The Newsroom

ITV wants to axe some regional news services

From 17 to 9 (September 2007)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
LO
Londoner
smgboi posted:
If co-location happens (which it will!) the likely scenario is this...

Gateshead - closed
Carlisle - closed
Bristol - closed
Norwich - closed
Manchester - Granada only
Leeds - Calendar and TyneTees/Border
Birmingham - Central and West
Cardiff - Wales
London - London Tonight
Whiteley - Meridian, Westcountry, Anglia


Once you've got so many programmes coming from potentially hundreds of miles out-of-region you might as well go all the way and centralise the whole shooting match.
:-(
A former member
Indeed -- and it begs the question, why did ITV bother with the expensive moves to smaller premises within regions over the last few years?

Just move the lot to London and be done with it. But then ITV have brought this on themselves with their dishonesty regarding the whole thing.

Just come clean and ask for regional commitments to be dropped completely before it's too late to salvage what is left.

19 days later

NW
nwtv2003
Ofcom PSB Review Leaked - MediaGuardian

If this is correct then it appears Border and Westcountry could get a reprieve, but they could still be produced out of their Regions, it's better than nothing again if it proves correct.
GC
GaryC
GaryC posted:
A quite informed source tells me that ITV expect Ofcom to force them to offer a full service in the franchise regions, but allow sub regions to be merged and colocation.

Recording of offpeak output to allow one team to create multiple shows is also a proposal.

Ofcom may just cave, of course.

The suggestion is the saving will be made up by moving ITV West & Westcountry to Whitley, ITV Anglia to Leeds, Border to Tyne tees.

Which would use the (then) vacent studios at sites that already do co-location.

Each legal licence would be served and it removes most of the political fallout.

The only odd thing in that plan would be that fact ITV West was refitted, and works in a newish 'unit'within an old centre - that may not be worth that much now for property development.


looks like what i was told before that post on 8 July was quite near the truth.
LO
Londoner
"...reduce the volume of regional news by a fifth..." sounds ominous.
LO
Londoner
Ofcom reaction to the leak:
http://ofcompsbreview.typepad.com/ofcompsbreview/2008/07/weve-sprung-a-l.html
SH
Showbizguru
Londoner posted:
"...reduce the volume of regional news by a fifth..." sounds ominous.


But inevitable given the inexorable decline in interest in local stories for local people.
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
Showbizguru posted:
Londoner posted:
"...reduce the volume of regional news by a fifth..." sounds ominous.


But inevitable given the inexorable decline in interest in local stories for local people.


Care to back up that claim?

Scotland Today have consistently increased their viewing figures.

Tell us, Guru, from whence your information is drawn.
GC
GaryC
Showbizguru posted:
Londoner posted:
"...reduce the volume of regional news by a fifth..." sounds ominous.


But inevitable given the inexorable decline in interest in local stories for local people.


complete rubbish. worse, you know it. yet still post worthless and wrong infomation.

The REAL facts are that local and regional news remain the most desired of all the PSB commitments in the UK; and rate in the top 5 of all content types people want to watch.

Do not confuse the fact that in some regions the news audiences are declining with the desire to watch regional/local news.

If you ran a food shop which sold poor goods and at the wrong price it would loose trade and close. That does not imply that nobody wants to eat anymore, or that the busy lifestyles of today make people want to consume food via 10 gram injections of essential vitamins and protein.

A failure of one business does not make the whole concept wrong.
SH
Showbizguru
GaryC posted:
Showbizguru posted:
Londoner posted:
"...reduce the volume of regional news by a fifth..." sounds ominous.


But inevitable given the inexorable decline in interest in local stories for local people.


complete rubbish. worse, you know it. yet still post worthless and wrong infomation.

The REAL facts are that local and regional news remain the most desired of all the PSB commitments in the UK; and rate in the top 5 of all content types people want to watch.

Do not confuse the fact that in some regions the news audiences are declining with the desire to watch regional/local news.

If you ran a food shop which sold poor goods and at the wrong price it would loose trade and close. That does not imply that nobody wants to eat anymore, or that the busy lifestyles of today make people want to consume food via 10 gram injections of essential vitamins and protein.

A failure of one business does not make the whole concept wrong.
[B]


Yep,that's a good one.
Audiences decline but that doesn't mean fewer people want to watch local news.
The simple fact is almost all ITV regions are experiencing dwindling viewing figures for local news.
Fact.
ST
Stuart
Showbizguru posted:
Yep,that's a good one.
Audiences decline but that doesn't mean fewer people want to watch local news.
The simple fact is almost all ITV regions are experiencing dwindling viewing figures for local news.
Fact.

GaryC's points are valid, Guru. ITV1's viewing figures are dwindling as a whole. Therefore, according to your logic, nobody wants to watch the channel so they should close it down and concentrate on their channels where the audience is increasing.
SH
Showbizguru
StuartPlymouth posted:
Showbizguru posted:
Yep,that's a good one.
Audiences decline but that doesn't mean fewer people want to watch local news.
The simple fact is almost all ITV regions are experiencing dwindling viewing figures for local news.
Fact.

GaryC's points are valid, Guru. ITV1's viewing figures are dwindling as a whole. Therefore, according to your logic, nobody wants to watch the channel so they should close it down and concentrate on their channels where the audience is increasing.


Yep - that's why it's called commercial television.[B]
Even when their audiences were bigger regional news programmes never gave value for money - now they're just plain expensive.

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