Making The Grade
What a strange world television is in the UK.
Most, if not all my life so far, a certain family has dominated most of the entertainment business here.
Variety shows on stage, especially the early days of commercial television because they owned theatres, were agents and got in at the start of ITV. Its often forgotten that ITV for most of its history was made up of independent companies serving a particular area/region of the UK. That were sort of in competition and yet came to some kind of arrangement where they would often carry each other's programmes so becoming a national network but having opt outs where programmes suited to the local area were to be viewed.
As with all such highly lucrative businesses many battles ensued and I am sure lots of blood was spilled on the board room floor.
The Grade family consisted of many brothers and children. If anyone knows different I have to assume(I'll look myself and see if this correct and change it)but I suspect the name Grade was taken to avoid sounding too foreign as one of the most famous of this clan was called Lew Grade. Though another brother remained better known as Bernard Delfont who remained more in the world of theatre. Lord Lew as he later became(though he had some programmes and films that failed, they were few)knew how to get the famous performers/actors onto his programmes allowing the British public to see people not normally seen on this side of the Atlantic.
He was often clever enough to sell the programmes back to the USA which helped secure the talent because they series would be seen by a larger audience, commercially this allowed more advertising revenue around the productions and more money on offer to those appearing in the programmes.
Anyhow, somewhere down the line we have Sir Michael Grade who is a nephew of Lord Lew. I think his father was Leslie who ran a theatrical agency.
He has over the years allowing for a period where he worked in US television has always been associated with British television. He seems to have a knack for knowing what will work and deliver audiences. If a network is in trouble even some companies outside of television are struggling he always appears to turn things around.
I have lost track of how often he has moved between ITV and the BBC basically helping one become stronger than the other. And he had a period of time at Channel 4. He's just been trying to help the BBC through some very difficult times dealing with problems happening now and the future. Now, the news has broken that he's back off to ITV.
Where that puts the BBC who knows. Is it for the best or something that will harm public broadcasting?
Then again, ITV is no longer the company it once was, all those individual companies have become one, under the same umbrella and though they retain a local name in the regions, the same programmes air the length and breadth of the land and local opt outs are fewer. Its having to battle with more leisure pursuits and interests, new ways of receiving programmes, having to appeal to smaller audiences, a squeeze on advertising and many new stations are offering competition.
A new proposed law that will see advertisements seen as being harmful to children and teenagers showing what is considered "Junk" food will no longer be allowed on air until after 9pm which means some of the biggest revenue will no longer be coming into ITV as profit or to invest in new programmes. In recent months ITV even tried to stop broadcasting Children's television at all. Practically any religious programming has been halted and there is little if anything I could call cultural being offered.
They may come under the umbrella of ITV but after failing with its own network using a different form of broadcasting called Freeview and trying to win viewers away from Sky and the closure costing millions, they have had relaunch a network of new ITV channels but this time they have to arrange for them to be carried on a variety of platforms, some of which they do not own. It may seem good to have ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITV Play but in theory it probably would be better to invest in the programming and make one or two of these stronger in output so it is "Must see" television because if people watch these channels they are in theory diluting ITV's audience further and in competition with themselves. As they are trying to get viewers away from the competition but equally splitting its own audiences.
And with revenue suffering, ITV Play where viewers phone in to try and match their answers with hidden answers on a tower on screen or find a missing word in a grid and being charged 75p-£1 whether successful or whether you get put through to the programme this is really a way to try and get back some of that lost advertising revenue.
Its a compliment that Grade is seen as the answer and to turn things around but again, you also have to ask, what happens when Grade is longer around to step in? Is there no one better than him? He's still young, enthusiastic and lives and breathes television but is British television so desperate that he is the one and only?
How desperate is ITV? I understand they are thinking of launching yet another soap opera. How many more are the British public willing to accept, how many more can they watch? How much more time can a viewer commit?
This at a time when the Government and practically all charities and businesses to do with health are trying to get us out there exercising and doing less of the sitting at home in front of the television, games console or computer.
And even without the ban on advertising of certain products, who wants to show children's programmes any more, if children are more active so are not watching, if schools start to stay open longer before and after lessons etc...who will be watching?
Sir Michael Grade
I will be watching(sorry ;-) with interest...
Most, if not all my life so far, a certain family has dominated most of the entertainment business here.
Variety shows on stage, especially the early days of commercial television because they owned theatres, were agents and got in at the start of ITV. Its often forgotten that ITV for most of its history was made up of independent companies serving a particular area/region of the UK. That were sort of in competition and yet came to some kind of arrangement where they would often carry each other's programmes so becoming a national network but having opt outs where programmes suited to the local area were to be viewed.
As with all such highly lucrative businesses many battles ensued and I am sure lots of blood was spilled on the board room floor.
The Grade family consisted of many brothers and children. If anyone knows different I have to assume(I'll look myself and see if this correct and change it)but I suspect the name Grade was taken to avoid sounding too foreign as one of the most famous of this clan was called Lew Grade. Though another brother remained better known as Bernard Delfont who remained more in the world of theatre. Lord Lew as he later became(though he had some programmes and films that failed, they were few)knew how to get the famous performers/actors onto his programmes allowing the British public to see people not normally seen on this side of the Atlantic.
He was often clever enough to sell the programmes back to the USA which helped secure the talent because they series would be seen by a larger audience, commercially this allowed more advertising revenue around the productions and more money on offer to those appearing in the programmes.
Anyhow, somewhere down the line we have Sir Michael Grade who is a nephew of Lord Lew. I think his father was Leslie who ran a theatrical agency.
He has over the years allowing for a period where he worked in US television has always been associated with British television. He seems to have a knack for knowing what will work and deliver audiences. If a network is in trouble even some companies outside of television are struggling he always appears to turn things around.
I have lost track of how often he has moved between ITV and the BBC basically helping one become stronger than the other. And he had a period of time at Channel 4. He's just been trying to help the BBC through some very difficult times dealing with problems happening now and the future. Now, the news has broken that he's back off to ITV.
Where that puts the BBC who knows. Is it for the best or something that will harm public broadcasting?
Then again, ITV is no longer the company it once was, all those individual companies have become one, under the same umbrella and though they retain a local name in the regions, the same programmes air the length and breadth of the land and local opt outs are fewer. Its having to battle with more leisure pursuits and interests, new ways of receiving programmes, having to appeal to smaller audiences, a squeeze on advertising and many new stations are offering competition.
A new proposed law that will see advertisements seen as being harmful to children and teenagers showing what is considered "Junk" food will no longer be allowed on air until after 9pm which means some of the biggest revenue will no longer be coming into ITV as profit or to invest in new programmes. In recent months ITV even tried to stop broadcasting Children's television at all. Practically any religious programming has been halted and there is little if anything I could call cultural being offered.
They may come under the umbrella of ITV but after failing with its own network using a different form of broadcasting called Freeview and trying to win viewers away from Sky and the closure costing millions, they have had relaunch a network of new ITV channels but this time they have to arrange for them to be carried on a variety of platforms, some of which they do not own. It may seem good to have ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITV Play but in theory it probably would be better to invest in the programming and make one or two of these stronger in output so it is "Must see" television because if people watch these channels they are in theory diluting ITV's audience further and in competition with themselves. As they are trying to get viewers away from the competition but equally splitting its own audiences.
And with revenue suffering, ITV Play where viewers phone in to try and match their answers with hidden answers on a tower on screen or find a missing word in a grid and being charged 75p-£1 whether successful or whether you get put through to the programme this is really a way to try and get back some of that lost advertising revenue.
Its a compliment that Grade is seen as the answer and to turn things around but again, you also have to ask, what happens when Grade is longer around to step in? Is there no one better than him? He's still young, enthusiastic and lives and breathes television but is British television so desperate that he is the one and only?
How desperate is ITV? I understand they are thinking of launching yet another soap opera. How many more are the British public willing to accept, how many more can they watch? How much more time can a viewer commit?
This at a time when the Government and practically all charities and businesses to do with health are trying to get us out there exercising and doing less of the sitting at home in front of the television, games console or computer.
And even without the ban on advertising of certain products, who wants to show children's programmes any more, if children are more active so are not watching, if schools start to stay open longer before and after lessons etc...who will be watching?
Sir Michael Grade
I will be watching(sorry ;-) with interest...
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 12:13 am
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