ITV1 Prime Time schedule - needs revamping?

To Be Announced

ITV does need to sort out it's Prime Time schedule, it's just stuck in the same rut of Dramas, which some people may like, but I don't like them on all of the time, especially on such a big channel like ITV. A schedule from the mid 1990's was more suitable as it had variety, such as....

7.00pm Monday: The Krypton Factor Tues/Thurs: Emmerdale Wed: Wheel Of Fortune Fri: Catchphrase
7.30pm Same as now is quite suitable
8.00pm The Bill (Tues and Thurs would be best), A current affairs programme on Monday, a documentary on Wednesday, the Friday schedule now would work well.
8.30pm Comedy from some nights, such as a repeat of Mr Bean or something new

The schedule there is not what it should be (i.e. the programmes mentioned that have been since cancelled) but a general form of variety in the schedule, with game shows, comedies etc.

ITV can do comedy and they can do it well, it's just some of its better stuff isnt widely promoted or given a good slot, I can already see 'Dead Man Weds' being a flop, as Wendesday at 10pm doesn't feel right, plus more people will probably be watching Desperate Housewives on Channel 4. They should reschedule it really, maybe Sunday night, or a night where the ratings might do well.

What ITV could consider doing to slighty boost their audience is to have a schedule, so there's nothing on at 10pm, which has low ratings which leads into the News, so it could go like....

7.30pm Coronation Street
8.00pm Comedy
8.30pm The Bill
9.30pm Drama
10.30pm ITV News

I know they have tried it the odd time, but it should be put into practice more often, as you won't have your audience flipping round at :00, as most programmes on all channels which aim to get the viewers usually start at :00.

My ideal ITV Primetime Schedule would be one that contains soap only on Sunday and Tuesday (even that is too often in my view, once a week is good enough). That way ITV would be able to creat programmes of a higher quality and perhaps some decent documentaries could be slotted in, for the first time in years...

To go through your comments:

Mr Bean - I put this on Mondays because I'd have regular Coronation Street doubles when football is on Tuesday, so wanted something to regularly fill the slot but isn't affected to much by regular interuptions. As Mr Bean is a series of one-off programmes, I thought this be ideal.

Obviously during the winter break and off-season regular series would fill the slot, while Mr Bean is just one suggestion for a fill in show. Others could be putting the animated Mr Bean and Creature Comforts in the slot, a fortnightly Harry Hill's TV Burp or You've Been Framed.

EastEnders: I'll only speak for our household but now when we watch EastEnders it's not through choice or even habit - it's as a last resort. We search through the other channels first and generally watch Trevor McDonald on Monday and Friday, depending on the feature. However, the regional programmes are not sufficient to pull in the viewers - either too bad or too quaint!

This is an agressive, not reactive schedule. ITV1 would need to up their game and provide programmes that'll pull viewers away from EastEnders - and as it's quite vulnerable at the moment it's the perfect time to do so.

Obviously ITV1 would have to consider EastEnders especially in revamping their schedule, and BBC1 moving it to 8pm would be the obvious thing - though I think the BBC would get stick for the impact on the rest of their primetime schedule - or may even leave it where it is to give them the excuse (as being crap doesn't seem to be an excuse!) to axe it.

Other strategies I'd considered was putting Coronation Street on at 8.30pm, with the 8pm programmes airing at 7.30pm. This would bring the viewers back - but it makes the primetime schedule less flexible.

Also, the original schedule allows ITV1 to strand programmes across the week. Although this is against the aim of my schedule, ITV1 could aim to dominate the 7-9pm slots with their big shows. Millionaire could return to airing weeknights at 8pm at regular intervals through the year, I'm a Celebrity could be moved an hour earlier while shows like Pop Idol could strip the auditions across one week, the heats (final 50) across the next week before going on to the Saturday night finals.

Sunday evenings. Heartbeat and The Royal somehow pull in the viewers - and are obviously helped by the inheritence from Corrie. Putting these on an hour earlier would hopefully keep the audience - as many would automatically tune in for the soaps anyway - and moving one edition of The Bill to Sundays should compensate for the loss of the soaps. Another strategy I had considered was putting The Bill on Saturdays at 8pm, with Millionaire on Sunday at 7pm - but I don't think Millionaire has the pulling power it once did to kick of a night's schedule.

As for regional programmes - as I said above they don't encourage viewers (like me) to stay tuned during the week - but early Sunday evening offers very little on television. I used to catch more regional programmes when they had their Sunday evening slots, and hopefully airing them in a regular specific regional slot would boost their profile.

The Bill - as said above I'd also considered Saturday at 8pm, though this would be up against Casualty. However, as I said ITV1 would have an agressive schedule, and with shows like Ant and Dec and The X Factor before it The Bill could possibly do very well. Saturday at 9pm would also be a very good slot, and moving it to 9pm on Wednesday is something I'd also considered. Maybe then ITV1 could have regular pre-watershed drama series on Wednesday at 8pm - with the Wednesday drama slot moving to Thursday at 9pm.

TBA: Totally Blonde Airheads - I'm sure if I'd pitched this to ITV, they'd commission it!

Coronation Street - the main reason I'd strand it five times a week is to tuck the soaps away from the main primetime schedule (8pm onwards!). I completly understand the comments on moving it for the football, but this strategy would allow the Monday night doubles to continue. These work very well for big stories - but not every week. Cliffhangers like Roy reporting an illegal sandwich to the police don't just don't work as well! This strategy would mean around 15 double episodes a year.

My personal opinion though is that shows on as regularly as soaps should just be dropped when pre-empted by sport or live events - rather than rescheduled. I'd also axe them on bank holidays and over Christmas - leaving the option for some end of series cliffhangers (like Neighbours / Home and Away!). However, I understand ITV1 would never do this!

nwtv2003 - this schedule is partly inspired by the greater variety of programming ITV1 did have in the past - but I didn't just want to recreate a 1995 schedule. I've tried to keep the elements ITV1 have increased (namely soaps!) and work around them!

Your suggested schedule makes sense - but switching to the half hour means relying on viewers staying with the channel the whole evening. Personally I think the Nightly News should never have been moved from 11pm, allowing ITV1 to fill the 10-11pm slot with a better variety of programming than the 30 minute 10pm slot currently allows.


Hope these have answered some of your points - remember when looking at the schedule that I've tried to do it from ITV's point of view.

Personally, I'd tear up their current schedule and do something like this:
3.15pm CITV
5.30pm ITV News
6.00pm Regional News
6.30pm Emmerdale
7.00pm TBA (as the 8pm programmes in my line up)
8.00pm Coronation Street
8.30pm ITV News
9.00pm TBA (as the 9pm programmes - plus films and 2 hr programmes)
11.00pm approx ITV News Headlines, regional news
11.15pm Late night programmes

But why have it on 5 nights a week? Emmerdale and Corrie would be better if they were 3 nights a week maximum. id have;

7.00pm Emmerdale (Tues/Thurs/Fri) Quiz show etc on Sun/Mon/Wed
7.30pm Coronation Street (Sun/Mon/Fri) Regional on Tues/Thurs

The Bill could go Wednesday 7.30pm-8.30pm to allow for a flim to screen from 8.30-10.30 before the news.

Before 7,they need puffin's pla[i]ce!

I used to like the old 7pm slot too when Emmerdale was just on twice (then 3 times) but those type of shows wouldn't work now! they certainly wouldn't pull in upto 10 million like emmerdale does. IMO and, no offence, Nothing anyone has suggested would be an improvement on the current schedule, ratings wise or quality wise. The scheduling is fine how it is, they just need some more good shows.

Because I'm realistic. Emmerdale and Coronation Street are ITV1's biggest programmes and both have gone from strength to strength since they went five nights a week. I do think the sixth Emmerdale episode is stretching it too far though - but ITV1 would be very reluctant to axe it.

I've tried to put them at places in the schedule where they don't create the impression that's all ITV1 has to offer - and stripping them across the week in an early primetime slot is the best way to do that!

What you want is to return to the mid-nineties, which for better or worse isn't going to happen.

But what happenes if people get so fed up of soaps that viewing figures drop so low they axe them, they will have to fill the schedules with something else then..

Say what you like about the Mid 1990s but the soaps got higher viewing figures back then and were on far less.

True, certainly for Coronation Street - but ten years on the TV environment is very different.

As for getting fed up of soaps - eventually people will. However, the original schedule I proposed offers a greater variety of programming than current on offer, hopefully putting less pressure on the soaps. If - and it's a big if - a soap is axed, ITV would cross that bridge when they come to that - and I'm sure ITV will have axed it's regional programming long before they axe Emmerdale or Corrie.

Probabaly but ITV should be brave and axe the Sunday Emmerdale and Monday 8.30pm Corrie. Ideally I would like 3 episodes of the soaps a week, you never know it might increase the viewers, people would be more likely to follow a soap regularly if it had 3 episodes a week, and the poor cast must be overworked doing up to 6 episodes a week.

its all very well for people to say put them on because they pull in the viewers, thats a very lazy way to do things, just stick Emmerdale on and not bother to come up with something good that would pull in an equal amount of viewers. In the old days the soaps got higher viewers yet they didnt just stick them on 6 nights a week because they were guranteed ratings.

I would agree to move the ITV Evening News to a different time, but its too established to do that now. I think the whole ITV1 line up needs a revamp in timings, and who knows ratings may improve... if they dont try they wont find out!

They already win most nights you know, there's more chance of ratings dropping than increasing.
Remember the idea of showing The Premiership at 7pm on Saturday that was idea that seemed good on paper