TWW

Television Wales and the West (TWW) commenced its broadcasts on January 14, 1958, at 4:45pm with a 15-minute live opening ceremony. The event was graced by station chairman Lord Derby, Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards, and Alfred Francis, with chief continuity announcer Bruce Lewis serving as the master of ceremonies.

In the 1967 franchise review, TWW lost its license to the Harlech Consortium, which wooed the regulators with promises of star-studded entertainment and high-quality documentaries. Feeling aggrieved, TWW chose to exit its franchise prematurely, even though several months remained on its contract. The company sold the remaining five months to Harlech for £500,000, despite Harlech not being ready to commence broadcasting.

The Independent Television Authority (ITA) stepped in to fill the programming void. A stopgap service, named the Independent Television Service for Wales and the West, was established. Broadcasting from TWW’s former Pontcanna studios in Cardiff and staffed by ex-TWW employees, this interim service operated until Harlech (later rebranded as HTV) was prepared to assume its franchise responsibilities early, on May 20, 1968.