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PICTURED: UTV break bumper.

UTV brand reaching point of no return

Posted on 4th September 2020 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 2nd April 2021 Filed under Opinion

If you’ve been missing UTV continuity, the next few weeks will be vital. Either the voices of Gillian and Julian – plus the brand – will be back, or it will look like the point of no return has been reached.

ITV’s daytime schedule is now back to normal. From 14th September the structure of the peaktime schedule returns to normal when the soaps go back to 6 episodes per week. UTV’s weekly political programme View from Stormont also returns then.

Tweets from UTV news presenter Paul Clark also suggest normal dual presentation at 6pm will resume soon:

You may not have long to wait…

— Paul Clark (stay safe) (@PaulClark_UTV) September 1, 2020

So by 14th September, it looks like there will be a degree of normality around ITV and UTV. The public will see the full return of the soaps as the return of normality on the third channel.

With more people returning to work and furlough coming towards its end, there will come the point when it is harder to say a job is impossible to do. And, from a marketing point of view, would it simply make sense to start making distinct UTV trails again or bring back what can now be described as the old idents?

My own bet is that if UTV continuity has not returned by mid-October, we can assume it won’t be back in the foreseeable future.

Indeed it could be argued that there would be little practical sense in bringing it back until the pandemic is finally over. Imagine: UTV continuity returning for a month then going again should restrictions be re-imposed.

Of course, it’s worth remembering that the broader viewing public will see things rather differently to those with an interest in marketing or pres.

The UTV name itself is not in question at present – if the changes to trails and continuity become permanent, the UTV name would remain within the news, weather and some local productions including UTV Life once it returns.

If this argument sounds familiar, it’s because it echoes what happened in 2002 when regional continuity disappeared in England. The only names to completely disappear then were those of the London stations Carlton and LWT. Other names lived on in regional output – even that of HTV which, despite being retired as a channel name, lived on in news bulletins for another year or so.

For the broad viewing public, the big change on UTV was in 2016 when the announcers went out-of-vision.

Other than pres fans, how many would have a strong opinion now if the current arrangements became permanent, as long as nobody involved lost out personally?

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PICTURED: UTV break bumper. COPYRIGHT: ITV plc.

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Tags: Gillian Porter, ITV plc, Julian Simmons, On-Screen Presentation, UTV, UTV Life, UTV Live, View from Stormont

Dates for the Diary

30th January: BBC Reporting Scotland moves to a temporary set. The programme will move back to a refurbished Studio C in the summer.

30th/31st January: BBC One East HD and BBC One East Midlands HD launch on satellite.

6th/7th February: BBC One West Midlands HD, BBC One East Yorkshire/Lincolnshire HD and BBC Alba HD launch on satellite. BBC One/Two Wales SD services close on satellite.

13th/14th February: BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD, BBC One London HD and BBC RB1 HD launch on satellite.

20th/21st February: BBC One North East and Cumbria HD, BBC One North West HD, BBC One Yorkshire HD and BBC Parliament HD launch on satellite. BBC One Scotland SD and BBC Scotland SD services close on satellite.

22nd/23rd February: BBC One South East HD launches on satellite.

February 2023: new set for BBC Midlands Today goes live.

13th February 2023: Sky Kids launches.

Q1 2023: BBC Chameleon branding introduced on air for BBC Weather, CBBC and CBeebies.

April 2023: BBC News Channel and BBC World News merge.

November/December 2023: World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23).

Q1 2024: SD versions of BBC channels close on satellite.

2024: BBC Four and CBBC go online-only.

2024: BBC Radio 4 Extra goes online-only.

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