ITV Rethinks The Premiership

ITV is to rethink its sports highlights show, The Premiership, after complaints that the first programme contained too little action.

ITV’s head of sport, Brian Barwick, confirmed that changes were being considered after complaints that the first programme, shown last Saturday, contained less than half an hour of on the pitch action.

He said: “The programme will evolve like every other programme does and there will be changes as it moves forward.”

A spokesman for ITV today said that the next show “may well contain more action” and strongly refuted claims made by BBC1 that Match Of The Day contained 56 minutes of action in its final season.

He said: “If you actually sat there with a stop watch, which I did, you would know that it only showed 46 minutes of action and at a time when most people were asleep.”

ITV’s decision to air The Premiership at 7pm came under fire after it was beaten in the ratings by a special edition of the BBC’s The Weakest Link (see ITV’s The Premiership Fails To Score). The programme attracted an audience of 4.3 million and a 23% share of viewing, compared to 6.7 million and a 38% share for The Weakest Link on BBC1.

ITV’s director of channels, David Liddiment, defended the programme at ITV’s autumn schedule launch earlier in the week (see ITV Autumn 2001 Schedule Launch).

He said: “For ITV the launch of The Premiership was not about Des Versus Anne. Winning a ratings battle with the BBC was not our bench mark for success.”

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.co.uk

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