ITV renovates schedule by dropping The Block

The Block must have looked good on paper - with the series format outperforming Big Brother in Australia - but ITV just expected to take a 'winning' format, throw in tried and tested ingredients such as Simon Cowell's brother and end up with an instant ratings success in order to please the advertisers.

Unfortunately for ITV, television doesn't quite work like that unless you happen to be lucky, and the more complex the format is the greater the likelihood of something going wrong (such as a lack of viewer empathy with the contestants and/or presenter(s)).

It seems that ITV is chronically hooked on short term thinking and until it changes its fundamental strategy the broadcaster will forever be doomed to stumble from one crisis to another with an occasional hit or two inbetween. And ITV will rue the day it agreed to pay advertisers compensation for underperforming ratings.