Wales West and North Television

The geography of Wales presented a daunting problem to the Independent Television Authority (ITA). The populous area of Wales in the South was already being served by TWW, which had begun broadcasting in 1958, while the north-east of the country and much of the north coast was served by the North of England weekday and weekend franchise holders, Granada and ABC, operating since 1956; the interior of north Wales could not receive ITV transmissions at all. and at the last minute, the Postmaster General insisted that the new station should, on its own, produce ten hours a week of programmes in Welsh, without relying on Welsh-language programmes produced by Granada, ABC and TWW. TWW offered a generous package to WWN's shareholders to acquire their service, and WWN closed on 26 January 1964 and its studio was shuttered. With the guidance of WWN employees retained by TWW, the '''''' name was retained, and the new Teledu Cymru was granted a transmitter in the South of Wales. WWN would be the last television service in Wales to broadcast in Welsh during primetime, until the launch of S4C in 1982. TWW successor Harlech also retained the name when TWW's early termination of service forced them to run an emergency transitional franchise, only retiring the name when their own franchise officially started. ==Studios==

WWN's headquarters and studio complex was located in Western Avenue, Cardiff, despite the fact that was not within their coverage area but that of their neighbouring franchise, TWW. The company had a regional office and a news studio within their franchise area, in Bangor. Following the acquisition of WWN by TWW, the Western Avenue base was closed, with all operations moved to TWW's Pontcanna base, also in Cardiff. To accommodate the addition presentation, the Pontcanna studios received a large upgrade. It is believed that the Bangor base was retained by TWW. The studios on Western Avenue were eventually demolished and replaced by the new headquarters for the WJEC examining board. ==Identity==

WWN's on screen identity featured a stylised dragon against a black background with the name beneath. This ident, it is believed, was the only one used by the station, whose existence was very short. Following the takeover from TWW however, the ident was modified. The dragon emblem was retained, as was the name, with the only addition being a caption below with TWW's logo and a legend stating 'Network for Wales'. The ident also now animated on screen in sections to the tune of TWW's ident. Following TWW's loss of contract, the name was once again used by the Independent Television Service for Wales and the West which operated until HTV could begin broadcasting. == Programmes ==

Despite its short life, the station was able to produce some local programmes that was produced for its operational periods. Notable programs included Welsh and English language news bulletins, as well as weekly English language sports programme Welsh Sportlight and its weekly Welsh language sports programme Cip a’r Chwarae, Welsh children's programme Heno I’r Plant, and one nationally shown ballerina opera special entitled Swansea. ==References==