Dyke Blasts ITV Over Poor Programmes And Rising Profit
Former BBC director general Greg Dyke has hit out at the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV, accusing senior management of being preoccupied with generating profit at the expense of creating quality programming.
Drawing comparisons with South Korea’s broadcasting system, the former BBC boss likened the Korean MBC to an ITV of the late eighties. Dyke claims that the Korean system of heavy taxation for MBC creates a culture that cares about its programming as it is unable to make a worthwhile profit.
Of the Korean high-tax and heavy investment strategy Dyke states: “That system led to all sorts of ills – inefficiency, union domination, weak management – but at least it meant that everyone in the company cared about the programmes. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case in ITV today.”
Dyke also fired thinly veiled abuse at ITV’s senior management, stating that, while MBC is run by a documentary film-maker with a passion for public broadcasting, Britain’s largest commercial television company is run by those with a primarily financial background.
He said: “Contrast that with ITV, whose chairman is a former banker; whose chief executive is an accountant from the catering industry and whose director of broadcasting is an advertising salesman. Fifteen years ago ITV was all about programmes; you’d be hard pressed to say that today.”
The subject of ITV’s public service broadcasting obligations has been in contention amongst media commentators recently, following Ofcom’s proposals to ease some its PSB requirements in a move that will enable the broadcaster to concentrate on more revenue-generating commercial programming (see ITV Welcomes Ofcom’s Public Service Proposals).
The move follows an attack by then Channel 4 chief executive, Mark Thompson, who criticised ITV for neglecting its public service remit and accused Ofcom of failing to bring the broadcaster to account (see Thompson Attacks ITV For Neglecting Public Service Remit).
Greg Dyke was recently rumoured to be in line for the role of chief executive at ITV, following a move that saw him join Apax partners, the private equity group that specialises in media deals. It is understood that he will help the group, which prepared a bid for ITV last year, to run the slide rule over potential media acquisitions, but has also sparked rumours that he is preparing to take a senior position with ITV (see Dyke Joins Apax Amid Rumours Of Potential ITV Bid).
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