As the missing episodes rumour rumbles on we thought we’d give you our thoughts on how the alleged recovery might have occurred.
In the 1960’s and 70’s the BBC and ITV sold their programmes overseas but the actual distribution was done by a company called Television International Enterprises Limited. TIE would “bicycle” prints around Africa for both broadcasters. The company was set up in June 1959, went into liquidation in 1991, and was dissolved in 1994.
In March 2011 the similarly named Television International Enterprises Archives Ltd was set up.
The TIEA website says:
TIEA is an independent archive presentation and recovery organisation created by Phillip Morris (Executive Director), with the sole purpose of preserving international foreign cultures TV and Radio Heritage
Television International Enterprises and Archives LTD (TIEA) operates in a very competitive worldwide media environment. We provide advice and assistance in all aspects of the care and storage of archival materials. This includes 16 & 35mm negatives and prints, 2 inch (Quadruplex) videotape, 1 inch A & C format videotape, industrial 1 inch videotape and analogue cassette formats (Philips 1500/1700), U-Matic, Beta SP & MII). Additionally through our network of industry contacts, we can also source parts for most film and videotape equipment whether it is still in everyday use or not. Alternatively we can source a reliable transfer facility for any format your material resides on.
TIEA also offers a unique service to all televisual archives across the globe. We identify purchased material in archives and return them to the country of origin. The major benefit is that the host archive no longer has to pay to store and manage this excess material, nor pay for the disposal of it. The originating archive benefits by having spare copies for resale. This service costs the host archive nothing at all
We can provide free playback equipment on all formats to assist in the migration of materials on to a new format all transit costs of materials is covered by ourselves we are the world leader in archive assistance.
We therefore believe it’s possible that someone travelling around Africa searching for missing episodes of Doctor Who, and other programmes, who went into a TV station and said “Hi, I’m from Television International Enterprises Archives, have you anything belonging to us?” might strike it lucky; especially given that the names of the two companies are so similar.