ITV is a British television broadcasting company whose 15 broadcasting licences are owned by ITV Plc (England and Wales), STV (Scotland), UTV (Northern Ireland) and Channel Television (Channel Islands). Following the Television Act 1954, - which passed a law to allow the first commercial television network to broadcast on UK television – ITV was launched in 1955, with the Independent Television Authority responsible for the regulation of the channel. Regional services within ITV (such as Associated Rediffusion, ATV, Granada and ABC) were required to produce their own regional news programs. On August 10th 1979, a 10 week dispute (the longest to date) over pay began, leaving viewers with no ITV channel. Subsequently, when ITV was back up and running, they had lost a lot of money and viewers to the BBC. During The Broadcasting Act of 1990, ITV legally changed its name to Channel 3, but is still referred to as ITV. Due to the fact that ITV2 was launched, in 2001 the ITV network channel was renamed ITV1, so as not to confuse viewers. ITV hit 50 years old in 2005, with the network running special celebratory programs such as a seven week Gameshow Marathon and a documentary series explaining the history of ITV.
ITV is a public service network, which means that they operate the broadcasts intended for the public benefit rather than just commercial concerns. As part of the public service licence to broadcast, ITV must fulfil requirements set by Ofcom, which include meeting quotas for news, current affairs, independent, European, children's and religious programming, output containing subtitles, signing and audio description. ITV are also legally obliged to screen party election broadcasts. This is because these types of programs target all different types of people, and what the general public wants to see. If ITV were to break these rules, and not meet the quota, they would be fined. Being a PSB hinders ITV in a way that limits their freedom of what they can broadcast. For example, they must show some kind of religious programming, and if there are a limited number of religious people who will watch the show, then their viewership will decrease. However, it also helps ITV, as this is an easier and sure way of determining their broadcasting license as long as they meet all the quotas. It also reaches a bigger and more diverse audience, if they show programs with subtitles and signing, then they are appealing to the deaf audience, who would usually struggle to watch television without this kind of help. However, following the Digital Switchover, Ofcom and the British government are unsure as to whether they will be able to make ITV conform to any public service requirements.
As a company broadcasting on television, technology has had a major effect on the way that ITV operates. During November of 1969, PAL colour was introduced to parts of the UK using a higher definition 625-line system. This was not functioning on 100% of television sets across the whole of the UK until 1976. This was a major step in technology, and it meant that ITV gained increasing numbers of viewers due to the interest in the development. In 1974, a service called ORACLE (later replaced by teletext ltd.), a teletext provider was launched onto ITV. This provided real time information for the likes of sports, news, lottery results, holiday information, betting guides etc. When ITV was launched, it was using an analogue signal. This meant that the company was only competing with BBC, as these were the two main channels sent and available on the analogue signal. However, when satellite and cable television came into practise, ITV had a lot more competition to fight for viewers with. More and more television channels were being introduced, and that meant that ITV had to expand their programming schedule. However, ITV was still free to watch, whereas viewers have to pay monthly for cable and satellite channels. ITV saw a decrease in viewer shares due to this new technology, and an even larger decrease when Digital TV was introduced. A recent progress made by technology has ensured that by 2012, the whole of the UK will have completed the ‘Digital Switchover’, meaning that the whole country will have access to 100+ channels using Freeview (or Digital Terrestrial Television). This is not a good sign for ITV, whose viewership numbers have been decreasing for years, as this means that all viewers will have a choice of more programs on more channels, resulting in a substantial loss of money for ITV. As a result of this, ITV has introduced many more channels, such as ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and CITV to try to boost ratings. CITV is a children’s channel, which appeals to a different audience than the regular ITV channels would, therefore bringing in more viewers. The development of the internet has had a great effect on ITV, as anyone with internet access can now watch programs broadcast on ITV through illegal sites on the internet, therefore decreasing ratings. You can now also watch programs broadcast on ITV through the ITV Player on www.ITV.com. This is an advantage, as if a viewer missed the program when it was broadcast on TV, they can then catch up on the internet service, ensuring that they will then watch the next episode on TV. It is also an advantage as ITV can charge companies to place their advertisements during the videos, earning ITV more money. Being interactive with the viewers has changed the way some programs work. For example, a major broadcast on ITV is The X Factor, and without the public and without the show being interactive, it would not work. The development of introducing phone in lines allows the viewers to take part in the program, attracting more viewers as it directly involves them.
From the launch of the channel, ITV has been funded by advertising and sponsorship. Adverts are shown regularly on all ITV channels, usually every 15 minutes (although not as regular during films). These companies who pay for a 30 second advert are funding the channel, so as a viewer, we do not have to. Although everybody pays for a TV licence, none of the profit made goes to ITV, just the BBC. For a 30 second advert (broadcast on LWT – the London broadcasting region) during peak broadcasting time – 730pm, during Coronation Street – ITV charges £15,449. However, adverts can be as cheap as £30 to broadcast; i.e. on Border/ITV1 at 11am. Companies can also pay for a slot on the ITV Player, ensuring maximum coverage for their product. As well as advertising, ITV earns their profit from sponsorships. Each program on ITV is sponsored by a company, offering ITV money for advertising their product during the show. ITV offers a package of running time for their adverts that each sponsor will receive:
Opening break: 15 seconds
Centre break out of show: 10 seconds
Centre break into show: 10 seconds
End break: 5 seconds
The company sponsoring the programs on ITV will pay ITV a substantial amount of money, and they will agree to a contract (usually the length of the series) which can then be either renewed or ITV will change to a different sponsor. For example, Harveys has been sponsoring Coronation Street since September 2007, and they are contracted until January 2011. ITV2 has had issues with product placement, as the US broadcasting company FOX are sponsored by Coke and iTunes, whose products are advertised throughout American Idol. As neither Coke nor iTunes sponsors the UK broadcasting, ITV2 has to cut out the Coke/iTunes plugs which are broadcasted throughout the show, and they have to blur the Coke logo on the cups so they do not show to the UK audience.
ITV has had fierce competition from the likes of BBC1 over the years that it has been operating. As BBC was the monopoly company, ITV had to try to break free and become a recognisable and respected broadcasting channel to win in the ratings war. BBC1 has beaten ITV in the Edinburgh International Television festival “Channel of the Year Award” for the past 3 years. Over the years, ITV has developed into a well known British television channel, broadcasting some of the most popular programs to date watched by the British public.ITV have been in financial trouble over the past few years, but are slowly regaining their position in the industry thanks to the quality of programming being broadcasted. ITV’s audience shares are slowly increasing, with a viewer share of 28.2% in 2009 (an increase of 1.5%).
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