Where did this business about CITV actually aiming for a younger audience come from? Was it actually a proper announcement by someone?
The mix of programmes next week isn't really that different from the Autumn season, Brilliant Creatures = Art Attack, What about Mimi are still new episodes at least to CITV.
The lack of home grown programmes is to note because on one hand CITV haven't got that much money to make loads but then on the other hand kids seem to like the American stuff best anyway so they might as well not bother anyway
When CiTV was under-performing against CBBC, the last head of Nickelodeon UK came to CiTV and decided to aim it at an older audience and see how well it does, e.g. = becoming, clueless and 24seven. It was also quite obvious by the look they had (if anyone remembers when tehy were going for the teens with the arrows going across).
She got fired and was replaced with someone who was the head of Disney Channel. He decided to go back to a younger audience, which meant he started making the CiTV adents more kiddie-ish and made them move more with a different tune. Eventually, the look was very much changed with the 2D look of CiTV.
They're have been quite a few articles surrounding this around the internet and its quite obvious from the change of their content in programming. One article that springs to mind with going from teens to kids and making it fun, is this one - http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0%2C3858%2C4696531-105337%2C00.html
Yes, I guess. But at least whent hey were caterial for older people, they were still catering for younger ones as well. When they are catering for younger viewers only, the older ones lose out.
CiTV shouldn't appeal for 6-10yr old audience it should be a 13+ because CBBC are aiming for that kind of audience and they don't have that good shows (bar G.H and B.G) where as CiTV do.
It's a real shame that 'Girls In Love' won't be returning to CiTV as well as Seriously Weird (I think), they should bring back those shows as well as 24severn and other teen dramas and Fun Shows like 'Mad For it' and 'Top 10 of everyhing' . Not filling it up with crap "younger" shows like Bernards Watch and cheap American cartoons (bar Angry Beavers!) like 'Spongebob'.
I hope CiTV do really bad in the ratings, that might change Nigel Pickards mind!
CiTV shouldn't appeal for 6-10yr old audience it should be a 13+ because CBBC are aiming for that kind of audience and they don't have that good shows (bar G.H and B.G) where as CiTV do.
It's a real shame that 'Girls In Love' won't be returning to CiTV as well as Seriously Weird (I think), they should bring back those shows as well as 24severn and other teen dramas and Fun Shows like 'Mad For it' and 'Top 10 of everyhing' . Not filling it up with crap "younger" shows like Bernards Watch and cheap American cartoons (bar Angry Beavers!) like 'Spongebob'.
I hope CiTV do really bad in the ratings, that might change Nigel Pickards mind!
Well I'm not sure Spongebob necessarly is just for the pre-teen audience. Stuff like Hey Arnold appeals to all ages. Then there's 'Teen Angel' and 'Pirate Islands' which are going for the older audience.
The ratings already are bad. Even My Parents are Aliens, which is seen as CITV's top rating show is beaten by loads of CBBC shows.
CiTV shouldn't appeal for 6-10yr old audience it should be a 13+ because CBBC are aiming for that kind of audience and they don't have that good shows (bar G.H and B.G) where as CiTV do.
It's a real shame that 'Girls In Love' won't be returning to CiTV as well as Seriously Weird (I think), they should bring back those shows as well as 24severn and other teen dramas and Fun Shows like 'Mad For it' and 'Top 10 of everyhing' . Not filling it up with crap "younger" shows like Bernards Watch and cheap American cartoons (bar Angry Beavers!) like 'Spongebob'.
I hope CiTV do really bad in the ratings, that might change Nigel Pickards mind!
Well I'm not sure Spongebob necessarly is just for the pre-teen audience. Stuff like Hey Arnold appeals to all ages. Then there's 'Teen Angel' and 'Pirate Islands' which are going for the older audience.
The ratings already are bad. Even My Parents are Aliens, which is seen as CITV's top rating show is beaten by loads of CBBC shows.
I have to disagree.
When the last half of the new 'My Parents are Aliens' series aired it was rating significantly higher than any CBBC shows. In fact I noticed that during the last two months of the year CITV was beating CBBC at least two afternoons a week! That is a huge improvement to how it was performing for the majority of the year when it wasn't winning any afternoons.
They are obviously doing something right (not sure what that is exactly) but I wonder if it can continue increasing the ratings with a new saturday morning show and new presenters?
I think CBBC may have a stronger line-up of shows for the new year!
I'm not sure that I would call CBBC's a strong line up. Take a look at this weeks schedulehere. The majority of this is imports. Though they are imports that have done well for CBBC in the past.
Now that CBBC have the channel they can test audiences of new shows on there, and bring the popular ones to CBBC One & Two. CiTV would really benefit from having a simple service like this on itv2.
It's not only about the programming though is it. The reason I watched CiTV, is because I liked Michael & Leah, especially together. The presentation was good, the old ways of communication were good. But there must be something about the quality of home grown CiTV programmes that I really love.
If only they had the money for more. I hope that when the merger is complete and more funds become available, that CiTV argue for more. They need it. Just think how strong it could be if they had strong home grown programmes.
Perhaps what they could try is producing a series of pilot episodes of programmes that air on the telly say in the first week of january. They ask for viewers response. If they are positive, and all at CiTV agree, give the green light for a series to be commissioned for september/january. That way they wouldn't be wasting money on programmes that are rubbish, and would encourage viewer communication creating an interaction in the programme.
Back to that Nigel Pickard Article. I've picked out some interesting points about CiTV. Though you've most probably already spotted them!
media guardian article posted:
His second big push is to improve Citv, the area he had once run so spectacularly well. Just days before he arrived, children's controller Janie Grace (who had succeeded him) was abruptly sacked for squandering Citv's lead over CBBC.
"First of all, obviously, we must get it back up to full strength, in rude health, on a par with the BBC or beating it, as we used to do. Where ITV went wrong was it tried to broaden out too far, catch the teenagers.
"We have to know the audience we are going for. In reality those children are the under-10s.
We're going back to the core, pre-school programmes from 3.15pm to 3.40, then aiming for six-to-10-year-olds. We see CiTV as led by entertainment and fun - Sabrina the Teenage Witch and My Parents Are Aliens are fantastic shows. Boohbah is really interesting, we'll see how it goes.
You have to be so precise in kids' TV, you can't expect youngsters to watch older, that is a very dangerous path."
This means that CiTV's biggest recent new drama, Girls in Love, aimed at the Sugar reader, is "unlikely" to return for another series, even though Stephen Andrew, who is installed as Pickard's choice as new CiTV controller, championed it to screen. "I kept turning it down, as too old," smiles Pickard.
But, while CiTV is now described by the ITC as in a critical state - some suspect that Pickard will be forced to cut its throat once a Carlton/Granada merger takes place - he says that is absolutely not the case. And that its annual budget (£36m) is "really good", because "kids' television is really important. You can't be ITV, a channel like this, and ignore kids. All the research we've done shows that people grow up with their personal boutique of channels."
Another concern is Saturday morning's SM:TV which he has only recommissioned to next December. When Pickard launched it nearly five years ago with Pokemon cartoons and Ant & Dec it romped to victory, exterminating Live & Kicking.
"It used to do a 48% share, now it's down to 19%; at its height it served ITV very well. There comes a point when we'll have to review what we do about Saturday mornings. We're having a very hard look."
Although since this article was written, I'm sure that they have recommissioned a new series of girls in love, though it is to be aimed at a younger audience. Even I felt that was too old for kids. And I've never liked the theme tune to it.
Jaqueline Wilson is an excellent children's writer. But look how CBBC have done it, great cast, young cast, same age as the audience, fun, good animation to go along with it, and a great character in Tracy Beaker to use.
And as for new presenters. We won't have to wait that long to see now! It will be interesting if they can carry on the fun attitude, and make it seem like live tv, ablibing, just talking general to each other, and to see if they have the same chemistry. That is to say if there are two of them, could be one, could be more!
