ITV1 are considering having a new daytime soap, they are already discussing it and it could be on air within a year. Apparently in order to make ITV1 the best channel they want to fill the gap in their schedules and hope to learn by past mistakes i.e. Crossroads. They also want a show to rival BBC soaps Doctors and Neighbours, both of which have proved popular in daytimes slots.
Well here’s an article from Digital Spy from November 27th:
Quote:
ITV is planning to launch a new drama in daytime despite the high profile failures of Crossroads and Night & Day, according to Broadcast magazine.
Liam Hamilton, the network's controller of daytime, said that the new drama would be key to winning the ratings battle.
"ITV has had its fingers burned with daytime drama but I passionately believe it will have to return," he said. "Despite ITV's travails with daytime drama in the past, I believe we will get back into it next year and I will be spectacularly keen to make sure that the problems that reared their heads in the past do not return."
How can they combine "learn from mistakes" and "new daytime soap" in the same sentence?
Indeed. The first step to "learning from their mistakes" would be to give the show long enough to establish itself, this would require a guaranteed time slot for at least six months. Don't they realise that unrealiastic expectations that everything will be an instant hit, and moving shows after just a few weeks, are the reason they fail?
If it took time for cult classics (ie. Fawlty Towers) to establish themselves when there were just three channels, it'll take much longer in the multichannel maze. Only this week the NUJ criticised ITV for putting commercial considerations before the interests of the viewers.
I do think there is a gap thoguh for a daytime soap or drama on ITV1.
In other words, you want Shortland Street back on the telly
Mind you, ITV denied full stop that they wanted a new daytime soap after they got rid of Crossroads. Now they want one. Assuming they don't treat it in the same way as before and expect instant success, like they did with Xroads Mark III, then it could be interesting to follow. We shall see.
They may have a gap, and aslong as they can give it time to breed its audience figures it could prove successful. Though I don't think they should create a soap and fill two slots with the same episode, just because the BBC do.
What they need to do is look at the audience (which is something itv has stopped doing recently. For example, at 5 they need something that can appeal to kids that have just watched CiTV, students and teens who may have just gotten in, and adults getting in from work.
Where as with the early afternoon slot they have to aim at more house wives, mothers, retired people, ill people, etc.
I think that they should try a soap in the early afternoon. You can tell though that they want something or 5pm. The Christmas Show is a good format at the moment, a live, fun entertainment based show that is easy to watch.
The thing with soaps is that they are all the same. Except for night & day, which I don't think itv gave enough time to. It was mysterious and more like a drama than a normal soap, and wasn't scared to try wierd and wonderful storylines. And the way it was produced was unlike any UK soap, and yet was stil a soap as the story always continued.
