ITV franchises

15-11-2009 12:40am #1

As most of you here probably know, the last ITV franchise auction was in 1991 and resulted in TVS, Thames and TSW going off the air. But now that the majority of the network is under the control of one company, ITV plc, how likely is it that there will be another franchise round? Surely the licences have expiration dates of some sort?

Elmo · 15-11-2009 1:49pm

Karsini wrote: »

As most of you here probably know, the last ITV franchise auction was in 1991 and resulted in TVS, Thames and TSW going off the air. But now that the majority of the network is under the control of one company, ITV plc, how likely is it that there will be another franchise round? Surely the licences have expiration dates of some sort?

Unlikely. Part of the Neo-Liberal policies of the Maggie and Tony. Big multi-national is better that little companies providing quality TV. £££££££££££££££€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$44

Thames lost theirs because they pissed of the establishment with real news.

icdg · 17-11-2009 12:34am

Karsini wrote: »

As most of you here probably know, the last ITV franchise auction was in 1991 and resulted in TVS, Thames and TSW going off the air. But now that the majority of the network is under the control of one company, ITV plc, how likely is it that there will be another franchise round? Surely the licences have expiration dates of some sort?

They do, but since 1991 they have all been renewed. The holder of a Channel 3 licence can apply for renewal between four years and three months before the end of a licence period and Ofcom's policy (and that of the ITC before it) was to allow renewals as long as the financial terms were right (this usually meant an increase in the licencee's licene payments).

All the C3 licences still have theoretical expiry dates. In practice ITV plc has been flirting for the last few years with the idea of giving up the C3 licences it holds and moving to an television licencible content licence. Doing so would mean no more having to produce any public service programming, no more regional obligations, no more children's programming, no more seperate GMTV licence, etc. It would also mean the end of the ITV Network as we know it and no more having to pay lip service to STV and UTV. It would literally be allowed do what it wants instead of being hamstrung as it is at present. But it has to also weigh up the cons. It would lose the guarenteed EPG 103/3 position, its gifted multiplex space on DTT (important on a platform where space is at a premium). Sky would be likely to take the first opportunity to boot ITV1 down to the end of the entertainment section of the EPG. So in terms of positioning ITV has a lot to lose.

There is currently a plan in place whereby the government would give public money to independent companies to produce news on ITV, which in the present sitatution would be the nearest we would get to a new ITV franchise round. ITV plc (which doesn't want to do regional news) has welecomed this but the proposal is being fought tooth-and-nail by UTV and STV as it would basically mean the end of their in-house news services in order to suit the English situation. One possible outcome of this is that competitive tendering for regional news might be brought in England and Wales but not Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Elmo · 17-11-2009 1:19am

icdg wrote: »

But it has to also weigh up the cons. It would lose the guarenteed EPG 103/3 position, its gifted multiplex space on DTT (important on a platform where space is at a premium). Sky would be likely to take the first opportunity to boot ITV1 down to the end of the entertainment section of the EPG. So in terms of positioning ITV has a lot to lose.

I think the pro is that they know the EPG doesn't really matter as long as they have their Soap Operas and Sport. ITV could easily let go of their Channel 3 requirements and regain Northern Irish and Scottish viewers.

What licence does ITV2, 3, 4 and CITV fall under?

The Cush · 18-11-2009 10:05am

In 2004 Digital Replacement Licences were offered and accepted by the companies with an expiry date of 31 Dec 2014.

There have been various Ofcom consultations on the future of the ITV franchises - Reviews of Financial Terms for Channel 3 Licences (2004), Financial terms for Channel 3 licences (2004), ITV Networking Arrangements review (2005), Switchover–related Changes to DTT Licences (2006), Review of ITV Networking Arrangements (2006), Public Service Broadcasting Review - Phase 1 & Phase 2 (2008), Review of ITV Networking Arrangements (2008)

Ofcom recently stated ITV network licence no longer sustainable in 2012.

A Reviews of the financial terms for the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences was recently begun by Ofcom.

Elmo · 18-11-2009 12:47pm

The Cush wrote: »

In 2004 Digital Replacement Licences were offered and accepted by the companies with an expiry date of 31 Dec 2014.

There have been various Ofcom consultations on the future of the ITV franchises - Reviews of Financial Terms for Channel 3 Licences (2004), Financial terms for Channel 3 licences (2004), ITV Networking Arrangements review (2005), Switchover–related Changes to DTT Licences (2006), Review of ITV Networking Arrangements (2006), Public Service Broadcasting Review - Phase 1 & Phase 2 (2008), Review of ITV Networking Arrangements (2008)

Ofcom recently stated ITV network licence no longer sustainable in 2012.

A Reviews of the financial terms for the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences was recently begun by Ofcom.

A number of reviews to liberalize the licences IMO, thats just from their titles. Kind of like how the BCI just published results about Paid for Political Advertising on Broadcasts, the conclusion while the majority of people don't want paid for political broadcasting in Ireland they could be persuaded should strict regulations be placed on the total spend by political parties/groups on such advertising. Sorry bit off topic but relevant. IMO.

Mike 1972 · 19-11-2009 6:43pm

the last ITV franchise auction was in 1991

Which more or less coincided with the start of ITV's decline ad by the time Carlton were allowed to start taking over other ITV companies it had become a lost cause.

Does ITV plc now hold a single franchise for England/Wales or is it still comprised of 11 odd regional franchises ? Is it still theoretically possible for some of these to be awarded to other companies ?

Elmo · 19-11-2009 7:25pm

ITV franchises

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