TFN (Teleradio Frequency Network)

TFN corporate logo

TFN (officially the 'Teleradio Frequency Network') is a British television network that has come under several names and franchises since its inception in 1993. Originally 'The Force Network' (1993-9), it was taken over by 'Planet Television' (2000-4), who themselves were taken over by 'Network Television' (2005-9).

In 2010, partly as a result of an economic recession, Network Television merged with both Frequency Broadcasting and Channel Britian Television to form 'RTB' (Regional Telecom Broadcasting). However, this name was always controversial, with complaints from RTÉ in Ireland about both its name and branding being too similar to theirs. Throughout, Frequency 1, 2  and 3 television and radio stations retained their branding, though were no longer independent.

Having lost control of The Force Network at the end of the 1990s, Chris Lawley (now known as Chloe Green)  - the CEO - became CEO of RTB in January 2016. Early into her tenure, she announced that in 2017, after a break of 17 years, TFN branding would return and replace all RTB branding - only this time it would be known not as 'The Force Network', but as the 'Teleradio Frequency Network' (TFN). There were initially concerns from some quarters about the viability of TFN being used again - however Green insisted that as she owned the rights to all TFN branding from the 1990s, there were no copyright issues, and the company's official name was different; TFN is only used in branding and is not legally the company's name, and the acronym 'TFN' is not used in the same form anywhere else in the UK or Ireland. Green claims audiences still missed the TFN brand, and she was delighted it would be returning in a new form in 2017.

Over time, it became clear that the network would undergo major restructuring, in order to - in the words of Green - 'strike a balance between creativity and fiscal resposibility.' The biggest change was the annoucement that the company's long-running TV news channel - which had existed in some form or other since 2000 - would be closed on New Year's Day 2017, shortly after an annual fireworks programme celebrating the new year had finished airing. This action resulted in over a hundred job losses, though some staff were reallocated elsewhere. However, it will save the organisation around £75m a year. A third of this will be used as savings to pay off previous debts, while the rest will be used to fund a new radio station, TFN Newsworld. "There is so much competition for news channels on TV, that I don't personally think having our own news channel just because was money well spent", Green has said. "On the radio however, there is very little competition. Newsworld will be somewhere between the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4; it will be mostly news based but also include current affairs and some documentary content. Unlike Radio 4 however, the station will not be pursuing any kind of comedy element, apart from a weekly news quiz."

TFN now broadcasts three news programmes per day - an hour long one at 12pm, and two half-hour ones at 5pm and 9pm respectively. In addition, TFN News bulletins air during the breakfast magazine Ante Meridiam. Regional half-hour news programmes also air, but only once a day, usually at 5.30pm Monday to Friday, with two 15-minute bulletins at the weekend.

The network itself has also undergone restructuring. The federal system used in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has been partly abolished, with all nations and regions now branded as TFN. However, there are national subsidiaries - TFN Scotland, TFN Wales and TFN Ulster, which have blue, red and green idents respectively (instead of the orange logo used in England), and use national landmarks as idents. In England, regional landmarks are used in regional idents, for example the Angel of the North in the northeast region and the Palace of Westminster in the London region. Scotland, Wales and Ulster also use their own branded trailers and continuity announcements, as well as being allocated seperate budgets partly to fund their own programming. In England however, trailers and continuity announcements are all centralised at TFN's headquarters in Birmingham. TFN produces no regional programming other than news and weather bulletins. This is in contrast to all previous incarnations of the network, which always produced some form of regional non-news programming. Regional news programmes are branded with the word 'Daily' on the end, eg. Northwest Daily, Thames Valley Daily etc. However news reports on these programmes all come under TFN News, for example a reporter will finish an item with a phrase like 'Joe Bloggs in Leeds for TFN News', not 'Joe Bloggs in Leeds for Yorkshire Daily' etc.

Some regional news programmes produce two programmes for different sub-regions, with one pre-recorded and presented by the same people. This is very similar to what the ITV network does with its regional news. For example, 'Yorkshire Daily' produces two editions - one for north and west Yorkshire and one for south and east Yorkshire - but both programmes are branded as 'Yorkshire Daily' and presented by the same people. All regional weather in England is now branded as TFN Regional Weather. In Scotland it is known as TFN Scotland Weather, in Wales TFN Wales Weather, and in Northern Ireland, TFN Ulster Weather.

TFN axed both RTB radio stations and replaced it with just a single radio station, TFN FM. This stations plays a mixture of new songs, current singles and hits from the past five years, and a variety of genres.

TFN launched two new soap operas - The Avenue and High Peak - on Monday 2nd January 2017. The Avenue - an upbeat London serial drama set in Lewisham - airs every weeknight at 6pm, whereas High Peak - a rural melodrama set in the Peak District - airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6.30pm. This makes TFN unusual in that it is one of the few general entertainment networks in the UK which does not broadcast a soap opera during peak time (7pm-11pm). TFN is committed to showing documentaries, dramas and factual entertainment between 7pm-9pm and 9.30pm-11.30pm.

Below is an example of a regional TFN ident.

TFN Northeast ident

TFN will also have a number of other television channels.

Unlike the vast majority of broadcasters, which are London-based, TFN's headquarters are located in Birmingham, not far from studios run by BBC Midlands and ITV Central. Chloe Green said this will 'reduce costs' and put TFN 'at the heart of Britain.' Regardless, TFN still has studios in London, and other major English cities such as Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Brighton. In Wales, TFN Wales is based in Cardiff, with studios in Aberystwyth and Llandudno, whilst TFN Scotland calls Glasgow home, with other studios based in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. TFN Ulster has only one set of studios, based in Belfast.

Logos

TFN adopts a colour-coded approach to all of its logos. The company logo uses a monochrome look. The main channel, also called TFN, uses a chain of spots which interconnect and get progressively bigger. The channel's colour is orange (in England).

Companion Channels

In addition to the main channels, TFN has four companion channels.

2FN ident

TFN Mix ident

TFN Green ident

CTFN ident

2FN is a channel aimed at an audience aged 13-34. The idents are turquoise-coloured, and the narrative of them is 'things young people do together'. For example, in the ident above, a group of young people having fun on a beach is shown. Other idents show young people in a nightclub, at a concert and playing sports. There are also idents featuring physically disabled young people socialising. The programming is varied and general but has a youthful or edgy slant. The channel also carries a daily strand called Shout!  This airs from 6pm-7pm every day of the week. Previously teenage output was a small part of the long-running Pick'n'Mix strand of young people programming, but TFN axed this strand after 16 years on air. This means Shout! will be the first dedicated programming for teenagers (aged 12-18) the network has ever known. 2FN opens at 12pm each day.  

TFN Mix is generally aimed at an older audience and features a combination of classic shows, imports which aren't likely to achieve high ratings on the main channel, and repeats of programmes broadcast on the main channel. Like the main channel, it is open 24/7. The logo is a reddy-brown colour, and the narrative of the idents is based around things which are red and/or brown, such as coffee, chocolate, or someone cooking with peppers and tomatoes.

TFN Green is a unique channel on the network, the only such TV station of its kind in the UK and Ireland. Its remit is to cover issues such as conservation, enviromentalism, animal rights/animal welfare, geology, green politics, vegetarianism, veganism, agriculture and farming. It will also repeat any relevant programmes from other TFN channels, including rural soap opera High Peak, which actually gets its first outing on the channel 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 90 minutes before it is repeated on the main channel. TFN Green opens at 9am each day. The logo is green, and the narrative of the idents is simply based on the narrative of the channel - countryside, animals, farming etc.

CTFN is the fifth and final television channel on the network. Previously, children's output had always been broadcast in the strand Pick'n'Mix, on the main channel from 2000-2016. So this is the first time the network has ever had its own dedicated children's television channel. Output is aimed at children aged 0-12, though occasionally programming crosses over into early adolesence. The channel will also include a weekly soap opera for children, Castle View Ties, the first such programme since CBBC's long-running Grange Hill. The drama will focus mainly on a cast of 10-11 year-olds as they come to terms with growing up at awkward ages, navigating through the trials and tribulations of being that age, including friendship, family, and social issues such as bullying, peer pressure and fitting in. The show is set in a through-school in Manchester. CTFN opens daily at 8am. The logo is somewhat unusual, in that it is the only one across the network which doesn't use the spotty chain look. Instead, a white, upper case 'C' is placed inside a black circle, with the usual lower case 'tfn' logo inside it. The narrative of the idents is based on childlike 'fun', for example spots, stripes, messy painting and playing tag.

It will also have companion channels 2FN (aimed at a more mature audience, as well as repeats), TFN Shout! (for ages 0-25), Frequency 1 (mainstream/alternative, including soap opera 'These Days' airing at 9pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and Frequency 2 (youth programming and repeats). Radio stations will include TFN:FM (mainstream pop), TFN Rewind (80s/90s/00s), TFN Arts & Culture, Frequency 1 Radio (semi-mainstream, semi-obscure) and Frequency 2 Radio (a mixture of obscure music old and new).

For the first time, there will be no regular programming aimed at under 18s on the main channel. Instead, these will be broadcast on their own dedicated channel, TFN Shout! Long-running breakfast magazine Ante Meridiem will continue unaffected in its 7am-10am timeslot.

Radio Channels

TFN has two radio stations. TFN FM plays a selction of hits new and current, and from the last five years. The ident is a silvery gray and is simply based on radio. TFN Newsworld is a news, current affairs and documentary spoken word station. Both stations air 24/7.

Frequency Network

The Frequency Network is owned by TFN, but operates autonomously from it. In 2017 it was streamlined, and the present set-up consists of two television channels and two radio stations, both numbered Frequency 1 and Frequency 2. Although on-air they are often referred to as 'the Frequency 1 TV channel' or 'the Frequency 2 radio station' - and legally they come under 'Frequency Broadcasting' - on air they are simply referred to as Frequency 1 or 2, whether television or radio station.

Frequency 1 (TV) first went on air in 2002, and in that time its remit has not changed. Its aim is to broadcast programming that is a mixture of semi-mainstream, on the edges of the mainstream, or offbeat. It also has a remit to broadcast programming that is 'original, dynamic or outside the norm'. Frequency 1 has always used a purple colour scheme, and its idents are either abstract, quirky, or otherwise unusual or unconventional in some way. Frequency 1 (Radio) has a somewhat similar remit. It plays songs both past, present and future which are bubbling under or on the fringes of the mainstream. It also plays music genres which may not be heard elsewhere on the network, or conventionally on British radio in general.

Frequency 2 (TV) is even more offbeat, tending to deal with arthouse, avant garde and global cinema etc. It also airs cultural documentaries and other types of programming, which are minority-based or obscure. Frequency 2 (Radio) plays a combination of unsigned or up-and-coming music acts, and offbeat music from the past, as well as classical, jazz and chillout music.