The end of Yorkshire Television?

Reports suggest that the end could be nigh for Yorkshire Television as the future of its Leeds studio’s, where Emmerdale and Countdown are filmed, is in doubt due to cost cutting measures at ITV.

The end could very well be nigh for Yorkshire Television as the future of its Leeds studios, where Emmerdale and Countdown are filmed, is in doubt due to cost cutting measures at ITV. The economic down-turn and fall in revenue for ITV is causing the broadcaster to look at a number of measures to cut costs.

Staff redundancies have already been announced by the broadcaster and their regional news bulletins are being reorgansied in order to save money. Other planned cost cutting measures announced include the scaling back of The Bill which will drop an episode per week and move to a post watershed slot.

However, the future of Yorkshire Television is in serious doubt as two of its drama’s, The Royal and Heartbeat, have both been effectively cancelled by ITV. Although new episodes of both drama’s are still being filmed once production has wrapped no new episodes will be ordered until at least 2011, but the likelihood of future episodes isn’t good due to dwindling ratings.

With the effective axing of both shows the future of YTV was already looking bad but now rumours suggest that part of ITV’s cost cutting measures could see the Leeds studio close.

Reports in the media over the weekend suggest that ITV may shut their Leeds studio’s and shift production of Emmerdale over to Manchester, where fellow ITV soap Coronation Street is filmed. The Leeds studios are also homed to Countdown, which airs on Channel 4 and regional news studio’s for the ITV Yorkshire area. All of these could see their production relocated to Manchester or two studio’s in Bradford. If ITV were to close the Leeds studios this would effectively mean the end of Yorkshire Television which launched in 1968.