The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
This is Westward
This is a programme going behind the scenes of television-making at Westward Television Studios in Plymouth.
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Overview
This documentary was made in 1961 when Westward Television opened the new studios in Plymouth broadcasting to the South West under a ten-year licence from the Independent Television Authority (ITA). Westward Television went on air 29 April 1961 with regional programmes such as Farming Today, Tight Lines and a weekly news programme entitled Westward Diary. Programmes were made on 16mm black and white negative film stock with inhouse printing and editing services.
The ITA was set up by the 1954 Television Act responsible for siting, building and running of VHF transmitters from transmission stations. It awarded franchises to commercial broadcasters who were to cover rental costs through advertising revenues. These programme companies were to be independent ensuring competition in the supply of programmes. Among the first in 1954 were Associated Rediffusion for London, Associated TeleVision (ATV) for London and the Midlands and Associated British Picture Corporation (ABC) for the North of England. The South West was split between South Wales and West of England’s Television Wales and West TWW (later HTV) and Westward Television (later TSW).
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