Time Is Almost Up For ITV News Proposal

ITV has until tomorrow to give the Independent Television Commission (ITC) its final proposal for tackling the decline in audience figures its news output has suffered (see ITV Must Address News Audience Decline, Says ITC). It is thought that the broadcaster is hoping to appease the regulator by promising to pour more money into news programming and its promotion. The ITC may well reject this proposal, however, insisting on the scheduling changes it is said to be looking for.

ITV axed News at Ten in March last year, prompting widespread and vocal protests from the public, press and senior political and media figures. The ITC has been less concerned with how unsettling the change has been to the nation’s bedtime routine and more worried by the decline in audience figures, particularly for local news output. It insisted that these were the issues it expected to see addressed when awaiting ITV’s first proposal for change last month (see “Nannying” ITC Awaits ITV Proposal To Raise News Audiences).

The reason behind getting rid of ITN’s flagship programme was to free up precious evening viewing time for entertainment programming which would attract lucrative advertising. Rumours have circulated that ITV has considered moving its evening bulletin to 10.30pm as a compromise (see ITV Must Address News Audience Decline, Says ITC). This seems unlikely, however, as it would remove the current advantage of being able to show post-watershed feature films in their entirety before the bulletin.

The ITC has said that tomorrow’s proposals will be the last chance for ITV, as it doesn’t want to continue the uncertainty. However, if ITV’s new set of ideas are panned, causing a stand-off about changes to the schedule, it is unclear what happens next. The ITC has no precedent set on this situation and ITV lawyers are thought to have assured the broadcasters that the commission cannot force them to reinstate News at Ten. With murmurs in the industry saying that the ITC has no real teeth, this may be the issue that sees it finally bite or roll over.

ITC: 020 7255 3000 ITV: 020 7843 8222