Timeline of television in Northern Ireland facts for kids

Welcome to a cool timeline about television in Northern Ireland! It shows how TV started and grew there, from the very first signals to today's amazing shows. Get ready to explore how people in Northern Ireland watched their favorite programmes over the years!

The 1950s: TV Arrives!

1953: First TV Signals

• 1953
  • 1 May – Television first arrived in Northern Ireland! It started with a temporary signal from Glencairn. This was just in time for the Queen's Coronation, a very important event.

1954: New Shows Begin

• 1954
  • 26 November – The BBC launched a new news show. It was called Ulster Mirror and came out every two weeks.

1955: Permanent TV Tower

• 1955
  • 21 July – The Divis transmitting station was turned on. This was the first permanent TV tower in Northern Ireland.

1957: Daily News & More Coverage

• 1957
  • 30 September – BBC Northern Ireland started a daily news show. It was called Today in Northern Ireland and replaced Ulster Mirror.
  • 18 December – TV signals reached the north-western parts of Northern Ireland. This happened when the Londonderry tower was switched on. It brought the BBC Television Service to that area.

1958: New TV Company Plans

• 1958
  • September – A group called the Independent Television Authority looked for a company to run a new TV channel in Northern Ireland. Two groups wanted the job. The Authority asked them to work together. They also wanted more local investment from Catholic sources.

1959: Ulster Television Launches

• 1959
  • 20 February – A new magazine show called Studio Eight started. It added to the ten-minute Today in Northern Ireland news.
  • 31 October – Ulster Television (UTV) officially began broadcasting! It started at 4:45 PM from the Black Mountain transmitting station in Belfast. The signal didn't cover all of Northern Ireland yet. Plans were made for another tower in the west.

The 1960s: Growing Up

1962: More Studios & News Changes

• 1962
  • Ulster Television opened a second studio. It was at their main building, Havelock House, Belfast.
  • 17 September – Today in Northern Ireland was replaced. A longer, 20-minute show called Six O'Clock took its place.

1963: ITV Reaches the West

• 1963
  • 18 February – The Strabane transmitting station opened. This brought ITV shows to the western parts of Northern Ireland for the first time.

1964: BBC Expands West

• 1964
  • Newsview became Ulster Television's main local news show.
  • 24 February – The Brougher Mountain transmitting station was turned on. This brought BBC Television to the western areas of Northern Ireland.

1966: BBC Two Arrives

• 1966
  • 11 June – BBC2 Northern Ireland started broadcasting. At first, it only came from the Divis tower.

1968: New BBC News Show

• 1968
  • January – Scene Around Six launched on BBC Northern Ireland. This was a new news programme.
  • 3 August – A strike by TV technicians forced ITV channels off the air for weeks. Ulster Television showed a national feed from London. The strike ended on 18 August.

1969: UTV News Changes

• 1969
  • UTV Reports replaced Roundabout as Ulster Television's main local news show.

The 1970s: Colour TV & Strikes

1970: Colour TV Begins

• 1970
  • 14 September – Ulster Television and BBC1 started broadcasting in colour! This new service came from the Divis transmitting station.

1973: Spotlight on Current Events

• 1973
  • Spotlight, a weekly show about current events from BBC Northern Ireland, began.

1975: Colour TV Spreads West

• 1975
  • 1 December – The Limavady transmitting station started broadcasting colour TV. This brought BBC1, BBC2, and Ulster Television in colour to the north-west. The Londonderry tower also helped with coverage.

1977: Strabane Gets Colour

• 1977
  • July – Colour broadcasting began from the Strabane transmitting station. This meant BBC1, BBC2, and Ulster Television were now in colour from this tower.

1978: Brougher Mountain Gets Colour

• 1978
  • July – Colour broadcasting started from the Brougher Mountain transmitting station. This also brought BBC1, BBC2, and Ulster Television in colour from this tower.

1979: Longer News & Another Strike

• 1979
  • Good Evening Ulster replaced UTV Reports as Ulster Television's local news. It was the first hour-long local news show in the UK.
  • 10 August – A ten-week ITV strike forced Ulster Television off the air. The strike ended on 24 October.

The 1980s: New Hours & Breakfast TV

1980: UTV Keeps Its Licence

• 1980
  • 28 December – The Independent Broadcasting Authority announced that Ulster Television would keep its licence to broadcast.

1982: All-Day Broadcasting

• 1982
  • Ulster Television started broadcasting all day again. For a few years, they had shorter hours, sometimes not starting until noon.

1983: Breakfast TV Arrives

• 1983
  • 17 January – Breakfast Time, the UK's first breakfast show, launched on BBC1. BBC Northern Ireland could add its own short news updates.
  • 1 February – ITV's breakfast TV service, TV-am, began. It was a UK-wide show with no specific Northern Irish content. Ulster Television's broadcast day now started at 9:25 AM.

1984: News Show Relaunch

• 1984
  • 3 September – Scene Around Six was relaunched and renamed Inside Ulster.

1985: Old TV System Ends

• 1985
  • 3 January – This was the last day of broadcasting using the old 405-line television system.
  • 7 May – Inside Ulster moved to an earlier time slot, 5:35 PM.

1988: 24-Hour TV

• 1988
  • 3 October – Ulster Television began broadcasting 24 hours a day.

The 1990s: UTV Changes & Digital TV

1991: UTV Keeps Licence Again

• 1991
  • 16 October – Ulster Television kept its broadcasting licence. Two other groups wanted it and offered more money. However, one group's business plan wasn't good enough, and the other didn't meet quality standards.

1993: UTV Live & New Name

• 1993
  • 4 January – Ulster Television's news service was renamed UTV Live. The show became 60 minutes long instead of 30.
  • 4 June – Ulster Television officially changed its on-air name to UTV. They also started using their own local promotions instead of ITV network ones.
  • UTV's expanded studios at Havelock House, Belfast were officially opened by former newsreader Gloria Hunniford.

1996: BBC Newsline Launches

• 1996
  • 12 February – BBC Northern Ireland's news show was relaunched as BBC Newsline. The main evening show returned to its 6:30 PM time.
  • BBC Northern Ireland launched a weekly political show called Hearts and Minds.

1998: Good Friday Agreement & Digital TV

• 1998
  • 10 April – After long talks, the final draft of the Good Friday Agreement was almost ready. BBC Two changed its schedule to cover the important press conference at Castle Buildings in Stormont Estate.
  • 23 September – BBC Choice launched, which included a special section for Northern Ireland on weeknights. This was before digital TV became widely available.
  • 15 November – Digital terrestrial television officially launched in the UK.

1999: New Channels & News Changes

• 1999
  • C9TV (Channel 9 Television) launched as a local TV station in Derry.
  • 8 March – UTV Live moved to 5:30 PM. The first half-hour, with lighter stories and weather, was called UTV Life. The main news was then called UTV Live at Six.
  • 28 June – Ulster Television launched a second channel, TV You. It was only available to people with digital terrestrial or NTL cable TV.

The 2000s: Channel Changes & News Mergers

2000: TV You Becomes UTV2

• 2000
  • TV You was renamed UTV2.

2001: BBC Choice Northern Ireland Closes

• 2001
  • 30 March – BBC Choice Northern Ireland closed. Regional shows on BBC Two then became available on digital TV.

2002: UTV2 Closes & News Merges

• 2002
  • 22 January – UTV2 closed. This happened after a deal to replace UTV2 with ITV2.
  • UTV Live and UTV Life were combined into one hour-long show, starting at 5:30 PM.

2004: Belfast Local Channel

• 2004
  • 9 February – Belfast's local channel NVTV started broadcasting.

2007: News Split & C9TV Changes

• 2007
  • February – UTV Live and UTV Life were split into separate shows again. Other news updates were called UTV News.
  • C9TV stopped making new programmes. Most of its broadcast time became repeats of Sky News.

2009: News Changes & C9TV Closes

• 2009
  • February – Mid-morning and weekend UTV Live updates were stopped. UTV was allowed to reduce its weekly news time.
  • 6 February – Due to cost cuts, UTV Life ended.
  • 27 April – UTV launched a 30-minute late-night news and current affairs show. It was called UTV Live Tonight and followed the News at Ten.
  • C9TV stopped broadcasting after ten years.

The 2010s: HD TV & Ownership Changes

2010: UTV HD Launches

• 2010
  • 5 October – UTV HD (High Definition) launched, but only on Virgin Media.

2011: UTV +1 Launches

• 2011
  • 11 January – At 8:00 PM, UTV +1 launched. This channel showed programmes one hour later.

2012: Political Show Changes & Digital Switchover

• 2012
  • 21 June – The last episode of BBC Northern Ireland's political show Hearts and Minds aired. A new show called The View replaced it in September.
  • October – Belfast local channel NVTV stopped broadcasting on TV. It continued to stream its shows online.
  • 23 October – Digital switchover was completed in the UK. Old analogue TV signals in Northern Ireland were turned off.
  • 24 October – BBC One Northern Ireland and UTV started broadcasting in high definition on Freeview.

2013: UTV HD Expands

• 2013
  • 4 November – UTV HD launched on Sky and Freesat.

2014: NVTV Relaunches

• 2014
  • 29 September – NVTV relaunched after getting a new 12-year local TV licence.

2015: UTV Sold to ITV

• 2015
  • 19 October – UTV Media announced it would sell its ITV channel and the UTV brand to ITV plc for £100 million. The sale was completed on 29 February 2016.

2016: UTV Life Returns & New Look

• 2016
  • January – UTV Life returned as a weekly 30-minute Friday night show. Pamela Ballantine presented it.
  • 29 September – The 30-minute UTV Live Tonight was stopped. It was replaced by a shorter ten-minute news update and a new Monday night show called View from Stormont. UTV Life also returned to a weekly prime-time slot at 8:00 PM.
  • 16 October – The last live announcement on UTV was made. The next day, UTV launched a new look that was more like the main ITV network.

2018: New UTV Studios & BBC Two HD

• 2018
  • 1 July – ITV closed UTV's old studios at Havelock House, Belfast. UTV started broadcasting from a new centre at City Quays 2 in Belfast Harbour Estate.
  • 29 November – BBC Two Northern Ireland started broadcasting in HD.

See also

• Timeline of Ulster Television