Although I fully understand why Thames is remembered more fondly than Carlton, I think it's a bit of a false assumption that ITV would've evolved much differently post-93 than it actually did. If quality declined from 1993 onwards then it was as a result of the Broadcasting Act 1990 and its wider implications; all of which would've taken effect even had Thames survived. Because most measures of the Broadcasting Act came into force at the same time as Thames' departure, people conflate the two things. Had Granada lost its franchise instead, then there'd be a belief that ITV declined because Granada went away, even if Coronation Street remained on TV.
(LWT's London Programme kicked Thames's offerings out of the park - even the opening titles were superb.
Reporting London did have the better theme tune though, probably one of the best in my opinion
https://youtu.be/xjw-4wMVhA8
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(For my money, even now, ITV London News on a good day will wipe the floor with its rather wet BBC equivalent, but that's another discussion for another board.)
Maybe but there was a while when BBC London was first launched that the opposite was the case. LNN was in its final few years and suddenly the BBC started upping it's game. All different now though, LDN is quite conventional now.
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Struggling to think of other Carlton regional shows, though - apart from short-lived soap London Bridge. Maybe The Beat with Gary Crowley (disappointingly few clips on YouTube), but I think that may have gone out in other regions.
Quite a few of their later 'regional' programmes went out in the Midlands too. Just A Minute being one example, the first series of that was a team game: London vs Midlands.
Other Carlton regional shows were Big City (which was the replacement for Thames 01) and a daytime programme presented by Anneka Rice called Capital Women
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 27 January 2016 8:40am
BBC London really didn't get a look in until LNN was replaced by the then dumbed down ITN content when LT became 'Showbiz Tonight'. The early period when Marylebone High Street resembled a hipster gallery with very little content didn't affect what was a consistent ITV regional news bulletin.
Thames is remembered for its productions. Carlton is remembered for taking over other ITV companies but producing very little themselves.
Had Thames won in 1991 then would they have taken over many other ITV companies like Carlton or would they have stayed very metropolitan? I suspect that Thames would have made plenty of extra money from supplying programmes from its back catalogue to satellite channels which could have dulled its appetite for trying to take over other ITV companies although I have long believed that they would have taken over TV-AM to give themselves a 7 day national presence on ITV.
The early period when Marylebone High Street resembled a hipster gallery with very little content didn't affect what was a consistent ITV regional news bulletin.
It gave them some proper competition though, it actually had a direct rival for the first time; which of course isn't a bad thing.
I don't think you can call the original BBC London as lacking in content, sure it was trying to be trendy and different and fast moving but there was plenty of quality journalism and production in there.
Had Thames won in 1991 then would they have taken over many other ITV companies like Carlton or would they have stayed very metropolitan?
It was eat or be eaten but which one would have depended on what their finances were like post 1992. They were a big company but so was LWT and that didn't stop it from being taken over.
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I suspect that Thames would have made plenty of extra money from supplying programmes from its back catalogue to satellite channels which could have dulled its appetite for trying to take over other ITV companies
I'm sure it would, but I think you over-estimate the amount that would be made from selling some of it's back catalogue, especially in the long term
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although I have long believed that they would have taken over TV-AM to give themselves a 7 day national presence on ITV.
Possibly not, TVam was a very rich company towards the end, I'd say it would have been more likely the other way round
TV-am was the most profitable TV company in the world by the end, wasn't it? Makes their demise seem even more sad. In a franchise round taking contractor's achievements into account, I really don't see how they could have lost.