ITV wants BBC formats ban

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has called for the BBC to be banned from remaking international formats such as The Voice.

The BBC has been criticised for airing
formats such as The Voice

ITV said the pubcaster should not be allowed to buy international formats for its flagship BBC1 and BBC2 channels and added that US films and series should also be off limits.

The firm’s comments came as it responded to the government’s review of the BBC charter, which is due for renewal in 2016.

The commercial operator added that the BBC “should not be permitted to acquire content that is already made (or a format that already exists in another territory) where another commercial rival is prepared to purchase that content or format.”

ITV is reportedly in the midst of trying to wrestle The Voice from the BBC as it attempts to deal with its own dwindling audience figures,  which are at their lowest levels for more more than a decade.

The company attacked the BBC for investing in “highly popular and often derivative and indistinct” shows on BBC1, adding that the channel had “chased viewing share at all costs.” Programming that did not maximise audience share had been ” marginalised or removed altogether,” the commercial operator continued.

It added that a loophole allowing those without a BBC licence to watch its iPlayer service should not be closed, something agreed on by the pubcaster and the UK government during the summer. However, the government’s culture chief John Whittingdale recently said that the final agreement was yet to be confirmed.

It’s the latest instalment of the ongoing battle between the BBC and ITV over remakes of foreign formats, which saw some MPs recently calling on the pubcaster to end their use in favour of producing original content.

BBC execs including outgoing TV chief Danny Cohen and controller Tony Hall have repeatedly defended the BBC’s formats, arguing that few are used. Alongside The Voice, the BBC also airs The Apprentice, Dragons’ Den and University Challenge, all based on foreign shows.