ITV Confesses 40% Viewing Share Promise Is Impossible Unless News At Ten Goes

ITV has confessed that unless it moves the News At Ten programme from its current slot to an earlier time, it will not meet the audience targets set by chief executive, Richard Eyre, at the beginning of the year (see ITV Publishes Audience Targets For Next Three Years).

Eyre told a Royal Television Society dinner yesterday that if the ITC rejected the proposal to shift the News at Ten to a 6.30pm slot, ITV would find it impossible to meet its audience potential. Eyre claimed the 10pm slot was needed to maximise audiences, but that the movement of News At Ten would not signify a trend towards reneging on programming commitments made by the ITV stations in their licensing applications.

The audience targets were made public to the advertising industry in January this year, and showed a commitment to raise ITV’s share of peak time viewing to 40% by the year 2000.

The ITC is currently conducting a consultation on the proposed move and is asking for the opinions of viewers, broadcasters, politicians and other groups (see ITC Reacts To ITV’s Proposal).

ITV Network Centre: 0171 843 8000 Independent Television Commission: 0171 255 3000