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Post by Eric Lawton on Jan 28, 2009 13:32:14 GMT
Well, someone brought the subject up a couple of weeks ago. This is painful. Like watching an old friend die slowly. And these programmes look like theyre going to be replaced with more mind-numbing Reality crap. uk.tv.yahoo.com/blog/article/107941/ |
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Post by lee jones on Jan 28, 2009 23:43:48 GMT
IHMO, ITV has been dying for a long time now. The last nail in the coffin was the legislation of the late 1980s/early 90s. After that, ITV have just been slowly but surely dribbling away, bit by bit .I'm not sure but prehaps the process is starting to accelerate now. I'm wondering if ITV will be at some point in the near future either retract so far that it just becomes "another" cheapo channel on satellite TV, or that it will be bought at a knock-down price by some large US or european broadcasting corporation.
ljones
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Post by Colin Anderton on Jan 29, 2009 9:49:21 GMT
I know this will irritate some, but the truth often hurts!
The trouble with this country is that when times get tough, people just cut back, and then cut back some more, then some more - and slowly (sometimes quickly) sink!
That's what is so great about the USA. They get things done because they have a positive attitude. ITV will die - because that same old British attitude is prevalent again.
Just watch America get out of this world economic depression, while good old Britain is in for a ride that is rougher than any of the "experts" are predicting.
And I'm British, by the way!
Colin.
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Post by Kev Mulrenan on Jan 29, 2009 10:04:39 GMT
I know this will irritate some, but the truth often hurts! The trouble with this country is that when times get tough, people just cut back, and then cut back some more, then some more - and slowly (sometimes quickly) sink! That's what is so great about the USA. They get things done because they have a positive attitude. ITV will die - because that same old British attitude is prevalent again. Just watch America get out of this world economic depression, while good old Britain is in for a ride that is rougher than any of the "experts" are predicting. And I'm British, by the way! Colin. Some might argue it's our Yankee Doodle friends that have landed us in the doo doo by giving a mortgate to every Tom, Dick and Harry over there! |
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Post by Peter Stirling on Jan 29, 2009 10:51:01 GMT
Perhaps the other thing about being British is slapping your own backside and thinking the problems are personal?
Traditional TV is in trouble in America too and pioneering old stations like NBC, have their fair share of problems and are seriously thinking of cutting transmission to a few hours a day.
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Post by B Thomas on Jan 29, 2009 12:20:30 GMT
I know this will irritate some, but the truth often hurts! The trouble with this country is that when times get tough, people just cut back, and then cut back some more, then some more - and slowly (sometimes quickly) sink! That's what is so great about the USA. They get things done because they have a positive attitude. ITV will die - because that same old British attitude is prevalent again. Just watch America get out of this world economic depression, while good old Britain is in for a ride that is rougher than any of the "experts" are predicting. And I'm British, by the way! Colin. Some might argue it's our Yankee Doodle friends that have landed us in the doo doo by giving a mortgate to every Tom, Dick and Harry over there! Agreed. There's always going to be trouble when Fanny starts giving it to Dick on a regular basis... |
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Post by Kev Mulrenan on Jan 29, 2009 12:28:08 GMT
You are of course referring to the bank Fannie Mae! ;D
Some might argue that the Bank of Dick would be appropriate for these Merchant Bankers that have lost our loot.
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Post by Colin Anderton on Jan 29, 2009 16:08:26 GMT
"Some might argue it's our Yankee Doodle friends that have landed us in the doo doo by giving a mortgate to every Tom, Dick and Harry over there!"
Would countries like the USA go down the pan if the British economy were to hit trouble? Of course not - that's a measure of their greatness.
Colin.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2009 18:12:22 GMT
It's more a measure of how much of a stranglehold the USA has over the rest of the world's economies!
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Post by Greg H on Jan 29, 2009 18:32:57 GMT
ITV is dying you say?  Break out the popcorn, ginger ale and party poppers. Best news ive heard all year  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2009 18:47:19 GMT
Yep, who's going to notice anyway?!? ITV died years ago.
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Post by Eric Lawton on Jan 29, 2009 20:45:23 GMT
I agree, but then again, isnt the BEEB. Its detrimental to the TV in general though. Competition between channels is normally a good thing. If both major channels are crap, its bad for viewers. Its ok having hundreds of channels on SKY, but look at old copies of the RADIO and TV TIMES. With just 2 or 3 channels, there was ALWAYS something on that would interest 99% of the viewers. On the tourist stretch in Limassol, Cyprus, near my mates apartments where we stay, theres about 7 or 8 cafes that do English breakfasts. They all try and underprice each other and fight to give the best value. Thats great for the tourist. Healthy competition, surely a good thing. It was like that in the 60s/70s/80s with TV. Both stations fighting to attract the viewers. Now, with all the competition, they seem to have lost interest. Theyre both doing things half heartedly. Reality TV is just mind numbing s***e in my opinion. But we are going to get more of that crap, whether we like it or not. Thank goodness for DVDs. And to a certain extent, UK GOLD type stations. Funny how the shows that get more talking points on this forum are the BBC4 re-runs of the classic shows. Tried and tested classics. Why not have a BBC GOLD station, they would be pleasantly surprised at the viewing figures I feel.
Bloody depressing stuff isnt it ?
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Post by B Thomas on Jan 30, 2009 6:06:26 GMT
You are of course referring to the bank Fannie Mae! ;D Some might argue that the Bank of Dick would be appropriate for these Merchant Bankers that have lost our loot. Yes. Of course you're right - everyone has been dicked lately so naming the bank the same would seem appropriate...  |
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Post by Peter Elliott on Jan 30, 2009 7:40:43 GMT
Why not have a BBC GOLD station, they would be pleasantly surprised at the viewing figures I feel. Bloody depressing stuff isnt it ? A channel like UK Gold originally was would be wonderful but sadly it didn't take long before that dumbed itself down as the more interesting archive shows were replaced by soaps and dross of a too recent vintage. It is depressing. Everyone I speak to are sick to death of "reality" TV. I suspect we are now living in an era where nobody actually listens to what the public really wants... and that goes for virtually all areas in life, not just TV. A major problem is that TV companies feel that they should always be trying to pull in younger viewers but such viewers are technology savvy being able to acquire and access their media via means other than actually watching the TV. It is older people who rely on TV but get inflicted with all manner of stuff they don't want to watch... just give 'em an overdose of soaps each week and that should keep 'em happy... that's the mentality that comes across to me when it comes to catering for viewers over the age of 35. Another major problem is how "seasonal" in nature TV has become. Right now we have that pathetic "Eurovision - Your Country Needs You" farce following on from the dreadful "audition for Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals" shows hosted by the obnoxious Graham Norton. When that ends, we will then get "Britains Got Talent" for God knows how long. Come Summer, it's "Big Brother" time again. When that ends it's "Strictly Come Dancing" and "X Factor" all the way up to Christmas, not to mention "Casualty" being permanently in the Saturday prime time slot. The predictability is degrading and depressing as the cycle keeps on repeating itself. Coming back to the original topic here, I have to admit I have not watched a "new" ITV show in several years. Partly because I hate what they show and partly because I hate the way they plaster captions within the shows popping up before it ends telling you what's on next... not to mention the hateful practise of "squashing" the sound deliberately on commercials so the commercial breaks are WAY louder than the actual shows. One thing I loathe about visiting and staying at my Mum's is the TV. That's the only time I get "exposed" to ITV since she likes to watch Corrie and Emmerdale. Really makes for cheerful Christmas days that does... an hour of those along with EastEnders all neatly timed to follow and complement one another giving us 3 hours of nonstop soap hell. And then people wonder why Christmas ain't what it used to be. There should be a law forbidding all soaps for the festive season. I think they have an alienating effect... for three hours on Christmas day, the spirit died and all family feeling was lost. Sadly, I can't say many nice things about the BBC either so I think ALL of TV is slowly dying. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2009 9:54:37 GMT
Although the BBC is not a patch on it's former self either, ITV is far far worse and it seems that all their shows (talking partcularly about drama here) have a bland generic look, style and feel, which has been something that has put me off watching the channel for a long time (not to mention the increase in screen logos, extra ad breaks per hour etc.). As Eric says, competition for the BBC - in theory anyway - is a very good thing but whereas once ITV was holding them up as the standard to reach with it's own programming, that went out of the windows ages ago. I can't really see that scenario returning either and so, given a choice between ITV as it is now or none at all, i'd willingly choose the latter. Good riddance.
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