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Grade takes centre stage

Posted in Media December 11th, 2006 by Branwell Johnson

There’s been more drama in the ITV offices in Gray’s Inn Road of late than the broadcaster has unleashed on the TV screen.

The appointment of Michael Grade as executive chairman may seem to bring the curtain down on recent turbulence that has seen both Rupert Murdoch and Richard Branson keen to tread the boards at ITV.

However, it is rather the end of Act One than the final curtain. And at the risk of furthering the analogy let’s hope it’s not a Greek tragedy still unfolding.

Grade brings a much needed morale boost to ITV and puts the BBC on the back foot as it enters the final stages of its licence fee negotiation. The move has pleased the shareholders and Grade’s bank manager and hopefully promises a creative renaissance at ITV.

But – and there is always a “but” – there are a number of challenges that could mean there is not an automatic return to a “Golden Age.” From the advertising community’s point of view Grade’s appointment does not mean an immediate solution to the Gordian Knot of Contract Rights Renewal.

ITV claims CRR has hamstrung its revenue-earning potential and even some advertising clients are beginning to feel it’s too restrictive – but it was Grade’s predecessor Charles Allen that helped put it in place and all Grade’s political savvy will be needed to persuade the Office of Fair Trading that it is time to abolish CRR. It’s certainly in place for this year’s trading season and likely to be for next year too.

There’s also the question of Grade’s attitude to the digital world. He has not been closely involved in the pioneering technological developments at the BBC and comes from a background of mass audience television. He is keen to create shows that can rekindle that unifying moment on the family sofa and drive big audience figures.

All well and good but ITV now faces a challenge from the mushrooming number of digital channels and accompanying PVR technology that give viewers the chance to schedule their own programming. ITV has its finger in the digital pie but maybe has not shown itself wholeheartedly committed to a future strategy – for instance what’s happened to the mooted digital film channel?

Grade has a period of grace and the marketing industry would relish a strong ITV acting as a market leader and delivering good ratings. But the pace of change in the medium and the rapid draining of ad revenue from ITV’s coffers means that time is of the essence.

The new executive chairman cannot afford to be distracted from re-energising the creative juices at ITV by devoting time to the regulatory issues that could emerge from BSkyB’s stake in the company or from any internal power struggles that may emerge under a new boss.

And the spectre of a bid next year from Richard Branson and NTL still hovers in the wings.