ITV plans to move News at Ten to an earlier slot (Newsline – 22/6) have met with strong resistance at Westminster where more than 50 MPs signed a motion condemning the move.
Chief executives of the sixteen ITV companies are expected to ratify the change on July 5th. The ITV broadcast board has already agreed to a move and it is thought that 6.30pm is their preferred new time slot.
Meanwhile, David Glencross, chief executive of the ITC, has written to a number of ITV companies asking the reasons for their backing of the move despite proposing in their franchise bids that the flagship news bulletin should keep its traditional place. At least eight companies backed the current schedule in their bid documents -Carlton,Meridian,LWT,Anglia,Tyne Tees, Scottish,Westcountry and Channel.
The ITV companies argue that they would keep their strong 10.00 – 10.30pm audiences and prevent channel switching (particularly to C4), by using the time for films and drama. The move they feel will safeguard the advertising revenue gained from the slot (about £90m p.a.) now that C4 is a direct competitor for sales.
Media Jobs
Hello. We have downloaded cookies on your device. Some of these cookies are essential for the website to function. Others are non-essential and are used for analytics and advertising.
We need your consent for these types of cookies.
To withdraw your consent or change your cookie choices, please do this through your browser settings.
Otherwise, click OK to accept and continue.
