ITV REGULATOR REASSURES UNIONS

THE ITC have said that there will be no slide in ITV's regional obligations.
At a meeting with the Federation of Entertainment unions, the ITC said that their current talks with ITV bosses were aimed at winning strong investment for quality regional programming to be shown during popular viewing hours.
The Federation, which includes BECTU, NUJ, AEEU, and talent unions, had called for the meeting after press reports that ITV's proposal to standardise regional programme production was a cost-cutting measure in response to the network's drop in advertising revenue.
According to the ITC, the talks about standardisation had started 18 months before advertising income began to fall. The discussions were, said the ITC, aimed at promoting regional output, and achieving greater coherence in scheduling.
At present, companies in ITV's regional licence areas have different targets for the hours of programming produced in their area, and the resulting shows are often transmitted in unfavourable slots during the night.
No conclusion has been reached yet in the ITV/ITC discussions about regional programming, and the unions at the meeting last week emphasised that changes in production patterns should not be made at the expense of jobs.
The meeting with the ITC came as gloom mounts over ITV's financial problems, prompted by a slump in advertising income, and the continuing drain of cash from ITV digital, owned by Carlton and Granada.
BECTU and the other unions in ITV face savings proposals at all major companies. (CD)