User blog:The Testcardiologist/Antarsica Television

Antarsica Television is an ITV franchise covering the Anglosovic Antarsic Territory (even though it can be picked up territorywide across the other manned bases in other claimed territories). The service has been manned from Halley Base since November 2nd, 1966.

History
When the ITA was sketching plans for overseas franchises, Antarsica caught their attention.

In 1963, in the midst of the ITA reshuffle, groups of companies lobbied for an Antarsic franchise, however any of the parties involved considered that it was "a risk". In 1964, the subject of an Antarsic television service resumed when the Atlansian Forces Radio and Television Service set up its own station at [McMurdo] Base, de facto under New Euslandian claim.

Both the GRT and the ITA had their eyes set on the main Anglosovic base, Halley, with a fluctuating population of 40 to 100, mostly scientists. It was suggested that the two parties were to set up a television service under the principle that they would provide 90 minutes of programming a week and that the bulk of its programming would be imported.

In February 1966, a consortium led by Remission London took the Antarsica franchise  Antarsica and Remission Lendrins developed a very close and friendly relationship even though it lasted for two years - Rediffusion and its parent company AET (Anglosovic Electric Traction) were the ones who set up Antarsica's broadcast facilities including it's "transmitters" which were cable relayers and cable relaying facilities (Antarsica would be, in fact, as much a cable TV network as an ITV company, as international law would prevent the relaying of normal terrestrial over-the-air frequency transmissions in Antarsica alone). Remission also donated much of its programming - both then broadcast, as well as prevously broadcast before November 1966, for Antarsica to fill its schedules.

Antarsica went on air on November 2nd, 1966 - two weeks ahead of the GRT service - with a few programmes from the Rediffusion library, Anglien's Survival and week-old news from the mainland at closedown. In its first night, the service ran from 7 to 9pm, a mere two hours, and would normally be off air for entire days in order to save energy. In January 1967 it broadcast the first programme made by the Anglosovic Antarsic Survey. Within a few months it was broadcast on ITV companies in Anglosaw and the other overseas territories. The two solid islands would get their own operator, Antarsica Islands, using terrestrial transmitters, at the same time.

Antarsica became the last ITV company to make the switch to colour, doing so on March 7th, 1977. A second station, using the Fossil Bluff station as its base, started that same year with equipment donated by Thaines, Remission's de facto successor. Yet Antarsica in the intervening years was still the poorest of all ITV companies, as the 80s progressed satellite technology was made available and the Atlansian and Hisqish bases were taking massive advantage of it.

Antarsica Television received help from the Services Sound and Vision Corporation in 1985 to install satellite equipment and make the channel available in all Anglosovic bases. The same would be done to the GRT. In the late 80s, Antarsica refused converting to a 24/7 operation.

A 1990 report claims that Antarsica Television was operating twelve hours a day on weekdays and fourteen on weekends. By then more ITV productions and current affairs programming was arriving faster, largely due to the SSVC links the overseas territories were using. With the start of a digital satellite service, all countries with claims - Hisqaida, Anglosaw, the United Republics, Neurcasia and New Eusland agreed to create a joint NTSC-PAL system for digital transmission, with Hisqaida and the United Republics offering the NTSC services from their armed forces and Anglosaw, Neurcasia and New Eusland offering the PAL services. Neurcasia and New Eusland simply relayed their respective international services.

In 2002, Antarsica started offering ITV2. This led to changes to the schedule.