[JAS84]

Why have Meridian and Granada's names survived in the names of their local news programmes? Neither name describes the region.

[Stuart]

Why have Meridian and Granada's names survived in the names of their local news programmes? Neither name describes the region.

They have only remained for the regional news programmes as the franchise names aren't really mentioned elsewhere. Calendar also doesn't say anything about 'Yorkshire', just as Central doesn't really scream 'Midlands' to anyone.

They're just legacy names which ITV don't feel the need to change.

[VMPhil]

It's worth remembering that building trust in news brands takes a long time - to simply replace well regarded news brands like Granada Reports or Calendar and effectively having to start again to build brand trust and awareness would be foolish unless there was a really good reason to do it. As there isn't, the names remain.

Let's just be thankful that the 2013 rebrand era long-winded introduction of "This is ITV News, you're watching Granada Reports" has long gone...

[Spencer]

It's worth remembering that building trust in news brands takes a long time - to simply replace well regarded news brands like Granada Reports or Calendar and effectively having to start again to build brand trust and awareness would be foolish unless there was a really good reason to do it. As there isn't, the names remain.

Let's just be thankful that the 2013 rebrand era long-winded introduction of "This is ITV News, you're watching Granada Reports" has long gone...

It might have gone from Granada, but Calendar are still using that style of intro, as seen on the autocues here...

twitter.com 

[VMPhil]

It might have gone from Granada, but Calendar are still using that style of intro, as seen on the autocues here...

twitter.com 

Oh wow! I had no idea. Shame they don't say "Welcome to ITV News for the Calendar region"!

[radiorebel]

How is American broadcast television watchable in its current state?

How disjointed it is always confused me. After a commercial break they play the last few minutes of a programme and go straight into the beginning of the next programme then another commercial break.

Not to mention the local news which runs for hours and hours constantly.

Also the names of the stations? I understand it’s a callsign but why would a channel still refer itself to something like WXPLBIILTV today?

[Neil Jones]

IIRC the call signs are historic and pre-date TV and radio. It was to do with the geography of the Mississippi River and which side of it you were on. They're part of the branding for a lot of stations now.

We have had American style station names over here on occasion.

[Technologist]

And of course you have Broadcasters note the capital B ….. in the USA .
They are all local ….hence the predominance of local news www.nab.org 

NAB: The Voice for America's Radio and TV Broadcasters
The voice for the nation's radio and television broadcasters.
  Source: www.nab.org

And you must watch the commercials if they are in a programme ….
Call signs are K west of the Mississippi W to the east since 1921

Sadly in the uk COSTA changing from 60 min window to clock hour
reduced the number commercials between programmes as they start /finish on the hour

[Steve in Pudsey]

Why have Meridian and Granada's names survived in the names of their local news programmes? Neither name describes the region.

In Granada's case, what would you suggest that doesn't sound too close to North West Today/Tonight?

[Stooky Bill]

 just as Central doesn't really scream 'Midlands' to anyone.

It describes the part of the country it covers - the centre of England. 

Thing is that between the two broadcasters all the geographic terms for many parts of the country have been taken. So the ITV news in the South had never had the word South in the title as there's always been South Today. 'Anglia' has always been an ITV word and 'East' a BBC one. 

'Midlands' has always been what the BBC regional news was called, so the ITV company took another geographic term.

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Why have Meridian and Granada's names survived in the names of their local news programmes? Neither name describes the region.

Meridian kinda does. The explanation behind the name was because the Greenwich Meridian went through the region. Of course it goes through a couple of others too, but I suppose in their case it's roughly the boundary between the South and South East part of the region. 

But what else to call it? 'South' clashes with the BBC's programme and anything 'coast' is a bit odd in Oxfordshire. TVS's Coast to Coast programme name made little sense in places like Reading back in the day