ITV pulls one over the Beeb

Dundalk Daily

Michael Grade the controller of the BBC is to take over at ITV. This is a massive coup for ITV. It is believed that negotiations have been going on for some time and it is a coup in itself that no one got wind of this. Jeff Randall at the Telegraph has the scoop on this.

mike65

Holy Crap (checks calander). He's the only man for the job though.

Here's the actual breaking news story

Mike.

Dundalk Daily

According to previous reports he wasnt even in the running for it. I think Dyke had thrown his name into the ring during an interview yesterday or the day before. Sky are also leading with this at the moment also.

mike65

Dyke triumphant return to the BBC? Or might he join Grade?

Mike.

lostexpectation

is this really such a big deal, one executive is the same as the next?

sky have been reporting on this for 2 hours straight, minus brief interruptions for news

Dundalk Daily

Well if SKY are reporting it none stop it must be big news .

flogen

Dundalk Daily wrote:

According to previous reports he wasnt even in the running for it. I think Dyke had thrown his name into the ring during an interview yesterday or the day before. Sky are also leading with this at the moment also.

Dyke has been trying to get into ITV in one form or another since he left/was pushed from the Beeb; he headed up a consortium that tried to buy it recently.

lostexpectation wrote:

is this really such a big deal, one executive is the same as the next?

In media terms, yes.
Even against a regular backdrop it's big news to have one of the top men at the BBC snatched by ITV, but the fact that the future of that very British institution has been in such doubt in recent months only adds to the interest and importance.
Basically, Grade is jumping onto a sinking ship and he'll have to move fast to plug the holes and make ITV a viable entity in a world of multi-channel viewing and the rising tide of online content... no small feat.
(the telegraph article sums up Grade's challenges pretty well; the fact is that the future of ITV is largely in his hands now... it's questionable if the broadcaster could survive another series of bad decisions by a director)

Dundalk Daily

"Dyke has been trying to get into ITV in one form or another since he left/was pushed from the Beeb"

Flo what makes you think that Dyke has been trying to get into ITV before the recent consortium move ?

DMC

flogen wrote:

In media terms, yes.

But headline news on The Today Programme? I don't think so. The BBC and the media itself can suffer from a lot of navel gazing on matters like these.

As regards the Media picture, this is one serious coup for ITV. I'm always thought that Grade would make a decent job of ITV; its in his blood, his family and himself is immersed in the fabric of ITV. Its a wonder that ITV didn't get him before the BBC.

I'd really fancy Grade's chances of turning around ITV. If he can pick up the BBC from the battering it got post-Hutton, then he can do the same for ITV.

As I said here before, ITV really, really wanted a TV man in charge of the company, not a bean counter. They've got that now.

The BBC have lost a very good man. When Greg Dyke went, it was a serious hammer blow. I don't think Grade's moving on is as big a blow, but that is down to the nature of the leaving. Grade was the right man post-Hutton. As for the new head of the BBC Trust (Governor)
Grade's timing could've been better, however, with the new Charter about to start and licence fee debate continuing.

Dundalk Daily wrote:

Well if SKY are reporting it none stop it must be big news .

BBC and ITV bashing is their life-blood

Dundalk Daily

How can ITV attract more viewers, one obstacle being reported is news, the two large chunks of news both teatime and ten o clock. This probably causes problems for "ordinary viewing" continuity. I do know that it used to be very frustrating when a movie was broken up with the news at ten, not sure if they still do that. Should news be on news channels only, would this improve a channel like ITV.

flogen

Dundalk Daily wrote:

How can ITV attract more viewers, one obstacle being reported is news, the two large chunks of news both teatime and ten o clock. This probably causes problems for "ordinary viewing" continuity. I do know that it used to be very frustrating when a movie was broken up with the news at ten, not sure if they still do that. Should news be on news channels only, would this improve a channel like ITV.

What news channel?
As far as I'm aware ITV show as much news as they have to; few commercial broadcasters offer more news/current affairs coverage than their broadcasting contract demands, same applies on radio in Ireland

mike65

ITN News closed down over a year back.

Mike.

DublinWriter

DMC wrote:

As I said here before, ITV really, really wanted a TV man in charge of the company, not a bean counter. They've got that now.

And a bean counter is what they had. I can't remember the guy's name, but it was hilarious how the previous DG of ITV came from an accounting background, cut production costs to the bone, was initially aplauded, then all watched in horror as ITVs ratings crashed through the floor.

Grade is certainly not a bean-counter and has the TV-business in his DNA.

I think the attraction for Grade with this move was his father's (Lou Grade) initial involvment with the setting up of ITV in the 1950's. The wheel comes full circle.

DMC

Indeed, I would say Lew would look on in pride if Michael turns ITV around.

Common mistake, Lew Grade was actually his uncle. Leslie Grade was his father, who was also involved in theatrical endeavours in the forties and fifties.

It has to be noted that Grade commissioned some well remembered TV, at LWT and the BBC. His biggest innovation was Neighbours and EastEnders, which still are going strong. He has the chance to do this. It won't be easy, but if a Grade can't do it, no one else can.

Elmo

Someone in ITV needs to have the guts to get rid of Heartbeat, The Bill and shows like Where the Heart Is. and they also need to have the guts to reduce Coro St and Emmers down to 3 times a week rather then adding more and more episodes to each week.

When Heartbeat ends up in the 1970's I might start watching ITV, I am thinking that Heartbeat is a surreal Twilight Zone where the actors are trapped in a 1960's Village for the rest of their lives.