ITV Westcountry Live 2007 – 2009

Finally, ITV regional news programmes went widescreen in December 2007. With one exception – Westcountry News, which remained in 4:3 resized to 14:9. The reason for this? ITV plc had submitted plans to Ofcom asking to streamline its regional news services in a cost-cutting measure, reducing the number of news programmes from the current 17 to 9. For Westcountry viewers this would involve merging the Westcountry News and HTV West news operations, resulting in one pan-regional programme from Bristol.

On 25 September 2008. Ofcom, as widely predicted, approved the plans and Westcountry Television will close with the loss of around 75 jobs. This hugely retrograde decision will set the clock back 50 years in terms of local broadcasting, in that for the first time since 1961, Devon and Cornwall will no longer have their own dedicated local news service other than that offered by the BBC.

Westcountry’s controller Jane McCloskey made several stage-managed appearances on local news programmes insisting the new arrangements will serve the viewer better, while ITV plc refused to comment. Westcountry News (and the Westcountry franchise) is expected to close early in 2009 – subject to approval, but it’s unlikely Ofcom or the DCMS will grow a backbone in the meantime.