It was originally produced as a Midlands regional programme by ATV, and was first broadcast live on 5 January 1974. The then federal structure of ITV, with its independent regional companies, meant that not all of these stations broadcast the show when it became available for networked transmission. Over time most ITV regions chose to broadcast it, with Granada Television and Southern Television being among the last to pick up the show, in 1979. Tyne Tees and Ulster eventually decided to take "Tiswas" for its final series in 1981. The smallest broadcaster in the network, Channel Television, did not carry the programme.