GMTV (1993 - 2010)

Apple does no market research at all? I very much doubt that.

An 'opinion poll' is probably the wrong term, and it sounds to me more like a survey than a focus group. They'd be silly if they launched a new programme without doing any research into their audience's opinions

How about the idea of Holly & Phil covering the Breakfast show when Adrian & Christine are off ? Eamon & Ruth could then present This Morning. They wanted more synergy between the daytime shows, so there you have it.

That surely is more damaging to TM - would potentially reduce Holly & Phil presenting by 4 or more weeks. Also Eamonn also has Sunrise over on Sky.

I think they will be on the look out for a secondary pair to fill in holidays etc and I do not thing Holly and Phil will go anywhere near it.

Kate Thornton could pop up I think.

Interesting reporting tonight .....

Christine Bleakley heads for ITV as impatient BBC withdraws its offer

Christine Bleakley to reunite with Adrian Chiles at ITV in three-year deal reportedly worth £6m

WWW.GUARDIAN.CO.UK/MEDIA

None.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0803/gallery.jobsqna.fortune/3.html

"We do no market research. We don't hire consultants."


People often say 'it's about giving the customer/audience what they want'. But mostly it's not. You put something in front of the audience and you sell it to them. What does your average member of the public know about choosing a good title for a breakfast schedule anyway? Nothing. The responses will be along the lines of 'yeah, that sounds good' and 'I think The Early Show is a good title because everything's called 'the something show' so it must be, like, trendy?'

A focus group will be full of people from the centre of the universe, the south east, who more than likely look down their noses at GMTV because they can't bear to think that a product has been created without them in mind.

The point about Focus groups is more to find out what they DON'T like. If you have a great idea - but lots and lots of people react negatively to it in groups - then there could be a reason for that, and you need to re-think.

The ratings, after all, are one big focus group...

It's like the old phrase phrase: 'I don't know much about art but I know what I like'. Joe Bloggs might not know much about any of the semiotics of the name or the thought process that goes into creating a new TV programme.... but when he watches it he'll know straight away whether he likes it or not.

If no-one likes it, then ITV have cocked up and they don't want to know that in the second week of September. And it's not just the name, the content and styling has to be agreeable. Look at RI:SE for an example of a programme that got all it all wrong


No, because that would make the whole process pointless. If they're going to do a survey or whatever (I doubt it'll be a focus group) they need to do it amongst their potential audience and ITV know that

Is there are news on whether Christine's going back to the One show for the final couple of months as I though her BBC contracted ended in September. Although the BBC statement does seem as though she's not coming back.

I'd think it would be very unlikely, it's not due back for a few weeks so there's plenty of time to find a stand in... something they didn't have when Adrian left

Unless they are able to find a permanent presenter not currently tied into a contract, such as Penny Smith or Fern Brittain, and provided said presenter were able to commit to the show from July in return for a lucrative BBC contract. It's not unheard of, of course, given Adrian's fairly quick appearance on ITV hosting football just weeks after leaving the beeb. Otherwise I'd expect faces like Anita Rani and lucy seagle, along with perhaps other presenters like Tess Daly or even Kate Silverton (following Louise Minchin's appearance) until they find someone permanent. Out of interest, is ToS going off-air over the summer or is it staying put once it returns in July?

No, that's precisely why focus groups are meaningless. They operate in a group.

You'd have to sit people down individually and ask them what they think in order to get meaningful results out of them.