New Year changes for UTV?

ITV’s new look is due to appear on 1st January. It’ll be an exciting day for pres fans. A dramatic change to the look of ITV plus the big unanswered question – what, if anything, will change on UTV?

ITV branding has been creeping in recently – notably in sponsorship announcements. But will the new look ITV lead to big changes in Northern Ireland straight away?

One possibility is that UTV will simply retain its current look with minimal changes. That would appear odd – why bother to bring in a new look to bring the station into line with ITV only to diverge significantly again two years later? On the other hand, how many viewers get this?

At the other extreme is the nuclear option – a full change to network trails, idents and continuity? Some bad PR would certainly seem inevitable if this happened and if could be misconceived by some as the big boys making a significant cut to UTV. Of course, those in the know are aware the big cuts were actually made in 2016.

Or could there be a “middle way” – new idents which openly acknowledge UTV as part of ITV but which retain the UTV name, perhaps as a prominent logo in the corner? Plus the familiar local voices?

The last option may well prove the most obvious but who knows? If you aren’t nursing a hangover, tune in at 9.25am on 1st January when all will become clear.

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