The third volume of this history of independent television in Britain focuses on the central issues facing the Authority and companies during twelve and a half eventful years between the beginning of a new contract period in July 1968 and the announcement of the successful applicants for new contracts in December 1980. For ITV these were years of recession and inflation, of expansion and prosperity - above all, of enquiry and uncertainty.

The ITV network was designed as a federation of companies, different in size and character, jointly and severally constructing programme schedules in which strands of entertainment were interwoven with news bulletins, drama with sport, feature films with documentaries, church services with broadcasting for schools. The purpose of this volume is to convey some impression of diversity by illustrating and illuminating the rich assortment of companies and programmes making up ITV's overall service to the public in the operation of a plural system on a single television channel during a peak...