Northern Ireland
Ulster Television is the company which, under agreement with the Independent Television Authority, provides the television programmes in Northern Ireland during the whole week.
Havelock House, Ormeau Road, Belfast 7.
BELFAST 28122
1 Hanover Square, London W.1.
HYDe Park 0426
ITA Channel Vision Sound Opening Date Population ITA Homes
Transmitter Frequency Frequency 000's 000's
Mc/s Mc/s
Black Mountain 9 194.74325 191.234 31st Oct 1959 } 188
} 1,363
Strabane 8 189.75675 186.27 18th Feb 1963 } ---
Directors
The Rt Hon The Earl of Antrim, DL, JP (Chairman); WB MacQuitty (Deputy Chairman); (Alternate as director – Mrs Betty MacQuitty, BSc (Econ); RB Henderson, MA (Managing Director); The Rt Hon The Countess of Antrim; Miss Betty E Box, OBE (Alternate – CSG Falloon); HAC Catherwood, JP; Captain OWJ Henderson; JP Herdman; MR Hutcheson (Sales Director); GC Hutchinson; BS Johnston, ACA (Company Secretary); B McGuckian; Major GB Mackean, DL, JP; Mrs JA Mackie, OBE; JL MacQuitty, QC, MA, LL.B; Professor JL Montrose, LL.B, LL.D; EMR O’Driscoll.
Management
Managing Director: RB Henderson, MA; Company Secretary: Barry S Johnston, ACA; Sales Manager, Northern Ireland: Basil W Lapworth; Programme Controller: Colin W Lecky-Thompson; Publicity Manager: S Gordon Duffield; Technical Controller: Frank A Brady. Sales Director: MR Hutcheson
Religious Advisory Panel
The Rev Canon ES Barber, MA; The Rev David Burke, BA; The Rev E Lindsay; The Rev Father HP Murphy, CC; RB Henderson, MA; CW Lecky-Thompson; AF Finigan, BSc, LGSM.
Educational Advisory Panel
JJ Campbell, MA; J King Carson, MBE, MA, Dip.Ed; FJG Cook, MA; Dr Michael Grant, CBE, MA, Litt.D, FSA; EG Quigley; Alderman Mrs Hilda F Wilson; RB Henderson, MA; CW Lecky-Thompson; SG Duffield (Executive in Charge of Administration of Schools Programmes).
Staff
Total members of staff 163. Production 68, Engineering 42, Administration 22, Sales 26 and Publicity 5. In addition, 16 are employed by TV Post, an Ulster Television subsidiary. Freelance artistes, cameramen and other staff are regularly employed.
Visits to Studios
A limited number of people can tour the studios at the invitation of the company. The public occasionally participates, as an audience, in Ulster Television productions.
Enquiries
Enquiries about Artistes and programmes should be addressed to the Publicity Department, Ulster Television, Havelock House, Ormeau Road, Belfast 7.
Submission of Scripts
Programme or feature ideas are welcome and should be addressed to the Programme Controller. There is a limited demand for short scripts. Ideas for news features should be addressed to the Head of News.
Programme Journal
TV Post is a subsidiary of Ulster Television. It is published by Ulster Television (Publications) Limited and printed by The News-Letter. It gives exclusive coverage in the area of all Ulster Television programmes.
Studios
HAVELOCK HOUSE, Ormeau Road, Belfast 7 (Belfast 28122), the headquarters of Ulster Television, contains two general production studios, the larger measuring 1,235 sq. ft.
Both studios, together with a smaller presentation studio, are equipped with up-to-date equipment and are served by a technical system of the most modern design. Other facilities include an Engineering Workshop, Administration and Rehearsal and Dressing Rooms, a News Film Unit and Restaurant.
Ulster Television is equipped with videotape recording equipment.
Technical Development
When Ulster Television came on the air it recruited a large proportion of its engineering staff locally in an area judged to be under-equipped in trained television personnel. Yet this staff, together with trained personnel, has not only proved extremely adaptable in television operation, but has modified much existing television equipment to small studio technique. Only last year (1962) the Engineering Department was responsible for the complete technical installation of the company’s new £100,000 studio. Training has been given to the staff of several small overseas television stations.
Research Projects
The company has published two major pieces of research on Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Market was prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit Limited and The Distribution of Consumer Goods in Northern Ireland by Industrial Market Research Limited.
In addition, the company commissioned the Gallup Organisation to analyse the effectiveness of its Midnight Oil adult education series.
Programmes
Ulster Television productions include: Newsview, a Monday-to-Friday news magazine; Preview, a weekly entertainment review programme; Flashback, a weekly news review programme; With a Fiddle and a Flute, a musical programme; Nocturne, a light classical music programme; Midnight Oil, a “University of the Air”; Looking Back, a personal interview programme; Look Here, a current affairs programme; Teatime With Tommy, a musical request programme; End the Day, religious education; Full Time, sports coverage; Come On To…, a programme which features Ulster towns; and Farming Special, a weekly summary of farming news, views and prices.
News and Weather Coverage
Ulster Television gives a full coverage to news events in Northern Ireland. It has its own news team (which comes under a Head of News and News Features), a News Film Unit, and is widely represented throughout Northern Ireland by specially-appointed correspondents.
The main news programme is Newsview, which is transmitted each evening from Monday to Friday.
“Around the clock” coverage is provided by news bulletins and flashes on major news events.