ITV, C4 execs in Highland fling
War of words mars gabfest in Scotland
This year's gabfest, which wrapped Aug. 27, delivered a verbal punch-up as the festering enmity between rival U.K. webs ITV and Channel 4 took center stage.
Outgoing ITV topper Charles Allen's MacTaggart lecture, the event's keynote speech, sparked the clash as he attempted to deflect attention from ITV's ratings and share-price problems by calling for a "fundamental remodeling" of publicly owned C4, that stopped just short of calling for privatization.
CEO, forced to resign due to ITV's poor performance, accused C4 of betraying its public service remit by relying on a schedule dominated by "reality, lifestyle, U.S. acquisitions and shock docs."
Delegates were divided over his point that C4 needs tighter regulation, but the timing of Allen's attack was spot on.
U.K. communications regulator Ofcom is starting work on a review of C4, the pubcaster that is advertising-funded.
Allen hinted that the man expected to be Britain's next prime minister when Tony Blair finally stands down, finance minister Gordon Brown, would welcome the windfall that selling off C4 would generate.
C4 execs were furious at Allen's attack and responded in kind.
"In the week when one of ITV's own senior executives called its flagship channel 'unwatchable' it would have been better for Charles to use his last major industry platform to set out a vision for ITV's own commercial and creative reinvention," it said in a statement.
"I don't think we are the source of ITV's problems," added C4 chairman Luke Johnson. "There is a bit of creative vacuum (at ITV). TV is commerce but it's also art, it's entertainment. You need to take risks and I think they have failed to do that."
The C4 contingent boycotted a dinner at which Allen was guest of honor and when it emerged that the festival had voted C4 terrestrial channel of the year (hardly surprising given the outfit's recent strong form) program chief Kevin Lygo couldn't resist a dig at the ITV CEO.
Accepting the award, he said he would show it to Allen because Lygo was sure the CEO had never seen one.
By comparison, the Edinburgh exchange of fire between old adversaries News Corp. and the BBC looked insipid.
News Intl. executive chairman Les Hinton accused the BBC of abusing its position as "arguably the world's most powerful media brand," warning there was a danger that other operators could be "annihilated" by the pubcaster.
The BBC's new chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson, thought this was a bit strong coming from the owner of Europe's largest paybox, BSkyB, and said so. "It's fairly disingenuous ... to talk about us being dominant," she said.
However, Thompson did concede that "the BBC does need to be more sensitive over its impact on the market."
For light relief festivalgoers packed the gabfest's main conference hall to hear "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone explain how they took their inspiration from "Monty Python" and other British comedy shows. "It's the thing we respond to most," said Parker, adding wryly, "we take it and we repackage it."
One of the biggest cheers of the three-day event went up for Al Gore, who gave the Alternative MacTaggart lecture -- past speakers have included James Murdoch, so it's debatable how alternative this spot is.
The former vice president turned TV entrepreneur (Gore is chairman of Current TV) and environmental campaigner said he was hopeful that the Internet would be good for democracy because it could lead to a better-informed electorate.
He quoted statistics showing that at the time of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, 77% of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
"Saddam Hussein was not responsible for that attack, so how could that be? Why was the (Congress) chamber silent? Where were the representatives?" he asked.
"They were at cocktail parties, raising money. Why? The only thing that matters is that you have enough money to put 30-second advertisements on TV."
His polished style, leavened with dry, folksy asides, won a standing ovation. Gore's statesmanlike stance came in marked contrast to the spat between ITV and Channel 4.
However, Allen's thoughts on C4's future could have long-term implications as the two square-up for the fall schedule battle in a depressed advertising market.
