ITV and BBC To ‘Share’ Studios?

Reports suggest that ITV may switch the remaining eight regional news services outside of London into the same studio complexes as the BBC.

In yet another cost-cutting move by the ailing, one time popular broadcaster, ITV hope to save around eight-million pounds a year by ‘moving-in’ with the BBC.

The Guardian reports that today, after many months of negotiations, ITV signed a memorandum with the BBC to share the corporation’s regional facilities and also to share some news footage. The changes would see all the remaining local ITV news programmes, and their associated news bureauxs, re-locate to existing BBC complexes in England and Wales.

ITV companies independent of ITVplc would be unaffected by the changes. The proposals wouldn’t be put into practice until at least late 2010. Whether further job losses would follow these changes ITV have stated it is too early to say.

The agreement states: “All necessary steps will be taken to maintain editorial independence and, with this in mind, ITV would retain full responsibility for all its journalistic/editorial staff, camera crews and edit and graphic staff and studio gallery directors.”

The agreement would see editorial independence for ITV, with the BBC providing only production areas for ITV, which rent would be charged. The single studios in the corporation’s regional centres would be used for both the BBC news and ITV news programmes.

The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, welcomed the agreement. “I have challenged broadcasters to develop partnerships as a way to preserve the high quality content that viewers value,” The Guardian reports.

“The wide availability of news at national, regional and local level is at the core of public service content. This is an important first step from the BBC and ITV and I hope it can grow into something of lasting value.” He continued.