ITV Westcountry
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| Based in | Plymouth |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
Cornwall Devon Isles of Scilly southern and western Somerset western Dorset |
| First airdate | 1 January 1993 at 12:00 am |
| Closed | Lost on-air identity on 27 October 2002 (known as ITV at all times) |
| Replaced | TSW |
| Owned by | ITV plc |
| Website | ITV West Country |
| Former logo | |
 Westcountry TV logo 1993 |
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ITV West Country, formerly known as Westcountry Television and Carlton Westcountry or Carlton Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the South West of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset. The company replaced its predecessor, TSW (Television South West), from the 1 January 1993. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited (formerly Westcountry Television Limited).
ITV West Country incorporating the former ITV Westcountry and ITV West ('East') regions was (until 31 December 2013) a non-franchise ITV regional station covering South West England. 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". This article however, covers the Westcountry Television part of the franchise.
Westcountry Television was one of two rival consortia bidding against the incumbent TSW when the ITV franchises were put to tender early in 1991. Westcountry's original shareholders were Brittany Ferries and South West Water; the latter investor attracted criticism as only three years earlier it had been responsible for one of the worst water pollution incidents in the United Kingdom and which had occurred within the contract area at Camelford. On 16 October 1991, Westcountry was announced as the winner, bidding £7 million a year against TSW's 16 million. Several local MPs were concerned that South West Water's involvement would lead to partiality in news items concerning the local water firm.
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