World in Action output. For the first 35 years of its existence, ITV had a near-monopoly of television advertising revenue. Roy Thomson, who ran Scottish Television famously described ITV as a "licence to print money". In return for this income, the broadcasting regulator insisted that the ITV companies broadcast a proportion of their programmes as public service TV. Out of this was born the network's reputation for serious current affairs, eagerly grabbed by programme makers under Granada's founder Lord Sidney Bernstein. Some of the most prominent figures in 20th-century British broadcasting helped to create "World in Action", in particular Tim Hewat, "the maverick
On the Ball (UK TV programme) show was extended to an hour in 2001, coinciding with ITV's capture of the Premier League highlights package from the BBC which also saw the launch of "The Goal Rush" Saturday afternoon results show and "The Premiership" Saturday evening show. "On the Ball" was discontinued again in 2004 after the BBC regained the rights to the Premier League. On the Ball (UK TV programme) On the Ball is a British ITV Saturday lunchtime television show about football, which ran as part of "World of Sport" in the 1970s and 1980s, and as a stand-alone show from 1998 to 2004. There