Sacked ITV boss attacks "downmarket" Channel 4

Outgoing ITV boss Charles Allen tonight launched a excoriating attack on Channel 4, accusing the rival broadcaster of abandoning its remit and lurching downmarket in a quest for ratings.

...

In his parting shot from ITV, Mr Allen accused Channel 4 of ignoring its public purposes and an over-reliance on reality shows like Big Brother, quizzes such as Deal or No Deal, light entertainment stars like Paul O'Grady and US imports like Lost.

The ITV chief executive, who was forced to step down earlier this month following pressure from shareholders, said the broadcaster should be forced to adhere to a more tightly defined public service remit.

...

ITV's recent attempts to lure young, upmarket audiences from Channel 4 have foundered. And while BBC1, BBC2 and especially ITV1 have lost audience share in the face of growing competition from digital rivals, Channel 4 has maintained its share of viewing.

More risky, less risqué


Mr Allen, who spent 15 years overseeing the consolidation of ITV into a single company but was stung by the ITV Digital debacle and finally undone by the declining fortunes of flagship channel ITV1, said Channel 4 had only done so by becoming more relentlessly commercial.

"Look at the Channel 4 afternoon schedule: quiz show, gameshow, chatshow, cartoon, soap. Or its peak schedule dominated by reality, lifestyle, US acquisitions and shock docs. When exactly did remit become a four-letter word at Channel 4?"

"Channel 4 has a public service broadcasting remit high on warm words, low on specifics. Effectively it makes it up as it goes along," said Mr Allen. He said viewers wanted a Channel 4 that preferred "the risky to the risqué, that sought out the bold, not the banal" and was "brave rather than brazen".

The ITV chief executive was forced to step down earlier this month due to pressure from shareholders in the face of a struggling share price, declining advertising revenues and falling audiences.

He will leave the broadcaster in October. By appealing for possible subsidies from the public purse of up to £100m in order to address a potential future funding shortfall, he said Channel 4 was behaving like a "25-year-old still living at home. Dipping into mum's purse, even when it's got a fat pay cheque in its back pocket".

In a strongly worded rebuke to the network's critics, Mr Allen argued that ITV was in good shape and his plan to remodel the broadcaster for the on-demand age would bear fruit for his successor. He said he did not want another job in British broadcasting.

Channel 4, which last year made a post-tax profit of £48.5m and is riding the crest of a wave commercially and creatively, immediately hit back at beleaguered ITV.

A spokesman said their respective public service remits were "irrelevant" when "any objective assessment" would show Channel 4 was delivering far more successfully against its remit than ITV.

"In the week when one of ITV's own executives called its flagship channel unwatchable it would have been better for Charles to use his last industry platform to set out a vision for ITV's own commercial and creative reinvention," he added.

In this week's MediaGuardian Andy Harries, the ITV Production controller of drama, comedy and films, admitted it had a "bargain basement" image and said the broadcaster had lost its programming focus under Mr Allen's "shortsighted" stewardship.

Mr Allen claimed that Channel 4, founded as a commercially funded public service broadcaster in 1982 to provide an alternative to ITV and the BBC, had lost its soul.

"Either Channel 4 finds its soul again or it reaps the commercial logic of its current position. Deal or no deal," he said.

Even before ITV's programming crisis, Channel 4 has always been a cheeky/factual/entertaining/provactive/intellegent channel from the start, it shows in their On Air package as well!

He does make some good points though, C4 isn't as good as it should be... or as intelligent/cheeky/provocative and importantly public service as it once was.

ITV has for many years been the 'populist' channel and C4 been the 'worthy' channel. ITV is becoming more 'populist', but at the same time less 'popular' whereas C4 has become much less 'worthy' and much more 'popular'... and that's not really what it is for

Honestly the man need to be examed by a Psychiatrist! He even critises Deal or No Deal, Charles can't you remember ITV were bidding for that programme right a short time ago?

Of course I don't agree with everything he says (in particular the bit about the BBC not producing programmes) but he actually makes a lot of good points about ITV and the broadcasting environment in general.

Well he certainly isn't putting that to practice at ITV.

Channel Four stole me, by using 'the Simpsons' as a bait.

Just over a year ago, I rarely ever tuned into Channel Four. I watched Channel Three, and the BBC. My after-school televesion timetable stared with CiTV, then I went over to BBC2 to watch the comedies on then. When 'The Simpson' moved osver to '#Channel 4.', I watched it.

Left the channel running on, and the explosion, where Ben gets his leg broken, got me watching. Also the 'Maccy/Ali/Justin fued' story-line got me watching. I then just didn't stop watching. Then I made the brave decision to tune into 'E4' for 'First Look' Holyaoks.'. As you can gues (I'm not as green as I should be [I'm sounding like David C. again now, arn't I ‽]) and got into 'Friends' a few months ago. Then I got into 'B.B.L.B.' For a while, I just watched taht, and that was soley how i followed what was goin on. Though, towards the end, I got into 'B.B.' (the actual show). I've got into countess shows on C.4 corporatio's netorwk, such as 'The IT Crowd', Big Brother, 'Hollyoaks', 'Space Cadets'. I now spend most of my televiasion hours on a c4 network channel. Myu last Channel Three programme that I watched was 'Richard Hammonds 5 o'Clock Show'. I watched a few epidosds of 'Jane Hall' .

To me Channel Four have the right Idea. They have good idents, good music to them, good presenters. Now I watch 'BBc1', Channel Four, 'BBC Three', 'e4'. mainly.

Perhaps having stricter rules is the thing that makes C4 so good. Wherars C.3. has had its rules revoked, and look at the state of that! I think C3 would be more profitable with strcter regulations.