Will ITV bounce back like usual?

The difference between, then and now, is about 300 other digital channels sapping up the big audiences.

ITV's Digital channels are doing well, 2nd behind the BSkyB channels for viewers.

Also people work longer now than before, so there aren't as many viewers, also taking into account people playing videogames and watching DVDs.

People no longer all sit together as a family around a TV watching Corrie or some drama show (although our family sit together for shows like Judge John Deed, Desperate Housewives, Afterlife)

ITV are just getting a taste of the usual media hype conveniently before yet another take over bid emerges. Its another of those stories that goes around and comes around. The next one pencilled in will be GCSE's & 'A' levels have been dumbed down and are not what they used to be.
Teletext tv pages love to have a go at poor BBC readings presumably because they are owned by the Daily Mail who hate the BBC only slightly less than news international.
The tried and tested way of getting stable ratings is by producing programming with good production values and a little bit of originality - not a lot of original thinking in british TV at the moment - everyone is too busy saving their jobs

That story is due about 24th August isn't it? Bet the Daily Mail has six attractive girls on the front with their results again

It'll be just like other years, ITV save their strongest shows for the autumn and winter months. There's Lewis, A Touch Of Frost, Cracker, Prime Suspect, The Royal and BBC1 doesn't have that many returning hits. They'd better pray that Robin Hood takes off, but as it'll probably be going up against The X Factor I'm not so sure it will.

Well it was only a matter of time. Charles Allen is more or less gone.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5240228.stm

so its the last ever outing for Prime suspect, possibly last outings for Cracker and A Touch of Frost. Lewis is nowhere near as good as Morse, although I will probably watch it. The Royal is okay but only for Sunday evenings (when I'm watching the final series of Dream Team on Sky1!). BBC does have Spooks, Waking The Dead, New Street Law, Jonathan Ross, Robin Hood, Watchdog, Panorama, Holiday, Strictly Come Dancing (which in my honest opinion is far superior to The X-Factor!) and many many others, then in Winter there will be Torchwood, Life On Mars, Hustle and again many others.

I must admit I do feel that BBC has more shows than ITV over the coming autumn/winter months. The ones mentioned for ITV, apart from The Royal and Heartbeat, are mainly one-off 2hours drama's, or 2 part dramas. BBC has more returning drama's series which last between 6 to 8 weeks so they will build a loyal audience. What will ITV offer once they have shown their one-off's??? I feel its going to be a bad season for ITV, yet again!!!

Media Guardian has been speculacting it all week, so any form of departure within the next couple of weeks wouldn't surprise me whatsoever.

Anyway on the PLC/Business side of things I personally think he's done a good job, as he's managed to chair a company that was formed from two very large Media organisations, he managed to cut costs and consolidate all non-core assets to ITV Plc, he's managed to streamline things in terms of Regional News, which to be fair has seen a huge investment in New technology. He's also done well to cut losses at big and underused studios such as Meridian and Central (East) and for them to move into buildings which are more correctly sized.

Though yes, programming has declined, non-Regional News programming has declined, alot of Public Service has also gone, but to me I think he's done well on the Business side, he's done well on putting ITV in the Digital marketplace and also to have done well to survived to be boss of ITV Plc two and a half years after it was created, considering no-one would have predicted he'd be there that long.

Though as Allen is probably going, question is whether Shaps will stay or not, that would probably have more of an influence on ITV1.

Well as least his keynote speech at Edinburgh will be entertaining- if I was anyone working high up at ITV I would be very worried about what Charles Allen might say after vacating his post- he could prove to be something of a loose cannon.

Apparantly the BBC have just learnt this news

Have they only just picked up last Friday's edition of Broadcast? It was the front page story. He's apparantly leaving at the end of the year!

Sorry to double post, but I also should add that I think this Autumn season is one of the strongest BBC One offerings I can remember. See the press pack here for full details.

Personally things I'm looking forward to:

DRAMA- The State Within (I think this has the makings of drama of the year), Robin Hood, Spooks, Recovery (starring David Tennant).

FACTUAL- Planet Earth (simply amazing), Head Doctors, Who do you think you are? (shifting from BBC Two), Ancient Rome.

COMEDY/ENTERTAINMENT- The Armstrong and Miller show (great to see them back), Royle Family (back for one more hurrah), Jonathon Ross (unbeatable at the chat show game), plus loads of comedy pilots that could be hits.

It's just got so much more variety than ITV1 and I think it's really a season of programming that could put ITV1 into a lot of bother, even with their guaranteed cheap hits (I'm a celeb, x factor, sat night takeaway).

Did last Friday's edition of Broadcast say that the formal announcement would be made next week?

That's what I gathered was the new information in the BBC News article.

Is Waking The Dead definitely back this autumn?