ITV Close To ITN Deal

The question of whether ITV will renew its news contract with ITN or offer it to other bidders may soon be resolved.

According to a report in the FT ITN has bowed to ITV pressure and has reduced the cost of its news service from £57m per year to £52m in the hope of beating off opposition from the likes of Sky News. It is believed the new five-year contract could be finalised by the end of the month.

ITV first realised it could negotiate the price of its news service when it was revealed that ITN had won the news contract for Channel 5 on the basis of a “subsidised” rate. Those ITV companies such as HTV and YTTV which were not shareholders in ITN were particularly keen to seek a price cut and perhaps look elsewhere for a news provider. The replacement of ITN seemed unlikely however because a recent amendment to the Broadcasting Bill stated that the whole of the ITV network must have the same news service: ITN shareholders such as Granada, Carlton and STV would therefore not have been willing to change their news provider.

ITN: 0171 833 3000

ITV: 0171 843 8000