Border Television

Border TV officially went on air on September 1st, 1961, with a seven-month delay due to transmitter construction difficulties. The franchise covered Cumbria and parts of Northumberland in England, as well as Southern Scotland, with the Isle of Man added to the region on March 26th, 1965. In the early 1980s, Border TV faced financial challenges and considered not renewing its franchise. The company will always be remembered for the popular quiz show ‘Mr & Mrs’ and its host, Derek Batey, Border’s Assistant Controller of Programmes.

In March 2000, there was intense competition to acquire Border TV, which was ultimately won by Capital Radio. Capital later sold the company to Granada in the same year. In 2009, the ITV Border news program was merged with ITV Tyne Tees and the Carlisle studio was closed. However, news services returned to the region within five years. The Isle of Man was transferred to ITV Granada in 2009, while ITV Border continued to broadcast to the North of the island. In 2013, ITV Border returned with a reduced service, with its ‘Lookaround’ program still broadcast from Gateshead. ITV Border now operates a small studio in North Carlisle for news bulletins and editing purposes.