BECTU response to consultation on ITV Schedule Review

26 October 1998

Introduction

1. BECTU, with a wide-ranging and long established membership of professionals working in ITV, is concerned for the future of the channel and welcomes the opportunity to comment on the issues raised by the consultation.
2. The context of the consultation, as is now widely acknowledged, is one in which ITV audience share has been falling in successive years throughout the recent period, from 43.3% (1991) to 32.8% (1997) in all-time share and from 44.6%(1993) to 38.8%(1997) in peaktime share. We can also acknowledge that there is a considerable decline within the peak period at 10pm. Part of this is the inevitable result of increased competition from cable and satellite, but there is evidence to indicate that ITV is losing viewers faster than other terrestrial channels.

   The importance of programme investment

3. Our basic and strongly held view is that the key to explaining the channel's recent decline and therefore to reversing it lies not in the nature and timing of individual programmes such as News at Ten – but in the amount of investment in original programming across the board.
4. Performance in terms of audience share cannot, in our view, be separated from investment in the programme schedule. Past failures to invest in peaktime programming throughout the evening – especially in the 8pm – 10pm period and in the genres of drama and light entertainment - provide a more convincing explanation of recent problems than the timing and nature of News at Ten itself.

   Rescheduling News at Ten

5. It follows from the above analysis that we have serious concerns about the proposal to reschedule ITV's flagship news to 6.30pm, with an additional half-hour bulletin at 11pm. We question whether this addresses the fundamental problems of lack of investment and we have specific concerns relating to news coverage in itself.
6. The Broadcasting Act rightly requires the provision of high quality national and international news during peak time. Many commentators now fear that by shifting the main programme to early-evening, ITV will effectively be marginalising news coverage within the channel and be failing to compete distinctively with other terrestrial channels (the only full bulletin available between 8pm and 11pm would be the BBC's Nine O'clock News). Will the 'People's Channel' effectively be retiring from the battle to provide serious news coverage?
7. The availability of high quality news throughout the evening has long been a key feature of our terrestrial broadcasting system. Arguably, the ready accessibility of news coverage subject to strong requirements on impartiality and accuracy is even more important in a context where the standards followed in related genres such as documentaries and docu-dramas have increasingly been subject to criticism.
8. More specifically, there is also a concern that many key news stories originating from abroad or from Parliament will simply not be available on the early evening slot. This would certainly be true of much of the recent Clinton coverage. The alternative 11pm slot will inevitably have a smaller audience – to the point where there are real concerns about the programme's long term security.
9. For these reasons we are not convinced about the wisdom of rescheduling News at Ten. If, despite these concerns, the rescheduling proceeds, our subsequent attitude will be strongly influenced by ITV's ability to inject significant extra programme investment into the network as a whole and by the level of commitment to continuing high quality news provision in particular.

   As a regional network

10. ITV's defining characteristic – above everything else – is its regional character. In the increasingly competitive media marketplace this is a valuable and distinctive identity which no other channel can match. We are therefore concerned to ensure that the schedule review does not have the effect of reducing the amount of regional programming and investment, thereby undermining the regional nature of ITV.
11. The proposed reorganisation of the news bulletins has potentially negative consequences for regional output. The current early evening news at 5.40pm is followed not only by regional news programmes throughout ITV but also in companies such as Granada by a further regional programming slot between 7 and 7.30pm. Similarly, News at Ten is currently followed by a regional news slot throughout ITV.
12. What guarantees are there that this level of investment in and commitment to regional programming will be maintained? Granada's 7 to 7.30 regional slot, for example, is directly threatened by the shifting of early evening news to 6.30pm. The dispersal of regional news to elsewhere on the schedule and the possible movement of other such regional programming to late evening could be seen as a prelude to a reduction in regional investment and a scrapping of some programming altogether.
13. We believe very strongly that this should not be allowed to happen. Regional programming is the backbone of ITV as a regional channel. The maintenance of adequate levels of technical and creative production staff throughout ITV's regional centres is essential for ITV's regional character as well as making a vital contribution – directly and indirectly - to local cultural life and to the regional economy. If the schedule review merely encourages further reliance on London-based programming in a system becoming only notionally regional, it will have done a disservice to ITV and to our broadcasting system as a whole.
14. We therefore seek reassurances that ITV's current commitment to regional output will be maintained. A rescheduling at the expense of regional programming and investment would be unacceptable.

    Future network budget

15. As indicated above, the most effective remedy to ITV's audience decline will be, in our view, increased investment in original programming. While retaining our strong concerns about news and regional output, we can therefore welcome, as far as it goes, the Network Centre's indication of a 9% or £50m-60m increase in the programme budget for 1999-2000. If it is true that above-inflation increases in programme investment are also anticipated for the following two years, this would provide a promising platform to take ITV further through the current licence period and the licence renewal process.
16. Increased original programming by the network – whether documentary, current affairs, drama, light entertainment or ITV-produced features – would be the strongest and most effective means of arresting audience decline and of attracting the type of audience necessary to stimulate advertising revenue. More original quality programming, and not merely imported features, which could appear on any channel, will be the way to increase audience share, improve audience profile and build audience loyalty to ITV.

    Role of franchise-holders

17. While the consultation rightly focuses on the Network Centre and its proposals we recognise that the future of ITV to a large extent lies in the hands of the current and future franchise holders. It is they who will either implement or resist any strategy of increased programme investment in ITV. It is they who have the power to break with and reverse the downward spiral of audience and investment. The largest and most powerful corporate players in the network – Granada, Carlton and United – have a particular responsibility in this respect.
18. We recognise, however, that while these companies have enjoyed considerable profits from ITV in the past, they have all developed additional media interests, including some in directly competing channels. In the face of these sometimes-conflicting interests, we urge the ITC to ensure that their ITV programming and investment commitments are adhered to throughout the forthcoming period. A Network Centre strategy to revitalise ITV through additional programme investment will rely on a continuing strong commitment to the channel from these companies. Any tendency to pull away from public service broadcasting commitments and to reorient towards other markets and other interests should in our view be strongly resisted.

    Conclusion

19. BECTU is concerned about the implications of the schedule review proposals both for news and for regional programming. Rather than focussing on News at Ten in particular, we believe that the key to a successful future for ITV is increased investment in quality original programming across the board. While retaining our specific and strong concerns in the areas outlined, we can therefore support those aspects of the Network Centre strategy involving additional programming investment. The ITV franchise holders will play a vital role in implementing any such strategy. Given their growing diversity of interests, the ITC should seek to enforce strongly their commitment to ITV and to public service broadcasting.
20. We urge the ITC to take note of these views – especially in relation to investment – in its response to the consultation.