serve as a charter affiliate of Decades, a classic television network co-owned by CBS Television Stations and Weigel Broadcasting (the latter of which holds responsibility of affiliate distribution to stations not owned by CBS) that features programs from the CBS Television Distribution library, including archival footage from CBS News. The network launched on that date with most of the CBS-owned television stations (except for its CW and independent stations in markets where the group maintains a duopoly) as well as Weigel-owned CBS affiliate WDJT-TV in Milwaukee among its charter outlets. On September 3, 2018, KTVT replaced Decades with Start TV.
In 1979, British writer/producer Britt Allcroft came across the books, and arranged a deal to bring the stories to life as the TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" (later simplified to "Thomas & Friends"). The programme became an award-winning hit around the world, with a vast range of spin-off commercial products.
The Australian soap opera "Neighbours" was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. The show's storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough, Melbourne. Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's other soap opera, "Sons and Daughters". "Neighbours" underperformed in the Sydney market and it struggled for four months before Seven cancelled it. The show was immediately bought by rival network, Ten. Ten began screening "Neighbours" on 20 January 1986. "Neighbours" has since become the longest running series in Australian television and attained great success in the United Kingdom and launched the careers of several international stars, including Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce.
Television became available in crude experimental forms in the late 1920s, but it would still be several years before the new technology would be marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white TV broadcasting became popular in the United States and Britain, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion. In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was introduced in the US and most other developed countries. The availability of multiple types of archival storage media such as Betamax, VHS tape, local disks, DVDs, flash drives, high-definition Blu-ray Discs, and cloud digital video recorders has enabled viewers to watch pre-recorded material—such as movies—at home on their own time schedule. For many reasons, especially the convenience of remote retrieval, the storage of television and video programming now occurs on the cloud. At the end of the first decade of the 2000s, digital television transmissions greatly increased in popularity. Another development was the move from standard-definition television (SDTV) (576i, with 576 interlaced lines of resolution and 480i) to high-definition television (HDTV), which provides a resolution that is substantially higher. HDTV may be transmitted in various formats: 1080p, 1080i and 720p. Since 2010, with the invention of smart television, Internet television has increased the availability of television programs and movies via the Internet through streaming video services such as Netflix, Amazon Video, iPlayer, Hulu, Roku and Chromecast.
Ivan Pope (1961-) is a British technologist who was involved with a number of early internet developments in the UK and across the world, and invented the "cybercafe" at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. He was a founder of two of the first internet magazines, The World Wide Web Newsletter, and later .net magazine in the UK. In 1994 he founded Webmedia to professionalise the process of web site design and build. In 1995 he was involved with the creation of the domain name management company NetNames. Pope is now a writer and a noted proponent of the dérive.
The invention of the television was the work of many individuals in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Individuals and corporations competed in various parts of the world to deliver a device that superseded previous technology. Many were compelled to capitalize on the invention and make profit, while some wanted to change the world through visual and audio communication technology.
Using local Scripps cable franchises (since divested), the Federal Communications Commission "must carry" provisions of Scripps medium-market television stations, and other small television operators to gain cable carriage, the channel launched on December 1, 1994. The major programming themes, unchanged since the beginning, were home building and remodeling, landscaping and gardening, decorating and design, and crafts and hobbies.
During its development, the channel was originally named the Home, Lawn, and Garden Channel. The name was later shortened and a logo was developed. The logo was amended in 2010, with this version debuting on March 1 of that year. The square with the "G" in it was removed, the roof was increased in size and the "HGTV" letters are now set in Gotham Black (from the original mixture of Futura and Times New Roman), with the other Gotham fonts being used around the network. The network debuted with a skeletal staff, but with gradual acceptance by other cable operators, it now reaches 94 million households in the United States and has either partner networks, or network interests, in Canada, Japan, and elsewhere. It is now referred to simply as "HGTV"; the full name of the channel is de-emphasized.
The Thick of It is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of modern British government. It was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a small cast focusing on a government minister, his advisers and their party's spin-doctor. The cast was significantly expanded for two hour-long specials to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's appointment as prime minister in 2007, which saw new characters forming the opposition party added to the cast. These characters continued when the show switched channels to BBC Two for its third series in 2009. A fourth series about a coalition government was broadcast in 2012, with the last episode transmitted on 27 October 2012. In a 2012 interview, series creator Armando Iannucci said the fourth series of the programme would probably be its last.
"EastEnders" is broadcast around the world in many English-speaking countries. New Zealand became the first to broadcast "EastEnders" overseas, the first episode being shown on 27 September 1985. This was followed by the Netherlands on 8 December 1986, Australia on 5 January 1987, Norway on 27 April, and Barcelona on 30 June (dubbed into Catalan). On 9 July 1987, it was announced that the show would be aired in the United States on PBS. BBC Worldwide licensed 200 hours of "EastEnders" for broadcast in Serbia on RTS (dubbed into Serbian); it began airing the first episode in December 1997. The series was broadcast in the United States until BBC America ceased broadcasts of the serial in 2003, amidst fan protests. In June 2004, the satellite television provider Dish Network picked up "EastEnders", broadcasting episodes starting at the point where BBC America had ceased broadcasting them, offering the series as a pay-per-view item. Episodes air two months behind the UK schedule. Episodes from prior years are still shown on various PBS stations in the US. Since 7 March 2017, "EastEnders" has been available in the United States on demand, 24 hours after it has aired in the United Kingdom via BritBox, a joint venture between BBC and ITV.
On 6 March, 2014, HGTV Launch in Singapore Via Starhub TV, but on August 31, 2018 it (and other Discovery Network channels) ceased transmission. It was launched on Singtel TV Platform on 28th September 2018 on Channel 250.
"Neighbours" is an Australian soap opera that first aired on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. The first season aired at 5:30 pm in Sydney, at 6:00 pm in Melbourne and Adelaide, and at 7.00 pm in Brisbane. "Neighbours" underperformed in Sydney, where it was then moved to a 3.30 pm timeslot. By September 1985, the show was cancelled by Seven after 170 episodes. "Neighbours" was then picked up by rival network Ten, where it began screening with episode 171 on 20 January 1986 at 7:00 pm. In March 1992, the show moved to the 6:30 pm timeslot to avoid direct competition from rival soap opera "Home and Away" on the Seven Network. In 2011, Ten moved "Neighbours" to its digital secondary channel 10 Peach (formerly Eleven), due to poor ratings. The show began screening on 10 Peach on 11 January 2011, the channel's launch day. "Neighbours" currently airs at 6:30 pm each weeknight, and is the longest running drama series in Australian television.
Game Show Network launched at 7:00 p.m. ET on December 1, 1994. The first aired game show was "What's My Line?". From 1994 until about 1997, the network aired classic pre-1972 game shows as well as game shows made after 1972, most of which came from the Mark Goodson–Bill Todman library. The network aired game shows in a 24-hour cycle, and also used live interstitials as wraparound programming. In its first few months, GSN's commercials consisted of public service announcements (PSAs), promotions for its programming and commercials related to network parent company Sony. By 1995, when the network began to expand, the network began accepting conventional advertising as it gained new sponsorships. On March 17, 1997, the Game Show Network rebranded with a new presentation package and a new logo (which had the network's name in boxes and a colorful swirling ball) and a new slogan "All Play, All Day". While the logo changed, its programming remained unchanged, the network also debuted new promos and new idents on that day, which were designed by graphics agency Lee Hunt Associates.
On 2 September 1996, this ident was replaced by one with a deep purple/blue background and an emphasis on the deep colours of the logo, as well as a smoother form-up. This ident was replaced on 5 October 1998 by one with a yellow background and featuring a small ITV logo underneath the Meridian name. On 8 November 1999, the emphasis was on the network's hearts logo, with a very small Meridian logo only featuring at the end of the form-up. This look was in use until October 2002 when ITV1 in England and Wales abandoned local continuity and idents. The only exceptions were ITV1 idents shown before regional programming, which featured the word "Meridian" below the ITV1 logo, . However, even this did not last, and only a few years later these regional idents were dropped. Meridian for a while managed to retain some identity by featuring their (sun/moon face) logo on the local weather forecast. However, the logo was completely removed in 2004, last seen at the start of the late-night weather forecast on 5 December 2004. On 1 February 2005, it was replaced with a generic "ITV Meridian" logo, the official name of the franchise.
Since 2006, all idents have been generic to the entire network with no difference between regions and only the ITV1 name being used. On 14 January 2013, the station's on-air identity was changed to ITV, along with all other ITV plc-owned franchises. 
From September 2014, however, Meridian's identity was revived by an announcement (including the sub-region) immediately prior to the evening edition of ITV Meridian News.
Channel Television was awarded the licence for the islands in 1960 by the then regulator the Independent Television Authority (ITA). However, the ITA pointed out that the Television Act 1954 that established ITV did not include provision for the Channel Islands and as a result, if the ITA was to operate an ITV service there, it would have to be permitted by means of extending the Act to the islands with an Order in Council. In addition, the new station faced difficulties connecting to the rest of the ITV network. The solution was the construction of a microwave relay station on the northern island of Alderney that would connect with another ITV station, initially Westward Television. At first, the station received difficulties in getting permission for the new mast, but these were overcome in September 1961.
"Children's ITV" launched on 3 January 1983, as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network. It replaced the earlier "Watch It!" branding and introduced networked in-vision continuity links between programmes. These links were originally pre-recorded from a small London studio, up until 1987 when Central won the contract to produce live links from their Birmingham studios. In 2004, presentation of CITV was relocated to Granada Television in Manchester, which saw the demise of in-vision continuity. Nine years later, the operations moved to ITV Granada's MediaCityUK studios in Salford.
Despite the review, no company lost its position as the local ITV contractor for their region and all licences were extended for another three years (starting July 1964), although several of the major companies were instructed to strengthen the regional emphasis of their on-screen identities. The only change to the network was the formation of a single Wales and West franchise, operated by TWW, following the collapse of WWN and its subsequent takeover by TWW. WWN ran into trouble when it had problems with the construction of its transmitter network, as well as strict provisions in its contract to produce a large amount of Welsh-language programming. This meant that WWN lost a lot of money and, despite some help from other ITV companies, it declared itself bankrupt in January 1964 — the only ITV company to have ever done so.