Union Television

Union Television is a British free-to-air television network It was launched in 1955 to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1932). Union Television is the oldest commercial network in the UK.

Union was for four decades a network of separate companies which provided regional television services and also shared programmes between each other to be shown on the entire network. Each franchise was originally owned by a different company. After several mergers, the fifteen regional franchises are now held by two companies: Union TElevision, which runs the Union channel, and STV Group, which runs the channel STV.

The Union Television network is a separate entity from Union plc, the company that resulted from the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004. Union Televisino plc holds the broadcasting licences for every region except for central and northern Scotland, which are held by STV Group.

Today Union Television plc simply commissions the network schedule centrally – programmes are made by its own subsidiary Union Television Studios and independent production companies. Regional programming remains in news and some current affairs series.

In Northern Ireland, Union plc used the brand name Three Network as the name of the channel until April 2020. This was the name used by former owner Three Network Media (now known as Wireless Group). Union plc bought UTV in 2016.

Although the Union network’s history goes back to 1955, many regional franchisees changed over the years. Some of the most important names in the network’s past – notably Thames, ABC and ATV – have no connection with the modern network.

News

 * Union News at 8
 * Union Midday News
 * Good Morning Britain
 * Union Midnight News
 * Sunday Now

Sports

 * Sport Generation

Entertainment

 * This Morning
 * Lorraine
 * The Chase
 * Loose Women