Editing ABC Weekend TV (section)

===Formation===
When [[Kemsley-Winnick]], one of the [[consortium|consortia]] that had been awarded two [[exclusive right|franchises]] in the new [[ITV (TV network)|Independent Television]] network in 1954, collapsed, the [[Independent Television Authority|ITA]] approached [[Associated British Picture Corporation|ABPC]] to step into the breach. The Corporation agreed to assume the franchises to broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays to the Midlands and the North of England. The contract agreeing to do so was signed on 21 September 1955, the day before Independent Television (ITV) began in [[London]].

This left the new ABC five months to begin broadcasting in the Midlands, the service beginning on 18 February 1956.<ref name="screenonline">{{cite web |last1=Elen |first1=Richard G |title=ABC Television |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/521981/index.html |website=BFI Screenonline |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref> Soon afterwards, it was also up and running in the North; it began broadcasting in the North West on 5 May 1956,<ref name="mb21_Winter_Hill">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Mike |title=ITV 405 line VHF TV TRANSMITTERS LANCASHIRE |url=http://tx.mb21.co.uk/info/405/itv/lancs.shtml |website=mb21 |access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref> and in Yorkshire on 3 November 1956.<ref name="mb21_Yorkshire">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Mike |title=ITV 405 line VHF TV TRANSMITTERS YORKSHIRE|url=http://tx.mb21.co.uk/info/405/itv/yorkshire.shtml |website=mb21 |access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref> It was aided in part by the failure of the original contractor; Kelmsley-Winnick had ordered over £1 million (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|1|1955|r=1|fmt=c}} million today){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} of production equipment from manufacturer [[Pye Ltd.|Pye]], which it sold to ABC at a much-discounted price.<ref>Black, P, The Mirror in the Corner, Macmillan, London, 1971</ref>