ITV Meridian

ITV Meridian
TypeRegion of television network
BrandingITV1
Country
First air date
1 January 1993; 31 years ago (1993-01-01)
Founded16 October 1991; 33 years ago (1991-10-16) (company)
TV transmittersRowridge, Dover, Hannington, Bluebell Hill, Midhurst, Whitehawk Hill, Heathfield;
Oxford (since 2015)
HeadquartersWhiteley, Hampshire
(previously Southampton)
Broadcast area
Central Southern England, South East England, Thames Valley
OwnerITV plc (2004–present)
Granada plc (2000–2004)
United News & Media (1996–2000)
Dissolvedlost on-air identity on 27 October 2002 (2002-10-27) (now known as ITV1 at all times)
Former names
Meridian Broadcasting
Picture format
1080i HDTV, downscaled to 16:9 576i for SDTV
Affiliation(s)ITV
Official website
itv.com/meridian
LanguageEnglish
ReplacedTVS

ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England.[1] The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited. Meridian Broadcasting Ltd was one of several (but not all) ITV plc-owned regional companies to have its legal name changed on 29 December 2006, when it became ITV Meridian Ltd. This company is, along with most other regional companies owned by ITV plc, listed with Companies House as a "Dormant company".

The company broadcasts to the region from transmitters at Hannington, Midhurst, Rowridge, Whitehawk Hill, Hastings, Heathfield, Tunbridge Wells, Bluebell Hill, Dover[2] and, since 2015, Oxford (previously part of the ITV Central region), as well as associated relays.

Today, ITV Meridian operates from studios in Whiteley, Hampshire, producing regional news services for three sub-regions, covering the South Coast of England, the South East of England and the Thames Valley.

  1. ^ "Meridian licence". Ofcom. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Your Guide to switchover" (PDF). Digital UK. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012. Includes map of coverage area and transmitter groups included.