Imaguan Television Service

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Imaguan Television Service

File:ImaguaTVlogo.png Logo of ITS since 2013
Trading name	ITS
Native name	Servizio televisivo imaguano (Vespasian)
Type	Television corporation
Industry	Mass Media
Founded	23 April 1956 (1956-04-23)
Headquarters	Cuanstad , Imagua and the Assimas
Area served	Imagua and the Assimas
Key people	Harry Banys (general director)
Products	Broadcasting, websites
Services	radio, television, online
Owner	Government of Imagua and the Assimas (80%) Robert Cox (20%)
Number of employees	6,000 (2016)
Website	its.ia

The Imaguan Television Service (Vespasian: Servizio televisivo imaguano) is the national public television network of Imagua and the Assimas.

History

Origins

The idea of a national television network was explored in the late 1940s, when Prime Minister Frederick Maynard suggested in 1949 the possibility of "launching a visual equivalent of the Imaguan Radio Network." However, the costs associated with the technology, combined with the small population meant that in 1951, it was deemed "improbable for a national television network to get off the ground."

When Marguerite Ernman became Prime Minister in 1952, she sought to invest in creating a television network, as she believed that "with the unification of Imagua and the Assimas," it was essential to develop "pan-national institutions" to overcome the divide between the Vespasian-speakers and the Estmerish-speakers.

Thus, in 1953, the Democratic Labour government passed the Telecommunications Act of 1953, which established the Imaguan Television Service. In 1954, they decided to use the television standard used by Eldmark, which was System M.

Over the next two years, transmitters were erected at the summits of Mount Pioniere and on Mount Morete, with test broadcasts commencing in April 1955. By the start of 1956, it was announced that regular broadcasts would commence on 23 April, 1956, with the inauguration of the second President.

Early years

File:ITS5613.png

Logo of Imaguan Television Service, 1956 to 2013

On 23 April, 1956, the Imaguan Television Service was launched at 11:00 am, with live coverage of the inauguration of Venanzio Mazzone as President of Imagua and the Assimas, succeeding outgoing President Walter Redmond Keswick. Following the inauguration, was the first news broadcast, with Ian Vilcinskas broadcasting in Estmerish, followed by an Vespasian broadcast at 1:00 pm by Averardo Berti.

In the first few years, reception was only possible in Cuanstad and its immediate environs, and in the Assimas Islands, as the mountainous terrain of Imagua meant it was difficult to broadcast, while the cost of setting up transmitters meant that it was prohibitively expensive to operate outside of these areas. However, with increasing adoption of television by the population, transmitters were built near Bronstad, Nua Taois, and in Altaithe in the late 1950s. By 1960, the ITS was broadcasting from 06:00 to 09:30, and then from 14:00 to 21:00.

In 1963, it was decided to allocate a second channel for Vespasian-language programming, as it was becoming clear that the format of alternating programmes between Estmerish and Vespasian programmes was getting in the way of "effective operations." Thus, ITS2 was launched on 26 December, 1964, taking over Channel Two which had been exclusively used by ITS1 up until this point, while Channel 8 was allocated to ITS1: on that date, ITS2 was allocated Channel 8 in Cuanstad and on other Imaguan stations.

In 1973, colour television was introduced to the islands, with TBD being adopted, as it was the standard used in Eldmark. By 1976, all black-and-white programmes were either converted to colour or else cancelled and replaced with colour programmes. At that point, ITS was broadcasting from 05:00 to 01:00, from Mondays to Saturdays, with no programming aired on Sundays.

In 1981, the Imaguan Television Service lost its legal monopoly, when Anthony Brockett allowed DayStar Group to expand into the television business: DayStar Television was launched in 1983.

Contemporary era

In 1988, the Imaguan Television Service began operating "round-the-clock," twenty-four hours a day, and seven days a week, although they did not broadcast on Nativity, with broadcasts on Nativity beginning in 1999.

Digital broadcasting began in 2000, using the DVB standard, as it was also being adopted in Eldmark, with the launching of four digital channels: two children's channels and two news channels.

In 2003, the Imaguan government passed legislation to end analogue broadcasts, with all television networks based in the country (i.e. ITS, DayStar Television, and TVAlba) required to end analogue broadcasting by 12 February, 2008.

However, with increasing access to the internet, television ownership and use has declined: while 85% of households in 2001 owned a television, only 76% owned a television in 2011, with viewership generally being down across the board. In response, ITS has increased its online presence.

In 2013, a rebrand was taken, which saw ITS become lower-case its, and its logo changed for the first time in its history, with the rebrand to help "present a more friendlier image" and to make their website more modern and comprehensive. While the changes to the logo were mixed, the overhauled website was largely praised by most Imaguans. In 2015, the two news channels were discontinued due to declining viewership, and the "irrelevancy of a 24/7 news network" in the modern age.

Television channels

Name	Channel number	Description
its one	2 (Cuanstad) 8 (San Pietro)	General-purpose Estmerish programming
its due	2 (San Pietro) 8 (Cuanstad)	General-purpose Vespasian programming
its bambini	9	Children's programming in Vespasian
its kids	10	Children's programming in Estmerish