ITV

NTL Share Prices Fall After Rumours of ITV Takeover Bid

There's been a lot in the news recently about ITV and their myriad of problems; takeovers, falling audience numbers, decreased advertising revenue, failed digital ventures, lack of web presence, lack of creativity, lack of experimentation, reliance on soaps, uninspired programming... the list goes on and on.

And it's all true. ITV are an embarrassment and the sooner they get bought out / closed down / go into receivership, the better this countries broadcasting quality will be. Everything that is wrong with ITV can be seen in this clip of the new Family Fortunes 2006 opening titles.



ITV: Everything. That. Is. Wrong. With. Television.
Thanks to Andy Digitonal for spotting this one.

Digital TV has still yet to really take off and so many people have only 4 or 5 channels. These 4 or 5 channels, therefore, have a greater responsibility to their audience than their digital counterparts. This clip illustrates only too well that ITV are no longer capable of fulfilling that responsibility.

They rely on inane celebrity hosts, revamps of outdated shows, an end-of-the-pier approach to entertainment, low production values, patronising attitudes and, it would seem, an almost total contempt for the intelligence of their audience. They are poorly managed, poor programmed, poorly funded and barely watchable. When they decided to fill every evening slot past 11 o'clock with interactive quiz shows that, intended or not, resemble a telethon for a failing channel, you know they're fucked.

"It's only TV" you may cry, or "you may not like it but others do" but that is not a valid argument. There is nothing wrong with light entertainment, nor quiz shows, nor family programming but there is everything wrong with the approach that this channel takes to them. We've been patronised for so long by this pathetic commercial entity that we've forgotten what good TV looks like.

Ditch the channel. Sack the management. Start again.
And don't give it to fucking NTL.