Wales (West and North) Television

TheTeledu Cymru reception area when WWN collapsed in 1964
Type	Terrestrial television network
Branding	Teledu Cymru
Country	Wales
First air date	14 September 1962; 63 years ago (1962-09-14)
TV transmitters	Preseli Arfon Moel-y-Parc
Headquarters	Cardiff
Broadcast area	West andNorth Wales
Dissolved	26 January 1964; 62 years ago (1964-01-26) (after 1 year, 134 days)
Picture format	405-line
Affiliation	ITV
Language	English andWelsh
Replaced by	Merged withTWW

Wales (West and North) Television, known on screen asTeledu Cymru (pronounced[tɛˈlɛdɨˈkəmrɨ], Welsh for "Wales Television") and often abbreviated toWWN, was theWelsh "Independent Television" (commercial television) contractor awarded the franchise area serving North and West Wales, from 1962 (franchise awarded 6 June 1961). It began transmitting on 14 September 1962, and ceased on 26 January 1964 through financial failure; the franchise area was soon combined with the South Wales and West of England area, operated byTWW.^[1][2] TWW retained the Teledu Cymru name in the former WWN franchise area, as did successorHarlech during theiremergency transitional franchise, only retiring the name when they were able to officially take over.

The geography of Wales presented a daunting problem to theIndependent Television Authority (ITA). The populous area of Wales in the South were already being served by TWW, which had begun broadcasting in 1958, while the north-east of the country and much of the north coast was served by the North of England weekday and weekend franchise holders,Granada andABC, operating since 1956; the interior of north Wales could not receiveITV transmissions at all.^[2]

The ITA was pressured, by a consortium of Welsh-speaking businessmen, into setting up a new North and West Wales region; the ITA asked thePostmaster General to allow this, which he did, with strict provisos: the new service must not offer viewers in Wales a programming choice other viewers did not have (meaning they could not defer the broadcast of networked programmes, which could have been a valuable market as WWN's transmissions were available in theLiverpool area),^[3] and at the last minute, the Postmaster General insisted that the new station should, on its own, produce ten-hours-a-week of programmes in Welsh, without relying on Welsh-language programmes produced by Granada, ABC and TWW.^[2]

These restrictions were accepted, and the contract was awarded in 1961 to Wales Television Limited, which was later changed to Wales (West and North) Television Limited, following objections from TWW who felt that the original name was intruding on their area. The ITA used threeVHF transmitters to broadcastTeledu Cymru; located atPreseli (covering the south west),Arfon (north west) andMoel-y-Parc in the north east.Teledu Cymru launched with the Preseli transmitter on 14 September 1962; making it the 17th and final ITA franchise to launch (Channel Television, another small contractor, began broadcasting two weeks before WWN on 1 September). However, the delay in introducing the transmitters at Arfon and Moel-y-Parc, until later in 1963, destroyed the morale and the finances of WWN. Free programming from the ITV network, plus other support from its neighbours ABC,ATV andTWW just about kept the ship afloat, but Manchester's Granada Television decided to stop making programmes in Welsh, and the loss of this valuable programming stream proved fatal to WWN.^[2] Local productions ceased in May 1963 and the station's studios were reduced to a small master control until WWN could find a successor.^[4]

TWW offered a generous package to WWN's shareholders to acquire their service, and WWN closed on 26 January 1964 and its studio was shuttered.^[2] With the guidance of WWN employees retained by TWW, theTeledu Cymru name was retained, and the new Teledu Cymru was granted a transmitter in the South of Wales. WWN would be the last television service in Wales to broadcast in Welsh during primetime, until the launch ofS4C in 1982.^[4]

TWW successorHarlech also retained theTeledu Cymru name when TWW's early termination of service forced them to run anemergency transitional franchise, only retiring the name when their own franchise officially started.

WWN's headquarters and studio complex was located in Western Avenue,Cardiff, despite the fact that was not within their coverage area but that of their neighbouring franchise, TWW. The company had a regional office and a news studio within their franchise area, inBangor. Following the acquisition of WWN by TWW, the Western Avenue base was closed, with all operations moved to TWW'sPontcanna base, also inCardiff. To accommodate the additionTeledu Cymru presentation, the Pontcanna studios received a large upgrade. It is believed that the Bangor base was retained by TWW. The studios on Western Avenue were eventually demolished and replaced by the new headquarters for theWJEC examining board.

WWN's on screen identity featured a styliseddragon against a black background with theTeledu Cymru name beneath. This ident, it is believed, was the only one used by the station, whose existence was very short. Following the takeover from TWW however, the ident was modified. The dragon emblem was retained, as was theTeledu Cymru name, with the only addition being a caption below with TWW's logo and a legend stating 'Network for Wales'. The ident also now animated on screen in sections to the tune of TWW's ident. Following TWW's loss of contract, theTeledu Cymru name was once again used by theIndependent Television Service for Wales and the West which operated untilHTV could begin broadcasting.^[1][2][5][6]

• Harlech House of Graphics (unofficial fan site)
• Television Wales and the West at TV Live
• TWW at TVARK

• ITV franchisees
• Television channels in Wales
• Television channels and stations established in 1962
• 1964 disestablishments in Wales
• Television channels and stations disestablished in 1964
• 1962 establishments in Wales

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