As ITV in colour turns 50, hundreds still watch in black-and-white
On Saturday 15th November 1969, much of ITV began broadcasting in colour. In the Midlands, the first colour programme on what was then ATV, was Thunderbirds.
Fifty years later, despite the advent of HD, widescreen and smart devices, it’s emerged there are still 700 black-and-white TV licences in force in the Midlands.
Could it be that at £154.50 a year some viewers think a colour TV licence is too expensive? By comparison, a black-and-white licence costs just £52, or £1 a week.
Either way, if you’re a monochrome Midlander, you can check below to see how many people near you are like-minded!
West Midlands (black-and-white licences in force on 30th September 2019):
Birmingham 323
Coventry 48
Wolverhampton 36
Stoke-on-Trent 33
Shropshire 18
Walsall 17
Worcester 11
Newcastle-u-Lyme 10
Stafford 7
Telford 6
(Source: TV Licensing)
East Midlands (black-and-white licences in force on 30th September 2019):
Nottingham 78
Leicester 55
Derby 34
Northampton 24
Source: TV Licensing
Read more: your memories of 50 years of colour TV in the UK