# ITV: The rubbish will continue



## Vladd67 (Mar 5, 2009)

ITV to cut 600 jobs and scale back drama output as recession brings £2.73bn loss | Media | The Guardian
OK to save the channel they are scrapping decent drama and having more reality cr*p. The viewing figures will slump and advertisers will flee in their hundreds. The only programmes left will involve the ritual humiliation of poor souls desperate to be famous. How our TV has sunk.
ITV: from World in Action to The X Factor | Media | guardian.co.uk


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## Urien (Mar 5, 2009)

Well I guess it's either that or they go bust. Part of the problem is they have an implacable tax funded foe in the BBC that regardless of economic conditions chugs away. This year with (I think) a budget of greater than £3.5bn and over 20,000 employees. During the worst recession in decades a proscribed commercial competitor is likely to get crushed.

But at least we've got the beeb for quality product...


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## Ursa major (Mar 5, 2009)

It's true that the BBC has a huge income, but it fritters a lot of this on worldwide coverage (output as well as news-gathering), non-TV stuff (their enormous web content and books) and huge payments to moderate talents (based on what these folk would get in the private sector ).

They were interviewing Greg Dyke and Peter Bazalgette on _Newsnight_ about this, ITV's decline, that is. They displayed a graph showing how internet advertising had ris over time, but that this had not come at the expence of ITV. Dyke then said that ITV's advertising income had dropped by 20% in the last few months, i.e. it was due to the recession. He did add that as with music companies and radio, TV companies were in a situation where they did not know what their business model would be in five years (or less).


It's sad that there will be fewer original programmes made, but at least that should spare us new series of _Primeval_ and _Demons_ (with, in the case of the latter show, great savings from no longer having to employ Philip Glenister's voice coach ).


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## The Ace (Mar 5, 2009)

How will we know the difference.  The only difference between ITV and BBC is you don't get prosecuted for not paying for ITV's cr*p, like you do if you don't fund the BBC with your TV license.


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## Tillane (Mar 5, 2009)

*Considers the possibility of ITV going under and taking Michael Grade with it.  Gets chills.*

Oh, that would be sweet...

As to the matter in hand, it will make precisely zero difference to me.  I haven't watched anything on ITV (with the exception of maybe one or two films) for ages.  They have nothing I'd miss.


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## mosaix (Mar 5, 2009)

Sometimes you hear stuff on the news that just makes you laugh out loud. Apparently ITV say that although they are laying 600 people off the quality of their programs will not suffer. 

Do they actually watch their own programs?


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## Dave (Mar 5, 2009)

I wonder if Michael Grade ever wishes _Doctor Who_ was on ITV? No, I expect not, but I think that might say something about how in touch he is with viewers.


Vladd67 said:


> ...to save the channel they are scrapping decent drama and having more reality cr*p.


That was exactly my thoughts, except that _The Bill_ and _Heartbeat_ hardly count as "decent drama."
I know _Big Brother_ is on Channel 4, but sometimes the coverage of that I've seen was less exciting than watching paint dry, just people giggling under the bed covers in a darkened room.


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## HoopyFrood (Mar 5, 2009)

I was listening to this on the radio t'other day, and when I heard they'd be easing up on the costume dramas (like Sharpe) because they were too expensive, and instead doing more of those 'entertaining, audience-drawing' programmes like the X Factor and I-Want-To-Be-Yet-Another-Manufactured-Singer-Who'll-Be-Forgotten-Within-A-Month Show...well, part of me just died. I don't watch much tv anymore because of such crap clogging the channels and there's getting even less reason to...


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## Ursa major (Mar 6, 2009)

mosaix said:


> Sometimes you hear stuff on the news that just makes you laugh out loud. Apparently ITV say that although they are laying 600 people off the quality of their programs will not suffer.
> 
> Do they actually watch their own programs?


 

Perhaps they do and also believe - together with many others - that there is no way they could make worse drama.


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## Connavar (Mar 6, 2009)

This might be explain why they canceled the best crime show on tv imo *Wire in The Blood*.

Which made me angry.   I hate when they cancel shows with cliffhanger endings that leave many things unresolved.   How can they cancel a show with 6,7 million viewers.   No wonder it feels like there is only cheap reality tv shows on tv these days.

They arent making Merlin right ?  Thats the only new brit show that gets shown over here.   We watch it as a family on sundays.  Even my father who thinks fantasy,magic arent not something to watch likes the show.


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## Urien (Mar 6, 2009)

It is sad (I'm a fan of WitB too), but an inexorable cost benefit analysis says ten million watching "Britain's Got Fleas" draws more ad revenue than five million watching "Wire in the Blood".

I've seen it suggested that the tv licence (window tax) should be used more as a fund and obtained on application by any British channel. 

We would (I imagine) get more quality TV if the BBC didn't see fit to promote similarly dumbed down shows. However, I understand their dilemma; they tax everyone and if they follow the middle class clever clever drama route and ignore what might be the bulk of the population why should they exist? Why cater for just broadsheet readers when the tax payers predominately read tabloids?

Admittedly there can be quality and popular, but it's a rare and hard target to hit.


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## Dave (Mar 6, 2009)

Connavar said:


> They arent making Merlin right?


_Merlin_ is on BBC1 and is shown here in the UK in same time slot as _Doctor Who_ on a Saturday night. I think it was designed specifically for the same audience, and also to fill in this year while there are only four specials of _Doctor Who_. Michael Grade famously hates _Doctor Who_ and was responsible for axing it once before. ITV have tried hard, but fail to beat it in the viewing figures, showing _Primeval_ and _Demons_ at the same time. My sincere hope would be that those are immediately cancelled.


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## Vladd67 (Mar 6, 2009)

I thought it was ironic that when announcing this on local radio the cancelling of Lewis was mentioned, the next news story was about a body being discovered at an Oxford college, just struck me as a potential Morse/Lewis story.


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## ktabic (Mar 6, 2009)

I read that as *TV: The rubbish will continue*. And entirely agree. Just stop watching it altogether and save that license fee (been three years for me now ). There are to many books to read anyway, and almost worth watching that doesn't come out on DVD anyway.


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## Connavar (Mar 6, 2009)

andrew.v.spencer said:


> It is sad (I'm a fan of WitB too), but an inexorable cost benefit analysis says ten million watching "Britain's Got Fleas" draws more ad revenue than five million watching "Wire in the Blood".
> 
> I've seen it suggested that the tv licence (window tax) should be used more as a fund and obtained on application by any British channel.
> 
> ...



Tv shows are seriously in danger of dying out these days.   Over here 70% is reality tv.   Everyone is thinking whats easy to make.

Its time to forget that the quality brit shows was the only escape you had from CSI,Lost,American Idol,crap....

Another reason to hope this economy crisis goes away soon.  Tv was already rare on quality shows.  At this rate you wonder if there is any reason to buy a tv set other than for gaming.


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## Tillane (Mar 6, 2009)

Vladd67 said:


> I thought it was ironic that when announcing this on local radio the cancelling of Lewis was mentioned, the next news story was about a body being discovered at an Oxford college, just struck me as a potential Morse/Lewis story.


It wasn't Kevin Whately, was it?


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## Vladd67 (Mar 7, 2009)

I came so close to running him over once in Milton Keynes, he just walked out in front of me as I drove out of a multistorey carpark, he was walking along head down never even realised how close a miss it was.


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## AE35Unit (Mar 7, 2009)

Oh dear,ITV is actually getting worse than it is now! Didn't think that was possible! And the BBC have got up my nose by cutting some programs I enjoyed,saying they were 'too low brow'. But sometimes its good to kick back,disengage the brain and err have fun you know. They take things far too seriously! I'm surprised they still have Top Gear(tho with less cars being made now I wonder how much longer that will last!)


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## Ursa major (Mar 7, 2009)

AE35Unit said:


> I'm surprised they still have Top Gear(tho with less cars being made now I wonder how much longer that will last!)


 
Most of the cars they drive are produced in very small numbers anyway. (And the ex-bankers have to spend their (our?) money on something. Why not a ridiculously over-priced car to match themselves?)


Anyway, I hope _Top Gear_ continues: I've laughed more at some of the antics - testing those old British Leyland cars over the cobblestones comes to mind - than on most (other) comedy shows.


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## AE35Unit (Mar 7, 2009)

Yea and they picked up an award for Best factual show. Thats the funniest part 
Love that show,long may it rein


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## HoopyFrood (Mar 7, 2009)

I think there would be a minor riot if Top Gear was axed! Classic show, loved by many, and incredibly funny -- never, ever fails to make me laugh. Viva la Top Gear!


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