ITV boss: BBC has set Strictly to clash with X Factor
THE head of ITV has accused the BBC of short-changing viewers by forcing its audiences to choose between X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing in an attempt to “clip the wings” of its commercial rival.
Peter Fincham, the director of ITV, made a public attack on the BBC’s scheduling decisions, insisting the corporation had moved Strictly deliberately to make it clash with ITV’s main prime-time Saturday night programme. In a panel debate at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Mr Fincham went head-tohead with the BBC’s head of television, Danny Cohen, over the battle for Saturday night ratings.
Mr Fincham claimed the BBC has moved its opening episode of this year’s Strictly to overlap with X Factor by 20 minutes. The two broadcasters show each other their schedules in advance, but Mr Fincham said that ITV would now make its X Factor slots public, so if the BBC tried to engineer a clash, the corporation would have to do so in the full gaze of viewers.
One BBC insider likened ITV’s move to “putting a towel on the deckchairs”, saying it was not possible to “bagsy” a prime slot. A spokesman said the BBC organised schedules with licence feepayers in mind, saying audiences preferred entertainment at the “heart” of their Saturday night.
At the debate, Mr Fincham said: “It feels a little bit like ‘let’s see if we can clip the X Factor’s wings.’ This really matters to us, because we are a com- mercial business. I know from my own time at the BBC that this is a bit of a game. All the evidence we have from our audiences is that they don’t want the two to overlap.”
Mr Cohen countered that ITV was just as guilty of changing its schedules, saying: “These things happen all the time. We’ve noticed suddenly Emmerdale finds itself up against EastEnders with astonishing regularity.”
Other channel heads including Jay Hunt, from Channel 4, appeared to back MrFincham, saying the BBC must be “mindful” that its scheduling had serious financial consequences for channels that rely on their ratings.
The festival also saw John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, face an audience of television executives. He suggested the BBC had unnecessarily portrayed itself as being under “attack”, mobilising famous supporters and members of the public to proclaim their love for it. “Who is talking about dismantling the BBC?” he said. “I’ve never suggested dismantling the BBC.”
Armando Iannucci, the comedy writer, delivered this year’s MacTaggart Lecture on the future of British television. He argued that American television was so successful because it copied from the culture of the BBC in its heyday, when executives gave programme makers more freedom.
BBC Three is to show a season of programmes dedicated to ethnic minorites, gender and sexism as it tackles questions including “is Britain racist?” and “is this rape?” It will show documentaries about the Ku Klux Klan, transgender dating and sexism in football.