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Nigel Pickard delivered his lecture after what he described had been “the most fantastic, fast and furious – and sometimes infuriating - eight months” since succeeding David Liddiment last February as ITV’s Director of Programmes.
With consummate timing, it was set, he explained, against the background of the merger between Carlton and Granada and in the build up to the Golden Anniversary of ITV in 2005.
“How,” Pickard asked at the outset, “will this [the merger] change ITV and the way we operate and commission pro- grammes at the Network? And how can ITV reconcile its public service brief with the need to make money in difficult times?
“Is Greg Dyke right about ITV needing to slip the PSB leash, and are we just coasting till the day we can hand back our licences and move to a safe, uncompli- cated satellite-only haven? Some of these questions are relatively new: some are as old as ITV itself,” he suggested.
As ITV prepares for its 50th birthday, Pickard said that “like any 48-year-old in its prime, ITV is at the peak of its powers, but it faces all the doubts and chal- lenges that come with maturity. Wrinkles are showing.”
Referring to what he called ITV’s “mid-life crisis”, he contin- ued, “a generation of stars and titles, synonymous with the chan- nel over the past three decades are – how can I put this politely? – getting on a bit. Some are still in there giving fantastic value, entertaining millions. Some are getting tired. Some have gone.
“It’s always difficult to part company with a star, or a series that has served your channel well over many years. You’ve been through a lot together. It’s very tempting to stay together because it’s so hard these days for a single mass-market channel to nurture potential bankers. Because, make no mistake, bankers and soaps are the twin pil-
lars of the mass-market schedule that hold everything else together. You don’t discard them lightly. You refresh, you re-invent, you recast, you spin off and you do every- thing to keep them going.”
But, he added, “unless at the same time, you’re working hard to bring on the next generation, you’re in trouble. Building new shows that are going to be tomor- row’s bankers has to be a priority.”
As for the charge that ITV was “becoming more risk averse”, Pickard denied it. “But there’s a difference between a risk, which is always finely calculated, and a statement, which is something you are determined to do what- ever the outcome... We have to take risks to renew the schedule, but I don’t believe we can afford the luxury of statements just yet. This is why The Deal, originally developed by Granada for ITV, eventually went to Channel Four which I think was its natural home.
“My aim must be to safeguard and stabilise ITV1’s performance. If this means making changes against billing and moving shows out of exposed slots then we have to do it.
“Today there is no hiding place and the ITV1 schedule is the most exposed of any channel. If we get it wrong, I believe we have no choice but to bite the bullet, and move it or take it off.”
Pickard answered the criti- cisms of a “new ruthless streak at the Network Centre” as well as the accusation of “blind panic”. He said: “It’s certainly not new, and it’s not blind panic; it’s simply a fact of commercial life. And these difficult judgements are made not only on the basis of the performance: other factors like the overall quality of the series, or just simple bad timing, also come into play.
“These are the casualties in the sometimes painful process of sus- taining a schedule. It’s heartbreak- ing if it happens to your show (I know, because it happened to me), but that’s the reality of work- ing in a competitive market.”
Pickard’s wide-ranging Lecture spanned Daytime and Children’s television to a new “strong run of single drama”, nat- ural history and reality TV among the “2,700 commissions going through the Centre every year and nine-and-a-half people to commission them and see them through to the screen.”
He also addressed the matters of public service broadcasting, regulation, licence values, quality and diversity before finally focus- ing on the very future of ITV itself in the wake of the merger and ques- tions of possible future ownership.
As far as the “ITV brand” was concerned, said Pickard, “only we can offer:
– The public’s favourite brands, maintained in peak condition.
– A guarantee of equality and diversity that multi-channel and niche service just can’t deliver.
– Free-to-air sport, plus an essential seasoning of “talked-about shows”
– Investment across the schedule: peak will always be the priority but other areas are being brought up to, and beyond scratch.
– Bedrock support for the UK pro- duction sector: in-house and independent.
– A strong accessible news serv- ice providing an alternative to news on the BBC.
Suggesting the best of ITV was “still to come”, Pickard also proposed his eventual preferred epitaph: He grew ITV’s all-time share and there were some great programmes.
public service
Nigel Pickard, ITV Director of Programmes gives the Academy’s annual Television Lecture
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Photo main: Nigel Pickard; and below enjoying the lecture (Photos by Helen Jones)
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