ITV cutbacks reveal daytime TV must be ‘smaller, leaner, more flexible’ to survive
Lorraine Kelly hosting her show on ITV
UK broadcaster ITV’s drastically slimmed down daytime programming operations highlight just how “unaffordable” making traditional unscripted TV has become, according to a veteran producer.
The shake-up of ITV’s daytime programming operations, announced last year, came into effect at the beginning of the month, with long-running shows Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women now produced by one team sharing resources and operations.
The three editorially distinct shows continue to be produced by ITV Studios and are broadcast from a new location in central London. Good Morning Britain, meanwhile, is now being produced by ITN Productions, having seen its runtime extended by 30 minutes at the expense of the other daytime shows.
The controversial changes saw around 220 jobs go at the UK’s top commercial broadcaster, with content chief Kevin Lygo claiming the cost savings will fund primetime “hero genres” such as drama, entertainment and sport.
Writing on LinkedIn, Jonathan Robinson, an experienced freelance TV producer who has worked on shows such as Homes Under the Hammer and The Yorkshire Auction House, described the changes as a “huge shift” and “a clear signal of just how unaffordable large-scale, traditional daytime TV has become.”
Robinson added: “These shows were built for an era of big audiences, big crews and big budgets. But advertising revenue, viewing habits and distribution have fundamentally changed. Outside of public service broadcasting, the economics are becoming harder to justify. It’s not alarmist to say we may only be a few years away from this model no longer being cost-effective at all.”
Robinson, who runs video production provider Bellyflop TV and teaches filming skills to students, said it shows the direction of travel for an unscripted TV industry needing to become leaner and more flexible.
“I’ve seen this coming for a long time because my own career has largely been about disruption and continues to be so. I didn’t follow a conventional TV path or sit comfortably inside large institutions. I’ve always worked at the edges – freelancing, running my own corporate video production company, embracing new formats, new technology and new ways of working long before they were fashionable,” said Robinson.
“What’s happening at ITV isn’t failure, it’s adaptation. But it also reinforces a wider truth that the future of TV will be smaller, leaner, more flexible and more entrepreneurial. The same also applies to traditional corporate video production.
“I made significant changes to Bellyflop TV three years ago by moving into live streaming, and I’m glad I did. Those who can adapt will survive. Those who can disrupt may well thrive.”
