Putting a quality drama on a Tuesday night, where they NEVER show drama. Why can't they show it in their successful 'Monday Night Thriller' strand, for god's sake.
Yes, they've got overload on new dramas, but why are they putting them in ridiculous parts of the schedule?
Also, having a continuous crime drama in The Bill is ridiculous as well in the 9pm slot, everyone's going to slip away, because there's no character development. People complain about The Bill being too soapy, but there was a period between 1992-2001 where soap and cop drama had the perfect juxtaposition - and that was when it was most successful critically and ratings wise.
I've said it before and I've said it again, the only way they're going to stamp out their bad reputations on Tuesday and Thursday nights is to put Dancing on Ice there, followed by quality factual/entertainment commissions.
Wednesday could be football & detective/crime 2 hour pieces, WITH Coronation Street there.
Why don't I do a fantasy schedule? I haven't done one for a while, but it's just ridiculous how ITV think they can put expensive new dramas in a slot where viewers are used to crap like 'The Dutchess in Hull'.
Lets say that this new (long term) schedule was to come into place in January 2011, which gives ITV enough time to think through a new strategy, create a new more slick look for the channel, echoing their 1999 idents.
And perhaps even giving its channel a separate look for each day, which will be characterised in a certain way as you will see.
(Remember in 2011, ITV won't have any FA Cup anymore)
Monday
7:00pm Emmerdale
7:30pm Coronation Street
8:00pm World in Action
8:30pm The Krypton Factor (17 episodes) / University Challenge (for the rest of the year)
9:00pm Whitechapel (6 part series) / Identity (6 part series) / Blue Murder / Law & Order UK throughout summer / Monday Night Thrillers / Doc Martin in Autumn
10:00pm News at Ten
10:20pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm Police, Camera, Action
Already, you can see the changes coming into place, including a shorter news bulletin at Ten by five minutes, to make way for an all new important half an hour slot at 10:30pm. Also, I've scrapped the 8:30pm Coronation Street, so we cut down on soaps and invest in other programming which has more variety. There would be occasional 8:30pm episodes when there are big storylines though. I think it's important to keep Coronation Street at 4 times a week.
Also, poaching 'University Challenge' back from the BBC. Remember Granada Television make the show, and it's doing very well on BBC2 against tough competition at 8pm on Monday nights, getting nearly 3 million viewers. Given university is quite well reached now, it should surely appeal.
It creates an 8:30pm slot for the whole year based around actual quality high-brow entertainment programming, as opposed to trashy shit.
World in Action also returns, giving ITV a sense of quality and respect in the current affairs department. It builds on their newly found reputation from 'News at Ten'
Tuesday
7:00pm Emmerdale
7:30pm House Guest
8:00pm Dancing on Ice
9:00pm Tuesday Travels:Greatest Cities of the World; Jewel of the Nile with Joanna Lumley; Amanda Holden American Country Dancing (very fitting for after 'Dancing on Ice')
10:00pm News at Ten
10:20pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm Tarrant on TV
This is programmes aimed at female and ABC1. 9pm shows will get a lead-in of 6-7 million viewers. Dancing on Ice will lose viewing figures, but the whole network benefits as a result. For the first show and Final, Dancing on Ice will be screened from 8pm-10pm. The results show is on Thursday. And also, some event 3 part ITV dramas (like 'The Commander' and 'Above Suspicion') can finish its run on a Tuesday at 9pm.
Wednesday
7:00pm Emmerdale
(7:30pm Coronation Street WHEN there is no football)
7:30pm Champions League Live / The Big Match Live (England matches)
OR
8:00pm Hidden Depths (3 parts: new crime drama just commissioned) / Single Handed (3 parts: great critical acclaim) / Brit Awards / Soap Awards
10:00pm News at Ten
10:20pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm Baddiel & Skinner (New series, aimed at the Wednesday male audience)
11:00pm Dexter (carrying on the male skewed programming on a Wednesday, this should do OK)
So on Wednesday, ITV are pretty much full of potentially brilliant ratings, and from it, ITV could create a night just for men on their channel.
Thursday
7:00pm Emmerdale
7:30pm Grimefighters
8:00pm Dancing on Ice: The Skate-Off / The Whole 19 Yards / The Cube
9:00pm Piers Morgan's Life Stories / comedy pilots, etc
10:00pm News at Ten
10:15pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm Moving Wallpaper
ITV aim to completely rejuvenate Thursday nights in the first few months with 2 hits in their schedule: The Skate-Off which should fair between 5-7 million viewers, and Piers Morgan's Life Stories, which should fair between 4-6 million viewers, and that's being pessimistic.
For the rest of the year, adventure/physical gameshows will settle in that 8pm slot, like 'The Cube' and 'The Whole 19 Yards', among other things. The 9pm slot can be free for experiments, I feel, like family drama pilots and comedy shows.
Friday
7:00pm Emmerdale
7:30pm Coronation Street
8:00pm Tonight with Trevor McDonald
8:30pm Harry Hill's TV Burp
9:00pm Benidorm
9:30pm Not Going Out
10:00pm News at Ten
10:20pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm TV's Naughtiest Blunders
Who said Friday nights weren't for comedy anymore? Yes, the BBC were squeezed out by ITV's Coronation Street at 8:30pm, but it still doesn't do very well in the ratings in comparison to other nights. So, the best thing to do for me is to find Harry Hill a regular slot at 8:30pm. It's done well there before, and should achieve 5-6 million viewers.
Benidorm is wasted going into the hour-long format, and was best in 30 minutes. So the 2011 series will be that, as ITV picks up rights to show 'Not Going Out', starring Lee Mack. And with TV's Naughtiest Blunders after the News, it gives Friday nights a whole new appeal.
Saturday
5:30pm You've Been Framed
6:00pm Catchphrase (with Roy Walker)
6:30pm *Andrew Lloyd Webber's Wizard of Oz thing*
8:00pm Primeval (Ten part series, REVERSE THE AXE PLEASE, it would do very well in the Winter).
9:00pm *Andrew Lloyd Webber's Wizard of Oz thing*
9:30pm Saturday Night Live (Ant & Dec's saucier 'Saturday Night Takeaway' with lots of risque comedy and brilliant music.
10:30pm The Late News
10:45pm Anglia News & Weather
11:00pm Late Night Movie
Saturday nights seem to have a lot more variety in Winter, with no trashy gameshows apart from the brilliant Catchphrase

. The Wizard of Oz show would slot nicely on a Saturday, and I think 'Saturday Night Live' could solve ITV's post 9pm programme on a Saturday night.
Sunday
1:30pm Vintage Film
3:30pm Thunderbirds repeats
4:30pm Family Film
6:30pm Anglia News & Weather
6:45pm Weekend News
7:00pm Emmerdale
7:30pm Coronation Street
8:00pm The Royal
9:00pm Kingdom
10:00pm News at Ten
10:20pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm Harry Hill's TV Burp (repeat)
11:00pm The South Bank Show
I think going back to ITV's news + soaps + family drama (The Royal, Wild at Heart, Heartbeat) + family drama (Kingdom, Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, the new Upstairs Downstairs kind of series ITV commissioned) OR 2 hour detective drama (Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War, Marple, Poirot) + news = all year round success
And a special Fry & Laurie night on the first Sunday of January, a week before the start of Kingdom:
9:00pm Our Green & Pleasant Land (Documentary series narrated by both Fry & Laurie)
10:00pm News at Ten
10:20pm Anglia News & Weather
10:30pm Comedy Classics
11:00pm Jeeves & Wooster (first ever episode)
11:30pm Jeeves & Wooster (last ever episode).
Anyway, that's the long list of changes I'd make.