Nick Owen slams high salaries ITV pays its breakfast presenters

i4ui4u Posts: 54,814
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Nick Owen reckons the high salaries ITV pays its presenters alienates viewers....
Former TV-am host Nick Owen has warned that viewers are put off ITV's ailing breakfast programmes because of how much their big-name presenters are said to be paid.

Strictly Come Dancing star Susanna Reid, 43, announced last month that she was defecting from BBC Breakfast to front ITV's new breakfast show Good Morning Britain, in a reported £1 million deal.
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  • Mark CMark C Posts: 20,736
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    i4u wrote: »
    Nick Owen reckons the high salaries ITV pays its presenters alienates viewers....

    I'd forgotten how much I fancied Anne Diamond back in 1983 :p
  • ftvftv Posts: 31,668
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    i4u wrote: »
    Nick Owen reckons the high salaries ITV pays its presenters alienates viewers....

    ITV have subsequently said Ms Reid is on £400,000 a year not £1 million but Owen has a fair point. I know the working hours are anti-social but most of the presenters only do four days a week at most (and make money with outside activities). Then they have clauses in their contracts allowing them to take every school holiday off (despite having children who are no longer at school). But if an employer agrees to that good luck to them.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,814
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    ftv wrote: »
    ITV have subsequently said Ms Reid is on £400,000 a year not £1 million but Owen has a fair point. I know the working hours are anti-social but most of the presenters only do four days a week at most (and make money with outside activities). Then they have clauses in their contracts allowing them to take every school holiday off (despite having children who are no longer at school). But if an employer agrees to that good luck to them.

    I think even £400,00o a year puts her in the top 10% of earners,

    I'm coming to the conclusion presenters who are on 5-20 times the average salary should be banned speaking like they represent the bulk of the public when it comes to lifestyle, getting up early spending etc.
  • Kiko H FanKiko H Fan Posts: 6,546
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    Mark C wrote: »
    I'd forgotten how much I fancied Anne Diamond back in 1983 :p

    Most boys in my class in 1983 fancied Anne Diamond.
  • StrakerStraker Posts: 79,569
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    Kiko H Fan wrote: »
    Most boys in my class in 1983 fancied Anne Diamond.

    Plenty of her to go around these days.
  • lundavralundavra Posts: 31,790
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    ftv wrote: »
    ITV have subsequently said Ms Reid is on £400,000 a year not £1 million but Owen has a fair point. I know the working hours are anti-social but most of the presenters only do four days a week at most (and make money with outside activities). Then they have clauses in their contracts allowing them to take every school holiday off (despite having children who are no longer at school). But if an employer agrees to that good luck to them.

    It seems to be common for tabloids to exaggerate rumours of payments to TV performers and presumably the TV companies then leave out some extra payments in the contract to make it look less than it is actually paid.
  • GeorgeSGeorgeS Posts: 20,039
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    I'm sure he'd take it if he was offered it himself.
  • Mark CMark C Posts: 20,736
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    lundavra wrote: »
    It seems to be common for tabloids to exaggerate rumours of payments to TV performers and presumably the TV companies then leave out some extra payments in the contract to make it look less than it is actually paid.

    Often the contract will be for two or three years, but the medja will just quote the total value, so as to imply that's what the annual wage is.

    In other cases, like Jonathan Ross the fee quoted was for his production company, therefore including payment for the whole TV series, and its production costs etc.
  • ocavocav Posts: 2,341
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    GeorgeS wrote: »
    I'm sure he'd take it if he was offered it himself.

    Probably not, I'm sure he will retire hosting Midlands Today
  • Marti SMarti S Posts: 5,773
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    GeorgeS wrote: »
    I'm sure he'd take it if he was offered it himself.

    Not everyone is driven by money.
  • petelypetely Posts: 2,994
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    Marti S wrote: »
    Not everyone is driven by money.
    Maybe not. But *everyone* is driven by what money can buy.
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    I understand his point, but the thing is it’s not just breakfast television that has large salaries attached to it.
    What about breakfast radio?
    What about Saturday night primetime television?
    And then you can ask what about major film stars or high profile sports stars?
    It’s just the world we live in, and as has been said, if the average person was offered that kind of salary of course they’d take it too.
  • lundavralundavra Posts: 31,790
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    petely wrote: »
    Maybe not. But *everyone* is driven by what money can buy.

    Not necessarily. I don't know ITV well but BBC have always had some very talented people in their regional newsrooms who I am sure could have done well on network TV if they wanted but many have been contented to stay in a job they presumably enjoyed, living in an area they liked without having to move or commute to London. Many in the London and the South East have difficulty in understanding that there are many people who would never consider working or living there whatever they were paid.
  • yorksdaveyorksdave Posts: 3,228
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    is the £400,000 just for presenting GMB 4 days a week forty some weeks a year or does it include presenting some prime time itv shows?
  • ftvftv Posts: 31,668
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    yorksdave wrote: »
    is the £400,000 just for presenting GMB 4 days a week forty some weeks a year or does it include presenting some prime time itv shows?

    I'm not aware that presenting other ITV shows has been mentioned.I guess she takes the view that after 12 months there will be another revamp and she can walk away with £400,000 and probably go back to the BBC. Do ITV not have some very able presenters in the regions who would do the job for a fraction of that ?
  • GeorgeSGeorgeS Posts: 20,039
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    You get paid big money because getting up at 3am and still appearing happy and relaxed every day isn't as easy as it looks. You get plenty of leave because they don't want you turning into Frank Bough
  • NoEntry2kNoEntry2k Posts: 14,969
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    ftv wrote: »
    Do ITV not have some very able presenters in the regions who would do the job for a fraction of that ?

    Probably. But ITV need well know faces to help launch Good Morning Britain for it to have any chance of being a success to be honest. If it was going to be fronted by two, albeit competent, unknowns it would stand no chance. This way, it has some chance at least, but I’m still not convinced it’ll work.
  • Jason CJason C Posts: 31,194
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    NoEntry2k wrote: »
    I understand his point, but the thing is it’s not just breakfast television that has large salaries attached to it.
    What about breakfast radio?
    What about Saturday night primetime television?
    And then you can ask what about major film stars or high profile sports stars?
    It’s just the world we live in, and as has been said, if the average person was offered that kind of salary of course they’d take it too.

    But the difference is that breakfast presenters have to forge a bigger connection with their viewers than any other type of presenter, and it's hard to do that when you're earning a substantial sum of money - and having it heavily publicised - when a lot of your audience are struggling to make ends meet themselves.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 213
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    If the content and output is crap then wheeling in new presenters is not going to help no matter how much money they're paid.
  • ftvftv Posts: 31,668
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    NoEntry2k wrote: »
    Probably. But ITV need well know faces to help launch Good Morning Britain for it to have any chance of being a success to be honest. If it was going to be fronted by two, albeit competent, unknowns it would stand no chance. This way, it has some chance at least, but I’m still not convinced it’ll work.

    But weren't Anne Diamond, Nick Owen and others relative unknowns when Greg Dyke took them on and that was (arguably) the most successful period for ITV breakfast TV. At least with Susanna Reid they have someone experienced in breakfast TV, unlike Chiles and Bleakley who were clearly not appealing to the viewers and frankly a hugely expensive disaster.I just doubt Ms Reid will take hordes of BBC viewers with her as those viewers are clearly happy with the BBC format to the tune of 1.5 million people a day.
  • JohnQuigJohnQuig Posts: 212
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    NoEntry2k wrote: »
    I understand his point, but the thing is it’s not just breakfast television that has large salaries attached to it.
    What about breakfast radio?
    What about Saturday night primetime television?
    And then you can ask what about major film stars or high profile sports stars?
    It’s just the world we live in, and as has been said, if the average person was offered that kind of salary of course they’d take it too.

    I don't see the problem, most of them work hard for it. Those 4 hours they're on telly on a morning are prefaced by another 2 hours before they go on air and about another 4 hours prepping for tomorrow's show and doing any other work commitments they have. Most actors work 18 hour days, which is more than 90% of people.

    It's like when everyone moaned about Jimmy Carr trying to pay less tax - I think if we all could do it in a completely legal way (even if it was a loophole), we would! People who say they wouldn't are liars.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,718
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    i4u wrote: »
    I think even £400,00o a year puts her in the top 10% of earners,

    She is definitely in the top 1% with a salary that high.
  • Andy23Andy23 Posts: 15,921
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    ftv wrote: »
    I'm not aware that presenting other ITV shows has been mentioned.I guess she takes the view that after 12 months there will be another revamp and she can walk away with £400,000 and probably go back to the BBC. Do ITV not have some very able presenters in the regions who would do the job for a fraction of that ?

    Probably not. Why would you want some random cheap person just to save some money?

    Why would you employ someone with no experience of breakfast TV to front a major national programme when people with breakfast experience is available.

    How may examples are you aware of in recent years where a regional unknown has become the main face of a flagship programme. When Roger Johnson becomes the main face of Breakfast rather than shoved on occasional Sundays, then you may have something.
  • BramptonBrampton Posts: 417
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    GeorgeS wrote: »
    You get paid big money because getting up at 3am and still appearing happy and relaxed every day isn't as easy as it looks. You get plenty of leave because they don't want you turning into Frank Bough

    Oh dear, the poor love. I get up at 3.15am 5 days a week, should I ask for a pay rise? ::)
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