It’s all go today.
Broadcast reports that ITV is losing £1.5m per week while it suspends its premium rate lines. The voting mechanism will be up and running for Dancing on Ice tomorrow, but there’s even a suggestion that ITV Play won’t be returning at all! Of course I doubt it’ll be replaced with anything decent. ITV could launch ITV Movies but why do suspect that Men & Motors will make a return to Freeview?
Meanwhile, it seems that Five has now suspended all its premium rate phone services after “discovering a problem with Endemol daily quizshow Brainteaser”. Brainteaser has been running for a few years now. How far does this problem go back?
And we look forward to an ICSTIS press conference at 2pm this afternoon.
With newspapers – particularly the tabloids – running stories on a very regular basis about the problems with these services, the question must be asked: will viewers actually start using these services again?
I really hope that viewers are scared away and that the services become uneconomical and die a natural death. Although a regulatory framework would be useful too.
But I’m with Media Guardian’s Janine Gibson and Emily Bell in saying that if ITV can’t make money through advertising, sponsorship and other legitimate means, then they should simply hand back their licence and cope in the digital world on their own without all the benefits a public service broadcaster has. They can occupy an EPG slot somewhere between Living and FX, and fight for viewers like those channels. I’m sure that there wouldn’t be a shortage of takers for ITV’s position.
In other media news the BBC has re-awarded Mentorn the contract for Question Time. All four shortlisted companies “came up with strong proposals both for the linear programme and for developing multi-platform offerings.” I assume any ideas for phone-votes on issues of the idea have now been quietly ditched!
And fairplay to Carphone Warehouse. They really have pulled their Big Brother sponsorship. At the time of the Celebrity Big Brother racism row, I was cynical about their move, and assumed that they’d be back for the regular edition in the summer as it’s a strong brand to sponsor. But they’re not. I don’t doubt that C4 will find a replacement sponsor relatively easily.