In a move that signaled the end of commercial television’s freewheeling early years, Britain’s Independent Television Authority announced a major shake-up of the ITV network in January 1964. The new plans, spearheaded by ITA chairman Lord Hill, introduced a series of tough controls designed to improve program quality and give the regulator direct power over what appeared on screen.
The core of the new system was the creation of a public “watchdog” committee. This new advisory council of twenty-six members was established to forward the ordinary viewer’s comments on programming directly to the regulator. According to a Daily Mirror report from the time, the ITA was taking direct aim at specific content: “unnecessary violence, suggestive scenes, unpleasant themes in plays, and programmes unsuitable for children for daytime viewing” were all to be eliminated.
Under the new rules, the ITA’s power was extended dramatically. For the first time, the authority would supervise all programs and advertisements before they were screened for the public. An ITA representative would even be present at the planning stage of new shows, with the power to veto any project that failed to gain approval. The changes followed a series of meetings where Lord Hill was reportedly highly critical of some of the programming produced by ITV’s fourteen companies.
The shake-up was not solely about censorship; it also included a mandate for better quality shows and more programming from the regions. To support this, the ITA created a new Head of Information and Research role, appointing Sir Harold Evans, an adviser to the Prime Minister. His job was to develop a new system of audience research to discover the impact of television programs on viewers, giving the regulator a deeper understanding of its audience.
