Thistle TV was a locally broadcast commercial television station for Lanarkshire, Scotland, which launched as "Lanarkshire TV", and operated from April 1999 until May 2005.
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lanarkshire |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Thistle Television Ltd |
| History | |
| Launched | 11 April 1999 |
| Replaced | Lanarkshire TV |
| Closed | 17 May 2005 (6 years, 36 days) |
| Availability (at time of closure) | |
| Terrestrial | |
| ITV Digital | Channel 48 |
Lanarkshire TV
editLanarkshire TV (LTV) was set up with a £2,000, four-year licence from the ITC and was the model for up to 60 other local television stations that were expected to start transmitting in subsequent years. The channel began broadcasting on 11 April 1999.
Ahead of its launch, managing director John MacKenzie told The Herald newspaper: "LTV will cover both local and national issues which directly or indirectly affect the people of Lanarkshire."[1]
The station broadcast from the former Hartwood Hospital near Shotts, which had previously been used as a mental health facility. Because of that link, the channel was often dubbed "Loony TV".[citation needed]
Broadcasting on Channel 67 on the ONdigital platform, it was on 24 hours a day, offering local news, chat shows and weather and travel bulletins. It also broadcast a mixture of locally produced programmes and newer films. It also aired content such as a talent show called "Talented Lanarkshire", a quiz programme called Remote Control, which was once broadcast from Lanark Grammar School, and a local constable appealing for witnesses in a small-scale version of Crimewatch. Tall Tales had a puppet called "Bookworm" reading to the under-fives. And the nature slot, Animal Magic, saw a camera crew dispatched to the zoo. The cookery programme amounted to a visit to a local restaurant, where the chef of the house cooks a meal.[citation needed]
Financial problems
editLess than a year after launch, it was reported in March 2000 that the station was nearing closure because of financial problems. The failure to pay any of its 32 staff since Christmas Eve 1999, prompted Shereen Tulloch, the breakfast show anchor, to leave suddenly. Her colleagues said she left "to become a weather girl in London" but, whatever the reason, it spelt the end of Good Morning Lanarkshire. Since the beginning of March 2000, LTV broadcasts began at 4pm.[citation needed]
Despite heavy criticism from newspapers, the ITC heaped praise on the station. Speaking to the Independent newspaper, one ITC staff member commented:
"The problem is that the management was overambitious at the beginning, trying to broadcast from 8am till midnight, with 90 per cent of the output home produced. But there is still a lot of commitment to make this work."[2]
Thistle TV
editThistle TV replaced Lanarkshire TV in 2001. The new service was broadcast to a wider catchment area, extending southwards from Airdrie to include much of East Kilbride, Hamilton, Motherwell, Wishaw, Larkhall, Strathaven and rural areas of South Lanarkshire,[3] and interspersed its local material with simulcasts of Sky News and the QVC shopping channel. However, it failed to attract enough investors or advertisers and stopped broadcasting in May 2005.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Lanarkshire TV in picture". The Herald. 1 April 1999. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Jack (14 March 2000). "'Loony TV', the first local channel, faces closedown". Independent. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ Welsh, James (17 March 2003). "Lanarkshire TV RSL re-awarded to Thistle". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ Moran, Joe (3 September 2013). "The bizarre world of 1970s hyper-local TV". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2024.