TVS, or Television South, was the ITV franchise holder in the South of England which replaced its predecessor, Southern Television on the morning of 1 January 1982, and operated until midnight on 31 December 1992, when it was in turn replaced by Meridian Television. TVS (and Meridian) had a slightly bigger coverage area than Southern because on the day of its launch the Bluebell Hill and Chatham Town transmitters in north Kent were switched from the London ITV region to the South of England region.
The company operated from two sites, inherited studios in Southampton and a new facility built in Vinters Park, Maidstone. Like its predecessor the company made many contributions to the network in the areas of childrens television, drama and light entertainment.
In the late 1980's, buoyed by increasing profits it purchased the American media company MTM. However when TVS's license to broadcast came up for renewal in 1990, the company was suffering serious financial problems and it had to bid high to secure an extension to its' contract. The bid was deemed excessive and unviable and the contract was handed to Meridian. The studios in Southampton were sold to the newcomer while the Maidstone site and library were sold to an American TV company.
