Women’s employment in British television: Programming the future?

British television could be in for a major face-lift in the 1980s. As well as the increase in satellite broadcasting and the expected growth in the home video market, the industry faces the decade with three new major policy decisions under its belt. These are, firstly, the reallocation of the Independent Television franchises in 1982. On 26 December 1980 the Independent Broadcasting Authority renewed thirteen of the existing ITV contracts with the provision that they expand their regional representation and widen their shareholdings. The two new franchises awarded will cover the south and south-west regions of the country. On the same day the IBA made a second announcement; namely that Britain is to have breakfast television in 1983. The third innovation is the fourth television channel scheduled for 1982 and obliged by Clause 3.1 of the 1980 Broadcasting Act to ’provide pro-grammes calculated to appeal to tastes and interests not generally catered for by ITV; to encourage innovation and provide a distinctive character of its own ’. The new franchises, together with the advent of breakfast TV and a new ’distinc