Carter for ITV sensation?
Or, Strange Moments with VLV (2).
Giving a typically ebullient (not to say aggressive) performance to the Voice of the Listener and Viewer’s members at their autumn conference today, Ofcom chief executive Stephen Carter majored on what he clearly still feels is an unresolved problem with UK TV — namely the imminent lack of competition to the BBC.
His presentation appeared to imply that Ofcom’s decision to allow the ITV merger and then loosen ITV’s psb obligations was in some way responsible for psb as a whole being in a stronger position than two years ago, with channels 3, 4 and 5 increasing their programme spend and more than meeting investment quotas.
Pressed by questioners as to whether Ofcom had done a strong enough ‘deal’ with ITV he remarked that ‘I personally, and this is not an Ofcom view, wish we had gone further’. THe chair then asked, further in what way? In the direction of reducing ITV’s public service requirements, said Carter, but then repeatedly refused to enlarge on the thought.
Curious audience members were speculating afterwards as to why such a careful chooser of words should have made such a comment in public and in front of such an audience. One thought he had the answer — the next chairman of ITV…?
