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
BBC World Service Television and current affairs service, launched in Asia on 14 October 1991 on STAR TV, and also available from Turkey to South Korea on AsiaSat. Competing against CNN International, it showed current affairs and documentary programming from BBC One and BBC Two in addition to "BBC World Service News" with entertainment programs aired on Star Plus. Following the acquisition of STAR TV by Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, in March 1994, BBC World Service Television was removed from the satellite service that was broadcast to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, although it could still be received in the rest of