Carlton And Granada Merger Will Aid Dysfunctional ITV
Panellists at last night’s annual Media Question Time Event welcomed the prospect of a single ITV, advising Carlton and Granada to push ahead with their proposed merger plans.
The prospect of a consolidated ITV has received a mixed reception from advertisers wary over the impact that a single ITV sales house could have on the market for airtime sales. However, Mike Anderson, recently-appointed MD of the Evening Standard, urged the industry to see the potential benefits of a merger between Carlton and Granada, saying: “Just get on and do it, everybody wants it to happen.”
Andy Jonesco (pictured), vice president of interactive marketing at AOL UK, and Simon Rees, departing chief-executive of Mindshare, also spoke positively of a single ITV, arguing that a Network capable of delivering mass market audiences would be beneficial for advertisers. Rees said: “Undoubtedly from a product perspective a single ITV would work better.”
Jim Hytner, ITV’s commercial director, insisted that a merger between Carlton and Granada would be the best way forward for ITV, saying: “It will be a good thing for British Television if Granada and Carlton are allowed to merge. There will be massive savings of around £50 million and these savings will go on screen. [ITV] is a dysfunctional system, it is a dysfunctional company, which was created over 50 years ago when there weren’t 250 channels in competition and a cash-rich BBC.”
ISBA’s director of media and advertising affairs, Bob Wootton, interjected from the floor to sound a more cautionary note. He said: “The sales issue is the deal breaker. If you can’t fix the sales issue you are going to have a very bumpy ride with the Competition Commission.”
Hytner agreed, emphasising that ITV would proceed tentatively to avoid alienating its advertisers. He said: “There’s no point pretending that we can just go off and merge and have a single ITV sales house and rip everybody off because it just ain’t going to happen.”
For more coverage and a range of audio clips from the fourth annual Media Question Time event, click here to view the microsite.