[Neil Jones]

This thread is really interesting… right up my street! This might be a teeny bit OT, but it’s relevant…. I’m aware TV-am was fed directly to the TX sites outside of the main ITV distribution network… however who made the decision for it to be transmitted that way? Was it a IBA requirement? Surely it would have been easier for TV-am just to be fed to the ITV companies and they could then handle regional advertising for them etc? And I believe GMTV had its own way of transmission as well, albeit linked to the local companies? Anyone able to shed some light?

TV-am was intended to be a national service with regional adverts.
That didn't last very long, probably no more than 2 years at the absolute most, before they dismantled all that regional stuff to save some cash, as the company was haemorrhaging money like there was no tomorrow. Roland Rat steadied things for a while, until he buggered off to join the BBC and then the strike period was the next saving grace - that and the relaunch of Breakfast Time into a format akin to the original TV-am one.

The arrangement you describe was pretty much how GMTV ultimately did it, it went through the ITV companies. TV-am didn't, it was fed to the transmitters and as David Frost said on the first programme, new studios, new news service and a new national network.