Profits down 28% at ITV - regional news to suffer?

This inevitably will be blamed on the demands of regional production and be used to cut back even more, but there's increasingly less credibility in ITV plc using that argument now. YTV and Granada now stand alone as the only stations outside of London with any significant production capability. Regional programming has allready been cut to the bone and news programmes driven downmarket and rationalised.

Even newer stations like Westcountry which allready existed in an ultra-efficient, industrial shed setting with limited production capability and much smaller overheads than other stations with larger 'legacy' facilities (something ITV plc is keen to stamp out) have nevertheless seen even further cutbacks.

With the way things have gone now, a 28% decrease in profits cannot be blamed on the burdens of maintaining regional production. Deregionalising ITV even further will make it no better; ITV plc's profits are down for not so simple and one simply reason. The not so simply is that excessive market proliferation (something ITV plc and its various former constituent companies always championed) on the same population means that each individual broadcaster no longer has as much money as they used two. The simply reason (something never noted) is that these days, ITV JUST MAKES CRAP PROGRAMMES! I can honestly say that there is not a single thing I ever regularly watch on ITV now wheras 10 or so years ago it was the basis around which all other TV I watched revolved.


I'm not so sure - the BBC tried that with UK Today for several years when they were tied into Sky's encryption system. But as soon as they were free of it, they started broadcasting every region on Sky. Granted, they are the main PSB but if they felt the public didn't care about their regional output then they could easily have argued in favour of continuing UK Today and pumping the extra money into network programming.

Also, it's amazing how many people in the south west who watch Westcountry Live on dsat descend into a huff and change back to 'normal TV' (i.e. analogue terrestrial, which we're set to lose less than a year from now) when the short sub-opt on dsat brings them 'South' news and they live in the West/North/East subregions!


Indeed, one of the few positives about the current setup within ITV is that ITV plc have become so removed from their public service values that they almost certainly are no longer worried about broadcasting at all - if they could change their role to that of merely a producer, making the big primetime programmes but with none of the risk of actually transmitting them, they'd probably jump at the chance. Were all of the ITV plc owned stations to lose their contracts, I doubt very much it would mean the end of Corrie, Emmerdale et al as is widely assumed - ITV plc would jump at the change to be able to sell them to a broadcaster at a ridiculous fee and hold regular auctions on TV rights for these programmes to make sure they're screwing whatever poor sod ends up with them out of as much money as possible.


I'd go for that - the ITV plc owned stations (and to a lesser extent SMG too) were forced once and for all to either act as a true PSB and enjoy the benefits that come with it (gifted capacity, guaranteed carriage and guaranteed prominent position on a digital EPG, continued access to the analogue terrestrial system whilst it still exists) or else to knock all such responsibilities on the head and accept a position as either a non PSB broadcaster or (as I imagine would happen) being simply a producer it would be quite interesting to see what happens.

Either ITV plc would sort their house out and start providing a service worthy of the title of being a PSB, or they clear off and make way for someone who wants to do it.

They don't own shares in Carlton... Carlton ceased to exist when ITV PLC came into being

But what makes you think that someone else, starting afresh, would be able to make money and do public service when the well known, established broadcaster can't do it?

At least if the company were to lose its status, and no PSB alternative could be found it could be justifiably said that the PSB requirements are an anachronism -- and the government could make extra money out of the sale of the spectrum ITV is gifted.

As it stands, ITV are allowed to have their cake and eat it. This is an unacceptable position from a business standpoint as much as anything else -- Sky constantly carp about the BBC when in reality it is this inequality in the commercial market that needs to be addressed.

Additionally, I as a taxpayer expect the government to derive the best value for money from available resources. While I accept the need for a PSB to be given certain privileges, a non-PSB should never be. Schools or hospitals could be built out of the money ITV is effectively leeching from the system right now.

The very fact that ITV is allowed to make these threats at all shows just how weak Ofcom is.

They do, technically. Most of Carlton merged into Granada to create ITV plc, but Carlton Screen Advertising (responsible for cinema advertising in Odeon cinemas, and Pearl & Dean's main competitor) is a separate company, despite the majority being owned by ITV.

They don't anymore, they sold thier share in carlton Screen Advertising. From thier website:

I can well imagine media-savvy types doing that, but how do you know significant numbers of the general population act in that way ? Have there been letters to local papers, or has someone conducted a survey ?

As mentioned above Carlton Screen Advertising has been sold off. ITV also sold many other 'non-core' assets such as stakes in football clubs.

Anything that was 'Carlton' or 'Granada' is now a subsidiary of ITV PLC, there are no shares in them as such.

Pearl and Dean who were, amusingly, owned by SMG, owners of STV. I believe either they are still trying to sell it off or have already done so.

Amusingly!?