Media UK

Yorkshire Television

Broadcasting from Kirkstall Road in Leeds, Yorkshire Television is the ITV licence holder for Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and parts of north Norfolk. It is owned by ITV plc and broadcasts under the ITV1 brand.

Taking over from Trident Television, Yorkshire was proud of its heritage. The sonic logo for the channel was the notes for "Ilkley Moor b'aht 'at", played (by a brass band) in front of most programmes with the familiar yellow 'bat' logo.

Yorkshire was an innovative company. It was the first to experiment with breakfast television; and, in the late 1980s, the first television station in the UK to go 24-hour - mainly with programmes provided by Music Box, a music channel.

In the late 80s and early 90s, the channel also provided live late-night programming with radio broadcaster James Whale: for the first year, live from the adjacent studios of Radio Aire (as a simulcast); then, for subsequent years, as a television programme of its own right from Yorkshire's reception.

Local personalities have been strongly identified with the channel. Richard Whiteley cut his teeth as a reporter for the channel's local news programme Calendar, along with national columnist Christa Ackroyd. Weatherman Bob Rust was a hugely popular figure. In the mid 1990s, Yorkshire recruited local radio breakfast presenter Debbie Lindley as a new member of the weather team.

Yorkshire's studios are also used for filming of Countdown, the popular television quiz. 3-2-1 was probably the most famous Yorkshire programme, along with ITV soap opera 'Albion Market'. 'Heartbeat' and soap opera 'Emmerdale' are also Yorkshire Television productions. It was also the channel to commission The New Statesman and The Beiderbecke Tapes.

After taking over Tyne Tees Television, Yorkshire was itself bought by Granada Television in the 1990s. In 2004 the merger of Granada and Carlton brought about the creation of ITV plc.

Nowadays regional programmes carry the ITV Yorkshire brand and come under the remit of the ITV News Group. Network productions made in Leeds fall under the aegis of Granada, now the name used for ITV plc's production arm, and carry Granada Yorkshire endcaps.