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ITV is the flagship television channel of ITV plc in the United Kingdom. Having previously been a collective name for a network of separate regional television channels, it is now the brand name of the ITV Network operating in England, Wales, southern Scotland, the Isle of Man, and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. From 2001 until 2013, the channel was known as 'ITV1', because the 'ITV1' brand name was introduced by Granada and Carlton in August 2001, alongside the regional identities of their eleven regional companies. ITV1 replaced these regional brands completely in October 2002, before Granada acquired Carlton in a corporate takeover and merged to form ITV plc in 2004. The ITV brand, however, should be distinguished from the UK-wide ITV, of which ITV forms a large proportion.
ITV and its predecessor channels have contended with BBC One for the status of the UK's most watched television channel since the 1950s. However, in line with other terrestrial channels, ITV's audience share has fallen in the era of multi-channel television. ITV is the biggest and most popular commercial television channel in the United Kingdom.
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