Grampian Television

Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and which, decades later, was merged with the Central Belt channel STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William and Lochaber), Grampian, Tayside (except the Kinross area), and parts of north Fife. Grampian went on the air on 30 September 1961. The company was bought out in 1997 by STV Group (the parent company of STV, the Channel 3 broadcaster in Central Scotland). The name Grampian Television was retired in 2006 and the channel is now known as STV on-air. STV runs one service which covers both central and northern Scotland but with separate news bulletins. Legally, however, the two services are still licensed separately; the northern licence is held by STV North, which is owned and operated by STV Group plc (formerly SMG plc), and the southern licence by STV Central (previously known as Scottish Television). As an independent company, Grampian had a very distinctive local personality which was quite different from STV's. After the station was bought, it gradually assimilated with STV, culminating in the change of name in 2006. STV did not adopt the generic ITV branding that is now used in the other Channel 3 regions which are owned by ITV plc. STV's regional news programme for Northern Scotland is called STV News at Six and is supplemented by short news bulletins on weekdays. The station also produces regional television commercials. In 2007, the United Kingdom began its five year programme to end analogue television broadcasts as part of the switchover to digital transmissions, with the eight transmitters covering the STV North region (Angus, Rosemarkie, Knockmore, Eitshal, Durris, Bressay, Rumster Forest and Keelylang Hill) switching over from May to October 2010. The digital switchover ended in 2012.