Could ITN News Channel rise from the ashes?

itn already provide news for central trains and a growing list of train companies. if itv were to take over itn, then i would imagine the contract to produce the service would continue as normal. it would be interesting to see if the itn logo remained on the service, given the fact the company specifically wanted the itn logo and famous itn newsroom background used on the output.

It's not necessarily the case that ITV would have to set up it's own "in-house" news service (at the great expense that has been quoted). There is nothing to stop them contracting out the service to Sky or even Reuters the same way five and TV-am (in their dying days) have done.

However, I believe ITV are deliberatly running the ITVNC down to enable them to buy the remaining 60% at a knock-down price.

I have just noticed that the NC hours have been reduced even further today to allow UEFA Football to start at 5pm on ITV4 (although the holding caption on Sky Ch 120 still says "programmes start at 6pm" - very clever )

I presume this will happen every time ITV4 have a sports event that begins before their scheduled 6pm start.

Sadly, Mr Allen and his shareholing buddies realise that news makes them no money whatsoever. Ask anyone in the ITV sales team and they'll tell you - "you can't sell avertising around the news"
Any money that's floating 'in the kitty' would be better spent on programme making - flying Ant & Dec out to Australia for "I'm a celebrity....." etc.
Why do you thing that regional news lost it's centre break in the vast majority of the country - they couldn't sell air time around it!

So you see - the ITV news channel is a dead duck. Its NOT earning ITV any money. Very sadly, its not about credibility - its about pandering to ITV's core audience - the C2DE's (lower -end audience demongraphic)

News has never been about making money. I'm sure given the opportunity ITV plc would dump the whole thing if it wasn't for their obligations under Ofcom's licences.

You either pump money into it as a "loss-leader" to strengthen your brand (as BSkyB have done) or you starve an existing strong brand (ITN) that you no longer want, with the intention of killing it off.

As someone has already mentioned, in 2012 there is nothing to stop ITV plc throwing in their Ofcom licences and just remaining as a Commercial broadcaster with no "Public-Service" remit at all. They would then have to bid for slots on DTT, but they would already have their established audience and secured positions on DSat and DCab.

what do you mean? They already own 100% of the ITVNC

He means the remaining 60 per cent of ITN currently held by Reuters, UBM and DMGT.

However, the ITVNC contract being worth peanuts, I doubt it would be a decisive factor in the brinkmanship re. that particular deal.

What doesn't make sense to me is Charles Allen saying if ITV bought ITN, they'd bring back the ITN brand to the main bulletins - after spending seven years trying to get away from it!

I think ITV News now is as recognisable a brand as ITN, if not more recognisable, and when ITN were making "Channel 4 News" and "5 News" it never made sense that ITV's output wasn't branded "ITV News".

Behave

Well, you certainly don't here as many people referring to ITV News as ITN in the way many refer to ITV1 by their traditional regional names!


Back to the issue of a possible ITN News Channel - how much did it cost ITN to launch the channel initially, and to run it annually before ITV took control.

Obviously the ITN News Channel was very reliant on reports from ITV, C4 and five - so any new station would have to account for it's own reporting team too.

I agree Luke, the "ITV News" brand is no more a recognised brand than Sainsbury's Economy Beans (It's seen regularly, but ignored as a cheap newcomer, and as a tasteless alternative).

However, ITN had gained a reputation over their 50 year history. ITV plc merely wanted to re-brand it because they needed to reinforce ITV after the ON/ITV Digital disaster.

No doubt Mr Allen has a strategy, but I don't think whichever he chooses it will involve the survival of ITN as it is.

Eh? ITN News was rebranded ITV News in 1999?!

Anyway, why should ITV be the only channel in the country, not to use its own branding on the news? How come in 1982 Channel 4 didn't launch with "ITN News on Channel Four". Five News isn't called 'Sky News on Five' etc

Yes but the reporters still signed off their reports with 'ITN' rather than ITV News until 2001 and the ITN ident still appeared on the astons.

Also it's quite ironic that ITV stands for 'Independent Television' and therefore both ITN and ITV News for 'Independent Television News'