ITV Yorkshire - Criticisms

Criticisms

Although Yorkshire Television claims to serve the whole of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, it has long been contended by many of the people of Sheffield that Yorkshire Television shows an unacceptable bias towards West Yorkshire in general and Leeds in particular. Until 2006 there was a separate Calendar South region which consisted largely of the area covered by the Sheffield and Chesterfield transmitters, "Calendar South" opt out news bulletins were shown at the same time as the "Calendar East" opt out from the Belmont transmitter. This was a common criticism of many ITV franchisees as the bulk of production tended to be produced in one area, which was at the expense of other areas. Another example was Granada Television's heavy presence in Manchester who claimed there was a lack of investment in Liverpool and over-emphasis on Manchester.

A similar charge of bias has been levied by viewers served by the Belmont Transmitter which covers Lincolnshire and northern Norfolk. Until 1 January 1974 this area received coverage from Anglia Television but was replaced by Yorkshire. It is often contended that the name of the company reflects its focus, but others say this is an unfair accusation given that during the 1970s and 1980s the company invested heavily in operations in Lincoln and Grimsby and created a regional opt-out for the area on its main news programme Calendar. This was succeeded by a news show dedicated to the region served by the Belmont transmitter, albeit still broadcast from the studios in Leeds unlike its BBC rival which is produced at studios in Hull. In 2009, the combined Belmont and Sheffield service was reverted to opt-outs within the main evening programme and a full late night bulletin on weekdays.