ITV1 to be rebranded as ITV

Agreed completely.

In the grand scheme of things, all they're doing is lobbing off the "1". Why would something like that send viewers into a confused tizzy? Why does it not "make sense" in this "multi channel world"? MTV cope just fine with their current set-up, as Pete noted a few posts above. I'm damn sure most people say "ITV" instead of "ITV1" anyway!

I know people think ITV viewers are stupid, but please!

It will be glaringly obvious and in no way confusing to anyone, the logos/identities will be very strong and people will gravitate to the ITV "mother ship" on Channel 3 everytime it's mentioned.

ITV1 has never rolled off the tongue and no one ever says it. "On ITV at 9" is what the vast majority would say. This is a really good move that will really strengthen the brand of the whole network, particularly the flagship channel.

I know people think ITV viewers are stupid, but please!

It will be glaringly obvious and in no way confusing to anyone, the logos/identities will be very strong and people will gravitate to the ITV "mother ship" on Channel 3 everytime it's mentioned.

ITV1 has never rolled off the tongue and no one ever says it. "On ITV at 9" is what the vast majority would say. This is a really good move that will really strengthen the brand of the whole network, particularly the flagship channel.

I think some people have real difficulty grappling with the concept of change.

It's only odd because those defending the move have cited examples of NickJr and MTV as those with a '2' whilst sans a '1'.

Neither of those examples are national PSBs, and their numerals don't extend beyond 2.

MTV also branded their main channel as MTV ONE for a while, but then reverted to MTV, and have a plethora of other channels not using either a numeral or even the MTV name.

ITV plc have 5 nationally available channels within their contractual areas. I can understand why Pete managed to stop his 'brain from falling out of his ear' long enough to accept ITV & ITV2 co-existing (it was a supplementary channel - that's all), but when networks move to have a third and fourth linked channel in their 'family', then the numerals have to be logical.

Either that or just change the names of the channels to remove numerals altogether.

To have ITV2/3/4 without '1' looks ridiculous and will be seen as such by anyone with basic numeracy skills (although that's not necessarily ITV's target audience).

I'm baffled as to why people find 'ITV1' a cumbersome name for a channel! It is very easy to say, very easy to recognise, and whenever I speak to people who suggest a programme for me to watch; they say 'its on at 9 on ITV1'. Moreso now than ever before in the age of Digital TV when ITV has numerous channels, the number 1 should stay to make differenciating the channel much more easy.
ITV to me is only the brand/company; not the channel. The same way as the BBC and BBC1 are also different.

There's an important historical aspect to this, though. The vast majority would simply never consider the letters "ITV" to mean "the ITV family of channels" of the newfangled digital age. Never. "ITV" is overwhelmingly used as a direct reference to the main channel, the channel that sits third in every broadcast platform channel list.

ITV is still Channel 3.

ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4, supplement this Channel 3. They are the second, third and fourth services from the same network.

This alleged rebranding recognises this.

How the **** did we get here?

There is also the perception of ITV1 emphasising everything that has gone wrong with ITV in the last decade. By that I mean the regions being dropped, the approach the news has taken, the trashy celeb orientated ITV, record low audiences year after year etc. By ditching ITV1, they're in a position to drop the bad perception and have a clean slate. It obviously won't really affect the public perception of the channel, but it's a symbolic mark of a new chapter for them (after really upping their game in the last year or so) and it might make them want to keep the new name 'clean'.

Also just to add, ITV2 launched when ITV was still using the regional names, so not only was there no ITV1 but there wasn't really an ITV either! It didn't affect it then and it certainly won't affect it now, and to be honest its arguing the toss over something so trivial.

Today at work I was working with a fellow member of staff and we were talking about dramas- and she said there's loads of good drama on 'BBC1 & ITV'.

Well, I'm glad that's settled then.

Shall we start calling "Sky 1" "Sky Channel" again?

I for one am looking forward to this rebrand as it will assist me in actually locating transmissions of ITV News

Details of the 'Drama lives on ITV' promo / ident.

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2012/september/craig-wards-new-itv-drama-identity

And a bit about the rebrand :

"The next big project is a rebrand of the flagship channel which will see the numeral one dropped from our flagship channel. This is being created and managed internally and includes a new look and approach to all the services in the portfoliio, so no small task. ITV is an exciting place to be at the moment and although there is still lots of work to do to get it where we want to be, it feels like the ship is pointing the right way."