The boss of the broadcast regulator has expressed concern about how the chase for audience ratings is harming the industry
Television has become more “exploitative and cruel”, according to Michael Grade, the chair of the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom.
“The exploitation dial has been switched up more and more for ratings,” said the peer and former chair of the BBC board. “It makes me mad. I really don’t like it or enjoy it.
Continue reading...Peter Moffat will write show about what is considered one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in NHS history
ITV has announced a drama on the contaminated blood scandal, widely considered to be one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in NHS history, after the success of its series on the Post Office.
The drama, which is being written by the Bafta award-winning screenwriter Peter Moffat, will show how people with haemophilia and other blood disorders were contaminated with blood infected with HIV and Hepatitis C, the American media site Deadline reported.
Continue reading...Divisive Brexiter will be tasked with helping fellow contestants 2,000 miles away on Gold Coast
Nigel Farage will be stranded in the middle of the Australian outback when I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! gets under way.
He will be one of three unsuspecting stars who will be dropped in the red desert in the scorching heat and tasked with helping his campmates thousands of miles away.
Continue reading...Policy reportedly includes sexual relationships and friendships, and launch follows Phillip Schofield’s resignation over workplace affair
ITV has drawn up strict new rules requiring staff to declare all relationships with colleagues – which could even include friendships – in the wake of Phillip Schofield’s resignation earlier this year over a workplace affair, according to a report.
The This Morning presenter quit after admitting that he had lied about an “unwise, but not illegal” affair, amid allegations that ITV bosses had turned a blind eye to the relationship.
Continue reading...Broadcaster’s earnings more than halve in first half but studios business performs strongly
ITV has warned it is in the midst of the worst advertising downturn since the 2008 financial crisis.
The broadcaster, which is behind hit shows including Love Island and I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, said earnings more than halved in the first six months of the year, as it came up against a “very tough” advertising market and as it invested in its ITVX online streaming service.
Continue reading...Reports say members of CMS committee will discuss the handling of the issue with executives
MPs are reportedly planning on questioning ITV executives over This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger male colleague.
It came as the Prince’s Trust said it had dropped Schofield as an ambassador. “In light of Phillip’s recent admissions, we have agreed with him that it is no longer appropriate to work together,” a spokesperson for the charity said on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Doctor also says he was ‘managed out’ of the show after raising concerns over how people were being treated
A TV doctor who previously worked on ITV’s This Morning has said the culture on the show became “toxic” and that he was “managed out” after he tried to raise his concerns.
Dr Ranj Singh, who made regular appearances offering medical advice, said that, over 10 years on the show, he grew “increasingly worried about how things were behind-the-scenes and how people, including myself, were being treated”.
Continue reading...Ofcom reviews longstanding rules that allow pay-TV companies more ad minutes than public service rivals
The pay-TV provider Sky could lose as much as £150m a year in TV advertising revenue from proposals aimed at enabling the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcasters to make more money and better compete with streaming services.
The broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, is reviewing historical rules that restrict the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) – ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – from running as many minutes of advertising on their main channels as rivals such as Sky are allowed.
Continue reading...Watchdog says it suspects possible breaches of competition law around purchase of freelance services
The competition watchdog is investigating possible cartel-like behaviour by sport broadcasters including BT Group, ITV, Sky and IMG Media, which includes Premier League Productions, around the purchase of freelance services.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it believes there are “reasonable grounds to suspect one or more breaches of competition law”.
Continue reading...The most commercialised show on British television has signed up nine official partners
Love Island has netted ITV more than £12m in revenues even before the first episode of the new series of the hit reality show airs on Monday, as sponsors and advertisers rush to attach themselves to the most commercialised show on British television.
With uncertainty over Covid restrictions scuppering holidays abroad for a second successive year, the arrival of the feelgood summer juggernaut could not be more perfectly timed to tap into a viewer and advertising boom.
Continue reading...The broadcaster, who was the voice of Formula One on British television, has died aged 97. His career spanned more than 50 years at the BBC and ITV before he retired from commentating in 2001
Continue reading...Who green-lit The Masked Singer, or dreamed up a dating show about Prince Harry? Insiders reveal how madcap ideas go from page to small-screen sensation
Nine years ago, TV developer Park Won Woo was taking a break in a car park after shooting auditions for a South Korean talent show. He had worked on number of similar programmes throughout his career, but had come to feel uneasy about their format. “They’re not always fair,” he recalls thinking, because on numerous occasions, people seemed to win because of their looks, not their talent. A solution popped into his head: what if the singers wore masks?
For three years, nobody wanted Park’s show, the idea for which evolved to feature celebrities behind the masks. The 48-year-old had 24 years’ experience in the TV industry, but his idea was rejected by network after network. “I felt sheer desperation,” he tells me.
Continue reading...