Engineering Announcements

infobox television
show_name = Engineering Announcements


caption = Mid 1980's Title Card From Engineering Announcements
format = News magazine with television and radio technology related information
runtime = 15-20 minutes
starring =
country = UK
network = ITV (1970-1983), Channel 4 (1983-1990)
picture_format = 576i (SDTV)
first_aired = 1970
creator = ITA (1970-1972), IBA (1972-1990)
executive_producer =
last_aired = 1990
num_episodes =
website =
imdb_id =
tv_com_id =
emmyawards =

Engineering Announcements For The Radio And Television Trade, sometimes abbreviated to Engineering Announcements, was a weekly magazine of news and information intended for technicians and salespeople, produced and transmitted by the Independent Television Authority (and later the Independent Broadcasting Authority) from 23 November 1970 until 31 July 1990. It covered technical advances in the industry such as the launch of satellite television and NICAM stereo, along with details of new transmitters and the scheduling of transmitter downtime.

Engineering Announcements, and the BBC's similar "Service Information", are examples of regularly scheduled "ghost programmes," so called because they were never advertised in on-air schedules, in newspaper TV listings, the TV Times or on teletext.

cheduling

Engineering Announcements was originally scheduled directly after Mondays Newcomers, another example of a ghost programme (it offered the advertising trade the opportunity to watch first runs of new adverts before they aired in prime time) on ITV.

In September 1972, Engineering Announcements moved to 9:10am on Tuesdays, where it remained until 1983, when the launch of TV-am meant that the ITV network would no longer be available to show Engineering Announcements at the old time. This forced the programme over to Channel 4, which was generally closed until early evening each day. Here, Engineering Announcments would be shown at 0915 each Tuesday with a repeat at 1215 the same day. However, as Channel 4 gradually lengthened its broadcasting hours throughout the 1980s, Engineering Announcements was forced into earlier and earlier time slots, losing first the 1215 repeat and later, when Channel 4 launched its own breakfast television service in 1989, Engineering Announcements was moved to 5:45am each Tuesday, where it could be recorded by engineers for later viewing.

Engineering Announcements broadcast for the final time on 31 July, 1990.

During the Industrial Dispute of 1979, Engineering Announcements was the only programme airing on ITV.

References

* [http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/continuity/engineering.html Engineering Information]
* [http://www.closinglogos.com/page/Independent+Broadcasting+Authority+(UK)?t=anon IBA Information]
* [http://home.clara.net/jim.edwards/iba.htm Information on the final broadcast of Engineering Announcements]