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ITV hits out at BBC’s ‘derivative’ scheduling as Bargain Hunt reappears for 42nd season

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By John Glenday, Reporter

October 29, 2015 | 2 min read

ITV has weighed into its public service competitor the BBC with a stinging attack on the broadcaster’s reliance on ‘derivative scheduling’ to draw in viewers.

bargain_Hunt

The blistering attack was contained within a submission to the Culture Select Committee’s assessment of the government’s plans to review the BBC Charter as ITV itself suffers a fall in ratings due to increased competition.

ITV’s statement read: “It is hard to see the case to spend the licence fee on a 42nd series of Bargain Hunt, the 19th series of Homes Under the Hammer, the 16th series of Escape to the Country or the 11th series of Antiques Road Trip.”

Referring to such stale re-treads as being not ‘remotely ambitious enough to justify £3.7bn of annual public funding, nor consistent with what the BBC has actually said it wants to do’ the commercial broadcaster is calling for new rules and sanctions to be brought in to force the BBC to stick to its public service remit.

In response a BBC spokesperson said: "BBC services are more distinctive than they have ever been and we show a wider, more unique range of programmes than any other channel. BBC One is the UK's most watched channel offering an unrivalled breadth of world-class programmes that inform, educate and entertain from peak time documentaries and drama to news, science, history and arts coverage. While 30 years ago a fifth of BBC One’s peak time schedule consisted of acquired American series today that’s zero.”

ITV is particularly riled owing to what it sees as the failure of the BBC to abide by commitments made when its Charter was last renewed a decade ago to ‘eliminate derivative programmes’.

The attack comes amidst declining ratings at ITV with a six per cent year-on-year decline in viewing share lowering ratings across its suite of channels by three per cent.

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