It's out in London at least, of course I think there is only a single England edition for all but the RT these days.

Yes, it looks very impressive. Last year my Christmas Radio Times got thumbed through so much it fell apart before the Christmas fortnight began. I fancy this year's RT may do the same. But the TV Times looks more sturdy.

Me too. Other highlights Lady in the Van, Cunk, Witness For The Prosecution (I played the policeman in a stage production once), Maigret, Delicious (Dawn French drama on Sky)....

Sky have Mary Poppins

Is Monsters University being shown at all this year? When I was compiling my (pointless) fantasy schedules I had that one down as the premiere on BBC 1 as it's been 3 years since it was released. Maybe it'll be the premiere next year instead.

Amusing clip from teatime - Reporter Sophie Long having to deal with a jobsworth security guy whilst live on BBC News outside Stamford Bridge. (This went out on BBC One)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmA4rqQQq7o

I think New Year's Day.

Oh I know it's not about Potter per se, I did mean why are people so annoyed by the scheduling decision. I'm not a fan of the idea but it does make a lot of sense. I found the films hard work but it's no different for me then all of the soaps laying waste to the schedules.

The Thursday one with Emmerdale dropped in is laughable but overall it's just a way of running a bit of an event for little money. The success of Fantastic Beasts gives them a bit of an excuse.

If it fails then they lose out. I do appreciate however that I'll be watching sky/Netflix/Prime mostly and so I've less reason to care. Many others 'rely' on itv far more than me.

Embarrassing for the jobsworth security guard, Chelsea have had a bad off pitch week, - but came clean, this was very wrong on the security guard side. Sophie must gave set up there, been there a while, right on front of the Chelsea sign, he buts in live on air.

The BBC cut to the studio quickly and moved on, but very bad PR on Chelsea. On a bad week, they didn't need it.

If BBC1 ran a franchise of film repeats " in peaktime" certain tabloids would have outrage!
If you buy the Christmas double issue listings the overuse of Harry Potter stands out.

If ITV ran HP like Bond on Sunday afternoons or late night that's fine, out if the holiday period. But they have done this before at Christmas.

It's lazy, it's treating viewers with contempt, and will get a default two million audience.

Some days/ nights like 17/12 it's back to back films all day.

ITV have a few good things on, but the cupboard is rather bare.

Yes, but screening one film series night after night means that very few other people will watch ITV either. The audience may be okay, but what about the overall reach?

So? Do you think they're going to forget that ITV exists if they don't watch it for five days in a row? If experience tells ITV that it would be a waste of time, effort and money to put new content in that weird dead period between Boxing Day and New Year then are they expected to ignore it just because a few people have this strange idea that television stations are run for their sole and exclusive enjoyment? I mean, fair enough in my youth when we had just two channels to choose from for entertaining fare but there's a whole new set of realities now. It's not like they are leaving the screens blank for a week!

I don't personally care what ITV screen, but they are supposed to be a "broad"caster and that's five days of rather narrow scheduling. I also think you'll find that a lot of people have forgotten that large chunks of ITV's schedule exists because of their over-reliance on certain genres over the last few years.

But we own the BBC and they are supposed tl supply a public service. The BBC also have always been expected to go big over the Holidays whereas itv....

ITV doesn't have a default audience of 2m as we've seen on Tuesdays and they'll score under 2m on some of those nights. It's a bit like one of those shops that are dead after Xmas, you aren't surprised if they choose to close up early if there's no money around.

Edit...

Better analogy/comparison would be this: no major films were released yesterday and little is coming out on Friday. The reason for this is partly because it's after TGD weekend but mostly because of the fear of Star Wars. The studios have simply decided it isn't worth it as they'll miss out financially.

The BBC ADP is a completely different beast to ITV. One gets billions each year without moving a muscle. The other has to earn its money to pay for programmes. Sometimes I think you see ITV and BBC1 on the same level playing field, and that ITV should have a schedule as packed as BBC1.

This year on the main days, ITV has made an effort. A one that they haven't done so much of in years. Last years expensive dramas flopped with sub 2m, and viewers deafaulted to BBC1. That is going to hurt. So they'll be in no rush to pack the schedules with stuff that will undoubtably be ignored in favour of BBC1 programmes.

I see the Harry Potter fest is now your obsession at the moment. Once TXF is over, you'll be in full throttle on this one. I notice a thread on the main TV Shows forum, which has nothing to do with ITV's Christmas scheduling and yet you brough it up, as if to get people on here to join in your little 'have a pop at ITV because BBC1 is so perfect'.

I see no agenda.

ITV aired three expensive dramas series last year at Christmas: Peter & Wendy, Jekyll & Hyde and Ghosthunter. All three flopped with under 2m at BBC1 didn't look back.

Spending lots of money on drama hardly gave them many viewers to give them a high reach. The likelyhood is the Harry Potter films will pull in more viewers.

You are again making comparison to ITV and the BBC as if they are the same?

If a drama flops on BBC1 over Christmas it doesn't make much difference. THey'll commission a different one next year. If a drama flops on ITV, they loose money, and gain a low audience for the trouble.

The BBC would rightly be brought up on showing the same film franchise in peaktime, they have the money to spend with out it affectng their income.

ITV cannot do the same.

Last year ITV had different programming between Christmas and New Year, and none of it rated well at all. It was mostly expensive but niche drama, or cheap quizzes/LE.

I would prefer ITV to invest ore into Eve Christmas Day and Boxing Day than the days in between, when audienes are generally low. And it means ITV can invest in strong programmes in Jan/Feb and not waste it in late December.

Was wondering how his new show would do.
for me he's suffering from a total lack of new material
he seems stuck 6 years ago.

BBC1 invest £1.4bn per year and itv "over £1bn". ITV does make profits of around £800m so it can afford more theoretically but it seems to be investing that £ more in buying studios and other production plans.

ITV family having around a 21% share to the BBC's 31% is pretty poor.

There's a middle ground though and neither of those titles were "traditional" ITV fayre. I suspect had they produced Christmas specials of some of their more popular and recognized existing drama titles such as Midsomer Murders they would have done considerably better.

However, I wouldn't expect ITV to necessarily "waste" premium content at this time, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect ITV to put some variety into their prime-time schedule. Even if that meant 100% repeats - which is what in effect they are doing with the HP films - they could at least offer up a variety of repeats to provide a more rounded offering.

(They could even repeat the two titles you mentioned above seeing as so few people saw them the first time round....!!!!)

Well I think that is a good point. Even if they repeated episodes of Benidorm. But I suspect that would look worse and would get less viewers than the Harry Potter films.

On the subject of familar drama. ITV showed a Midsomer Murders on CHristmas Eve in 2013 I think it was. Usually away from CHristmas it can get 5-6m in overnights. And yet on Xmas Eve it was around 4m, while BBC1 walked it.

ITV in most cases cannot compete. Only landmark programmes at this time of year (Downton) can really have an affect. But the BBC was weaker last year due to a repeated schedule.

They have no incentive to compete. The BBC aren't really competition. The problem is that they have no real (commercial) competition and so can put out an uninspiring schedule and still be almost certain to offer advertisers the biggest audience amongst the commercial channels.

That's why (as Sunbeam mentioned) they are able to make such vast profits and have no real need to fix parts of the schedule that aren't working. ITV remains a very lucrative operation.

I think Channel 4 needs to find new talent rather than rely on Alan Carr. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't renew his golden handcuffs deal he has with them.

Okay so we will all remember that when you post another "sketch" on XF as per last year...

Firstly I fully understand the different between BBC and ITV and funding, as you well know, you only put that to come across very condescending. In fact the post couldn't be any more condescending.

You say obsession, but My posts seem to be your obsession at this time. Harry Potter is a topic now as the Christmas listing magazines are out, and I will say the repeated overuse of Harry Potter will make the tabloids and annoy people. Nice you are going around looking st my posts, including a thread titled ITV schedule but you think you can't post ITV Schedules on it?

ITV like to give out the impression, we do not get good advertising revenue at Christmas so do not bother, not cost effective. It's actually chicken and egg, as they haven't bothered before they do not get High advertising but could do. It has in this period, retail shop sales and the typical start of summer 17 holiday booking season. The real reason is ITV give up, they know that the BBC will be strong so give up. Budget wise ITV is close to BBC1, but doesn't spend its money so wisely, too much for example on the failed X Factor.

They are happy to reuse and reuse again film rights in peak time where they know they will turn two million viewers who always have ITV on, and get some income for no cost.

If any other poster made these points you wouldn't have anybody problem whatsoever, but you like to make the same duplicated posts, just because it's me posting.

You do have poets praising ITV drama, but I do not label you. You love making things up and trying to alter people's perception of me, quoting things like I think the BBC is perfect, I know even when you try to follow every post of mine, that it would be impossible, so you can't see all my posts, but there are criticism of BBC when warranted. But you like to attach labels. I have posted there are some good things on ITV this Christmas that I will watch in the posts you quote, something you completely ignore to try to get your point accepted.

I can only think your agenda is to try to come back so often, you try hard to intimidate me, either as you think I shouldn't post here, as not a member, or you do not want me posting the truth about ITV.

I really do not know where your obsession with me has come from recently it's stepped up two gears from the Frozen Vs Lion King debate, since then you have gone all guns firing against me.




Agree.