Saban plans to bid for ITV

Haim Saban today said that he will bid for ITV as soon as the go ahead is given for a merger. However, he won't if the ad sales houses have to be sold.

What's Saban's history of taking over TV companies? Does it have one?

Since I can only associate Saban with Power Rangers and Beetleborgs, I'm sure it's just the image ITV want.

May one conclude that the whole purpose of permitting the merger of Granalton is so that ITV can be placed under the control of a foreign company?

Yes, that's right Corin...you might as well fear capitalists and foreigners because they want to pervert British television into something awful.

Saban would buy ITV not because he wants to fiddle with everyone's viewing habits but because it's a company that makes money. And, if you think ITV is centralised now...just wait until it's owned by a foreign holding company.

Which raises an interesting question: who will satisfy the demand for regional television then?

Maybe BBC1 could be totally devolved to regional control (i.e., limited national pres. and announcers with much more emphasis on regional news)?

Actually that's somewhat interesting: you could, in theory, take the 6 O'Clock News and make it into an entirely regional programme. Regional stories would dominate the headlines, and then the collected national and international stories from BBC News could be inserted as regional news directors saw fit. Anyone who wanted a "national" or "nationwide" newscast could watch BBC News 24 or wait until the 1 O'Clock or 10 O'Clock News was broadcast.

Or maybe those national "bulletins" could be made entirely redundant by News 24 and the local programmes, and instead a Newsnight-like programme would be broadcast nationally at night.

An interesting thought...

And that could actually WORK, Phileas.

That was the ORIGINAL plan for IRN, back in the seventies, with just the reporters' cuts and scripts being sent out, for local newsrooms to incorporate them into locally produced bulletins.

It was only local costs that did away with that system, with stations finding it cheaper to simply take the basic bulletin from London.

It could be done by the Beeb on television, where the emphasis on cost is less stringent.

As to the basic point of the thread, the chances of the merger being allowed WITHOUT the clause making them sell off the sales houses to a third party are TINY.

I, therefore, think the Saban idea is a non-starter.

Following the Broadcasting Act of 1990, capitalists have already done this to the ITV companies, and foreigners have already done this with the abomination called "five".


The BBC have completely messed up with BBC-1 and regional programming. If they had any logical thought, they would have followed the superior public service ethos of the German state broadcasing organizations and made BBC-1 a common national network as it was originally intended, and put all regional programming on BBC-3, with each region being in control of its own schedule, as the ITV regional companies once were. The problem with the BBC is they cannot make their mind up if BBC-1 is supposed to be a national network or a place to placate regional aspirations. At least in Wales, they have done something worthwhile with BBC-2 W as a quality regional service in prime time.


Actually this is what I think they should do, and at the times of the news bulletins on BBC-1 and BBC-2, they should just take the output of BBC News 24. However, what they do need to do on BBC News 24 is to have a block of the best of the regional reports from each of the regions' own news program.


You are not entirely devoid of some reasonable suggestions which do not just parrot GOP and/or Libertarian Party dogmas.

Didn't the TVS back catalogue end up with Saban at one time?

I don't think they did, I knew they had Mary Tyler Moore Televison (MTM) but it was that which lead to the money losing, but I think all of TVS was bought by The Family Channel about a year after it closed.

UK Today mark 2 !
Why don't BBC Midlands opt out more ? All I've seen/know about, besides MT, Inside Out, Politics Show, is something featuring Toyah Willcox which was scheduled for 40 mins one Sunday evening, & never shown due to overunning network sports coverage, then shown as an 30 mins version on the old 1930 BBC2 Thursday slot.

That slot on Sundays following the Politics Show , or when PS is off air, when they showed Allo Allo, & BBC North showed their Rugby show for a couple of weeks due to BBC2 Sunday Grandstand, would be ideal !

Doesn't Saban own The Family Channel?

ahem, bbc mids have made some regional docos for bbc one mids sunday nights and a few specials on bbc two midlands. sue beardsmore's whitley court, nick owen's championship city and john craven's a survivors story to name but a few. the latter being one of the best documentaries i have ever seen - there is no need for flashy graphics and huge budgets when john craven and a concentration camp survivor can do the job far better.

not a regular occurrence - but better than nothing, which is the case in many english regions.

i think you're not studying your sunday mercury tv guide properly

Oops. Forgot about those, but surely the Beeb could designate a regular slot on a Sunday, like BBC North do, for non news/lighthearted programming from the regions.

Surely Birmingham, as a network production centre(after a fashion!), could come up with something?

There are loads of talented people at Pebble Mill both on the radio & tv side, as I'm sure there are in the other regions,so I'm sure people would jump at the chance to do something.

Perhaps Ed Doolan could do something before he nips off for his Sunday dinner !