TV Home Forum

ITV abandons the South Bank

(February 2017)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
KE
kernow
This Thursday would have been a good day to show the London Studios tribute documentary, as it would mark the 50th anniversary of LWT, which started broadcasting on 2nd August 1968.
JK
JKDerry
This Thursday would have been a good day to show the London Studios tribute documentary, as it would mark the 50th anniversary of LWT, which started broadcasting on 2nd August 1968.

ITV feel there would not have been a large enough audience for the special at this time of year. This is the lean season for television, with repeats and films filling the main schedules, until the big shows rev up in late August.
KE
kernow
This Thursday would have been a good day to show the London Studios tribute documentary, as it would mark the 50th anniversary of LWT, which started broadcasting on 2nd August 1968.

ITV feel there would not have been a large enough audience for the special at this time of year. This is the lean season for television, with repeats and films filling the main schedules, until the big shows rev up in late August.

Goodbye Granadaland was shown in the middle of June (Saturday 15th June 2013 at 8:30pm), so a similar time of year, so can't see any reason why they couldn't have shown the London Studios programme this week.
JK
JKDerry
This Thursday would have been a good day to show the London Studios tribute documentary, as it would mark the 50th anniversary of LWT, which started broadcasting on 2nd August 1968.

ITV feel there would not have been a large enough audience for the special at this time of year. This is the lean season for television, with repeats and films filling the main schedules, until the big shows rev up in late August.

Goodbye Granadaland was shown in the middle of June (Saturday 15th June 2013 at 8:30pm), so a similar time of year, so can't see any reason why they couldn't have shown the London Studios programme this week.

Middle June is still considered peak viewing time, with most people not taking their summer holidays until late July and August, so Granada were right. Remember Granada launched in May 1956, so why did they not chose May for their special?
WH
Whataday Founding member
LWT's birthday is only a tentative link really. It is neither the anniversary of the studios, nor is the documentary about LWT per se.
BR
Brekkie
Even airing it now seems somewhat after the event considering there was quite a bit of coverage of the closure around Easter due to the high profile relocation of the daytime shows.
WH
Whataday Founding member
Or perhaps it would have been overkill.
BA
bilky asko
I’m not sure I like the idea of Dermot O’leary’s style of presenting hosting this, it’ll all be done in that ironic sarcastic style, I’d like to have seen someone maybe a bit older who is likely to talk about the older LWT stuff as if they’d actually watched it.


He's 45 years old! LWT had only been going for five years when he was born.



I can't see any problem with Dermot O'Leary presenting this.

Peter Kay presented Goodbye Granadaland. The Granada studios were completed in 1962, and Peter Kay wasn't born until 1973. I don't recall any complaints on here at the time about the choice of presenter.


Peter Kay is a TV geek (hence Britain's Got The Pop Factor...), and he grew up in the area: he was a natural, yet contemporary choice.

Dermot O'Leary is a different choice, and makes sense on paper. I would suggest that the guests are more important in this show.

63 days later

DV
DVB Cornwall
All Change .... ITV now not to return to South Bank



LH
lhx1985
Selling the valuable asset that is the South Bank site sounds short-termist in the extreme - unless they need the money.

ITV looks more stable right now than it has done for years, so could there be another reason for the quick decision to sell?

Pure speculation, but could this mean they are wanting the cash to fuel a buying spree of more production houses and other (European) broadcasters?

Afterall, if they don't look to grow by acquisition, they'll probably end up being the target themselves.
DO
dosxuk
If, as suggested in that article, they're planning to stay longer at TVC, it makes only keeping three studios even more silly.
IS
Inspector Sands
Selling the valuable asset that is the South Bank site sounds short-termist in the extreme - unless they need the money.

ITV looks more stable right now than it has done for years, so could there be another reason for the quick decision to sell?

The thing is why do they need offices on the South Bank? If they're doing fine without it then why not let that expensive bit of real estate go? I suspect long term they'll want to find a new place where they can have everything under one roof, it can't be efficient having everything split up. But that could be anywhere, there's no business advantage to being next to the river


It makes the recreation of the river view at the back of This Morning a little odd now, they're not going back
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 9 October 2018 11:04am

Newer posts