ITV was once a strong brand and channel, comprised of several regions throughout the country providing regional programming and also broadcasting network programming. Granada was 'leading' the regions, producing such quality programming such as Coronation Street and World In Action. Nowadays, ITV is weak and 'damp', comprised of several regions that literally only provide the regional news and don't exist, whilst Granada is a shadow of its former self, having taken over the majority of the ITV regional companies and producing such terrible programming like the so-called successful reality show, Celebrity Love Island.
Not meaning to be rude here, but if this e-mail is replied back with a simple 'your comments have been logged' message, I will keep on plaguing you with what you think are pointless e-mails that have been written on behalf of a minority, just like you are plaguing the viewers with programmes packed full up with Z-list celebrities that you presumably have brought back from the trash in an attempt to get more viewers. This is NOT going to work.
Over the past few years, ITV has brought us Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Wrestling, Celebrity Love Island, Celebrity versions of normal programmes such as Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes and the like. No offence intended here, but a certain Mr. Allen must surely be taking the ahem if he is going to allow more celebrity filled programmes to hit our screens. And I must say that I'm not keen on the idea of a second series of Celebrity Love Island to be shown. The tabloid-style that ITN - I mean, ITV News - has taken on is at the very forefront of where things are going wrong, if you understand what I'm trying to say.
Such newsreaders like Mark Austin, Sir Trevor McDonald, Nicholas Owen and Mary Nightingale (as well as Nina Hossain) I can cope with. I feel that I can 'relate' to them, in a way. But since the February 2004 'unified' ITV News Group look came in (as well as the change of brand in 1999 and the removal of ITN's name in the presenter's namecheck in 2002), things have indeed gone downhill.
Melvyn Bragg's 'The Story of ITV' series is, all in all, quite a joke. I was expecting Mr. Bragg to be truthful, to say how ITV was originally set-up (not just a quick 5-minute look) and I also expected the clips from early ITV to be shown in their true aspect ratio, not botched and blown up to 16:9. I feel that clips were shown from recent times rather than focusing on ITV's history.
New idents were filmed for series such as the ill-fated Celebrity Love Island, but no regional idents (that is, if they still do exist - they're never shown) have been filmed. It is not that hard! I mean, come on, with all due respect, special idents are welcomed but regional idents are only shown about once a week - maybe twice, if we're lucky.
Let me end this long 'rant' by saying how much I think ITV has changed during the last half century. Again, no offence meant, but calling ITV 'The People's Channel' is not what I think you should call ITV. Perhaps the 'Celebrity Channel', no?
Thank-you for providing absolutely nothing of interest in terms of new programming within the past few months - apart from at least 8 exceptions.
Regards,
Nicky Lotay
nlotay@hotmail.com
