Corrie 'may be sold off by ITV'

[Perdita]

Coronation Street may be sold off to an independent production company due to severe cutbacks at ITV, it was claimed today.

The Sunday Express reports that the long-running soap may no longer be produced by Granada Television because ITV is struggling to cope with the impact of the recession.

It has also been alleged that, as an "interim measure", Emmerdale may start to be made in Manchester rather than by Yorkshire Television in Leeds in the near future.

An insider told the newspaper: "It's fairly certain that Leeds will be closed and Emmerdale will be run from Manchester, which is effectively the end of Yorkshire TV."

Last week, ITV's executive chairman Michael Grade admitted that the financial state of commercial television had been "severely challenged" by the economic downturn.

"I have seen the cycle come and go over the years," he explained. "I have never seen anything quite as dramatic or quite as profound as this in terms of the effect on advertising revenues."

An ITV spokesman confirmed that the broadcaster is currently holding talks over its future, but dismissed claims that its production wing would be closed altogether.

He said: "As you know, operational reviews are taking place to ensure that ITV is in the best shape to meet the unprecedented challenges facing the economy, but there are no plans to drastically scale back, or shut, ITV Studios."

[Perdita]

Filming on key ITV soaps including Coronation Street and Emmerdale is to be halted tomorrow while staff participate in a conference call about the network's future.

The broadcaster, which announces its financial results for the full year tomorrow, is expected to announce new job cuts of at least 500, leaving only 4,000 staff on payroll. Many of the cuts are expected to come from its production centres in Leeds and Manchester as the network is no longer able to maintain two major production facilities in the north.

ITV Productions' Leeds base was established in the late 1960s by Channel 3 franchisee Yorkshire Television. It is the home of Countdown, which ITV produces for Channel 4, along with Emmerdale, Heartbeat and The Royal. It is now understood that ITV plans to shut down all production facilities at the centre, leaving only the regional news and transmission playout staff in place. Under the plans, Emmerdale would become self-contained at its current filming location, but with far fewer staff, and Countdown could move to a different studio facility elsewhere in the UK. Production on Heartbeat and The Royal has already been suspended until at least 2010.

ITV is currently trying to secure the future of its pension fund and debt position while dealing with a massive downturn in advertising revenues.

[DaVeyWaVey]

SCOTLAND's drama production community will be dealt a shattering blow if Taggart, the long-running police drama, is axed by ITV as is now feared, according to the head of Scottish Screen.
Ken Hay, the chief executive of the government's film quango, yesterday said he was "deeply concerned" about the fate of the STV show, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

There are fears that talent such as directors, cameramen, lighting technicians and make-up artists may be forced to move south in search of work as the drama pool shrinks.

ITV this week announced it was cutting back on drama, slashing its production budget by £65 million and cancelling shows such as Wire in the Blood and A Touch of Frost.

STV insists no decision has yet been made about whether the Glasgow show will be recommissioned, but industry insiders insist ITV's previous commission for ten episodes, worth an estimated £6 million, in 2007 is likely to be the last.

Yesterday Mr Hay said: "It would indicate a serious failing on ITV's part if Taggart was pulled with no credible replacement in place, and from STV's perspective, it would be a major issue as well as it tries to balance its broadcasting and production ambitions."

"It has been one of the mainstays of the production sector, but it has also been a tremendous training ground for key people, writers, directors and actors who have come through with Taggart – it still underpins the theatre, TV and film sectors. I would be deeply concerned."

Actors such as Ken Stott, Dougray Scott and Robert Carlyle all started their careers with small roles in Taggart, which began in 1983 and has gone on to be shown in more than 100 lands.

Dave Tarvit, a first assistant director on the show, said: "The cost of losing Taggart should not be underestimated. Ongoing drama series provide a little stability to freelancers and support services in what is a notoriously unpredictable industry."

STV yesterday insisted that there were still seven episodes of Taggart to be broadcast and it would not expect to be recommissioned until after they had been screened. A spokeswoman said the show was also enjoying a high audience share and five million viewers.

However, Wire in the Blood attracted six million viewers and has been cancelled.

ITV also now wants 75 per cent of drama production to be in-house and the remaining 25 per cent from independent production firms. STV fits into neither category.

[Chloe O'brien]

:angry: :angry: No- way they can't axe Taggart it's one of the best dramas on the telly. Axe Ant & Dec and use their salaries to make more quality dramas.

[Perdita]

ITV Granada and Coronation Street will not be moving to Salford Quays.

The decision follows a dramatic breakdown this week in talks about transferring staff from the current Quay Street HQ in Manchester city centre to the Media City development.

ITV chief operating officer John Cresswell told staff they would stay at their current workplace for the "foreseeable future".

He said: “Negotiations between ourselves and the MediaCity developers, the Peel Group, have broken down.

“The Peel Group has dramatically scaled back its financial commitment to the ITV element of the project, and as a result we will be remaining at Quay Street for the forseeable future.”

ITV had been moving forward with plans to move Coronation Street cobble-by-cobble to a new location at Trafford Wharfside, across the water from the new BBC North HQ at MediaCity.

But a major shift in Peel’s position in recent days in relation to the ITV plans is understood to have made the transfer economically unviable.

ITV have now 'terminated' negotiations with Peel, with insiders saying the figures simply no longer added up.

Mr Cresswell added: “Our aim throughout this process has been to safeguard the future of Coronation Street and get ourselves a much better working environment.

“That means our priority will be to ensure that Quay Street is fit for purpose. In the coming months we’ll be taking a detailed look at the site and deciding what actions we need to take to ensure that we can continue to produce top quality programmes in Manchester.

“It’s a pity that negotiations over Salford have had to end in this way, but it does mean we can now focus on carrying on the proud tradition of production at Quay Street.”

Plans had been drawn up to build a near identical Weatherfield exterior set plus new studios. There were also talks about sharing resources with the BBC.

But a major shift in the goalposts over the finance of the deal has led to the transfer being scrapped.


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