APPENDIX 5
Memorandum submitted by ITV Network Limited
(ITV)
Further to our telephone conversation last Thursday,
please find attached the additional information requested by members
of the Committee during the inquiry into News at Ten.
AUDIENCE FOR
BBC 6 O'CLOCK NEWS
AGAINST NEWS
AT TEN
(MR KAUFMAN)
I enclose a briefing note from our Research
Department relating to the Committee Chairman's line of questioning
at the beginning of the inquiry last Thursday. As you know, our
schedule proposals have been informed by actual audience behaviour,
which we believe reveals a strong demand for a flagship news programme
in early peak rather than late peak.
The Chairman questioned this conclusion, because
BARB figures reveal a declining audience for the BBC's 6 o'clock
News.
You will see from the attached note that there
has been an annual decline in the audience to the 6 o'clock bulletin
of 261,320; but this compares with a decline of 423,570 for News
at Ten. In short, we are losing audiences for our flagship news
programme at twice the rate of the BBC. ITV's Chief Executive
explained our view that this is a problem of scheduling not programme
quality.
Analysis of the last two years confirms the
point made by Mr Eyre that seasonal factors must be factored into
the Chairman's analysis of relative performance of the two news
programmes. Whilst News at Ten is by a small margin the most watched
news programme during the summer months, the BBC's 6 o'clock news
consistently out-performs it in the early Spring, Autumn and Winter
months.
Taken together with the relative popularity
of the Channel 4 and Channel 5 news programmes scheduled head-to-head
at 19.00, we stand by our contention that audience behaviour reveals
an appetite for news scheduled in early peak.
SCOTTISH REGIONAL
NEWS (MR
MAXTON)
Scottish Television (STV) have provided me with
audience ratings by the quarter-hour for post-peak broadcasting
(after 22.30). STV provides a dual service for later evening regional
news, with a headline service immediately after News at Ten, followed
by a substantial bulletin after the next scheduled programme.
The exact scheduling of the later bulletin is therefore determined
by the length of the preceding programme, which introduces a variable
element to the scheduling of regional news. Our new proposals
seek to establish a new, fixed point for late regional news at
23.20, in an attempt to bring more consistency to the scheduling
of regional news across the network. STV have informed me that
most of their regional news bulletins are broadcast at around
this time.
The figures show that, whilst there is a drop
in the audience between 22.30-22.45 and 23.15-23.30, the fact
remains that large numbers of people are still available to watch
a later regional news programme (8.1 tvr at 23.15-23.30 compared
to 11.0 tvr at 22.30-22.45). Moreover STV's share of the available
audience actually increases from 28.8 per cent at 22.30-22.45
to 30.2 per cent at 23.15-23.30. So while the flagship regional
news will continue to be scheduled in the early evening—as
part of a new mass audience "news hour"—a substantial
audience would also be available and willing to watch the later
regional news at 23.30.
TIMING OF
PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS
(MR KAUFMAN)
Based on divisions of the House between 7 May
1997 and 7 May 1998, some 68 per cent (182) took place before
22.00. By 22.30 85 per cent of divisions (227) were complete,
by 23.00 90 per cent of divisions were complete (241) and by 23.30
93 per cent of divisions (249) were complete. As the Chief Executive
pointed out, a news programme at 23.00 will cover many more parliamentary
divisions, whilst allowing additional time for analysis of votes
that take place before 23.00. ITV is also committed to breaking
into the planned schedule between 21.30 and 23.00 to keep the
audience abreast of major breaking news stories at home and abroad,
including major parliamentary divisions.
I hope that this information is useful during
the Committee's deliberations. A copy of the transcript from last
week's inquiry—with our amendments—is attached. We
have copied our audience research note to the individual members
of the Committee.
27 October 1998
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