ITV are a terrestrial television network in the UK, which is funded through commercial advertising. It was the first commercial television network in the UK, and was comprised of regional operators such as Granada and Carlton.

While the original ITV was made up of independent regional companies, over time, Granada and Carlton took over or merged with the original franchises. This process continued until ITV plc was left with Granada holding a sixty percent take in it, and Carlton a forty percent stake.

The regional franchises are still in operation, but not independently owned like before. They number Anglia Television, Border Television, Granada Television, London Weekend Television, Meridian Broadcasting, Tyne Tees Television, Yorkshire Television, Carlton Television, Central Independent Television, HTV and Westcountry Television.

ITV began experimenting with a HD channel in 2006. It was only until 2010 they launched a full time HD channel, named ITV1 HD. Access to this channel is through one of four mediums, a Sky box, a Virgin Media box, Freesat or the Freeview HD service. The channel number for ITV HD is shown below.

• On Sky it's channel one hundred and seventy eight.
• On Freesat it's channel one hundred and nineteen.
• On Virgin Media it's channel one hundred and thirteen.
• On Freeview it's channel fifty one.
  

ITV's HD channel shows the majority of it's top programming in high definition, such as UEFA Champions League football, Britain's Got Talent, Emmerdale, The X Factor, This Morning, I'm A Celebrity..., Harry Hill's TV Burp and Coronation Street.