From The Big Show to the Dales Diary, for more than 40 years independent television has had a regional flavour. But the approach of all-digital TV could bring this to an end. Nick Morrison reports.

DICKIE Henderson had flu and couldn't make it, but Jill Day sang a medley, and Bill Travers and his wife Virginia McKenna performed a comedy sketch. Jimmy James stood in for Henderson at the last minute. This was The Big Show and a new television station had arrived.

It was January 15, 1959, and Tyne Tees Television was on the air. Introducing itself as Channel Eight, the eighth of the ITV regions to start broadcasting, Tyne Tees transmitted on a much higher frequency than the BBC, meaning viewers had to get an extra aerial. These aerials became status symbols, showing who could receive the new channel, although some people were happy to advertise the fact they only watched BBC.

The Big Show is long gone, but Tyne Tees is now facing perhaps the biggest upheaval since it came into the world, an upheaval which could see the end of its regional programmes.

Under the terms of its existing franchise, Tyne Tees is obliged to broadcast a certain amount of regional programmes every week, divided between news, mainly represented by the evening show North East Tonight, presented by Mike Neville, and non-news, including the long-running Dales Diary, now in its ninth series, Grundy's Wonders, and Date My Dad.

This Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) requirement aims to ensure ITV1 shows regional programmes, even though they may not attract high viewing figures and so are not sought-after by advertisers.

But a review by industry regulator Ofcom proposes sweeping changes to this PSB obligation.

Initially, this will see the non-news programmes reduced from three hours a week to one-and-a-half, with these changes expected next year. In the longer-term, this obligation will disappear altogether, with a possibility that regional news programmes will follow suit. Tyne Tees will continue to produce programmes to be broadcast across the entire network, but its North-East content could disappear altogether.

The impetus for this change is the switch to digital television, expected in 2010. When all TV signals are digital, the increase in the number of channels, and the increased competition for viewers, will make regional programming uneconomic, according to Bill Howorth, Ofcom regional executive.

He says it was the ITV companies themselves which asked for a review of their obligation to make regional programmes, which can cost five times as much per half hour as programmes broadcast over the entire network.

"With the upcoming digital switchover, they were concerned that this would be unsustainable," he says.

"It's not that we don't think these programmes are worth retaining, but we understand the commercial imperatives that the ITV companies are going through.

"We recognise there are severe cost implications of putting these programmes on, especially if they're not always being watched by as large a proportion of people as they would like. This has a knock-on effect on advertisers."

He says the initial reduction in non-news programmes will be made on the understanding that the remaining programmes are of high quality and broadcast at peak times. But the long-term outlook for these programmes is not good.

According to the Ofcom review, the cost of non-news programmes will far outweigh the values of the privileges given to the ITV1 companies, set against the amount the company pays for its franchise.

The result, the review says, is that: "After digital switchover, it will not be possible to oblige ITV1 to produce non-news programming in the English regions."

For the news programmes, including North East Tonight, the axe is less certain, although it is still hovering menacingly.

The review says: "After digital switchover, we propose to maintain a core level of PSB obligations on ITV1: news, current affairs and, if financially sustainable, a core regional news service." In other words, regional news will stay if it makes money, and if it doesn't, then it's so long Mike Neville.

"News and current affairs will continue if it is financially sustainable," says Bill Howorth. "Some people might say this is unlikely, but we don't know.

"All we're saying is, up until then we're not compromising on news and current affairs. After then, who knows? We hope that it would continue, but we can't see that far ahead."

Not surprisingly, this less than ringing vote of confidence in the future of regional programming has provoked dismay in some quarters. Some 43 MPs of all parties, perhaps mindful that fewer regional programmes means fewer chances to appear on television, have signed a motion ahead of the closing date for consultation, next Wednesday, calling for Ofcom to rethink its plans to cut non-news broadcasting by half next year.

Instead, the MPs urged Ofcom to link discussions about ITV's licence payments with maintaining its PSB obligation, at least until the digital switch over.

Tyne Tees managing director Graeme Thompson says ITV's decision to invest £6m in a new production centre in Gateshead, announced last week, is a sign the company has confidence in the future of regional television.

"I cannot imagine a future where regional news is not on ITV. I cannot imagine that," he says.

A reduction in non-news programming next year is likely to hit off-peak shows, but he says the longer-term outlook is less clear.

"It is Ofcom's job to look at the economics of the television landscape. What ITV has got to do is consider the implications of what Ofcom is saying and await the settlement for ITV in the new year. ITV is waiting to see what the outcome it - it is not necessarily a done deal," he adds.

But staff at ITV's regional companies are less confident and have led opposition to the proposals, with journalists at Tyne Tees staging a rally in the centre of Newcastle earlier this month, and lobbying MPs and supporters to write to Ofcom.

Pam Royle, head of the National Union of Journalists' (NUJ) branch at Tyne Tees, says Ofcom's claim that regional television is not highly valued is belied by healthy viewing figures for programmes such as Dales Diary.

"It is certainly not true to say that those programmes are not well-watched," she says. And the long-term proposals are of equal concern.

"They're saying that in years to come there won't necessarily be local news on ITV, because it isn't financially sustainable. Local news doesn't bring in the advertising that national entertainment programmes do.

"If they're saying that regional news will be available if it is financially sustainable, then it is going to go.

"The BBC would have a monopoly on regional news, and lose the competition that is not only good for us as programme makers, but good for the viewers. Why should the viewer suffer poorer standards? If these proposals go through it will look very black."