ITV wants to axe some regional news services

From <http://www.ofcom.org.UK/tv/ifi/tech/dsodetails/westreg.pdf>

More than two thirds of Borderers feel they are poorly served by current television output in the region according to the results of an extensive survey carried out by SNP MSP Christine Grahame. Over 7000 people in the Borders responded to the consultation, the most comprehensive of its kind ever undertaken in the region. The conclusions from the "Broadcasting in the Scottish Borders" survey will today (Wednesday) be submitted to the Scottish Broadcasting Commission which is presently reviewing the provision of broadcasting output across Scotland. Ms Grahame said:

"I have not been surprised at the large proportion of people who have expressed the view that current television output for the Borders is poor.

"ITV are currently proposing significant changes, but these are set only to make matters worse by switching news and current affairs output from Carlisle to Newcastle. A very high number of Borderers instead called for STV to be made responsible for programming across the Scottish Borders region."

The survey did however identify healthier support for radio output across the region with over half of Borderers saying they were well served by the region’s two stations, Radio Borders and the BBC studios based in Selkirk, and some respondents indicated they would like to hear more output from the BBC locally. Nonetheless one area of weakness which the survey did identify was the lack of a digital radio signal for BBC radio programmes with many respondents indicating they had purchased a DAB radio, only to find that local transmitters have not yet been upgraded to allow this to happen.

One respondent stated: "The DAB service in the Borders provides digital news from Kabul, but not from Kelso."

Amongst the other findings the survey revealed was very high levels of support for the Scottish Parliament having non-editorial control over strategic broadcasting issues, with 65% saying they backed Scottish responsibility for television and radio output. Ms Grahame said:

"Scottish control over broadcasting would enable us to better reflect the cultural, political and social requirements of viewers north of the Border. This does not mean control of editorial content, but it would enable the Parliament to focus resources towards improving, in a more strategic way, broadcasting output.

"It is clear from the feedback that Scotland and to a much larger extent, the Scottish Borders are a mere afterthought in the minds of the UK Government in London. Control over broadcasting would deliver a much-needed boost to the industry and enhance the quality and output of broadcasting on all levels."

ITN's Robin Elias says scrapping regional news will harm national news

Save Lookaround postcards pile up at Ofcom
http://ofcompsbreview.typepad.com/ofcompsbreview/2008/04/when-a-picture.html

I note the following article in Media Guardian today...

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/06/itv.television

ITV plc's arrogance is unbelievable. Time for Ofcom to wake up and put them in their place. sigh, if only

[B]


ITV PLC's primary function is to make money for its shareholders.
Regional news is providing poor value for money, particularly as television is no longer the default location for most people under 40 to get their news.
ITV LOCAL will replace regional news within a matter of years - it's cheaper,faster and better.
It also doesn't need to pay inflated salaries to crusty presenters ageing as fast as their target audience.
Even my granny prefers to watch The Simpsons than BBC Points West.[B]

Lets not let facts get in the way shall we?

- ITV shareholders get a very GOOD deal from the free (public)spectrum, priority EPG and huge reach that the PSB obligations give them. They are still millions of pound better off.

- Local news is the most valued service for all adults 35+
- The majority (68%) of people want MORE local news, but only of better quality and relevence to them
- ITV local is a disaster, and relies exclusivly on amterial paid from the resources of the main TV show. No 6PM show, No content.
- 'Default Location' to get news is just BBC bullS*t to justify universal payment tax. TV is still a high index platform to access news content, so what if you dont get every drop of news first and exclusively from TV?

Your attitude may be coloured if you are in the West - which has low regional news viewing:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/research/cm/cmrnr08/tv45.jpg

If local news is so irrelevent why do poeople rate is as important to the degree they do:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/research/cm/cmrnr08/tv100.jpg

Stop flogging the ITV line about local news being expensive and unwanted in a digital age.

The simple fact is local news is MORE valued in areas with the highest penitration of digital TV on the main set. Which rather screws that arguemnt.

- Local news is the most valued service for all adults 35+ [B]

You've hit the nail on the head there.
Shareholders,advertising,demographics etc etc.
Regional news appeals to an increasingly elderly audience and is no longer of relevance to ITV's target audience for advertisers.
Of course the BBC doesn't have to compete so it doesn't matter for them.
It's a dying concept.... that's why so many local papers are going online.

What rubbish! I'm guessing you're only about 12 years old Showbizguru.

Aside from the simple fact that anyone over 35 isn't 'elderly', 30-60 year olds are the people with the highest disposable income and therefore very high on the list of targets for advertisers; by default that makes them a very important part of ITV's audience.

I wouldn't say local news on TV is 'dying'. If ITV plc don't invest in it then it will be increasingly unpopular on their main channel.

I take note of that information and pass no comment.

So why post then ?
Say something - even if it's overwhelmingly pessimistic like I do.
However you do nicely back up my point about news in this part of the country.
Nothing much happens - certainly not enough to justify the huge amounts of money spent on regional news for so little return.
The days of people rushing home for their tea to watch some feller who spends the summer opening fétes and gymkhanas telling us about fatal crashes on the Axminster by-pass are long gone.