LI
From the moment ITV lost its regional output the station has been on a slow decline, but if they don't watch it, that'll soon snowball in the years to come.
:-(
A former member
From the moment ITV lost its regional output the station has been on a slow decline, but if they don't watch it, that'll soon snowball in the years to come.
yet STV is frighting for other output. if only there could get a bit more say at the network centre,
I also believe the Network centre is partly to blame!
NG
I didn't realise Granada wanted to close down regional centres when they were buying other stations. Considering Granada's strong regional identity in the past, this seems surprising and it seems to me like Granada's view of itself was changing from the north-west ITV region to a national TV company. AT one time, Granada seemed so closely linked with the north-west, especially Manchester.
By the time Granada was buying other franchises it wasn't the Granada of old, it was run by caterers...
The rot set in around 1992 when David Plowright, Chairman of Granada (and a key proponent of quality ITV production) resigned when Gerry Robinson became Chief Exec. (Robinson knew nothing about TV...)
noggin
Founding member
Quote:
Carlton's main crime was the rebranding of Westcountry and Central to their name sake. Granada's on the other hand was to buy the other stations, close down regional centres, reduce regional content. Ultimately remove all region branding by a uniform ITV1. (Does Carlton's rebranding sound so bad now?) and finally strip Granada's programming down as much as possible to it could return a profitable return back to their shareholders.
I didn't realise Granada wanted to close down regional centres when they were buying other stations. Considering Granada's strong regional identity in the past, this seems surprising and it seems to me like Granada's view of itself was changing from the north-west ITV region to a national TV company. AT one time, Granada seemed so closely linked with the north-west, especially Manchester.
By the time Granada was buying other franchises it wasn't the Granada of old, it was run by caterers...
The rot set in around 1992 when David Plowright, Chairman of Granada (and a key proponent of quality ITV production) resigned when Gerry Robinson became Chief Exec. (Robinson knew nothing about TV...)
NW
I'll give you an idea, Denis Forman (former Granada CEO up to the mid 80s) said that Granada's top priority was to make good programmes, making money came second. I read an interview with Charles Allen and he was quoted he was proud to have turned Granada from a company that didn't make that much profit to one that made £250 Million profit in one year during the late 1990's.
The so called downfall is down to many factors, I won't bore you, but Sky, Internet, DVD's, Computer games, people with more disposable income, the rise of the Independent sector have all played a part of the changing of ITV. I would love to see the old ITV back, but it's never going to happen, I just hope we carry on with this happy medium (If you want to put it like that) for now, where we still have a good quality service and still have a full News service too.
By the time Granada was buying other franchises it wasn't the Granada of old, it was run by caterers...
The rot set in around 1992 when David Plowright, Chairman of Granada (and a key proponent of quality ITV production) resigned when Gerry Robinson became Chief Exec. (Robinson knew nothing about TV...)
The rot set in around 1992 when David Plowright, Chairman of Granada (and a key proponent of quality ITV production) resigned when Gerry Robinson became Chief Exec. (Robinson knew nothing about TV...)
I'll give you an idea, Denis Forman (former Granada CEO up to the mid 80s) said that Granada's top priority was to make good programmes, making money came second. I read an interview with Charles Allen and he was quoted he was proud to have turned Granada from a company that didn't make that much profit to one that made £250 Million profit in one year during the late 1990's.
The so called downfall is down to many factors, I won't bore you, but Sky, Internet, DVD's, Computer games, people with more disposable income, the rise of the Independent sector have all played a part of the changing of ITV. I would love to see the old ITV back, but it's never going to happen, I just hope we carry on with this happy medium (If you want to put it like that) for now, where we still have a good quality service and still have a full News service too.
CH
I think the quality has definitely improved over the last few years.
I've just seen a poster elsewhere describe ITV as having a "chavvy atmosphere about them".
They must be watching a different channel. Having said that, I can't wait until they axe Jeremy Kyle. That show hasn't done ITV's image any favours at all and I can understand why some ignorant people might think of ITV1 as the Jeremy Kyle channel if they don't watch a lot of television, but apart from that I can't see what's so "chavvy" about it.
I would argue that ITV programmes are actually better now than they were in 2003, wasn't that the height of the Love Island, Celebrity Wrestling, Millionaire shown umpteen times a week, 10pm flops era?
I think the quality has definitely improved over the last few years.
I've just seen a poster elsewhere describe ITV as having a "chavvy atmosphere about them".
They must be watching a different channel. Having said that, I can't wait until they axe Jeremy Kyle. That show hasn't done ITV's image any favours at all and I can understand why some ignorant people might think of ITV1 as the Jeremy Kyle channel if they don't watch a lot of television, but apart from that I can't see what's so "chavvy" about it.
JO
In the same way you pigeon hole the BBC, which has far more variety?
I've just seen a poster elsewhere describe ITV as having a "chavvy atmosphere about them".
In the same way you pigeon hole the BBC, which has far more variety?
DV
ITV relies on matters of little import to entertain people, their mania with Two Soaps in primetime clearly shows this. When was the last time when the audience of ITV was stretched in an intellectual manner?
:-(
A former member
ITV relies on matters of little import to entertain people, their mania with Two Soaps in primetime clearly shows this. When was the last time when the audience of ITV was stretched in an intellectual manner?
Millionaire?
It would be nice to have some High class telly like BBC4 but it will never happen
RU
russnet
Founding member
For those who want a real inside insight into ITV during the 90s into the current decade then I recommend The Dream That Died: The Rise and Fall of ITV A book written by Ray Fitzwater who was a major part of the World In Action team at Granada. I was surprised to find out that when the 1991 Franchise rounds were announced, Granada wanted to be like the Carlton model even before Carlton went on air in 1993.
The book talks about how Granada stripped down its region, its departments, the lure of takeovers to strip down the other centres and merge to save money so that they can reap the benefits to shareholders.
The book talks about how Granada stripped down its region, its departments, the lure of takeovers to strip down the other centres and merge to save money so that they can reap the benefits to shareholders.
HA
harshy
Founding member
yep ITV just hasn't been the same since 1992, quality kids programming produced by a wide veriety of production centres, peak time scheduling which wasn't dominated by soaps, you could enjoy a sitcom or two on friday nights, followed by a decent hour of drama, the different regions all had their unique broadcasting style with fantastic idents and branding, its all wiped away and now productions only coming from two places, sad times 
:-(
A former member
what if Central brought LWT instead?
MD
I came across a HTV junction on YouTube from about 1998 and I could quite clearly see then that the quality of the network was beginning to slip. By the time it became ITV1 it has all but disappeared. It was the worse thing to happen to the channel in my view. It was unique as it had 15 different companies in their own stable providing a wide range of programming for a wide range for people. Once the stations began to merge the range of programming, the demographic and the quality began to dwindle until it was basically Granada providing a handful of mediocre programmes to a "certain" demographic and an absurdly over reliance on (non) celebrity shows and programmes such as Corrie and Emmerdale.
I think when Michael Grade stepped he did try to address the quality issue but by then the company simply didn't have the cash to improve things. It's way to late to improve it's fortunes now unless they begin to offer a much wider variety of programming.
Today ITV1 relies on a constant stream of dire 9pm dramas, its two soaps, the X Factor, Celebrity... and Britain's Got Talent. It's a very sad state of affairs when a company which relies on advertising has to fill most of it's prime time slots with promos of bland shows.
I think when Michael Grade stepped he did try to address the quality issue but by then the company simply didn't have the cash to improve things. It's way to late to improve it's fortunes now unless they begin to offer a much wider variety of programming.
Today ITV1 relies on a constant stream of dire 9pm dramas, its two soaps, the X Factor, Celebrity... and Britain's Got Talent. It's a very sad state of affairs when a company which relies on advertising has to fill most of it's prime time slots with promos of bland shows.