Media: Watching brief for ITV

'I DON'T see 1 January as a precipice over which we will fall,' says David Glencross, chief executive of the Independent Television Commission, of the day the new ITV franchises start. 'I don't think we will see enormous changes.' The current ITV schedule, he points out, is doing quite well, with its 11 per cent lead over BBC 1, and is something not lightly to be thrown away.

'That doesn't mean it is set in stone. But moving programmes has to be carefully thought out - it alienates viewers, the last thing the new ITV can afford.'

He judges this summer's ITV schedule to have been weaker than usual, with a heavier reliance on bought-in mini-series wrapped around the News at Ten. This comes as no surprise to the pundits who predicted a marked drop in quality once the results of the franchise auction were known, but Mr Glencross thinks the worst fears were unfounded.

'It hasn't gone down the drain at all, and autumn is pretty strong. The new ITV will start off in a position of strength.'

One litmus test is whether ITV continues to show at least one current affairs programme in peak time. Mr Glencross is armed with the prologue from Carlton Communications' bid (it wrested London weekdays from Thames) which backed this policy only a year ago: now, however, its programme director, Paul Jackson, says there should be none.

This goes to the heart of the ITC's new role. It will no longer exercise advance control over the schedules, over what is shown when, and Greg Dyke, chairman of the ITV Association, has already warned the commission to keep its distance. 'Greg likes to win every battle,' observes Mr Glencross. One of Mr Dyke's campaigns has been to move religious programmes from Sunday's hallowed 6.40pm 'God slot'. Mr Glencross expects they will go to a later evening time.

The ITC will have the power to review, to judge after the event whether ITV is putting out a diverse range of programmes calculated to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests, as the law requires. 'We will need very detailed returns from each licensee,' Mr Glencross says. The commission will examine the schedules to see whether programmes are positioned reasonably. For example, ITV is legally required to show children's programmes: there would be a breach of licence if these were shown in the small hours, for parents to video when children are asleep.

'If the peak-time schedule were to consist wholly of soaps, game shows, situation comedies and acquired drama, and have no original drama, documentaries or current affairs, then we would have strong grounds for action,' says Mr Glencross. 'It is the mix of programmes. We are not laying down our own recipe or template.' The ITC has a range of sanctions, including fines, for breaches, but 'we are not trying to run a penal colony'.

Mr Glencross has turned down an attempt by ITV to redefine peak time as stretching to 11pm rather than 10.30pm. The companies are obliged to show News

at Ten in peak time and the change would have allowed them to start the news at 10.30pm, leaving the extra half-hour for popular entertainment.

Does the BBC's apparent shift towards the higher ground affect ITV?

'As a viewer I want the BBC to remain the biggest and best broadcast system in the world, but I don't think it is correct to assert that everyone judges themselves against the BBC. That is to demean the people who work in ITV.' He points to Anglo-Saxon Attitudes - which some saw as the dying flicker of the old, socially responsible ITV - and to Inspector Morse, which redefined popular British television drama. 'But another competitor in the whole range of programmes across the board keeps up standards.'

(Photograph omitted)