SOUTHERN TV bits 31 Dec 81

[@gypsydave1]

Oh take me back to those days! I never thought I would ever say that in my lifetime but sadly yes I've said it!✌👍❤💯

[@brucedanton3669]

Thank you for this of course, most interesting it is too there. I also live in north west Kent near Dartford, but we always had Thames and LWT as our ITV area then at the time so too. I don't remember ever seeing Southern at the time though from here. Well done too!

[@brucedanton3669]

And of course thank you there for the highlighted comment so too as well!

[@Hologhoul]

Splendid English accents even by the down to earth presenters. So sad how this country has been destroyed in only 4 decades!

[@christopherhulse8385]

Would have been interesting to see what Southern Television would have been like if it had won the 1980 franchise battle.

[@harrycross3467]

It wudda been s**t

[@iancruise6927]

The same as it was before the franchise battle lol

[@brucedanton3669]

It would have been really of course indeed so then too I wonder?

[@christopherhulse8385]

I'm sure as the 80s progressed, Southern would have naturally changed, I couldn't imagine reaching say 1986 and still feeling like the station is stuck in the past?

[@TomasMaske-cu7sf]

Verity Martindill - former presenter on BFBS TV, many years ago.

[@brucedanton3669]

She was also on LWT ITV at the time, from what I remember here of course so then too.

[@saturn1returns]

Absolutely nobody in the south speaks like that. It’s now “init” “bruv” “tings”

[@flashtheoriginal]

How Runaround Out of Town Worzel Gummidge Freewheelers Day by Day All quality Good old Southern Television... became TVS, became Meridian, became bland

[@mrhammadmossop1988ul-haq]

Thanks for this upload I have subscribed to your KZbin channel

[@backupintheday9710]

It's amazing that we used to accept this standard of video clarity & definition.

[@Synthematix]

Yes no one complained like the snowflakes of today.

[@anonUK]

You know this is a home video recording made over 40 years ago?

[@VHSBits]

Bear in mind the biggest TV people could reasonably afford (usually to rent) back then was 21 inches, and most people had smaller sets than that - it looks much worse on modern screens than it would have back then

[@TheKonga88]

Better back then, now morons want more and more can never be pleased..🤡🥱🙄

[@agfagaevart]

Not everyone did! some of us had external aerials and got better PQ.

[@2008giles]

Wow - a long shift for Verity Martindill

[@mrhammadmossop1988ul-haq]

This is a great continuity junction

[@solojinglesradio1]

wonderful

[@thepowerman1000]

An advert for coal. How times have changed!

[@GrahamPearson-oo4uy]

Interesting song to close Day By Yesterday.

[@imrustyokay]

I love that Digby promo. It's very-clearly Southern-Produced, but they were so bitter, that they didn't DARE say the name of their successors TVS. At least TVS let Meridian run promos on their service.

[@brucedanton3669]

And no, TVS were not mentioned at all I guess. Presumably not even once of course?

[@Westy1971]

Surely it was a generic Itv promo, as the film was being networked. Presumably another Itv company made the promo, as it would've gone out in other regions as well!

[@brucedanton3669]

@@Westy1971 Yes of course you are I am sure so right there then too!

[@BunyanaRed1958]

I didn't know Paul Calf presented day by day on Southern television in the early 80's

[@creynolds094]

Thursday 31st December 1981

[@howtoprod1]

Sad that you don't have full "And it's goodbye from us".

[@BHUVANBEATSMUSICS]

WHAT ON TIME 1:11

[@idkany293]

Do you have the rest of the And It’s Goodbye From Us programme

[@philiphawksley9690]

I suspect this was recorded way out of signal range by an enthusiast. A couple of reasons. The picture strength varies throughout and I recall tremendous lift conditions over that New Year period. (Yeah, I am really am that old!)

[@roberthorwat6747]

A set top aerial well within range will have the same effect. Mendip transmitter was 22 miles to my house in a straight line and this was as good as you'd get with a set top aerial. Even with a signal booster you cant amplify anything if the gain is as poor as this. Your family soon get fed up of it and you have no alternative but to call the aerial company in. The minute the co ax went in the telly BOOM!!! The results were glorious👍👍👍

[@arthurvasey]

Those set-top aerials weren’t too bad on the kids” portable televisions in their bedrooms - if the parents allowed them to have tellies in their bedrooms - some households often only had the one television set, usually in the lounge, with the parents dominating the viewing choice, even for children’s television - if they did allow their kids to have a telly in their bedrooms, it was invariably a black & white portable - with set top aerials, reception could vary considerably - at the front of the house, reception on the indoor aerial could be excellent, even without a booster - in the back bedroom, it could be nonexistent, even with a booster - or, if you lived in a catchment area between two regions, such as Southern and something like ATV, you could get perfect reception from Southern at the front of the house, but not ATV, and perfect reception from ATV at the back of the house, but nothing from Southern! With ATV, Southern and Westward losing their respective franchises, who made the money from the advertising revenue? Why should ATV, Southern and Westward run advertisements to fund their successors, when their successors are yet to actually launch? Surely, as a protest, they shouldn’t have ran any ads at all - if a programme from the network had an ad break, they could have played public information films, or did a Channel 4 in their first year or so on air and played a caption that said the next part follows shortly and play some music - their own programming, be it their own home- produced stuff, imports only shown in their area or films being broadcast only in their area, could have been shown without ads! Unless they used the advertising revenue to pay the redundancy payments to staff from the old channels its successors didn’t want, whether they were announcers or people who worked behind the scenes!

[@zetametallic]

+ Phillip Hawksley I agree it's DX TV on a tropo lift. The signal worsens as the day continues and there is slight interference on the picture aside from the snow. I was 5 in 1981 but I remember that year pretty well; one of the best as my Grandparents were still alive back then.

[@johnhepworth1531]

​@arthurvasey To answer a couple of points you made, ATV did not lose their franchise, they were ordered to restructure the company to reduce Lew Grade's ownership to an investment and change the name and took the name Central. As for advertising revenues, this was all for the company showing them, so Southern were trading right to the last break. In the case of Westward , in actuality, TSW had already taken over a few months earlier but were required by the IBA to operate as Westward on screen and stick to Westward's plans until 1st of January 1982 when they were able to do their own thing. So , advertising revenues went to TSW as it was now their business. As for ATV, the revenues were for the old company's owner and the new company, Central, trades from 1st of January and the earnings go to the new shareholders. On a similar note, when Rediffusion TV in London came to the end in July 1968, their last day was a Monday, they insisted on operating to the last minute in order to squeeze every last penny out of it for themselves rather than let Thames start a day early, even though they were co-owners of Thames. I hope this clears this up for you.

[@samjane71]

Complacency and some bitterness on their final night. Somehow I expected better from Cliff.

[@adultmoshifan87]

I’m here because of Bob The Fish’s ITV in The Face video series! I was born in 1987 so I wasn’t around for Southern’s closure, but had I been around back then, I might’ve tuned into And It’s Goodbye From Us and upon finding out it was a temper tantrum and that they slandered TVS as part of it, I would’ve dipped in and out to mock them! All that cultural stuff is not my thing, so I would most likely have, just before midnight, turned over to the BBC for whatever they did for New Year on this occasion!

[@paulkelly3561]

Anyone recognise the guest on "This is Your Life"?

[@mysteron]

Record producer Micky Most.

[@paulkelly3561]

@@mysteron thank you

[@markwalford-groom]

@@mysteron spotted the late great Marti Caine in the background saw her live shortly befotre she died RIP

[@flashtheoriginal]

Yup Mickie Most, the force behind RAK Records in the 70s. Mud, Smokie, Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quattro were all on the label. Big player in its day

[@brookcrowley4254]

Can you remember what programs aired on Southern Television's final broadcast day? And who is the subject on "This is Your Life"?

[@sofialadune9351]

Southern Television was ITV?

[@marianokrause-merkel1840]

Yeah, was the station for south and south east regions

[@BHUVANBEATSMUSICS]

UK J

[@paulpreston5328]

Whatever happened to chrispycock?

[@agfagaevart]

6:00 A terrible way to go out. What utter crap!

[@sanchoodell6789]

The "quality" of TV was so so much better back then. Despite, ironically, having only three TV channels (for another year), no breakfast TV (for another 2 years) and no nighttime TV (for another 9 years).

[@BHUVANBEATSMUSICS]

UK J