The Newsroom

ITV: 'regional news needs public funding'

About-turn by Mick Desmond (December 2004)

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LO
Londoner
"ITV bosses have performed a complete U-turn and are set to provoke the ire of MPs, unions and viewers by insisting the network will need public money to continue producing regional news."

Full story: http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1365832,00.html
BC
BlackCat Founding member
Words fail me here. The pure nerve of those damned accountants is simply unbelievable.

I do get the impression, though, that it might actually be that they're playing the regional news card out of fear that Ofcom might change their stance over the cutting of non-news output in light of the backlash they have received. By distracting Ofcom with this new proposal which they know will probably get rejected, they're removing the attention from the non-news output, which will probably just be allowed to drift away unnoticed.
BR
Brekkie
It's all down to OFCOM really and there proposols for a new public service channel.

Alot of people feel this channel is unneccessary and both C4 and ITV have now come in and said that OFCOM need to look after existing interests first.

Re: ITV Regional News. Personally, I think ITV should be told that you fund it in the way you always have done - and if so concerned re-instate the advertising breaks around the 6pm programme.

However, if funding is made available for regional news programming, I think other companies should be allowed to come in and bid against ITV to provide the regional programming on a region by region basis. ITV would have to provide a regional service if there were no other bidders.
AN
Andrew Founding member
Although the point is it is actually Ofcom telling ITV that they won't be able to afford regional programmes after the change over to digital not the other way round.
Wern't Channel 4 wanting more public money in a report earlier this week as well?
JO
John
So if producing regional news was unprofitable, why did the individual companies bit for an ITV franchise? – remember that many of the “new” companies initially produced an hour of regional news in the 18:00 slot in order to gain the franchises.
SM
smgboi
Can someone clarify why there isn't a 'franchise renewal' period anymore? Is it simply because ITV has promised to go digital? It's a bloomin' joke! Let's be honest - if local news vanished from our screens we would get over it eventually, but it would be a sad loss of lots of local celebrities who give regions a sense of identity. Plus it'll be difficult to get local accessible news, without turning on the BBC. It's dangerous when there's only one broadcaster providing a service. I know there will still be newspapers and radio but TV is different. Pictures say a lot more than words.
:-(
A former member
This is just ridiculous!!!

ITV's gone so very cheap that they're no longer willing to fund regional news, even though in the United States the regional news has proven an extremely profitable venture for affiliate stations. I don't understand ITN's and ITV's business plans, because if they would adopt an Americanized version of local news they'd be able to fund it. Even though "local news" in the Americas cost money (and certainly represents a significant part of affiliate-produced programming), it's still a major draw for the early-evening programming and it does generate advertising revenues. I wonder why ITN can't augment their product to fit that mould?

Maybe instead of "regions" the ITV "local news" should be created and based in civic centres instead of "regions"?

Or, perhaps they just want a share of the BBC's dole, and this is they way they've chosen to go about getting it? Does anyone have further details?

But, I dont completely understand why ITV is doing this. Specifically if they're making the argument that regional news is "unsustainable" without public funding, how are they protecting themselves from the government telling them it's OK for them to axe their regional news and then increasing the BBC's funding to pay for more regional news?

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