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It doesn’t matter if it’s black and white: Manchester clinging to past with most monochrome TV sets in North West

By Marios Papaloizou

While many Mancunians will be tuning into their favourite TV shows in HD and 3D there are still 377 nostalgic homes in Manchester that are yet to enter the world of colour television.

New figures have revealed that the city has more black and white TV licences than anywhere else in the North West.

With 377 black and white licences issued in Manchester the city has more than double the amount than second placed Liverpool and six times more than third placed Bolton.

Across the UK there are still more than 10,000 black and white licenses, though the number has dropped by 12% over the last year.

A spokesman for TV licensing said: “Today’s figures show, even in the digital age, more than 11,000 homes still watch their favourite programmes on black and white televisions.

“We may be on the brink of losing black and white sets to the history books, but older technology will always be replaced by exciting new ways of watching live.”

Top 10 black and white towns in the North West:

1.       Manchester                                      377

2.       Liverpool                                          174

3.       Bolton                                              61

4.       Preston                                            34

5.       Salford                                             33

6.       Blackburn                                         24

7.       Rochdale                                          24

8.       Oldham                                            23

9.       Warrington                                        20

10.     Blackpool                                          19

At the turn of the millennium there were 212, 000 black and white licences issued however that figure has now fallen by a staggering 200,000.

Iain Logie Baird, Associate Curator at the National Media Museum, Bradford, and grandson of television inventor John Logie Baird, said: “Despite over 25 million people opting for a colour TV Licence in the UK, it may be some time before the black and white television disappears completely from our living rooms.

“The National Media Museum has hundreds of black and white television sets in its collection and there will always be a small group of people who prefer monochrome images, collect vintage sets or just don’t want to throw away a working piece of technology.”

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