In a way STV are kind of playing into ITV's hands and in axing the popular stuff putting forward a case for the whole network to be nationalised so viewers don't miss out.
Popular to whom? I'd like to know how The Bill was rating here, as the rest of the dumped list seems to be not terribly missed. Most of these opts have been in place for months. Not hearing much disapproval up here so far, to be honest.
Who would ITV be putting a case for nationalisation to? The regulator? They're hardly in a position to wag the finger about a franchise not fulfilling its remit.
Quote:
I know we all go on about the importance of regional TV, but I imagine for many viewers they'd take the quality drama over regional tat any day.
Well I guess we'll see when the series starts.
I have to agree with you, I haven't watched The Bill in about 5 or 6 years, apart from the odd special that they do. My mum does watch it however, so I don't know how happy she'll be, but we do have Sky anyway.
:-(
A former member
A jolly record of what STV is dropped! ( not for the better:
( last November a drama about open seas like hornblower but it was new but stv dumped it)
Kingdom,
Leiws
Al Murray's Happy Hour.
Al Murray comedy show
moving wallpaper
Benidorm
FA Cup.
Divided
Dexter series 2
May Contain Nuts
THE BILL
Monday, Monday
Murderland, Collision, Wuthering Heights
daytime:
Alan titchmarh show
The chase
The fuse
to Gavin, most of the show I could not care about, expect for well Kingdom, Strangly there Dumped Dexter
my dad watchs the bill put even then it was off and on.
I do have to agree with some of the other commets, why kill of some of the better show, but keep the trash.
Last edited by A former member on 14 July 2009 12:05am - 2 times in total
:-(
A former member
Its says in the sun tv mag letters pages:
" when will benidorm going to return"
STV have said that a new series of the sitcom is due late Autumn.
Somehow I doubt it!
:-(
A former member
Does anyone know what STV will be broadcasting on wednesdays?, when the live football comes in?
Does anyone know what STV will be broadcasting on wednesdays?, when the live football comes in?
When it's the Champions League, they'll show the Champions League, only they'll show Celtic and Rangers instead. When it's England or the FA Cup, they'll show the same rubbish they showed last season instead of England and FA Cup matches. There's no increase in the amount of football on ITV this season, the difference is it'll now almost all be on one night, rather than the Champions League being on Tuesdays.
Although now they're likely to pick up the England home friendlies from Setanta, there will be a couple of extra matches. Also the second stage of the Champions League has been tweaked slightly which will mean ITV1 get 4 matches rather than 2 (the matches will be split between alternate weeks).
Perhaps they're doing what Zavvi should have done with Woolworths: seen their major supplier heading towards bad times, and changing suppliers before it is too late.
Whether it was a good move or not, only time will tell.
STV is dumping expensive network programmes - ie drama other than soaps and the best sport - and replacing them with cheaper material. This is quite distinct from welcome moves to produce more local programmes.
Can anybody honestly claim the people of Scotland are better served by two showings of the same episode of South Park within a few weeks. Or replacing the Midsomer Murders with a repeat of Foyle's War. Or would prefer three screenings of the same humdrum RTE thriller made five years ago to Kingdom or, even, Monday Monday?
Does anyone really think that covering up the FA Cup with old films is good for Scotland? (Yes, there are plenty of people in Scotland who say they don't like English football - but fans do and previous evidence suggests it would still have got a big audience here.)
And dropping The Bill - their third most popular programme - is almost certain to create some kind of a backlash. Just wait til next week when people realise what's happened.
Now all this may well be in STV's business interests. It may well be more profitable - or a ploy to try to reduce their formal contribution to the network budget. If they are trying to carve out a future for themselves so they can survive the potential loss of the ITV network schedule in 2012 (or before) then good luck to them. They should not be put out of business because of a powerful big brother.
But it means that a growing proportion of the best and most popular commercial television produced in the UK is not available easily in Scotland - not at all on Freeview and analogue and only in a little corner of Sky and cable which is rarely frequented by people who don't read forums like this. Whatever your view on the quality of the ITV1 schedule, the only people who could possibly regard this as a good thing are the petty numpties on the lunatic fringes of nationalism who probably don't watch popular tv anyway. (Not the mainstream SNP - they're not in the business of denying choice to the people of Scotland on things like that.)
Simple as this. Either we should have STV delivering the ITV1 schedule tailored to Scotland - or we should have a choice between STV and ITV1 as separate, competing stations.
ITVplc are not exactly chuffed with STV's behaviour just now. It can only hasten the day when ITVplc either buys STV - or finds a way of making ITV1 openly and easily available across the whole of the UK in a prominent EPG position in direct competition with STV and UTV.
Or how about if ITVplc moves some of their best, original programming to ITV2, 3 or 4 and simply repeats it on ITV1?
In the meantime, I suspect more people in Scotland are going to discover 993 for themselves. If nothing else, it's an extra viewing option.