ITV unveils new regional current affairs programme
Thursday, July 10th, 2008ITV to resurrect national current affairs format
ITV’s regional current affairs programmes across England are to be replaced by a single brand similar to the BBC’s regional broadcast Inside Out. The show is to be called Here and Now, the title of a former BBC current affairs programme broadcast in the nineties.
Here and Now will be shown over all the ITV regions in England but will address local issues and be fronted by a regional presenter. The original BBC programme, which was taken off air several years ago, was presented by Sue Lawley and addressed regional issues from around the UK.
However, ITV regions director Michael Jermey has dismissed suggestions that the programme has borrowed ideas from the BBC, insisting that the name was chosen purely because it “says what it is”.
“We are producing something very distinctive. It is going to be a very up-to-date programme based in the locality. It will be a new version of what people already like about regional programming. It will be lively and accessible and I hope it has impact.”
ITV is currently in the process of cutting its regions from 17 to nine, saving the corporation about £40m a year. This has been made easier by Ofcom’s decision to allow ITV to broadcast just half-an-hour’s worth of non-news regional content a week in England. Many ITV staff face losing their jobs.
“We face the inevitable prospect - under whatever map Ofcom approves - of many redundancies across the group,” said Jermey.
There is talk of creating regional news hubs, in which news studios would be located outside their regional areas.
“The ‘hubbing’ of studios in some places could allow us to leave some expensive buildings and make good use of existing studios,” Jermey wrote.
A comprehensive region-by-region report is planned for September detailing how ITV aims to create “the best possible service for viewers within the constraints of the budget.”
The BBC and Channel 4 have both held talks with ITV, seeking to establish ways to help plug the gap in regional programming.
