New ITV Takeover Bid

Regionality is not dead, and will not die by law. It is a requirement for Channel 3 to provide X amount of regional content and by the rules and regulations set by Ofcom, must include regional names; therefore the regions are not allowed to go under a uniform name all the time. Regionality as in regional continuity and idents is dead under Carlton and Granada, but not in other franchises. ITV Plc is just a 12-franchise holder, and who is to say there is no chance of them being kicked off at the next franchise round after viewing figures plummet.

*raises handbag* Ooh get her!

HER?

Regionalism, as we knew it dead - it has been murdered by Charles Allen and his cronies. Admittedly regional names cannot be got rid of, but saying that haven't Ofcom just agreed to setting up a new regional variation on the ITV network - ITV Thames Valley????? And so many hours of regional programme has to be shown over a 12 month period. In my eyes this amounts to virtually nothing.

Regionalism is dead - and this first started with Lord Hollick taking over control of Anglia TV, and HTV Wales and West. Then it ws compounded by Mr Green of Carlton taking over Carlton and Westcountry. Granada was a late-runner, though, first with LWT and then Yorkshire-Tyne Tees.

I do not trust Lord Hollick - he is just as bad, even worse than Charles Allen (and he goes some way to being beaten in hate stakes). My only preferred bidder, if ever given then chance, would have to be Greg Dyke, or if a relative of Lord Bernstein (original owners of the Granada empire) ever decided to take the company back.

As so many different names were involved in getting rid of regional ITV in their own regions as you've just mentioned above and it wasn't just one person, don't you ever get the feeling that it would have happened whoever was in charge, even Greg Dyke, Thames TV or whoever?

Centralisation of the network was always going to be inevitable, but the main focus of people destroyed what was once a good channel of mixed/variety of programming.

I just feel that it would have been handled much more better if Greg Dyke, along with the original Thames TV had been around to see the centralisation - we may still be in the position we have today (i.e. 1 ITV name with only regional names being used for news programmes and the odd regional programme) but the mix/variety of programming would still be there and promotion of the channels, I feel would have been better handled.

Don't forget Greg Dyke and the original Thames TV were TV people/companies who knew about commercial TV. The people in charge today don't know anything about commercial television - they are business people who want to make a quick profit and are not bothered about long term prospects/goals.

At the end of today, only one person has overall responsibility for ITV's decline and fall. Her name was Margaret Thatcher.

Not necesarilly - yes, she started the ball rolling, but it has been under Blair's control that laws have changed, OFCOM has become weak and ITV have been able to make an ass of themselves.

More damage has been made under Blairs authority than what would heve ever been done under Thatcher or Major. Thatcher realised her mistake when Bruce Gyngell lost the TVam franchise and she insisted that she would do whatever possible to make sure it wouldn't happen again. Majot followed that philosophy. But Blair just doesn't give a damn about this country - he ia American in all but citizenship.

Isn't it somewhat ironic that Gyngell, one of the main victims of Thatcher's purge ended up being one of the main figures responsible for the dismantling of the old order?

He along with John Calvert laid the foundations for what to do with a small outpost station to save cash, and the rest followed. Indeed some of the proposals laid down at the time have still not been entirely matched today.