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Ofcom considers new ITV action | Print |  Email to a friend
Friday, 23 May 2008

Ofcom considers new ITV action
ITV has failed to meet its production quota for taking programming outside of London and could face more regulatory action from watchdog Ofcom.

Just weeks after Ofcom's report into phone-in scandals, the communications watchdog has published its annual report into nations and regions, and again it has highlighted ITV.

Ofcom considers new ITV action
Ofcom
It describes ITV’s shortfall as a "serious matter, and one which is the subject of further consideration […] with a view to regulatory action."

Ofcom can impose a fine or shorten or revoke ITV's licence.

BBC, Channel 4 and five all achieved the targets of providing a minimum of 50% spend in the regions. However, it has reignited the debate as to what counts as a "regional" production with some broadcasters mislabelling output.

Pact, which represents the UK's production industry wants Ofcom to review the quota system and clarify what it should include. In its own report earlier this year, it showed that the North West saw no growth in production between 2004 and 2006 with ITV halving its independent production hours over the same period to 11.5hours.

It comes as ITV has been accused by union Bectu of failing to meet its 5 year production plan and cutting 89 jobs in Manchester and Leeds.

The staff effected will mainly be technical with 43 redundancies at Granada and Yorkshire-based 3sixtymedia, which provides studios and editing facilities.

Formal consultations are due to start in Manchester today.

At the time of writing, ITV's corporate press office hadn't answered How-Do's request for an interview, comment or statement.

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  Comments (6)
RSS comments
 1 By Super Barrio, on 27-05-2008 10:46
You can’t blame production companies for not wanting to film (or base drama) outside London. London has more going on than the rest of Britain. That’s not southern bias, just fact.  
 
I’m sure if ITV wanted to start making dramas about teen pregnancy, binge drinking and racial intolerance, there will be a production stampede to the north.
 2 By Hill Hunt, on 27-05-2008 12:36
Y-e-e-e-s. Odd that ITV managed to produce audience-winning drama for year after year from the north - think of Cold Feet, Reckless, Cracker, Prime Suspect and then add Queer As Folk, The Cops and so much more made up here by other channels.  
 
There's a nasty rumour that some marketing berk at ITV a few years back told the programme controllers that they'd up their ABC1 share by setting future dramas in aspirational locations in the South. And we all know how well ITV has done since then...
 3 By Super Barrio, on 27-05-2008 13:41
People don’t want to see dramas set around dark satanic mills and sink estates. You’ve got ‘Heartbeat’, what more do you want? 
 
Even the best northern set-drama (The Street) is a depressing as hell. It’s good that drama is mainly southern-based. The southeast have a greater mix of influences, culture(s) and talent.  
 
Half the bloody BBC’s going up north. Why are people moaning?
 4 By A Treat, on 27-05-2008 15:01
Which "people" what "fact" who set Barry the tw*t up as voice of the people anyway?
 5 By Nielsen, on 27-05-2008 21:55
Why does it matter that drama is based in the north? Are viewers really so dumb that they'd relate to a TV show more if they can see the Liver Building in the background?  
 
Do we have to have shows with Geordie accents that most of country can't understand. Northern locations shouldn't be shoehorned into TV shows to fit quotas.
 6 By discerning viewer, on 29-05-2008 11:59
Who watches ITV these days anyway.  
Wall-to-wall dogmeat such as Britain's Got Talent, Goldenballs, Celebrity Love Island, Bingo Night Live and 43 episodes of Corrie and Emmerdale every week, plus omnibus editions tell us just what the controllers think of viewers. Just because Sale of the Century came from Norwhich or Crossroads from Birmingham or Corrie from up North, they were still shite. What is needed is people of the quality of David Boulton or Ray Fitzwalter. Granada and Yorkshire were once proud companies that made quality telly. Today they shovel out fertiliser, just like Fisons.

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