OFCOM slash ITV's regional quota

If OFCOM rubber-stamp ITV's plans to cut the number of regional news shows is that cutting the number of regions too?



I just don't get the idea behind the thinking that because we're going digital, viewers don't want regional programming anymore. I've seen nothing to suggest that.


It could be argued actually that with more channels they should be doing more, not less. In the not-to-distant past they were doing something like 4-6 hours of regional programming a week on one channel - now it's an hour and a half over 4 channels.


One of those big "what ifs", but I do wonder that if the ITV/C4 Freeview bid had won back in 2002 whether ITV's pledge to regionalise it's news channel would have secured the future of regional news to some extent.


Even though they didn't win that, I always felt that after DSO there was the scope to move regional content to the ITV News Channel if they wanted it removed from ITV1.

People may like regional programming, but it's not a profit making side of any broadcaster's business.

OFCOM can't really throw their regulatory muscle about, because they don't have anything to threaten ITV plc with. They could withdraw their franchise licences (but I'm sure ITV have threatened to hand them back anyway - or implied that they can). ITV plc would simply broadcast a single national channel as an Indie on all platforms. OFCOM have no time left to readvertise the franchises before DSO is complete, and I doubt whether anyone would seriously apply.


They are both equal partners in Freeview now. It looks like that pledge was unfounded.


But they closed that "for business reasons" essentially, so it will never return.

I'm afraid its a pattern that has impacted a number of areas of public policy under New Labour, the rail industry being a notable example. Regulators regulate, thats it - thats all they do. There's no concept of the "vision thing" , mearly reactive consultation on proposals derived from within the commercial entity being regulated. This makes it all very conservative and lackluster.

The political direction that occours via The Government doesn't actually inspire "the vision thing" either, but tends to add a strong risk averse element to decision making.

Ah, the rail industry - funny how government policy has done for them the exact opposite of what it has done for public service television? On one hand we have ITV, once a network of 15 independent broadcasters, which has been actively co-erced in amalgamating into just one (for England and Wales). The result was predictable - regional service has become a joke and the "business must come first" ethos means viewers are not being served in the most effective manner. Not to mention they have been conned out of millions in the phone-in scandals. Then we have the rail industry - once a "one size fits all" service for the whole country - now fragmented into several different regional, autonomous operators with each having the power to determine their own fares, passenger policies, etc. In other words, all the things ITV used to be able to do in a television setting. If the railways can be run on a regionally devolved level, why not ITV?

I'd argue that perhaps OFCOM have forgot their purpose it to regulate. All this nonsense about OFCOM wanting to create a Public Service Publisher - and more recently their narrow minded views on HD and selling off any spare spectrum to anyone whether it's in the interest of the viewer or not.


OFCOM's current plans for HD mean after DSO the Freeview platform will essentially be out of date and OFCOM's plan essentially means people having to buy new equipment yet again - possibly not just for HD, but also for existing SD channels.

You're missing a crucial diffrence - railway privatisation was created to increase competition. ITV consolidation happened because of competition.

ITV has been joined by about hundreds of other channels, British Rail wasn't joined by hundreds of diffrent forms of transport running in parallel!

Have people ever wanted regional programming? It's only popular as nostalgia but in reality it's one of the genres that the viewing public want the least

But it could be said that by being split 15 ways - ITV was already in competition with itself. Fifteen different managements, fifteen different ideas about how to do things. And this allowed each region to develop its own strengths and reputations in a particular programming area, ie. drama or light entertainment.

Amid today's unprecedented competition it's local TV which has been the casualty. The technology more than exists for "local" TV channels on Sky Digital but it's not happening due to market forces.

Absolutely the reason why it was set up like that. However that was in the 1950's and 60's.

Take those 15 or so into the 21st century however when there are hundreds more channels competing with the likes of Border and Westcountry, the model doesn't work the same way. It's not a cosy little monopoly any more and being bigger is better

In a business sense, maybe. But the viewers are saying they want more, not less, regional material, and the technology is more than there.

What they say and what they watch aren't the same thing though...

In surveys people often answer questions with the answers they think they should reply with, rather than the truth.

People often say that they prefer to watch factual programmes over entertainment, and costume drama over soaps. Guess what - the entertainment and soaps get higher ratings.

Maybe if there were not dumped in a crap stop it might get more viewers!