Michael Grade, chief executive of Channel 4 warned last night that ITV’s commercial drive puts the production base of British Television at risk. Speaking at a Media Guardian debate on the future of television, he accused the large ITV companies of “asset-stripping” for the benefit of shareholders.
He criticised the merged Carlton/Central, which this week announced the loss of 180 jobs, but there was no promise that the £15m savings would go into programmes. Grade said that quality television was expensive and it was the job of the terrestrial broadcasters to protect the British production base. If tv was treated as just another commodity, broadcasting would “fragment and deteriorate”.
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