CD
Right, almost time for ITV to get back where it should be. Fingers crossed for a successor with more of a passion for TV than money money money.
NU
Getting back to the subject, ITV will bounce back but it does need a new team at the top. Over the past two years ITV have tried new shows and ditched them after just one/two episodes and consigned them to a sub 11pm graveyard.
Yet shows like Celebrity Wrestling and Love Island are given the chance to grow and seemingly have the support of the network, the channel needs some consistency.
To any new CEO who is brave enough, here is what you should focus on.
Restore children's programming in the 3.30 to 5.00 slot, endless repeats of old shows are a short-term fix.
Ditch the obsession with 'Reality TV' and everything celebrity-based, we are seeing the final throes of Big Brother now, don't be taken down with it
Stop this silly attempt to schedule your shows against a rival network show, place quality shows in the schedule and let your customers (the viewers) decide
Yet shows like Celebrity Wrestling and Love Island are given the chance to grow and seemingly have the support of the network, the channel needs some consistency.
To any new CEO who is brave enough, here is what you should focus on.
Restore children's programming in the 3.30 to 5.00 slot, endless repeats of old shows are a short-term fix.
Ditch the obsession with 'Reality TV' and everything celebrity-based, we are seeing the final throes of Big Brother now, don't be taken down with it
Stop this silly attempt to schedule your shows against a rival network show, place quality shows in the schedule and let your customers (the viewers) decide
AM
There is a new team at the top. Their work will be seen for the first time this Autumn
The Charles Allen role doesn't get involved in individual programme decisions
No but it his Allen and his sidekicks that decide how much money the various channels have for programming. IT was their decision to close down the Bristol department (Survival, other natural history shows and hard-hitting documentaries) and the in-house children's productions unit.
The amount of money given to the channels for programming does have a direct correlation as to the type of programmes we are seeing today. No real investment means very lackluster programmes - just look at CiTV and the influx of "reality" shows the low class productions in drama, the amount of soaps etc...
Andrew posted:
NewsUpdate posted:
Getting back to the subject, ITV will bounce back but it does need a new team at the top.
There is a new team at the top. Their work will be seen for the first time this Autumn
The Charles Allen role doesn't get involved in individual programme decisions
No but it his Allen and his sidekicks that decide how much money the various channels have for programming. IT was their decision to close down the Bristol department (Survival, other natural history shows and hard-hitting documentaries) and the in-house children's productions unit.
The amount of money given to the channels for programming does have a direct correlation as to the type of programmes we are seeing today. No real investment means very lackluster programmes - just look at CiTV and the influx of "reality" shows the low class productions in drama, the amount of soaps etc...
DU
Sorry to quote myself and bring back this thread, but I thought it would be better than starting a new one.
MG is now reporting on this shift in strategy that I suggesting in the bold section above:
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1855866,00.html
This is fundamentally why I don't think ITV will just 'bounce back like usual'. Once Six Degrees is a success, it will open the floodgates for ITV to screen many more American dramas- absolutely fantastic news for people like me who literally watch nothing on ITV currently in any given week without Champions League football. BUT bad news for the UK production industry, and arguably for British TV.
Dunedin posted:
To be honest, I don't think this is just another ratings blip for ITV- the simple reason is that it's caused a change in culture and programming in two key respects:
1. Event programming- they're going big on this more so than ever before, and are likely to accept the odd failure in order to find successful formats that can survive being stripped across the schedule for weeks on end.
For me this indicates a shift towards less variety on the channel.
2. This coming autumn, ITV1 will screen the US drama "Six Degrees" in a primetime slot. This is the new drama by JJ Abrams, the creator of "Lost". Given that fact, I imagine they've paid top dollar for this series, hence the fact they're showing on ITV1 and not one of the digital channels.
For me if this is a success (and it has every reason to be given the pedigree of the production team), this will be just the beginning of ITV buying in US programming for peak time broadcast on ITV1. I think this will probably make the channel more watchable to many people (including me), but it will further drift away from any public service remit that it barely fulfils today.
1. Event programming- they're going big on this more so than ever before, and are likely to accept the odd failure in order to find successful formats that can survive being stripped across the schedule for weeks on end.
For me this indicates a shift towards less variety on the channel.
2. This coming autumn, ITV1 will screen the US drama "Six Degrees" in a primetime slot. This is the new drama by JJ Abrams, the creator of "Lost". Given that fact, I imagine they've paid top dollar for this series, hence the fact they're showing on ITV1 and not one of the digital channels.
For me if this is a success (and it has every reason to be given the pedigree of the production team), this will be just the beginning of ITV buying in US programming for peak time broadcast on ITV1. I think this will probably make the channel more watchable to many people (including me), but it will further drift away from any public service remit that it barely fulfils today.
Sorry to quote myself and bring back this thread, but I thought it would be better than starting a new one.
MG is now reporting on this shift in strategy that I suggesting in the bold section above:
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1855866,00.html
This is fundamentally why I don't think ITV will just 'bounce back like usual'. Once Six Degrees is a success, it will open the floodgates for ITV to screen many more American dramas- absolutely fantastic news for people like me who literally watch nothing on ITV currently in any given week without Champions League football. BUT bad news for the UK production industry, and arguably for British TV.
BR
The thing with US programmes is that it's very rare for them to get ratings comparable to the hit homegrown dramas on BBC1 and ITV1.
While C4 and five might be happy with around 3m for Lost and CSI, it's not what ITV would call a hit!
I bet it's shifted to 11pm within a few weeks!
Also talking of ITV - see on Teletext ITV wanting "lookalikes" for a new programme. If they are going to do that awful Lookalike awards thing again, then ITV really aren't learning are they!
While C4 and five might be happy with around 3m for Lost and CSI, it's not what ITV would call a hit!
I bet it's shifted to 11pm within a few weeks!
Also talking of ITV - see on Teletext ITV wanting "lookalikes" for a new programme. If they are going to do that awful Lookalike awards thing again, then ITV really aren't learning are they!
JE
Jez
Founding member
I dont recall ITV showing an imported drama in the 9pm slot, not on ITV1 anyway (ITV2 had Supernatural, with a 11pm repeat on ITV1 later in the week).
There nothing to say shows such as Prison Break, Lost or Desperate Housewives wouldnt be a hit on ITV1. They would probabaly pull more viewers in than their airings on C4 or FIVE because more people tend to watch ITV1 than those channels
There nothing to say shows such as Prison Break, Lost or Desperate Housewives wouldnt be a hit on ITV1. They would probabaly pull more viewers in than their airings on C4 or FIVE because more people tend to watch ITV1 than those channels
AM
I can name 4 straight of...
Quincy MD
Magnum PI
The Equalizer (with Edward Woodward)
and all 3 had very good ratings for ITV
also don't forget ITV also showed...
Knight Rider
The A Team
Street Hawk
Hart To Hart
Crazy Like A Fox
The Love Boat
Fantasy Island
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Battlestar Galactica (old series)
and all did very well during peak time schedule across the old ITV Network
Jez posted:
I dont recall ITV showing an imported drama in the 9pm slot, not on ITV1 anyway (ITV2 had Supernatural, with a 11pm repeat on ITV1 later in the week).
There nothing to say shows such as Prison Break, Lost or Desperate Housewives wouldnt be a hit on ITV1. They would probabaly pull more viewers in than their airings on C4 or FIVE because more people tend to watch ITV1 than those channels
There nothing to say shows such as Prison Break, Lost or Desperate Housewives wouldnt be a hit on ITV1. They would probabaly pull more viewers in than their airings on C4 or FIVE because more people tend to watch ITV1 than those channels
I can name 4 straight of...
Quincy MD
Magnum PI
The Equalizer (with Edward Woodward)
and all 3 had very good ratings for ITV
also don't forget ITV also showed...
Knight Rider
The A Team
Street Hawk
Hart To Hart
Crazy Like A Fox
The Love Boat
Fantasy Island
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Battlestar Galactica (old series)
and all did very well during peak time schedule across the old ITV Network
AM
I can name 3 straight of...
Quincy MD
Magnum PI
The Equalizer (with Edward Woodward)
and all 3 had very good ratings for ITV
also don't forget ITV also showed...
Knight Rider
The A Team
Street Hawk
Hart To Hart
Crazy Like A Fox
The Love Boat
Fantasy Island
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Battlestar Galactica (old series)
and all did very well during peak time schedule across the old ITV Network
amosc100 posted:
Jez posted:
I dont recall ITV showing an imported drama in the 9pm slot, not on ITV1 anyway (ITV2 had Supernatural, with a 11pm repeat on ITV1 later in the week).
There nothing to say shows such as Prison Break, Lost or Desperate Housewives wouldnt be a hit on ITV1. They would probabaly pull more viewers in than their airings on C4 or FIVE because more people tend to watch ITV1 than those channels
There nothing to say shows such as Prison Break, Lost or Desperate Housewives wouldnt be a hit on ITV1. They would probabaly pull more viewers in than their airings on C4 or FIVE because more people tend to watch ITV1 than those channels
I can name 3 straight of...
Quincy MD
Magnum PI
The Equalizer (with Edward Woodward)
and all 3 had very good ratings for ITV
also don't forget ITV also showed...
Knight Rider
The A Team
Street Hawk
Hart To Hart
Crazy Like A Fox
The Love Boat
Fantasy Island
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Battlestar Galactica (old series)
and all did very well during peak time schedule across the old ITV Network
DU
I disagree- I think it could achieve 5m+ viewers with the correct marketing, which nowadays would be considered a hit for an ITV1 drama.
And it has the added advantage of being 22+ episodes long per series to ensnare that audience for an even longer time. Far simpler to buy in then produce multiple different Ross Kemp vehicles that attract 4m viewers a go!
Brekkie Boy posted:
The thing with US programmes is that it's very rare for them to get ratings comparable to the hit homegrown dramas on BBC1 and ITV1.
While C4 and five might be happy with around 3m for Lost and CSI, it's not what ITV would call a hit!
I bet it's shifted to 11pm within a few weeks!
Also talking of ITV - see on Teletext ITV wanting "lookalikes" for a new programme. If they are going to do that awful Lookalike awards thing again, then ITV really aren't learning are they!
While C4 and five might be happy with around 3m for Lost and CSI, it's not what ITV would call a hit!
I bet it's shifted to 11pm within a few weeks!
Also talking of ITV - see on Teletext ITV wanting "lookalikes" for a new programme. If they are going to do that awful Lookalike awards thing again, then ITV really aren't learning are they!
I disagree- I think it could achieve 5m+ viewers with the correct marketing, which nowadays would be considered a hit for an ITV1 drama.
And it has the added advantage of being 22+ episodes long per series to ensnare that audience for an even longer time. Far simpler to buy in then produce multiple different Ross Kemp vehicles that attract 4m viewers a go!
AM
I disagree- I think it could achieve 5m+ viewers with the correct marketing, which nowadays would be considered a hit for an ITV1 drama.
And it has the added advantage of being 22+ episodes long per series to ensnare that audience for an even longer time. Far simpler to buy in then produce multiple different Ross Kemp vehicles that attract 4m viewers a go!
But it is also just as cheap and popular to produce longer runs of British Drama's just like they did in the early days ( most ITC drama's were made 26 episodes per series). Even the BBC are starting to do that to save money!!!!! Another example is Heartbeat - well over 10 years years old and each series still has between 24 and 26 episodes!
Dunedin posted:
Brekkie Boy posted:
The thing with US programmes is that it's very rare for them to get ratings comparable to the hit homegrown dramas on BBC1 and ITV1.
While C4 and five might be happy with around 3m for Lost and CSI, it's not what ITV would call a hit!
I bet it's shifted to 11pm within a few weeks!
Also talking of ITV - see on Teletext ITV wanting "lookalikes" for a new programme. If they are going to do that awful Lookalike awards thing again, then ITV really aren't learning are they!
While C4 and five might be happy with around 3m for Lost and CSI, it's not what ITV would call a hit!
I bet it's shifted to 11pm within a few weeks!
Also talking of ITV - see on Teletext ITV wanting "lookalikes" for a new programme. If they are going to do that awful Lookalike awards thing again, then ITV really aren't learning are they!
I disagree- I think it could achieve 5m+ viewers with the correct marketing, which nowadays would be considered a hit for an ITV1 drama.
And it has the added advantage of being 22+ episodes long per series to ensnare that audience for an even longer time. Far simpler to buy in then produce multiple different Ross Kemp vehicles that attract 4m viewers a go!
But it is also just as cheap and popular to produce longer runs of British Drama's just like they did in the early days ( most ITC drama's were made 26 episodes per series). Even the BBC are starting to do that to save money!!!!! Another example is Heartbeat - well over 10 years years old and each series still has between 24 and 26 episodes!