United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB) is an affiliation of three British independent television production companies and broadcasters. The primary function of its predecessor, the Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA), was to represent independent British television interests as a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The current members of UKIB are the ITV network centre, the 4 ITV licence holders, Channel 4, and S4C.
| Predecessor | Independent Television Companies Association (ITCA) |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1981 |
| Type | Affiliation of broadcasters |
Membership | ITV, Channel 4, S4C |
Official language | English, Welsh |
History
UKIB was formed in 1981, when the Association of Independent Radio Contractors (AIRC)[1] was admitted as an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It replaced the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), formerly the Independent Television Authority (ITA) as the second British EBU member.
Once ITCA was admitted as a fully active EBU member, the AIRC joined with UKIB to form the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) in June 1996. In July 2006, it merged with the Radio Advertising Bureau to form Radiocentre, the industry body for UK commercial radio.[2] Following the merger, CRCA cancelled its EBU membership.[3][4]
The IBA continued to exist until it was disbanded by the Broadcasting Act 1990, which replaced it with the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Radio Authority.[5]
Members
| Service name | Broadcast area | Licence holder[6] | Broadcast since[Note 1] | Parent company | EBU abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITV Network | |||||
| ITV1 STV UTV | United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man | ITV Network Limited | 1955 | ITV plc STV Group plc | UKIB/ITV |
| ITV (Channel 3) companies | |||||
| ITV Anglia | East of England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1959 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/ANG |
| ITV Border | England–Scotland border | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1961 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/BTV |
| ITV Central | Midlands[Note 2] | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1956 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/CEN |
| ITV Channel Television | Channel Islands | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1962 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/CHA |
| ITV Granada | North West England[Note 3] and Isle of Man[Note 4] | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1956 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/GRA |
| ITV London (Carlton) | London Weekday | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1955 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/LDN |
| ITV London (LWT) | London Weekend | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1955 | ITV plc | |
| ITV Meridian | South and South East England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1958 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/MER |
| ITV Tyne Tees | North East England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1959 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/TTT |
| ITV Wales | Wales | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1958 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/WALES |
| ITV West | West of England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1958 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/WEST |
| ITV West Country | South West England | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1961 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/WES |
| ITV Yorkshire | Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and North Norfolk | ITV Broadcasting Limited | 1956 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/YTV |
| STV Central | Central Scotland | STV Central Limited | 1957 | STV Group plc | UKIB/STV |
| STV North | North of Scotland | STV North Limited | 1961 | STV Group plc | UKIB/STVN |
| UTV | Northern Ireland | UTV Limited | 1959 | ITV plc | UKIB/ITV/UTV |
| Channel 4 | |||||
| Channel 4 | England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland[Note 5] | Channel 4 | 1982 | Channel Four Television Corporation | UKIB/C4 |
| S4C | |||||
| S4C | Wales | Sianel 4 Cymru/Channel 4 Wales | 1982 | S4C Authority | UKIB/S4C |
Digital channels
Besides the main ITV, Channel 4, and S4C channels, there are several digital-only channels (ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV and ITVBe) owned by ITV plc and E4, More4, Film4, 4seven and 4Music operated by Channel 4.
Eurovision Song Contest
The United Kingdom's entries in the Eurovision Song Contest have been entered by the BBC each time. However, the United Kingdom's Junior Eurovision Song Contest entries were broadcast and selected by ITV from 2003 to 2005, before ITV withdrew in 2006 due to low viewing figures. ITV were also set to host the 2004 contest in Manchester, but pulled out of hosting due to financial and scheduling issues, as well as the previous years poor viewing figures. The contest was eventually held in Lillehammer, Norway.[7]
S4C announced on 9 May 2018 that Wales would debut at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Minsk, Belarus.[8] However, S4C withdrew from the contest in 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for their withdrawal, and have not returned since.[9] On 25 August 2022, it was confirmed that the United Kingdom would return to the contest in 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, with the BBC replacing ITV as the country's broadcaster.[10]