ITV West Country
 |
|
| Based in | Bristol |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
Bristol Cornwall Devon Dorset Gloucestershire Somerset Wiltshire |
| First airdate | 16 February 2009 |
| Replaced |
ITV West ITV Westcountry |
| Owned by | ITV plc |
| Website |
ITV West Country (East) at itv.com ITV West Country (West) at itv.com |
ITV West Country, formerly known as ITV Westcountry and ITV West was (until 31 December 2013) a non-franchise ITV regional station covering South West England and incorporating the ITV West ('East') and ITV Westcountry regions. With the formal split of the Wales and West Channel 3 licence in January 2014, a separate licence was created for Wales with the West licence merged with that of West Country. ITV West Country thus became a franchise region. Each company that makes up the new region still legally exists. ITV Wales & West Ltd, ITV Wales & West Group Ltd and Westcountry Television Ltd are each, along with most other regional companies owned by ITV plc, listed on www.companieshouse.gov.uk as a "Dormant company".
ITV West Country launched on 16 February 2009 (as ITV West & Westcountry), and merged the two regions of ITV West and ITV Westcountry into one amalgamated region. The idea was first proposed following a speech by Michael Grade about regional broadcasting post-switchover at the 2007 Nations and Regions conference in Cardiff. There was speculation that ITV West and ITV Westcountry could merge operations, as part of further streamlining of regional operations, and rumours suggested that, while a newsroom (and separate regional identity) would be retained in the south west, the main Westcountry Live programme would move to a studio alongside The West Tonight at ITV West in Bristol.
On 12 September 2007, ITV issued a statement to the City of London, saying that it wished to reduce the number of news studios from 17 to just 9. Shortly after the broadcasting regulator Ofcom gave ITV plc the go-ahead to merge the two regions.
ITV Westcountry's studio operations were all moved to ITV West's headquarters in Bristol, with the studio facilities at Plympton near Plymouth closed and newsgathering operations moved to a smaller news bureau elsewhere in the city.
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