GMTV renews contract with ITV until 2010

The current agreement between GMTV and ITV ends next February, but they have renewed the contract effective as of that time until 2010. The contract, worth almost £10m ensures continuing provision of GMTV's services.

ITN will provide administrative and technical support for GMTV, which holds the licence for news on the channel between 6am and 9.25am.

"The award of this contract will help strengthen our position as the market leader in delivering the news at breakfast," said John Scammell, managing editor of GMTV.

The contract is a blessing for ITN also, as its services for Five were discontinued in favour of Sky News.

So GMTV is on for another 5 years and what would we see for the next 5 years?
Presenter Changes? ITV gaining full control over GMTV? I would like to see better graphics, because they are awful! Consider the GMTV Kids logo, it looks like its been made by a 5yr old and took 5 minutes.

GMTV has renewed its contract with ITV to provide facilities for the breakfast TV station until 2010.

The contract, worth almost £10m, will take effect in February when the existing arrangements cease.

ITN will provide technical support, crewing in the UK and the US, and satellite trucks for GMTV, which is the licence holder and news provider for ITV between 6am and 9.25am.

The news company first began working with GMTV in 2000, when it lured the contract away from Reuters. It will come as a boost to the Gray’s Inn Road outfit, which saw it’s news contract with Five scooped by Sky News earlier this year.

GMTV managing editor John Scammell said: "The award of this contract will help strengthen our position as the market leader in delivering the news at breakfast."

The Digital Spy report is somewhat garbled.

This is nothing to do with GMTV's licence to broadcast on channel 3 between 6am and 9.25am.

This is to do with technical services provided to GMTV by ITN.

In any case, ITV plc already holds 75 per cent of GMTV.

The Digital Spy piece is based on a Broadcast news item which been rewritten by a DS person who plainly doesn't understand ITV/GMTV/ITN.

bring back TVAM

goes back to 1989

The Digital Spy report is somewhat garbled. This is nothing to do with GMTV's licence to broadcast on channel 3 between 6am and 9.25am. This is to do with technical services provided to GMTV by ITN. In any case, ITV plc already holds 75 per cent of GMTV. The Digital Spy piece is based on a Broadcast news item which been rewritten by a DS person who plainly doesn't understand ITV/GMTV/ITN.

It's a throwback to when breakfast TV first launched, when the IBA still required the local stations to open with a startup. To enable them to do this, TV-am would need to be off air by 9:25am at the latest. Although originally TV-am ended at 9:15am, possibly to allow space for IBA Engineering Announcements (which followed immediately after TV-am on its first day).

The new contract certainly doesn't relate directly to GMTV broadcasting between 6am and 9.25am and I agree that the DS article is a little ambiguous