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End of the road for UTV?

Split from UTV - From City Quays 2 onwards (November 2020)

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MO
Mockah
I personally don't care for regional announcers, but I do care for regional identity, as it brings a lot more regional flavour. I really hope that ITV aren't going to rebrand to ITV NI or ITV Ulster.

ITV management now could not care less about regional identity. I bet if ITV could junk all regional news commitments they would, they have scaled back regional news to the bare bones limit required by regulations.


yeah... you're right. I suppose producing national programming is better source for revenue than dedicated local programming
JK
JKDerry
I personally don't care for regional announcers, but I do care for regional identity, as it brings a lot more regional flavour. I really hope that ITV aren't going to rebrand to ITV NI or ITV Ulster.

ITV management now could not care less about regional identity. I bet if ITV could junk all regional news commitments they would, they have scaled back regional news to the bare bones limit required by regulations.


yeah... you're right. I suppose producing national programming is better source for revenue than dedicated local programming

The bare basics required is all we will get from ITV onward. Sadly the days of local programming filling our schedules are gone.
DB
dbl

The evening programmes across a large chunk of the regions are pre-recorded, as they are split regions.

That's not really just an ITV issue though, similar things have been done in Canada & Australia, in fact even more drastic:

Ten News made cutbacks and consolidated capital city news bulletins from 5 to 2. Meaning Sydney is producing pre-recorded news that's a near 500 miles away from Brisbane. (& over 2000 miles for Perth, yikes)

Brisbane




Perth

Last edited by dbl on 30 November 2020 3:43pm - 2 times in total
LL
London Lite Founding member
I personally don't care for regional announcers, but I do care for regional identity, as it brings a lot more regional flavour. I really hope that ITV aren't going to rebrand to ITV NI or ITV Ulster.

ITV management now could not care less about regional identity. I bet if ITV could junk all regional news commitments they would, they have scaled back regional news to the bare bones limit required by regulations.


yeah... you're right. I suppose producing national programming is better source for revenue than dedicated local programming


Whatever happens, they'll still have dedicated programming for the nations, but in England, ITV still invest in regional news including sub-opts which were reintroduced after the last lot of cuts and a monthly regional Westminster show in all regions except Channel.

ITV also still does more hours per week than the small scale local channels where news is an interruption to playing music videos or simulcasting crap Freeview channels lower down the EPG. Or in the case of London Live, Covid-19 has been a excuse to stop producing the news.

The days of regional filler which on the whole were cheap as chips countryside formats have long gone.
BR
Brekkie
ITV News London at 6.00pm is largely pre-recorded too, as they have to share a studio with the national news, meaning even the London regional news on ITV is considered unimportant to not have their own dedicated studio.

By "largely pre-recorded" you mean the final link.


I personally don't care for regional announcers, but I do care for regional identity, as it brings a lot more regional flavour. I really hope that ITV aren't going to rebrand to ITV NI or ITV Ulster.

Does one letter on screen make it more regional? Most people in Northern Ireland have far bigger worries than whether they're watching UTV or ITV.
JK
JKDerry
ITV management now could not care less about regional identity. I bet if ITV could junk all regional news commitments they would, they have scaled back regional news to the bare bones limit required by regulations.


yeah... you're right. I suppose producing national programming is better source for revenue than dedicated local programming


Whatever happens, they'll still have dedicated programming for the nations, but in England, ITV still invest in regional news including sub-opts which were reintroduced after the last lot of cuts and a monthly regional Westminster show in all regions except Channel.

ITV also still does more hours per week than the small scale local channels where news is an interruption to playing music videos or simulcasting crap Freeview channels lower down the EPG. Or in the case of London Live, Covid-19 has been a excuse to stop producing the news.

The days of regional filler which on the whole were cheap as chips countryside formats have long gone.

ITV regional news used to always seem to be better and offer more than the BBC. However come 2009 that all changed, and the gradual erosion of regional news offering was amazing to see.

I remember the announcement of the merging of regional news programmes, such as Lookaround and North East Tonight, The West and South West all merged into one. That was really the awful era, however come 2013, ITV did offer extended regional news, even though a large chunk is now never live.

ITV News London records the last 15 minutes of the programme, to give the Evening News team a chance to get in and prepare for 6.30pm. Sometimes they record the whole 6pm programme at 5.30pm.
JK
JKDerry
ITV News London at 6.00pm is largely pre-recorded too, as they have to share a studio with the national news, meaning even the London regional news on ITV is considered unimportant to not have their own dedicated studio.

By "largely pre-recorded" you mean the final link.


I personally don't care for regional announcers, but I do care for regional identity, as it brings a lot more regional flavour. I really hope that ITV aren't going to rebrand to ITV NI or ITV Ulster.

Does one letter on screen make it more regional? Most people in Northern Ireland have far bigger worries than whether they're watching UTV or ITV.

The last 15 minutes is usually pre-recorded, as they have to let the Evening News team come in and prepare, including a small rehearsal. On occasions the whole half hour is recorded at 5.30pm. I know this happens, from a visit to ITN a few years back.
CO
Cold Open

Whatever happens, they'll still have dedicated programming for the nations, but in England, ITV still invest in regional news including sub-opts which were reintroduced after the last lot of cuts and a monthly regional Westminster show in all regions except Channel.


What does Channel show in place of the monthly political programme? I had always assumed that they simply got Meridian's politics programme, despite its utter irrelevance to the islands.
:-(
A former member
I bet if ITV could junk all regional news commitments they would, they have scaled back regional news to the bare bones limit required by regulations.

That’s not quite true is it?

Yes, as they want to offer national programming which attracts the biggest audiences and commercial revenue. Regional news and regional programmes are loss makers.

If you don't believe me, just look at the cut backs in regional news. Blink and you miss them updates on GMB. A pointless 4 minute lunchtime update. The evening programmes across a large chunk of the regions are pre-recorded, as they are split regions.

ITV News London at 6.00pm is largely pre-recorded too, as they have to share a studio with the national news, meaning even the London regional news on ITV is considered unimportant to not have their own dedicated studio.

Sorry but this is all nonsense.

People don’t tune in to GMB for lengthy regional updates. The lunchtime updates are a perfectly acceptable length. Something being pre-recorded has just as much cost and effort to produce as something live. Sharing a (pretty big) studio with the national news isn’t exactly a negative.

What they do now meets the expectations of viewers. Just because we used to have an over-elaborate regional setup with more time for breakfast and lunchtime news, doesn’t mean that was right. Things evolve. The standard of regional news on ITV is as high now as it has ever been.
JK
JKDerry
That’s not quite true is it?

Yes, as they want to offer national programming which attracts the biggest audiences and commercial revenue. Regional news and regional programmes are loss makers.

If you don't believe me, just look at the cut backs in regional news. Blink and you miss them updates on GMB. A pointless 4 minute lunchtime update. The evening programmes across a large chunk of the regions are pre-recorded, as they are split regions.

ITV News London at 6.00pm is largely pre-recorded too, as they have to share a studio with the national news, meaning even the London regional news on ITV is considered unimportant to not have their own dedicated studio.

Sorry but this is all nonsense.

People don’t tune in to GMB for lengthy regional updates. The lunchtime updates are a perfectly acceptable length. Something being pre-recorded has just as much cost and effort to produce as something live. Sharing a (pretty big) studio with the national news isn’t exactly a negative.

What they do now meets the expectations of viewers. Just because we used to have an over-elaborate regional setup with more time for breakfast and lunchtime news, doesn’t mean that was right. Things evolve. The standard of regional news on ITV is as high now as it has ever been.

I am rightly chastised. Thank you.
MO
Mockah
ITV management now could not care less about regional identity. I bet if ITV could junk all regional news commitments they would, they have scaled back regional news to the bare bones limit required by regulations.


yeah... you're right. I suppose producing national programming is better source for revenue than dedicated local programming

The bare basics required is all we will get from ITV onward. Sadly the days of local programming filling our schedules are gone.


i wish local programming would return, but people seem to be content with short regional news updates during the lunch breaks... but at least they're high quality!
BU
buster

Whatever happens, they'll still have dedicated programming for the nations, but in England, ITV still invest in regional news including sub-opts which were reintroduced after the last lot of cuts and a monthly regional Westminster show in all regions except Channel.


What does Channel show in place of the monthly political programme? I had always assumed that they simply got Meridian's politics programme, despite its utter irrelevance to the islands.


They do indeed take the Meridian show, though they did this during Channel’s local ownership too so they can’t be too bothered about the content.

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