Throwing out the toys
Children's TV is more than kids' play
ITV may soon decide to sell its childrens' programming slot to Nickelodeon, since for various reasons it cannot fully exploit the commercial possibilties that seem to be related to children's programming nowadays. Of course the side benefit of having relatively "non-commercial" childrens' programming funded by commercials has been completely lost by ITV, but if it had been more forceful in the past some minor dispensations may have been granted.
This is a classic example of how badly commercial television has been recently (de)regulated in the UK, and illustrates that if you are going to deregulate the commercial sector it should have been done formally as opposed to just having an existing regulatory framework and "turning a blind eye". (Or better still not 'deregulated' at all, but that's another issue altogether.)
However there is a more sinister aspect to this proposed change; that of ITV being able to jettison a key part of what little remains of its public service remit if this move is allowed to happen. And this also shows the distinction between ITV the broadcaster and what people tend to think of as ITV 'the channel' which is actually a timeshare between ITV and GMTV but could soon become a three way split between ITV/GMTV/Nickelodeon.
In direct contrast to the BBC's recently leaked 'proposal' for a "touchy-feely Panorama", the fuss surrounding ITV's Nickelodeon plans has been minimal to say the least, which seems to suggest that most people appear to no longer care about ITV's future. And ITV ought to be demoted to the status of 'also-ran' channel if it dispenses with any more of its commitments, though it seems to be heading that way by its own volition.
All this has resulted from the misapplication of the principles of a free market economy to a cultural media resource, and as a result ITV has evolved into a badly-regulated commercial network that may not (yet) be financially bankrupt but is certainly bankrupt of original ideas and guidance, which in turn has been fueled by politicians that are ignorant of the consequences of their actions.
