История телеканала Border Television: от запуска в Карлайле до сохранения регионального характера

A ‘lookaround’ one of the smaller ITV regions… On this day in 1961 a new ITV service launched from Carlisle. ITV Border – for most of its existence known as Border Television – has been a familiar presence on screens across Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Borders and parts of Northumberland since 1961. For almost half a century, it also served the Isle of Man, making it one of the smallest but most distinctive corners of the ITV network. From its launch on 1 September ’61, Border quickly carved out a reputation for being both resourceful and fiercely local. Unlike many ITV start-ups, the station turned a profit in its very first year – thanks in part to audiences who felt overlooked by the BBC and embraced the new channel. Its signature local news programme, Lookaround, soon became a fixture, alongside network contributions like the daytime quiz Mr and Mrs and celebrity chat show Look Who’s Talking -both fronted by Derek Batey – and Melvyn Bragg’s Land of the Lakes. But the station’s journey has rarely been smooth. The 1970s and 1980s brought financial turbulence and industrial disputes, yet also some of its most creative output – from family favourites like The Joke Machine and Crush a Grape to innovative music and chat shows. By the 1990s, Border had expanded into radio, launching a number of Century Radio offerings – one in the North East, another in the East Midlands and also in the North West. A short-lived trial Century station was also broadcast in Leeds in the late 1990s. All the stations were overseen by former Border continuity announcer John Myers who also hosted on the stations under his ‘stage name’ John Morgan. As the 1990s became the 2000s Border Television was just one of a number of regional ITV stations that had been absorbed into Granada and later ITV plc. The 2000s marked another turning point. In 2008, plans to merge Border with Tyne Tees sparked fierce debate about the region’s identity. By 2009, its Carlisle studios had closed and Lookaround was produced from ITV Tyne Tees in tiny studios in the North East (Gateshead). For many, it felt like the station’s independence had been lost. Yet Border’s spirit endured: in 2013, following public pressure – and the threat from Ofcom that part of the franchise could go to STV, a full regional news service was restored. However, the full half-hour is either aired live at 6pm while the North East counterpart is pre-recorded at 4.30pm, by the same on-screen team at ITV Tyne Tees’ Gateshead site, or vice versa. In another move to appease the TV regulator and not lose any coverage to STV the news offering from ITV Border also saw a dedicated opt-out for southern Scotland added in 2014. This wasn’t brought about by any dedication from ITV plc to public service broadcasting. It was more about the fact they’d lose advertising revenue if the Scottish Borders area of their network was gifted to STV to create an STV South Scotland. Over the years, Border’s iconic “chopsticks” logo – symbolising Scotland, England and the Solway Firth – became a local emblem. And while the studios in Carlisle may have been demolished in 2010, ITV Border today continues to compile the local news stories from offices in Carlisle, Edinburgh and Selkirk, with programmes like Border Life and Representing Border keeping regional storytelling alive. Seventy years on, Border remains one of ITV’s most resilient outposts – small in scale, but rich in character, with a history that reflects both the challenges and the enduring importance of regional television.