Schedules ditch reference to celebrities (but still use a few)

Quoted from: http://business.guardian.co.uk

'Owen Gibson, media correspondentFriday March 24, 2006

The Guardian
ITV's director of television, Simon Shaps, unveiled his spring clean of the broadcaster's schedules yesterday, throwing out any reference to celebrities in programme titles and announcing one-off events featuring big names from Robbie Williams to Prince William.
Last summer proved disastrous for ITV with a ratings collapse caused by flops such as Celebrity Wrestling presaging the autumn shake-up that led to the appointment of Mr Shaps and the departure of most of the senior commissioning team.
One of those flops, Love Island, will return without its Celebrity prefix and will be joined by X-Factor Special Edition, a celebrity version of the musical talent show designed to win viewers from Channel 4's Big Brother.
But Mr Shaps said ITV would try and "mix it up a bit", introducing a number of new shows designed to appeal to a wide range of viewers rather than just 16 to 34-year-olds. They include Soccer Aid, a pro-celebrity charity football match pitting an England team captained by Robbie Williams and managed by Terry Venables against a Rest of the World side captained by the chef Gordon Ramsay.
A series of shows will celebrate the 30th birthday of the Prince's Trust, including an interview by Ant and Dec of Prince Charles and his sons. The ubiquitous Geordie pair have also been handed their own new quiz show, which has the working title Con.Test and will offer a £1m prize. New dramas include See No Evil: The Story of the Moors Murders and Vital Signs, the latest vehicle for the former soap star Tamzin Outhwaite.
Mr Shaps, who refused to be drawn on the takeover speculation engulfing ITV, said the aim of his first season's launch was to create a "balanced schedule" with more of the kind of "event television" that draws in viewers.
He said that in such a competitive environment, ITV could no longer afford to save its big guns for the autumn. The World Cup, which kicks off in June and which ITV shares with the BBC, offers the broadcaster a chance to bring more viewers to its summer schedule. "It is an opportunity to hold a string of events around that one mega event," said Mr Shaps, previously chief executive of ITV Productions. "Among all age groups, we want ITV to be consistent, must-watch TV." '