Charles Allen, chairman of Granada, has reportedly pledged to radically overhaul ITV and to revitalise the network’s programme making arm if its merger with Carlton gets the go ahead (see Carlton And Granada Enter Advanced Merger Talks).
According to yesterday’s
Observer, Allen, who will become chief executive of ITV if the two companies are allowed to merge, said: “We’re moving from spending money on people in infrastructure and administration into spending money on people in programming. We’re changing the mix. We’re spending it on what will be shown on the screen.”
The move is likely to provoke strong criticism from rival commercial broadcasters, who fear that a consolidated ITV will dominate the television advertising market. Channel 4 has already announced its opposition to the proposed merger on the grounds that the single company will control around 54% of TV advertising in the UK.
The move towards a single ITV has received a mixed reception from advertisers, who are keen to see a strong ITV capable of delivering mass market audiences (see ITV Merger Must Clear Regulatory Hurdles). However, there is also concern over the prices that a single ITV sales house would charge.
Advertising groups, ISBA and the IPA, acknowledge the benefits that a single ITV could bring, but remain “strongly opposed” to the move on the grounds that it could potentially lead to the manipulation of advertising rates.
Carlton and Granada are keen to overcome as many hurdles as possible and it is understood that the ITV partners have pledged to create a separate independent advertising sales team to compete with its own in-house team.
According to press reports, details of the merged ITV will be negotiated by Carlton’s and Granada’s lawyers by the end of this week or the beginning of next week.
