UTV rebrand

You know as well as I do that when ITV companies were all separate that they relayed each other's programmes. Regions like UTV, Grampian, Border and Channel didn't produce much for the other companies so the only difference between then and now was the local programming, but that has reduced everywhere.



I don't disagree with you that the main draw for viewers was the ITV-plc produced (or commissioned) content. And obviously the idents has become dated long before 2016. But my point refers to the local touch that UTV had and now (in terms of presentation( has lost.




The local touch of UTV as a whole. Despite BBC Newsline being better IMHO it's not as popular because it isn't seen as connecting with the viewers in the same way.

That's not his job to do that though. Just because something is prerecorded doesn't have to sound boring. I've had to QC some generic scripts (in case of schedule changes), but because of the good enthusiastic delivery/tone of the announcement you wouldn't know the difference as much.

So essentially what you are saying is that UTV was no longer a true TV company because its peers' shareholders all sold up and took the quick profit.

It does depend on the situation these guys have been put in. If he's already been told he's out, and is working out a notice period, then frankly he's under no obligation to show any enthusiasm. I've been in that position before; if the company does want you in to see out a transition then it's human nature, and completely expected, to put in the minimum possible effort to see the period out. If ITV have put the presenters in that position it's their own fault if the result is rubbish.

Hence my view that they should have just quit and moved on.

On his way out the door or just cheesed off if I were Julian's boss I'd be having a chat about him doing the job correctly and earn the money he is being paid for. There are plenty of other voices out there who would kill for the chance of a regular continuity ' voiceover gig - he should get over himself and move on if this is indeed the case.

It's entirely possible that he doesn't have a choice -- ITV are entitled to insist that he works out anything up to several months' redundancy notice in order to get any pay-out due to him. It may well be the case that it's taking considerable restraint on Simmons's part not to tell them to foxtrot oscar.

He's not doing his job incorrectly -- his out-of-vision announcements were always somewhat uninspired and not much different to what he's doing now.

Bear in mind that it's obvious ITV are being careful to phase the changes through -- part of that is to ensure that the voices don't change overnight. They could be approaching that one of two ways -- either treating the announcers with respect and giving them a nice juicy payout for staying put a few months (in which case they do indeed need to pull their socks up), or they're treating them like crap and insisting on working through their contracts (in which case it explains perfectly the current situation).

I don't recall any of the ex-ITV announcers at Central, Carlton , LWT etc etc follow the logic of dragging heels when they were losing their jobs (if indeed Julian is) - in fact most went over the top in enthusiasm on their last few days/weeks - Trish Bertram, Glen Thompsett, Mark Lipscomb etc to name but a few. So many regional announcers lost their gigs in 2002 when the ITV brand took over - all real local identities removed yet it was done with professionalism so it seems by their on air approach.

Sadly Julian was never in the same class - a diva, old has been etc who should have been farmed out years ago. His voice and style certainly don't fit the new on air look. - just my opinion of course 😜

I don't think he is dragging his heels, hid style is similar to how he was in the 80s before he started camping it up. Big differences between 2002 and now is most of those announcers weren't staying on, and all regions had ditched IVC by that point anyway.

If ITV wanted rid of Julian, they'd have made him redundant and given him a nice big payoff. That they haven't suggests that they don't want rid. There really wouldn't have been that much outcry if they'd taken continuity from London - people would still tune in for the programmes, what comes between is purely a side show.

I was being slightly flippant with my remark about Julian's enthusiasm - it's quite possible he's just adapting to a completely new way of doing things. His voiceovers don't sound bad to me. Trying to replicate the exact same sort of delivery he did in-vision wouldn't work - there are many channels where announcers can sound insincere about a show that's just been on because they're not in-vision and you can't see what they're saying. It's a completely different way of working.

The only other point I would make is a plea to remember that there are human beings involved in this situation. By all means saying his act doesn't fit the new look, or that you weren't a fan of it in the first place, is fair enough, but the occasional slating and has-been line seems a bit harsh.

Lol

The difference in his position though is if he is out of a job at UTV he has an opportunity to showcase his talent to perspective employees every hour or so on network TV. It would be understandable to be doing little more than going through the motions with his current employee, but it's also a fantastic opportunity to showcase his talents to a new employee.