Television Wales and the West

Television Wales and the West
TypeRegion of television network
Branding
  TWW
  Teledu Cymru, TWW network for Wales
Country
England and Wales
First air date
14 January 1958; 66 years ago (1958-01-14)
TV transmittersSt Hilary, Preseli, Arfon, Moel-y-Parc
HeadquartersLondon, Bristol, Cardiff
Broadcast area
South Wales
West of England
West and North Wales from 1964
OwnerSelf-owned
Dissolved3 March 1968; 56 years ago (1968-03-03) (after 10 years, 49 days)
Picture format
405-line
Affiliation(s)ITV
LanguageEnglish and Welsh
ReplacedWales West and North Television in west and north Wales in 1964
Replaced byIndependent Television Service for Wales and the West

Television Wales and the West[1][2] (TWW) was the British Independent Television (commercial television) contractor for a franchise area that initially served South Wales and West of England (franchise awarded 26 October 1956, started transmissions on 14 January 1958,[3] the eighth franchise to launch) until 1968.

For the first six years, TWW's service was provided from a single VHF transmitter serving both south east Wales and the west of England. The later acquisition of Teledu Cymru in 1964 allowing TWW to extend its coverage across most of Wales and to provide separate services for the Welsh and English parts of the resulting 'dual region' franchise.

After losing their franchise to Harlech in 1967, TWW ended their service early in protest long before Harlech was ready to take over. This caused the Independent Television Authority to organise an emergency transitional service run by Harlech but using TWW's staff, leftover programming, and some assets.

  1. ^ Ident Archived 2006-07-15 at the Wayback Machine (Transdiffusion Broadcasting System / Electromusications), accessed 19 August 2006
  2. ^ Royal Television Society, accessed 19 August 2006
  3. ^ "Welsh I.T.A.; New Station on the Air To-morrow", Liverpool Echo, January 13, 1958, p. 2