ITV prepares to mothball Yorkshire studios site

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ITV prepares to mothball Yorkshire studios site

Mar 3, 2009

ITV is preparing to mothball its huge Yorkshire studios site, home to shows such as Heartbeat and The Royal, as part of its cost-cutting plans which will see hundreds of jobs cut and millions of pounds shaved off its programming budget.

The commercial broadcaster, which will announce its full year results to the City on Wednesday, is struggling to tackle its onerous £2.6bn pension fund and debt position as well as increasing its dwindling operating cashflow while battling a severe advertising downturn which could see its revenues decline by at least 15% year on year.

It is expected to axe at least 500 jobs from its 4,500-strong workforce, less than six months after the departure of 1,000 staff, as well as cut its annual £1bn programming budget by at least £30m.

MediaGuardian understands that the majority of the "savage" job cuts will come from ITV's production arm, with its Yorkshire studios in Leeds – which employs about 600 jobs – expected to be heavily affected. "There will be a big hit there," one source said.

Sources have said ITV plans to mothball the studios aside from its regional news operation and transmission centre, which found itself in the news a month ago when it accidentally cut to an ad break during the broadcaster's coverage of the FA Cup Merseyside derby match meaning viewers missed the winning goal.

The five-acre Leeds site in Kirkstall Road, which was set up in 1967 by then independent ITV company Yorkshire Television, currently houses production offices for four major ITV network shows – Heartbeat, The Royal, Emmerdale and A Touch of Frost – as well as Channel 4's Countdown.

However, ITV recently confirmed it was shelving Heartbeat and The Royal, while A Touch of Frost will end later this year when David Jason retires from the title role. It is thought Countdown could also be moved to another production centre, while Emmerdale would remain on its purpose-built permanent set on the Harewood estate near Leeds, although with a "much reduced" staffing level.

ITV is understood to believe it can no longer afford two big studio set-ups in the north of England and is planning to focus its efforts on its Manchester Quay Street site, home to Coronation Street, although cuts are expected to be felt there as well. However, it could be July before a full plan is unveiled for a full reorganisation of ITV's northern production operation.

ITV has been warned that closing the Leeds studios would be a "killer blow" to the production sector in Yorkshire and Humberside.

A spokesman for ITV declined to comment as the broadcaster is currently in a closed period ahead of its results, but it has previously admitted it is "carefully examining all options" to try to cut costs.

Lee Bartlett, the managing director of ITV global content, the broadcaster's production arm, has admitted that regional production has to stand up commercially.

"We obviously have to produce in London and outside London, whether it's Leeds or Manchester or both, but it's becoming a commercial question," he told a Broadcasting Press Guild event.

"Any company in today's economic environment needs to look at their production efficiencies and whether what they do makes sense."

ITV has already moved to significantly cut back on its programming budget commitments with dramas such as Wire in the Blood and the costly period drama A Passage to India axed, while police show The Bill will drop one of its two weekly episodes.

Expensive stars, such as Ant and Dec and Simon Cowell, have also been warned that future golden handcuffs deals may have to be cut back when their contracts come up for negotiation later this year.

ITV is expected to slash or completely drop its dividend and is looking to offload assets such as social networking website Friends Reunited and its stake in ITN.

In a mark of the situation it has found itself in, the Guardian revealed last week that ITV had drawn up a radical plan for a three-way merger with Channel 4 and Channel Five.

By Leigh Holmwood

Source: Guardian

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