Investors
Michael Grade Speech - VLV Conference
19/04/2007
Good morning, and thank you very much for inviting me to speak to your Conference today.
The VLV does a tremendous job in stimulating debate about broadcasting. And it is an important job. No other organisation represents the interests of viewers and listeners as effectively.
With much of the TV-talk whirling around new technology and new platforms, the VLV focuses on what really matters to viewers and listeners: the programmes themselves. And that is also what I want to talk about today: programming. In particular, I want to talk about the immense - and, indeed, the increasing - value of programmes made here in the UK by British producers for British audiences.
Because this, - more than any quota, any single strand or any “PSB” genre - represents the core of public service broadcasting in this country going forward; what historically has set us apart from so many other countries is the resource we pour into original production for British audiences; and given us what I believe we can still claim as some of the best television - or the least worst depending on your point of view! -- in the world.
Since I re-joined ITV in January my urgent priority has been on our programmes and the quality of our schedules, in particular that of ITV1.
Actually I’ve been quite impressed with the programming that the commissioning team have planned for this year and I’m working closely with them on plans for 2008. I’m pleased to see good programmes coming through already.
We’re looking to broaden the range of our output and to raise the ambition of the schedule. We want to provide programmes that are more aspirational and less formulaic. We don’t want to be in the business of talking down to our audience; we want to raise their sights, to provide programming that is relevant, engaging, of course entertaining, challenging, innovative and informative. And we want to do that with high quality programmes, produced across the UK for the UK audience.
And I hope you’ll agree that already this year there has been some superb programming on ITV that shows British commercial TV at its best. It shows that ITV is still alive and well. Alongside the ‘banker’ programmes like Coronation Street, The Royal, ITV News - all in great shape - we have some excellent new programmes coming through.
Original drama is perking up on ITV, with programmes as diverse as our Jane Austen season, David Jason’s Diamond Geezer or the edgy thriller Mobile.
ITV is getting serious about comedy, from Benidorm and Al Murray and Harry Hill’s TV Burp which is having huge success with family audiences in early Saturday evenings.
And wonderful entertainment for all the family, from Primeval to Dancing on Ice to Grease is the Word.
All new and all made here in the UK for the British public. And there should be plenty more where they came from.
But sometimes I think that we rather take for granted what we have in UK television and what we have on ITV.
We focus on year on year changes, on what’s happening in this individual slot, or that individual sub-genre, and we can’t sometimes see the wood for the trees; we can’t see the assets we really have beneath the analysis of the slots.
Yes, there have been changes on ITV1 and, yes, I am sure there will be more to come, but step back a moment and take in the full view of the forest.
This year ITV will invest £1 billion in content. And that, despite a £200 million revenue drop last year.
- We are investing over twice as much in original UK production as our nearest commercial competitor. In key genres, the gap is even wider: ITV invests nearly ten times as much in UK drama as Channel 4. I deliberately make the comparison with the commercial sector as that is where the competitive pressure is biting.
- Just as important, we also lead in terms of our investment in national and international news - and we’re extending our contract with ITN right out to switchover. Remember: in 2006 ITV news was watched by five times as many viewers as Channel 4 news.
- We had a hundred hours of network current affairs on ITV1 last year, with Tonight scheduled twice a week in peak and watched by more people than Dispatches and Panorama put together.
- In arts, we’ve confirmed and renewed the peerless South Bank Show right through to 2009.
- Yes, we’ve reduced our children’s programmes on ITV1, reflecting the direct pressures on that genre, not helped by new advertising restrictions. But we will still broadcast hundreds of hours of children’s programmes on ITV1 and, in addition, 90% of UK children can already access our CITV channel.
And we remain a massive presence in the UK nations and regions.
- Half our network commissions come from outside London - that’s well ahead of the BBC and Channel 4. And we provide the only regional television services outside the BBC across 15 nations and regions with more than 25 sub-regions to reflect the diversity within the ITV transmitter regions.
I labour these points for a purpose. All of this is what ITV
provides today. It is how ITV gives crucial support to UK
production. It represents the value that we are delivering to UK
viewers. This is what ITV under my leadership is committed to
protecting for the future.
But it can’t be taken for granted.