ITV (TV channel)

ITV is a commercial television channel in the United Kingdom. Previously a network of separate regional television channels, ITV currently operates in England, Wales, Scotland and the Channel Islands.

From 2001 until 2013, the channel was called ITV1. In 2004, Granada Television acquired Carlton Communications to form ITV plc.

ITV is the biggest and most popular commercial television channel in the United Kingdom. ITV and its predecessor channels have contended with BBC One for the status of the UK's most watched television channel since the 1950s. However, in line with other terrestrial channels, ITV's audience share has fallen in the era of multi-channel television.

History

Following the creation of the Television Act 1954, the establishment of a commercial television service in the UK began.

The Independent Television service, or ITV, was made up of regions, with each region run by different companies. The three largest regions (London, the Midlands and the North of England) were subdivided into weekday and weekend services, with a different company running each. ITV existed in a region-heavy form from its inception to the 2000s, although the switch was gradual.