, later '''Rediffusion London''', was the
British Independent Television (commercial television) contractor for London, on weekdays between
1954 (transmissions started on
September 22 ,
1955 ) and
July 29 ,
1968 . Its headquarters were at
Television House in
Kingsway ,
London .
The company was originally a partnership between
British Electric Traction (BET) and its subsidiary
Broadcast Relay Services (trading as Rediffusion Limited) and
Associated Newspapers , owners of the
Daily Mail . In the aftermath of the fearful financial losses that the new ITV system made in its initial years, Associated Newspapers sold the majority of their share to BET and Rediffusion, although the company did not drop the word "Associated" from their name until 1964. Associated Newspapers later owned a stake of
Southern Television .
Captain
Thomas Brownrigg RN (Retired), the general manager of Associated-Rediffusion from 1955, had a very clear idea of what his new commercial television station was to be like - the
BBC Television Service, with advertisements. To this end, the station had a heraldic-style on-air clock, referred to as "Mitch" by staff (after chief station announcer
Leslie Mitchell , who had not only made the first announcement when A-R went on the air in 1955, but had done the same when the BBC TV service started in
1936 ). A-R was determined to be the long arm of the
1930s extending into the
1950s , continuing the notion that Britain and the Empire counted for something in the world.
The strategy allayed any fears that the new commercial TV service would be aimed at the bottom of the market. Associated-Rediffusion made ITV respectable. A-R certainly introduced popular game shows, but can also take credit for providing a raft of quality programming across all genres and for gaining a massive audience both in its own London area and, as the ITV network grew, for programmes shown across the country.
The company was based at Television House, Kingsway, London, which previously had been known as Adastral House when it was the headquarters of the Air Ministry - this gave its name to A-R's logo, the 16-point ''Adastral Star'', which appeared not only at the start and end of each commercial break but also between each advertisement. (The motto of the Royal Air Force is "per ardua, ad astra" - "through adversity to the stars").
In
1964 the directors had a change of heart, pensioning off Captain Brownrigg to the south coast and a directorship of the ''
TV Times '', and rebranding the station as "Rediffusion, London", with a very hip
1960s style, the face of swinging London in the shiny prosperous new Britain. However, the new Rediffusion did not survive for long - in
1967 the
Independent Television Authority announced that there was no place for Rediffusion in the redrawn franchise pattern. The parent company,
BET , took a 49% stake in the successor company,
Thames Television , which was formed by Rediffusion and
ABC Television. Most of the staff went to work for
London Weekend Television and some to the new
Yorkshire Television .
Programmes produced by Associated-Rediffusion and Rediffusion London included ''
Double Your Money '', ''
Take Your Pick '', ''
Ready, Steady, Go! '', ''
Do Not Adjust Your Set '', ''
This Week '', ''Crane'', ''Riviera Police'', ''No Hiding Place'', ''Top Secret'', ''Five O'Clock Club'', and ''
At Last The 1948 Show ''.
BET and Rediffusion Limited had strong links with the former British colonies. These included holding the consessions for wired and over-the-air radio and television stations. A subsidiary company, Overseas Rediffusion, operated these stations and also sold advertising time and programming for them. Stations included the radio station Rediffusion Barbados, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the wired television service Rediffusion
Hong Kong , the latter now known as
Asia Television .
In the
1990s , the name "Associated-Rediffusion Television" and the adastral trademark were acquired by
Victor Lewis-Smith , and are now used by his production company.
James Thurber once claimed that "Associated-Rediffusion" sounded more like a rare neurological disorder than a television company.
Company names:
- Associated-Rediffusion Television Limited ( 1954 - 1964 )
- Rediffusion Television Limited ( 1964 - 1968 )
On-air names:
- Associated-Rediffusion (1955-1964)
- Rediffusion London (1964-1968)
Initials used:
- AR-TV (1955-1964)
- A-R (1955-1964)
