ITV launches brand new channel amid daytime cuts and redundancies

ITV has announced a brand new channel – just weeks after it also announced a string of cuts to its Daytime offerings. Just a few weeks ago, staff at the broadcaster were hit with news that there would be redundancies amid huge changes for ITV.

It has been a tough time for ITV’s Daytime hosts and crew – after it was revealed there would be huge changes both behind the scenes and on the shows. Lorraine Kelly’s self-titled programme will be cut by in half next year, to just half an hour a day and will only air 30 weeks of the year. Loose Women will keep its hour show – but again, it will be cut to just 30 out of 52 weeks a year.

Good Morning Britain will benefit, extending 30 mins to 9.30am each day – and will be produced by a different team than the other shows – Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. Insiders have warned these changes could result in huge redundancies.

Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, announced the changes last month, where he had said the changes were necessary to “generate savings”.

He said: “Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres. These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever.”

Sources have told The Mirror: “It’s not a case of viewers seeing less of their shows… it’s impossible to see how the high standards will remain the same. Some staff believe Loose Women and Lorraine in particular will enter a death spiral… it’s just so sad. Just a handful of people will be working on each of those two programmes which has huge ramifications for how they are going forward.

“If that’s the case, will Loose Women really still have a live audience…will there be the capacity for that? Everyone doubts it, not least because of the manpower needed to oversee it. Also, there is a huge amount of background work which goes into securing guests… in the new climate how does that continue with barely any staff?”

Now, in what will no doubt be a kick in the teeth for those working on Daytime, ITV has announced the arrival of their brand new channel called ITV Quiz. The channel will broadcast episodes of Lingo, Tipping Point, Wheel of Fortune, Tenable, Deal or No Deal and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire from 9am to 1am every day.

In a surprise move, The Chase – one of ITV’s seemingly most popular quiz shows – is missing from the line-up of the programmes on offer on the new channel as well as its sister show Beat The Chasers and Lee Mack’s The 1% Club.

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Source: Mirror