ABC Television

ABC executed a contract with the Independent Television Authority (ITA) one day prior to the launch of ITV in 1955. ABC was not initially a contender but was brought in by the ITA after one of the original franchise winners, Kemsley-Winnick, became insolvent. The ITA granted ABC two weekend franchises for the North and Midlands regions and ABC acquired Kemsley-Winnick’s television equipment at a reduced cost. In the 1968 franchise auction round, ABC lost both of its franchises to Granada Television, Yorkshire Television, and ATV. To prevent losing ABC, the ITA merged them with Rediffusion to form Thames Television.