Advertisers Slam BBC As TV Talent Shows Go Head To Head
Advertisers have condemned the BBC’s decision to schedule its Fame Academy talent show against ITV’s new series of Pop Idol as a ‘flagrant abuse’ of its public service duty.
The decision, which comes just days after the BBC said it would strive to be “richer and more ambitious” than the commercial sector (see BBC Annual Report Reveals Increased Programming Budget), will see the two reality TV talent shows run head to head on Saturday nights for the first time.
The BBC insisted it was forced to schedule the programme in an early evening slot because of the National Lottery draw. However, ISBA’s director of media and advertising affairs, Bob Wootton, claimed the decision is a “cheap shot” to win ratings.
He said: “For the two principle channels to be showing programmes this similar at the same time is as much of a nonsense at the BBC deciding to schedule its night time news against ITV’s. For the BBC to win in the ratings with the Blue Planet is a triumph because that’s the kind of programme the commercial broadcasters would probably not be providing. But to win in the ratings with this kind of programme is just a cheap shot.”
The Government insists the BBC, which has been heavily criticised for its populist approach to programming (see GEITF 2002: Liddiment Admits To Taking Too Many Risks), will face a comprehensive review in the run up to its charter review in 2006 (see
ITV has also reacted angrily to the decision and a spokesperson for the network said: “Scheduling Fame Academy head to head with Pop Idol is clearly not in the viewers’ interests. We’re disappointed the BBC has deliberately gone down this route.”
This is not the first time the BBC has been criticised for making overtly competitive scheduling decisions. Last autumn ITV was forced to announce the transmission date of its re-make of the Russian classic, Dr Zhivago, in an attempt to persuade the BBC1 not to show its big-budget adaptation of George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda at the same time (see ITV Asks BBC To Avoid Autumn Drama Clash).
Earlier this month the BBC’s director general, Greg Dyke, announced that the Corporation would use its funding to become more “ambitious” over the next few years. He acknowledged that ambition “generally has a lot to do with making money and stuffing the competition”, but insisted that the BBC would not target the commercial sector (see Dyke Warns Against Regulatory Free For All).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk ISBA: 020 7499 7502 www.isba.org.uk ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com
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