| Predecessor | Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA) |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1981; 45 years ago (1981) |
| Type | Affiliation of broadcasters |
| Membership | ITV,Channel 4,S4C |
Official language | English,Welsh |
United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB) is an affiliation of threeBritish independenttelevision production companies and broadcasters. The primary function of its predecessor, the Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA), was to represent independent British television interests as a member of theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU). The current members of UKIB are theITV Network Centre, the fourITV licence holders,Channel 4, andS4C.[1]
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UKIB was formed in 1981, when the Association of Independent Radio Contractors (AIRC)[2] was admitted as an active member of theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU). It replaced theIndependent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), formerly theIndependent Television Authority (ITA) as the second British EBU member.
Once ITCA was admitted as a fully active EBU member, the AIRC joined with UKIB to form the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) in June 1996. In July 2006, it merged with theRadio Advertising Bureau to formRadiocentre, the industry body for UK commercial radio.[3] Following the merger, CRCA cancelled its EBU membership.[4][5]
The IBA continued to exist until it was disbanded by theBroadcasting Act 1990, which replaced it with theIndependent Television Commission (ITC) and theRadio Authority.[6]
| Service name | Broadcast area | Licence holder[7] | Broadcast since[Note 1] | Parent company | EBU abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITV Network | |||||
| ITV1 STV UTV | United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man | ITV Network Limited | 1955 | ITV plc STV Group plc | UKIB/ITV |
| ITV (Channel 3) companies | |||||
| ITV Anglia | East of England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1959 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/ANG |
| ITV Border | England–Scotland border | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1961 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/BTV |
| ITV Central | Midlands[Note 2] | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1956 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/CEN |
| ITV Channel Television | Channel Islands | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1962 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/CHA |
| ITV Granada | North West England[Note 3] andIsle of Man[Note 4] | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1956 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/GRA |
| ITV London (Carlton) | London Weekday | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1955 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/LDN |
| ITV London (LWT) | London Weekend | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1955 | ITV plc | |
| ITV Meridian | South andSouth East England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1958 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/MER |
| ITV Tyne Tees | North East England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1959 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/TTT |
| ITV Wales | Wales | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1958 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/WALES |
| ITV West | West of England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1958 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/WEST |
| ITV West Country | South West England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1961 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/WES |
| ITV Yorkshire | Yorkshire,Lincolnshire, and NorthNorfolk | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1956 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/YTV |
| STV Central | Central Scotland | STV Central Limited | 1957 | STV Group plc | UKIB/STV |
| STV North | North of Scotland | STV North Limited | 1961 | STV Group plc | UKIB/STVN |
| UTV | Northern Ireland | UTV Limited | 1959 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/UTV |
| Channel 4 | |||||
| Channel 4 | England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland[Note 5] | Channel 4 | 1982 | Channel Four Television Corporation | UKIB/C4 |
| S4C | |||||
| S4C | Wales | Sianel 4 Cymru/Channel 4 Wales | 1982 | S4C Authority | UKIB/S4C |
Besides the main ITV, Channel 4, and S4C channels, there are several digital-only channels:ITV2,ITV3,ITV4 andITV Quiz, owned byITV plc, andE4,E4 Extra,More4,Film4 and4seven operated byChannel 4.
TheUnited Kingdom's entries in theEurovision Song Contest have been entered by theBBC each time. However, theUnited Kingdom'sJunior Eurovision Song Contest entries were broadcast and selected byITV from2003 to2005, before ITV withdrew in2006 due to low viewing figures. ITV were also set to host the2004 contest inManchester, but pulled out of hosting due to financial and scheduling issues, as well as the previous years poor viewing figures. The contest was eventually held inLillehammer,Norway.[8]
S4C announced on 9 May 2018 thatWales would debut at theJunior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held inMinsk,Belarus.[9] However, S4C withdrew from the contest in2020, citing theCOVID-19 pandemic as the reason for their withdrawal, and have not returned since.[10] On 25 August 2022, it was confirmed that the United Kingdom would return to the contest in2022 inYerevan,Armenia, with the BBC replacing ITV as the country's broadcaster.[11]
