ITV Discussion Thread

Completely agree - and they seem to be cropping up more and more now too, with far too much info on.

If they were smaller and simply a "Next..." banner or something, either just after the break or just before the end, it would be fine - but they're not.


The one BBC2 use on Thursday nights is probably the best version around at the moment - it does it's job, even fills the width of the page - but compared to most others is far less intrusive.

The problem now is that broadcasters have got away with introducing something that was completely unthinkable only a couple of years ago.

I can imagine a time when we'll get to the point of having a constant ticker across the bottom of the screen giving details of that evening's schedule across their channel portfolio. Then it will either be time to get out the duck tape to cover part of the screen or switch off altogether.

I can just about imagine that, actually.

On second thoughts, you'd be better off not saying things like that. Someone from ITV is probably reading your above comment and jotting it down in the ideas section of a padded notebook marked "How to disrupt a TV evening line-up".

Or they'll shrink the screen down into a teletext style size and display waffle about whats coming up for a few seconds then zoom back out again. Heaven forbid!

Once again, the weekends in February trailer was shown before Emmerdale, promoting programmes which have come to the end of their series.

Why are ITV show thick in this respect? Unless they mean weekends in February 2009.

We had a "Coronation Street continues at 8.30pm" a few minutes before the end of tonights first episode even though they tell us at the end it is back in half an hour. Do they think people wont stay until the end of the episode or something

I didn't.

No but I bet you know it starts at 8.30pm if you wanted to watch the 2nd ep so they are totally unnecessary.

I agree.

And this thread continues... in half an hour.

Was my post the pathetic cliffhanger we've come to expect?

Excellent article on MediaGuardian about ITV1's issues and the slowness of Michael Grade's moves.

Excerpts:


'The problem is that nothing Fincham commissions will be on television screens until 2010,' complains one executive. 'He can affect scheduling, but not commissioning. '

- And I think he needs to. The current schedule is too fragmented, even if arguably an improvement in places on the old one. We need a solid, consistent, properly 'streamlined' schedule like the BBC One schedule, and I'm sure Fincham can do that. The time has definitely come to return to one episode per night of things like Corrie/Emmerdale in normal weeks.

Fincham replaces ITV's combative director of television, Simon Shaps, and one of his priorities will be to challenge the BBC's dominance of the 9pm weekday slot, a battle ITV can ill afford to lose but one which Fincham is well placed to win. He was the architect of the BBC1 schedule that gave the corporation the edge over ITV, introducing hit shows, including Life on Mars , that were popular with a younger viewing audience.

- Hopefully Fincham can work similar magic at ITV. If he works fast on some commissions in April, we could see the effects in early 2009. Also, as already said, he CAN re-reoganise the existing schedule and improve it.


ITV has not enjoyed a reputation for making brave decisions or encouraging innovation in recent years, preferring to pursue a safety-first schedule dominated by reality shows and talent contests. So it should be congratulated for taking risks with its new schedule, commissioning Moving Wallpaper, a postmodern comedy about the making of a soap opera, running in tandem with the fictional show its characters work on, Echo Beach

The problem is that it feels like a programme that belongs on BBC2 or Channel 4 , and it is thought to have been offered to both broadcasters before being snapped up by ITV.

- This, to me, is a huge part of the problem. ITV needs to work very hard indeed to abolish this 'stigma' it has, especially for ITV1. The problem? Its branding. I thought from the very beginning when Shaps said presentation would not change as part of the revamp it was a bad idea. Fact: ITV1's presentation is turgid, dull and unexciting. Fact: ITV1's continuity announcers sound like they are sitting in the offices of Heat magazine. It's imperative that in the near future the channel undergoes a severe revamp - it needs to be big budget and very modern. It needs to be as successful as Channel 4's rebranding. It needs to change perceptions of the channel on face value. Obviously it won't change the programmes.


ITV needs its own Life on Mars, which became a huge hit for BBC1 after being commissioned by Peter Fincham, who imbued the channel with popular appeal before he resigned last year. Now he is at ITV, he will be charged with restoring ITV1 to its rightful place as the channel viewers turn to for popular drama and entertainment, a role too often filled by a BBC that many argue has become too populist.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/02/itv.itvbusiness?gusrc=rss&feed=media