NewsLine End Of Year Round-Up: Television

January

2004 got off to a controversial start, with the BBC agreeing to drop Coca-Cola as the multi-million pound sponsor of its weekly music charts on Radio One and Top Of The Pops, pleasing commercial competitors as the Corporation buckled under increasing criticism (see BBC Buckles Under Pressure To End Coke Sponsorship Deal). Meanwhile the long awaited ITV merger was finally given the go ahead after shareholders gave the deal their unanimous support in a series of extraordinary general meetings (see ITV Merger Receives Final Green Light From Shareholders).

Elsewhere BSkyB announced the creation of a TV audience measurement panel four times the size of that used by BARB, consisting of 20,000 households and with the ability to cross-reference viewing habits with high street purchases (see BSkyB To Launch UK’s Largest Audience Panel).

Back at the BBC, the aftermath of the Hutton inquiry claimed the jobs of chairman, Gavyn Davies, and director general, Greg Dyke at the end of January, with Dyke’s farewell witnessed by an emotional BBC staff, who flooded onto the streets to wave the broadcast boss off (see Dyke’s Departure Casts Doubt Over Future Role Of BBC).

February

The beginning of February saw the controversy surrounding the Hutton inquiry continue, as Greg Dyke revealed that the entire BBC board of Governors came close to resigning as the Corporation’s management descended into chaos (see Entire BBC Board Of Governors Came Close To Quitting).

ITV’s management was in less turmoil, however, as a newly merged ITV made its first appearance on the stock exchange after fourteen years of gradual consolidation culminated in the merger of Carlton and Granada, creating a single ITV company worth more than £5 billion (see ITV Enters New Phase With Merger Completion).

ITV also enjoyed success on screen during February, with glamour model Jordan’s steamy jungle antics helping to deliver an average audience of almost 10 million viewers across the first week of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here (see Jungle Antics Keep Viewers Turned On To I’m A Celebrity). The series went on to become one of the highest rating reality shows ever, with almost 16 million viewers tuning in to ITV1 to see former Atomic Kitten star, Kerry McFadden, become queen of the jungle in the programme’s finalé (see Almost 16 Million Viewers Watch I’m A Celebrity Final).

A busy month at the nation’s largest commercial broadcaster continued as ITV appointed former Bank of Scotland chief executive, Sir Peter Burt, as its new non-executive chairman (see ITV Appoints Ex-Bank Of Scotland Boss As New Chairman). Days later Burt confirmed that Charles Allen’s position as ITV chief executive was secure, stating that he had no intention of ousting his second in command and claiming that rumours to the contrary were completely unfounded (see New ITV Boss Claims Allen Is Safe As Chief Executive).

Digital television went from strength to strength during February, as the IPA delivered its Trends in Television report, revealing that the number of British homes with access to digital TV had topped the 10 million mark for the first time (see Digital Television Tops 10 Million Homes For First Time).

Elsewhere the Government dismissed controversial proposals from a group of Conservative party-commissioned media experts, led by David Elstein, to break-up the BBC and abolish its licence fee. Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, claimed the proposals would undermine the integrity of the publicly-funded broadcaster (see Government Dismisses Plans To Abolish BBC Licence Fee).

March

March saw more details of ITV’s consolidation emerge, with the broadcasting giant announcing that it was on target to save £100 million. Chief executive, Charles Allen, said that the newly merged broadcaster had come a long way over the last 15 months and was now “in a stronger position” with “a united and more efficient company” (see ITV On Target To Save £100 Million From Merger). While the opening at the BBC for a new chairman attracted almost 80 applicants, with those rumoured to have put themselves forward including former Tory MP Michael Portillo and Richard Lambert, former editor of the Financial Times (see BBC Chairman’s Job Attracts Raft Of Applications).

Elsewhere the potential for a merger between Channel 4 and Five looked likely to be derailed as the Government looked set to insist on the state-owned broadcaster being auctioned off to the highest bidder (see Channel 4 Auction Could Scupper Five Merger). However, chief executive, Mark Thompson, further muddied the waters by ruling out privatisation for the broadcaster just weeks after appointing financial advisers to explore the logistics of a potential merger with Five (see Thompson Rules Out Privatisation For Channel 4).

March also saw the proposed launch of a free-to-air general entertainment channel by BSkyB shelved by chief executive James Murdoch, who reportedly decided that BSkyB should not allow itself to be distracted from its core aim of developing pay television in the UK (see BSkyB Shelves Plans For New Entertainment Channel).

The BBC came under fire from the IPA during March, as the institute launched a withering attack on the Corporation’s increasingly aggressive approach to programming and self-promotion in its submission on the Corporation’s Charter Review. The advertising body called for the Government to reign in the BBC more tightly to its public service remit in order to complement rather than compete with the commercial sector (see IPA Report Deplores Aggressive And Commercial BBC).

March also saw the UK’s newest digital broadcaster take to the airwaves, with the launch of Top Up TV, a new pay-television service offering Freeview customers a range of ten additional channels, masterminded by former Sky executives, David Chance and Ian West, who departed the satellite giant to pursue the project (see Top Up TV Confirms End Of March Launch Date).

April

April kicked off with the appointment of former Channel 4 chief Michael Grade as the BBC’s new chairman for four years, however, less than two hours after being appointed Grade was already making changes, announcing that all progress made towards appointing the BBC’s new director general was to be scrapped and that the applications should be restarted from scratch (see BBC Confirms Grade As New Chairman).

The BBC also launched its biggest on-screen marketing campaign to date to boost the uptake of digital terrestrial TV before the proposed 2010 deadline. The cross-platform campaign followed on from the success of the autumn push, which prompted more than 2.5 million people to contact the BBC for information on Freeview (see BBC Pushes Digital With Biggest Ever Marketing Campaign).

Further speculation surrounding Charles Allen’s position as ITV chief executive surfaced at the beginning of April, as reports that at least one major shareholder at the broadcaster is calling for him to be removed featured in the national press. A source close to one of ITV’s largest shareholders was reported as saying: “He will go in July – of that I am certain” although the predictions proved to be false (see ITV Investors Could Remove Allen As Chief Executive).

April also saw Channel 4 unveil plans to launch several new digital channels to corner specialist markets and increase its overall audience share. The plans were revealed in the broadcaster’s annual report and will focus on music, factual and comedy programming, as well as the much anticipated More 4, due to launch on the Freeview platform (see Channel 4 Planning Raft Of Digital Channels).

Meanwhile Channel 4 chief executive Mark Thompson spent April denying rumours that he was to apply for the position of BBC director general, claims that later proved to be untrue as the broadcasting boss later made the leap from Channel 4 back to his former employers at the BBC (see Channel 4 Head Rules Out A Move To The BBC). Thompson also hit headlines as he slammed rival ITV for neglecting its public service remit. The broadcast boss also hit out at media regulator Ofcom for failing to bring the broadcaster to account ahead of its PSB review later in 2004 (see Thompson Attacks ITV For Neglecting Public Service Remit).

The BBC made its first calls for a free-to-air digital satellite service to help make the transition from analogue to digital television as smooth as possible. The Corporation called on the Government to aid the system’s development, claiming that a range of access points to digital TV would greatly boost take-up (see BBC Calls For Free-To-Air Digital Satellite Service).

May

Floundering digital horseracing channel Attheraces looked set to bounce back at the beginning of May, following a deal between stakeholders Arena Leisure and BSkyB to resurrect the media rights business (see Attheraces Back On Track With New Broadcasting Deal).

Elsewhere ITV announced plans to acquire SMG’s stake in GMTV for £31 million, a move which, once completed, would oblige them to bid for the remaining 25% of the breakfast broadcasting network, owned by the Walt Disney Company (see ITV To Acquire SMG’s Stake In GMTV For £31 Million).

ITV Sales looked upbeat at the beginning of the month, announcing a surge in advertising revenue following a high demand for commercial spots during its coverage of the European 2004 football championships. The broadcaster claimed to be enjoying the ‘most buoyant’ airtime advertising market in four years, with a number of high-profile motoring, finance, alcohol and sports manufacturers clambering to associate themselves with the summer of sport (see ITV Sees Revenue Surge As Euro 2004 Approaches).

The IPA reported a continuing growth in the number of UK homes with access to multi-channel television, claiming that 11.5 million had signed up to digital TV in the first quarter of 2004, with the increase owing mainly to the runaway success of Freeview (see Freeview Pushes UK Multi-Channel Homes To 11.5 Million).

Terrestrial pay-television service Top Up TV also looked on track for a strong performance, as the service released its first subscription figures, detailing 20,000 new customers in its first month of operation (see Boost For Top Up TV As Subscriber Figures Revealed).

The BBC ended the month by confirming one of the worst kept secrets of the year, announcing the appointment of former Channel 4 chief executive Mark Thompson as the Corporation’s new Director General (see BBC Steps Up Pressure To Get Thompson On Board). Channel 4 confirmed that the search had already begun for Thompson’s replacement amid mounting speculation over possible candidates for the role (see Search For Thompson’s Successor Already Underway).

June

Channel 4 enjoyed a strong start to June, achieving record ratings for it’s so called “Black Friday” featuring the last ever episode of Friends and the first episode of Big Brother. Overnight viewing figures from BARB showed a record 8.6 million people tuned in for the hour-long Friends finalé, while an average of 6.7 million reality-TV fans stayed tuned to watch the Big Brother contestants enter the house at 10pm.

Channel 4 programming hit headlines later in the month as controversial illusionist Derren Brown’s Seance, attracted 600 complaints from those concerned about the programme’s content and treatment of the supernatural (see Channel 4 Seance Spooks 600 Viewers Into Complaining).

However, Channel 4 was not alone in its high-rating schedules, with ITV predicting a bumper pay-out from advertisers during England’s debut Euro 2004 match against France. Break junctions during the game were expected to net around £6 million for the broadcaster (see ITV Set To Score £6 Million From England Game).

BSkyB followed the BBC’s calls for a free-to-air satellite TV service, with plans for an own-branded satellite package of more than 200 free television and radio channels designed to compete with the hugely successful Freeview service (see BSkyB To Launch Free-To-Air Satellite Package). However, the BBC soon returned fire, holding talks with several broadcasting partners about launching a free-to-air digital satellite service to rival Sky’s package (see BBC Contemplates Taking On BSkyB With Satellite Service). The proposals appeared to have hit a brick wall later in the month, however, after Channel 4 signed a three year contract extension for access on Sky (see BBC’s Free-To-Air Satellite Proposal Hits Brick Wall).

Elsewhere ITV scrapped plans to expand its digital strategy with the launch of a dedicated digital channel for children later this year. The broadcaster was due to unveil ITV Kids as part of a new channel package to boost its digital presence, but ITV instead announced plans to open its schedules to Nickelodeon or Disney in return for a CiTV branded slot on either of their channels (see ITV Scraps Plans To Launch Digital Channel For Kids).

In the realms of audience measurement June saw BARB launch a new reporting system capable of measuring the sponsorship of television programmes, following ongoing requests from advertisers and agencies. The system saw participating broadcasters provide details of their sponsored programmes to BARB. The details were then matched with official ratings to provide a record of the viewing achieved by the sponsorship (see BARB Begins Roll-Out Of Sponsorship Tracking System).

July

Channel 4 surprised the broadcasting industry at the beginning of July by announcing the appointment of Andy Duncan, then BBC director of marketing, communications and audiences, as its new chief executive (see Channel 4 Appoints Andy Duncan As Chief Executive). Duncan wasted no time in ruffling feathers at the broadcaster, however, stating on his second day in the job that Channel 4 could survive in the increasingly competitive multi-channel market without needing to change its current strategy or adapt its output (see Duncan: Channel 4 Could Survive Digital Future As It Is).

Rumour mills were once more set in motion as the Government prepared a valuation of Channel 4 at the beginning of the month, lending further weight to speculation of a sell-off for the state-owned broadcaster (see Channel 4 Set For Valuation Ahead Of Possible Sell-Off).

July also saw the so-called summer of sport continue, with the BBC attracting a peak of nearly 13 million football fans with its screening of the Euro 2004 final. The historic game saw Greece secure a 1-0 victory over Portugal and helped the BBC to secure an average audience of 10.9 million and a 45.7% share during the 90-minute match (see Almost 13 Million Tune In To BBC For Euro 2004 Final).

The Euro 2004 tournament also brought a smile to management faces at ITV, as the broadcaster hailed the event a success, claiming its sales operation had seen the strongest growth in revenue since the height of the dotcom boom in 2000 (see ITV Hails Euro 2004 A Success As Revenue Soars).

Elsewhere at the BBC a small team of managers overseen by John Smith, the Corporation’s finance director and chief operating officer, was revealed to have planned radical action to reduce operating costs by more than £100 million within 12 months (see BBC Plans Radical £100 Million Cost Reductions). Rumours also surfaced that the Corporation was preparing a £1 billion sale of its commercial operations in an attempt to bring it closer to its core public service remit ahead of charter review in 2007 (see BBC Considers £1 Billion Sale Of Commercial Arm).

Telecoms giant BT surprised some by announcing its intention to provide television services via broadband. The project, led by Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT Retail, is part a wider-initiative to drive the uptake of broadband internet and marked the company’s first major foray into the highly competitive broadcasting arena (see BT Plans To Take On BSkyB With Broadband TV Service).

August

ITV announced the creation of its third entertainment channel, imaginatively titled ITV3, in August, offering older viewers a free-to-air dose of Hollywood movies and classic dramas such as Cold Feet and Inspector Morse (see ITV3 To Launch As Free-To-Air Offering In November).

Elsewhere the BBC announced that its coverage of the Olympic Games in Athens would be screened online for the first time, as well as through interactive TV, a service which the Corporation claimed would offer unprecedented choice for viewers (see BBC Takes Olympics Online And Interactive For First Time). The service went on to become a huge success, notching up record interactive audiences of over 9 million and leading the BBC to pledge continued support for the technology (see Interactive Olympics Draws Millions To BBC).

Five surprised some by acquiring the exclusive broadcast rights to Friends spin-off series Joey after Channel 4 withdraw from an intense bidding war, claiming that the price for the programme had risen too high given the quality of a pilot episode (see Five Wins Friends Spin-Off After Fierce Bidding War).

Sky signed a groundbreaking distribution deal during August, allowing several of its premier satellite channels to be made available on the HomeChoice broadband TV platform for the first time. The deal allowed Sky Movies and Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Xtra to be seen by HomeChoice customers under a newly created Sky-By-Wire brandname (see Sky Boosts Audience Reach With HomeChoice Deal).

Elsewhere Sky’s flagship entertainment offering, Sky One, received a facelift in time for its August schedule, with the broadcaster concentrating on high-value drama and entertainment programmes to boost its family image and distance itself from low-brow reality TV shows (see Sky One Gets Facelift In Time For Autumn Schedule).

Channel 4 announced a massive boost of £20 million to its programming budget at the beginning of Autumn, clearing the way for more high-quality drama and entertainment series to be shown during the year, rather than in 2005 as had originally been planned (see Channel 4 Boosts Programme Budget By £20 Million).

ITV chief executive Charles Allen rounded off the month with ambitious plans to launch a raft of new channels over the next five years. The channel launches are designed to help ITV compete more effectively against the BBC in the burgeoning multi-channel environment (see ITV Reveals Plans To Launch Range Of New Channels). Meanwhile Channel 4 confirmed that it was looking to forge closer links with the BBC in an attempt to safeguard its position against the increasing competition from digital channels entering the market (see Channel 4 Confirms Intention To Link With BBC).

September

September saw the continuing seesaw of opinions surrounding the possible sell off of BBC Worldwide continue, with newly installed director general Mark Thompson playing down rumours of an impending sale and also stating that a tie-up between the BBC and Channel 4 was just one of many options, claiming that a merger could occur between the BBC and any of the UK’s commercial broadcasters (see Thompson Plays Down BBC Mergers And Worldwide Sell Off).

Elsewhere BSkyB agreed to hand control of its beleaguered music channels, Flaunt, Scuzz and The Amp, to rival Chart Show Channels following a wide-ranging review of their performance. The deal saw CSC take charge of the day-to-day running of the stations, with BSkyB retaining control over their advertising sales. The satellite giant also acquired the sales rights to CSC-owned Chart Show TV, The Vault and B4 as part of the deal (see Sky Hands Over Music Channels But Keeps Advertising Sales).

Meanwhile Channel 4 signed a £55 million digital transmission deal in preparation for the launch of its new digital television channels. The ten year deal is understood to provide space for around 14 channels, although the number will depend on the use of interactive services, which can take up nearly as much capacity as a broadcast channel (see Channel 4 Readies Itself For Analogue Switch-Off).

BT continued to develop its TV via broadband product during September, with reports suggesting that the telecoms giant was in talks to involve some of the nation’s largest broadcasters in the project (see BT In Talks With Broadcasters Over Broadband TV). Meanwhile ITV was given the the go ahead to complete its £31 million acquisition of the majority stake in GMTV, despite wide-spread concern from the advertising industry (see ITV Gets Go Ahead For £31 Million GMTV Acquisition) and announced a wide-ranging rebrand, dropping its celebrity idents and creating a single brand identity to coincide with the launch of ITV3 later in the year (see ITV To Drop Celebrity Idents As Part Of Rebrand).

October

ITV began October with a healthy dose of controversy, welcoming Ofcom’s proposals to ease some its public service obligations, a move that would clear the way for the broadcaster to concentrate on more revenue-generating commercial programming (see ITV Welcomes Ofcom’s Public Service Proposals). The broadcaster also announced the beginning of negotiations to sell off its digital channels, Plus and Men & Motors. The sales came as part of ITV’s £600 million programme to divest its non-core assets (see ITV Puts Plus and Men & Motors Under The Hammer).

ITV also announced increased attempts to provide a more customer focused approach to business, with the appointment of specialist consultancy, The Foundation (see ITV Sales Moves To Strengthen Client Focus), as well as announcing the completion of its 25% acquisition of Scottish Media Group’s stake in breakfast television franchise, GMTV (see ITV Completes Acquisition Of GMTV).

Elsewhere an independent review carried out for the Government branded fledgling digital television channels BBC Three and BBC Four as poor value for money and claimed they were doing doing little to drive digital take-up (see BBC Three And Four Provide Poor Value For Viewers).

October also saw Sky target digital TV newcomers with a pre-packaged starter pack designed to rival Freeview for ease of installation. The initiative was designed to increase Sky’s waning subscriber figures by giving the pay-TV giant a tangible presence in high street stores (see Sky Launches Starter Pack To Tempt Freeview Viewers).

November

November saw the MRG conference in Madrid play host to Sky Media’s managing director, Nick Milligan, who used his platform to introduce the next generation of Sky products. Amongst the new devices showcased by the broadcast chief were the company’s Sky To Go portable video player and Sky Radio, designed to bring the satellite company’s digital radio services to customers around the home, rather than from just the television (see Sky Introduces New Products At MRG Conference).

Elsewhere a study by the IPA showed that television viewing for the third quarter of 2004 had reached its highest level for more than a decade, thanks mainly to the increasing popularity of digital channels (see Television Viewing Reaches Ten Year High). ITV3 certainly enjoyed its first week of broadcasting, as ITV’s new digital entertainment channel for older viewers recorded a strong performance, notching up an impressive share of viewing to outperform its rivals (see Figures Show ITV3 Getting Off To Flying Start).

Television ratings body BARB was also preoccupied with digital television viewing during November, announcing that it had begun investigating methods of measuring interactive TV usage, following increasingly vocal calls for action from the broadcasting and advertising community. The measurement body’s research director, Tony Wearn, told the ASI 2004 European Television Symposium in Berlin that techniques were being investigated to determine which has the best potential for the future (see BARB Investigating Interactive Measurement Systems).

Meanwhile, interactive advertising specialist Zip TV launched its own tool to allow measurement of viewer participation, dubbed Zip i-Count, the company claimed it could provide a much more accurate picture of interactivity by measuring every single viewer that presses red during an ad (see Zip Launches Tool To Measure Interactive Advertising).

Sticking with interactive TV, November saw Sky revamp its interactive portal, Sky Active, delivering a radical facelift to deliver more televisual and video content through a magazine-style channel with on-demand entertainment and information (see Sky Revamps Interactive Services To Engage Viewers).

November also saw the door close on a merger between Channel 4 and Five as consolidatory talks broke down with the broadcasters concluding that obstacles to a tie-up were too difficult to overcome. It is believed that Channel 4 bosses were unhappy with the amount of revenue Five’s shareholders were demanding from a potentially combined broadcaster (see Channel 4 Walks Out On Merger Talks With Five).

A report from Ofcom’s Consumer Panel published in November indicated that the Government may have to spend up to £400 million helping the most vulnerable members of society upgrade to digital television when the analogue signal is turned off in 2012. The report suggested that between £250 million and £400 million will need to be invested in a ‘practical support scheme’ aimed at helping socially isolated viewers make the switch to digital (see Government Could Face £400m Bill For Digital Switchover).

The end of November also saw the UK’s smallest terrestrial broadcaster, Five, announce a massive £17 million boost to its programming budget, designed to boost the company’s profile and increase overall viewing share. The broadcaster has benefited greatly from the uptake of Freeview, remaining the only commercial terrestrial broadcaster to see audience share increase in Freeview-equipped households (see Five Boosts Programme Budget By £17 Million).

December

December kicked off with television audience measurement body BARB announcing that it will extend its research contracts for a further three years from 1st January 2007, giving the organisation responsibility for audience measurement until 2009 (see BARB Extends Research Contracts Until 2009).

Elsewhere Channel 4 confirmed that it is to launch a documentaries and factual entertainment channel as an online-only offering early in 2005, intended to boost the broadcaster’s public service output and meet Government requirements (see Channel 4 Plans Online Documentary Channel). The broadcaster also unveiled a wide-ranging rebrand to recreate its logo as a three dimensional shape, echoing the network’s first computer-animated identity and attempting to recapture the boldness and dynamism of the original (see Channel 4 Plans Wide-Ranging Rebrand For 2005).

December also played host to Mark Thompson’s radical restructuring of the BBC, including the loss of around 3,000 jobs, the relocation of over 1,800 staff to Manchester and a string of hard-hitting cost cuts to create annual savings of around £320m within three years (see Thompson Spells Out His BBC Vision).

The BBC also announced that several of its online operations will face the axe next year, as the Corporation seeks to reduce costs and appease commercial competitors in the run up to charter renewal (see BBC Plans To Save £6 Million Through Website Closures). The Corporation claims it will save around £6 million through the cuts, which will be made by the end of the financial year 2005/06, with the resulting savings being reinvested in new media projects more closely aligned to Public Service remit of the BBC.

Meanwhile a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers commissioned by media super-regulator Ofcom predicted that TV advertising revenue in the UK will be driven by multi-channel broadcasters, as traditional commercial channels become increasingly constrained by digital competitors success (see Multi-Channel TV To Claim Larger Share Of Ad Revenue).

Ofcom also released research in November that found an increasing trend by consumers to upgrade second household TV sets to receive digital broadcasts, creating a much larger market than initially anticipated for Freeview receivers (see Second Set Upgraders Fuel Digital TV Penetration).

Subscribers can access twelve years of NewsLine articles by clicking the Search button to the left