Media
ITV executive chairman Michael Grade hit out at Ofcom's restrictions on junk food TV advertising last night, calling the move "nonsense."
Grade was speaking on a panel of TV chief executives at a seminar on "The Third Age of Television" put on by commercial TV marketing body Thinkbox at the Roundhouse in London's Camden.
Grade said: "There is common cause between broadcasters and advertisers to wean the government off the idea that the answer to problems is restricting advertising. Thinking that will change the way people behave is nonsense. Either ban the products or get out of our lives!"
Responding to a question as to whether new technology would harm TV scheduling, Grade said it would be the consumer would decide how it wants to view programmes. "They will enjoy a range of choices and they will tell us. What excites me is that it extends the value chain of what we do best, which is to create content. The internet will never compete with what we do, it's an add-on," he added.
Talking about the power of the commercial TV industry, he said: "We've got to put the story of how potent TV is as a marketing weapon at the centre of the radar. We have a hell of a good story to tell and we don't do a good enough job of telling it."
In response to what he'd like to see in the next three years, Grade replied: "I'd like to wake up one morning to find everyone is digital enabled and has high-definition. That would be wonderful."
Grade was speaking on a panel of TV chief executives at a seminar on "The Third Age of Television" put on by commercial TV marketing body Thinkbox at the Roundhouse in London's Camden.
Grade said: "There is common cause between broadcasters and advertisers to wean the government off the idea that the answer to problems is restricting advertising. Thinking that will change the way people behave is nonsense. Either ban the products or get out of our lives!"
Responding to a question as to whether new technology would harm TV scheduling, Grade said it would be the consumer would decide how it wants to view programmes. "They will enjoy a range of choices and they will tell us. What excites me is that it extends the value chain of what we do best, which is to create content. The internet will never compete with what we do, it's an add-on," he added.
Talking about the power of the commercial TV industry, he said: "We've got to put the story of how potent TV is as a marketing weapon at the centre of the radar. We have a hell of a good story to tell and we don't do a good enough job of telling it."
In response to what he'd like to see in the next three years, Grade replied: "I'd like to wake up one morning to find everyone is digital enabled and has high-definition. That would be wonderful."
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