User blog:IAmEricaWang/The history of ITV, according to a 30-something that has never left the Mid Atlantic states

In 1966, Independent Television (ITV) was founded by a pair of dirty gym socks. This was the first time that a network in the UK had been run by a pair of gym socks. ITV was a pioneer in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s in the production of television programmes. It produced such programmes as The Donald, The Royle Family, The Hairy Ape and the BBC's The Big Breakfast. It was also the first network to produce a comedy show, The Bill. The Bill was aired on ITV from 1970 until 1973. ITV produced a series of programmes, The Young Ones, which were themselves followed by several series of The Bill. ITV began broadcasting in the UK from 1957. It was originally known as the British Broadcasting Corporation and was established in 1938 by the merger of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Ltd. In 1964 it was renamed the International Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). In 1967, IBC merged with the BBC, which then became the UK's national public service broadcaster, the BBC. ITV, like the BBC, is funded by the licence fee paid by all British households for the BBC. In the UK, the license fee is paid by all households for the BBC and for the many other public services it provides, generally referred to as the public service broadcasting sector. The BBC receives its funding from the licence fee (or Universal Television Licence). The licence fee provides a public service broadcaster with a source of funding. It is the main source of funding for the BBC. The BBC receives the licence fee from all households. ITV offers a range of free and low-cost services. These include the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, ITV Hub, ITV Music, ITV On Demand, ITV Player HD, BBC iPlayer Radio, ITV News, BBC Sport, BBC World News, BBC World TV, BBC World News English, BBC World TV Africa, BBC World News North America, BBC World News Europe and BBC World News Asia and Australia. The BBC is available as a catch-up service on the iPlayer. In this case, you can watch a broadcast that you have already seen on the iPlayer but for free. Catch-up viewing is available in some countries only. All BBC programmes are available to watch on the iPlayer, but a catch-up option is available in many countries. BBC services can also be accessed via the ITV Hub, which is a free service available across the UK and Ireland.