Independent Television Service for Wales and the West
| Company type | Provisional emergency broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Fate | Replaced by Harlech Television |
Area served | Wales and the West of England |
Independent Television Service for Wales and the West (ITSWW) functioned as a provisional emergency broadcaster established by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) after the premature cessation of Television Wales and the West (TWW)'s franchise, which was terminated following its franchise loss announcement in 1967.
Background
In June 1967, the ITA revealed plans to restructure the ITV network effective from July 1968. Among these changes was the decision to revoke the Wales and West franchise, previously held by TWW since 1958. The new contract was granted to a consortium headed by Lord Harlech.
TWW challenged this ruling through legal action and public relations efforts. Despite their resistance, the ITA upheld its authority to withdraw broadcasting licences at will. Eventually, TWW acquiesced and consented to maintain broadcasts until their licence expired.
Issues with TWW
Regulatory norms mandated that the incoming licensee retain all personnel from the outgoing broadcaster. However, Harlech Television, the new franchise holder, intended to dismiss all of TWW’s on-screen staff and relaunch with an entirely new team.
The TWW board was advised against accepting an equity stake in Harlech proposed by the ITA, a move that caused a decline in TWW’s share price. To optimize shareholder value, the board decided to effectively "sell" the remaining duration of their broadcasting contract to Harlech for £500,000. This transaction received ITA approval; nevertheless, Harlech was unprepared to commence production immediately and had to rely on existing TWW programming at launch.
ITA's interim arrangement
To manage the transition, the ITA arranged for Harlech to collect all advertising income from the handover date while compensating TWW for continuing local production during this interim period. Harlech worked on developing its own content for its planned launch on 31 July. Meanwhile, the temporary service operated under the impartial title Independent Television Service for Wales and the West (ITSWW).
This approach provided a transitional buffer between TWW’s closure and Harlech’s official start. Despite this, many pre-recorded TWW programmes retained "TWW presents" branding and featured TWW announcers on screen, preserving a sense of continuity. A temporary station ident displaying four white horizontal bars accompanied by electronic music was introduced alongside the existing TWW clock—an element nicknamed "TWW's revenge" by local media. This setup persisted for just under three months.
On air, ITSWW was not explicitly identified by name but continued broadcasting both former TWW services as 'South Wales and West' and 'Teledu Cymru', each prefixed with "Independent Television Service". Detailed advertisements in broadsheet newspapers informed viewers about these arrangements; no promotional material appeared in tabloid press.