?This exciting book goes to the heart of a creative commercial
and public service culture - it shows why ITV matters and how
it was made to work so well. A tremendous contribution.?

Professor Jean Seaton, University of Westminster


?This is a valuable addition to studies of ITV's history and
programming...?

Tom O'Malley, Professor of Media Studies, University of Wales, Aberyswyth, and Co-Editor of Media History.

Since breaking the BBC?s monopoly in 1955, ITV has been at the
centre of the British television landscape. To coincide with the
fiftieth anniversary of the first ITV broadcast, this accessible book
offers a range of perspectives on the complex and multifaceted history of
Britain?s first commercial broadcaster.

The book explores key tensions and conflicts which have influenced the
ITV service. Chapters focus on particular institutions, including
London Weekend Television and ITN, and programme forms, including
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Upstairs Downstairs and Trisha.
The contributors show that ITV has had to tread an uneasy line between
public service and commercial imperatives, between a pluralistic regional
structure and a national network, and between popular appeal and
quality programming. A timeline of key events in the history of ITV is also
included.

ITV Cultures provides a timely intervention in debates on broadcasting
and cultural history for academics and researchers, and a lively
introduction to the history of ITV for students and general readers.

Contributors: Rod Allen, City University; Jonathan Bignell, University of Reading; John Ellis, Royal Holloway, University of London; Jackie Harrison, University of Sheffield; Jamie Medhurst, University of Wales, Aberystwyth; Matt Hills, Cardiff University; Steve Neale, University of Exeter; Helen Wheatley, University of Reading; Sherryl Wilson, Bournemouth University.