Celebrating 70 Years of ITV - and FOUR’s Place in the Story

This autumn, ITV celebrates 70 years on air, a huge milestone in British broadcasting history. On 22nd September 1955, Independent Television first went to air, bringing with it a bold new alternative to the BBC and changing the shape of television forever. From Survival to Midsomer Murders and Minder to Downton Abbey, ITV has produced some of the nation’s most memorable shows, entertaining millions while also driving social conversation.

At FOUR, ITV’s 70th birthday has got us reflecting - not just on the channel’s huge impact on British culture, but on how our own story is linked to its early days.

FOUR can trace its heritage back to the 1960s when Jimmy Hartley, promotions manager for Anglia Television, spotted a gap in the market. At the time, most PR and publicity agencies were London-based. Jimmy saw an opportunity for a regional agency that could support local businesses and broadcasters alike and so Anglian Publicity Services was born in Norwich. Over time, the business expanded into other regions, including Ipswich, Leeds and Bristol, eventually becoming Inter Regional PR, before evolving into the FOUR you know today.

FOUR’s Chairman, Peter Treglown, reflects: "ITV’s 70th is a milestone to celebrate, and it’s a reminder of the journey FOUR has taken alongside it. From humble regional beginnings to a team with national reach, just like ITV, our focus has always been on telling stories that matter."

When ITV first launched, it operated as a network of regional franchises rather than a single channel, with each one serving its own audience in a distinctive way. Anglia Television, which started broadcasting in 1959, became especially well known for its wildlife programming and regional storytelling and its values of authenticity, creativity and connection continue to be mirrored in the way we work at FOUR today.

Of course, ITV has changed dramatically over the decades. Regional programming has largely disappeared and new formats - from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! to Love Island - dominate prime time. After seven decades, ITV is still all about telling stories that matter and entertaining, inspiring and igniting debate across the nation.

And in many ways, that’s the same ethos that drives FOUR. From our local roots to our national reach, our focus has always been on helping organisations tell their stories in ways that make an impact. As ITV celebrates 70 years, we’re proud to share a little of its DNA and are just as excited about the future as we are proud of our past, so watch this space…