Network First

Last updated

Network First is a wide-ranging documentary strand broadcast on ITV in the U.K. from January 1994 to December 1997, and was a part replacement for First Tuesday.

Unlike other documentary series on ITV such as World in Action , Network First, was not centred on current affairs or politics, but broadcast a range of one-off programmes covering various subjects such as biography, history, and science. Programmes were usually transmitted in the 22:40 slot after News at Ten , each usually running for an hour. The strand was not "owned" by any one ITV franchise, and individual programmes were contributed by the various ITV companies.

As a strand, Network First never became a household "name" - unlike the likes of World in Action or This Week - possibly because of its diverse subject matter. The series appears to have been dropped quietly by ITV in the lead up to the high-profile axing of both World in Action on 7 December 1998 and News at Ten on 5 March 1999.

Related Research Articles

Channel 4 British free-to-air television channel

Channel 4 is a British public-service free-to-air television network headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The channel was established to provide a fourth television service to the United Kingdom in addition to the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and the single commercial broadcasting network ITV. It began transmission on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. In 2010, Channel 4 extended service into Wales and became a UK-wide television channel.

ITV (TV network) TV network in the United Kingdom

ITV is a British free-to-air television network with its headquarters in London. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television, which had been established in 1932. ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, namely BBC 1, BBC 2 and Channel 4.

Children's television series are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evening, allowing younger children to watch them after school. The purpose of these shows is mainly to entertain and educate.

BBC Two Second television channel operated by the BBC

BBC Two is the second flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tends to broadcast more "highbrow" programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded public-service network, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service networks worldwide.

ITN British-based news and content provider

Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washington DC.

BBC One is the first and flagship channel of BBC Television in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960, using this name until the launch of the second BBC channel BBC2 in 1964, whereupon the BBC TV channel became known as BBC1, with the current spelling adopted of BBC One in 1997.

ITV Central British television network; Independent Television contractor for the Midlands

ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television and Carlton Central and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the English Midlands. It was created following the restructuring of ATV and began broadcasting on 1 January 1982. The service is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited.

Carlton Television ITV franchise holder

Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Television as a single entity, but the two companies are still separately licensed. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited. Carlton has been branded on air as 'ITV1' since 28 October 2002, and as 'ITV' since 14 January 2013. Carlton legally exists as Carlton Television Ltd currently listed on Companies House as a privately owned company. As Carlton's name has no relation to its region, its on-screen identity has been completely removed. Other regions have kept their original company name as a region name and in their local news name.

RTÉ2 Irish television station

RTÉ2 is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched in 1978 becoming the Republic of Ireland's second television channel.

Grampian Television ITV franchisee for the North of Scotland

Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Northern Isles, the Western Isles, the Highlands, Grampian, Tayside, the Isle of Siar, and parts of north Fife. The station has been in operation since 30 September 1961.

Westward Television British TV station

Westward Television was the first ITV franchise holder for the South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a popular, distinctive and highly regarded service to its region, until public boardroom squabbles led to its franchise not being renewed by the IBA. Westward launched the career of many broadcasters who became well known nationally, won numerous awards for its programming, and heavily influenced its successor, TSW.

<i>World in Action</i> British investigative current affairs programme

World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks, and the programme gained a solid reputation for its often unorthodox approach. The series was sold around the world and won numerous awards. In its heyday World in Action drew audiences of up to 23 million in Britain alone, equivalent to almost half the population.

Alastair Stewart English journalist

Alastair James Stewart OBE is an English journalist and newscaster, formerly presenting for ITV News.

CITV British free-to-air television channel

CITV is a British free-to-air children's television channel from ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which was previously 6 am to 6 pm until 21 February 2016. It is also the title of a programming block on the ITV network at weekends.

Night Network, Night Time and Night Shift were names given to the overnight schedule of the ITV network in the United Kingdom. The first ITV company began 24-hour broadcasting in 1986, with all of the companies broadcasting through the night by the end of 1988. At first, individual companies created their own services, however before too long, many of the smaller ITV station began simulcasting or networking services from others.

ITV Schools was the educational television service set up in 1957 by the Independent Television Authority, broadcasting learning programmes for children ages 5 to 18 across ITV-affiliated stations. It was an example of public service broadcasting on a commercial television network.

RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Telefís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added channels and digital television service.

wknd@stv is a short-lived children's programming strand on Scottish television channel, STV. The block aired on Saturdays and Sundays, usually starting at 9.25am. It began on Saturday 17 January 2009 with a three-hour edition. The majority of editions were one to two hours in length.

BBC Schools, also known as BBC for Schools and Colleges, is the educational programming strand set up by the BBC in 1957, broadcasting a range of educational programmes for children aged 5–16. From launch until June 1983, programming was based on BBC1 during the daytime, apart from coverage of major news events which saw the programmes shifted to BBC2. In September 1983 programming was transferred permanently to BBC2 freeing BBC1 to develop its own daytime schedule. The strand, named Daytime on Two, remained on BBC Two until March 2010, later supplemented by the 'Class TV' strand on the CBBC Channel.

Exposure is a current affairs strand, broadcast in the United Kingdom on the ITV network. The programme comprises long-form films, investigating and exploring domestic and foreign topics. Episodes are produced both by independent production companies and in-house by ITV Studios. The average budget for a single edition is between £150,000 and £200,000.