Continued Care Needed For Late Night Programming On C5, Says ITC

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) today said that continued care is needed to ensure acceptable standards of late night programming on Channel 5. Publishing its annual report for 1999, detailing performance reviews for Channel 4, Channel 5 and GMTV, the Commission praised the efforts of the channel but said there was still room for improvements.

The Commission praised Channel 5 for its increased audience share. It said that the channel had established areas of strength despite having less resources and budget than the other terrestrial channels, and welcomed its increased current affairs programming, which included The Moors Murders. The licence requirement for original drama was reduced during the year on the condition that investment in the strand increased. The channel complied with this and a high standard of drama was the result.

The channel was however criticised for an over-reliance on sex for a lot of its output, particularly late-night programming. Peter Rogers, the chief executive of the ITC, said: “Channel 5 is going in the right direction and trying very hard…but we would like to see a more diverse diet after midnight.”

The ITC considered 1999 a good year for Channel 4: the commission highlighted the continued strength of the C4 News and welcomed the introduction of a Saturday bulletin; adult education has improved over the year; and its commitment to multicultural programming surpassed licence requirements. However the ITC found the channel’s religious programming disappointing and believed the international element of its documentaries could be improved.

The channel’s record of compliance with the ITC Code was generally satisfactory with only six interventions from the regulatory body over the year. The main intervention into the channel came when a formal warning was issued over an edition of TFI Friday, in which young children were involved in a blinking contest (see TFI Friday Gets Warning Over Blinking Contest).

The review for ITV licensees will be published later in the year when the review of the revised ITV weekday schedules has been completed.

Independent Television Commission: 020 7306 7743