| North West Tonight | |
|---|---|
North West Tonight titles |
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| Also known as | North West Today |
| Format | Regional News |
| Presented by | Roger Johnson Ranvir Singh (Main anchors) |
| Theme music composer | David Lowe |
| Country of origin | England, UK |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Editor(s) | Michelle Mayman |
| Location(s) | MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, England, UK |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes (main 6:30pm programme) |
| Production company(s) | BBC North West |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One North West |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV 16:9) |
| Original run | September 3, 1984 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | BBC News, Granada Reports |
| External links | |
| Website | |
BBC North West Tonight is a nightly regional news programme covering the North West of England. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 6.30pm and at 10:25pm every weekday evening and is broadcast from the BBC's MediaCityUK studios at Salford Quays.
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The BBC North West region covers Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire, southern parts of Cumbria, the Peak District, northern Staffordshire and the Isle of Man. It is also the preferred region on Deeside and in Flintshire. Transmitters in the extremes of West Yorkshire, covering towns like Todmorden previously broadcast this regional version but now are covered by BBC Look North. The programme can be watched in any part of the UK (and Europe) on digital satellite channel 978 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite service.
BBC television news from Manchester began on 30 September 1957 with a nightly programme entitled News from the North, broadcast to the whole of Northern England (incorporating the current BBC North West, Yorkshire & North Midlands, East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire and North East & Cumbria regions). The rival ITV station Granada Television began providing local news coverage when it first went on air in May 1956, at first covering the North West only before extending to Yorkshire six months later.
The BBC's regional news service was relaunched in 1962 as North at Six (latterly Look North), extended to 20 minutes and re-focused to cover the North West and Yorkshire areas following the launch of a separate North East & Cumbria programme entitled Home at Six.
On 25 March 1968, the Manchester edition of Look North was again re-focused to cover the North West area only following the launch of a third Look North programme from Leeds. The programme was renamed in 1980 as Look North West with News North West introduced for shorter bulletins. On 18 May 1981, Look North West moved from small studios at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester to New Broadcasting House on Oxford Road in the city.
North West Tonight was introduced on 3 September 1984 to coincide with the launch of the BBC Six O'Clock News. Between 1986 and 1989, the programme also covered parts of Cumbria previously served by the Newcastle edition of Look North and provided a news opt-out for the area at lunchtime. Following viewer complaints, Cumbrian news coverage was switched back to Newcastle's Look North.
The last edition of the programme from Studio B at New Broadcasting House on Oxford Road aired on Sunday 27 November 2011, also the last broadcast from the studios after 36 years of operation. The programme's first broadcast from the BBC's Salford Quays studios took place on Monday 28 November 2011 during the BBC Breakfast programme.
On weekdays, breakfast bulletins air as part of BBC Breakfast at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour, between 6:26am and 9:00am. The 15-minute lunchtime programme airs at 1:30pm, following the BBC News at One. Short bulletins are also broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays after national news summaries.
The main edition of North West Tonight is broadcast every weeknight between 6.30pm and 7.00pm. A short 30-second headline update airs just before 8pm and the six-minute late bulletin is broadcast each weeknight at 10:25pm, following the BBC News at Ten. North West Tonight also airs short early evening bulletins on Saturday and Sunday evenings, although times usually vary. A late night bulletin is also broadcast on Sundays, following the BBC News at Ten.
Currently, the North West Tonight/Today on-air team consists of:
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District correspondents
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Specialist correspondents
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General reporters
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