This Morning and Good Morning Britain are among the shows facing pay freezes as job losses, as execs try to offset the financial damage caused by poor ratings, it has been reported.
ITV is said to have taken drastic measures to cut costs at some of the channel's biggest shows after a huge slump in viewers has caused panic among bosses. Shorter three-month contracts could be pushed instead of long term deals for staff, while freelancers are to be cut to try to streamline the running of daytime TV. It's also thought the annual summer do, which sees the biggest stars let their hair down on company cash, could be axed.
Town Hall meetings have been held by ITV's daytime boss, who reportedly showed staff a graph that made it clear the rapid decline in ratings is in stark contrast to the rise in viewers of streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
As reported by The Sun, a source said: "ITV is really tightening their belt. There have been concerns for months at the top but now that it’s trickled down to the shop floor it feels very depressing. A lot of staff are being put on three-month contracts, probably so they can get rid of people easily."
They added that there are pay freezes already in place, while new talent is on hold to keep "costs down". But despite ITV's difficult time, bosses are holding out hope that viewers will start turning in again as the UK election campaigns start, although current staff find the new measures "particularly difficult to stomach" after the re-launch of This Morning proved so costly.
An ITV spokesperson told the Mirror : "Town hall meetings happen frequently for teams to keep up to date with company news and also serve as an opportunity for staff to have questions answered. The latest one was to celebrate the success of Lorraine Kelly receiving a BAFTA Special Recognition Award and the two BAFTA nominations for Daytime last weekend. It was also a transparent portrayal of what is currently happening across the industry."
They added that ratings for This Morning peaked in April, explaining: "As a broadcaster and streamer, ITV has a range of programming in its Daytime schedules. This Morning reached an average 4.2 million viewers a week in April alone, its highest so far in 2024. In 2023 This Morning was one of the most streamed shows on ITVX.
"Like all media, This Morning has expanded into the digital sphere with record breaking results. This Morning remains Britain's most talked about and influential daytime TV show and has never had a better connection with its viewer, with just under 160 million video views of This Morning content and reached 63 million unique social media accounts in April."
A leaked memo, released by COO Chris Kennedy, was partly republished in February by Broadcast magazine, said that no redundancies were planned at the time, but the situation would be monitored for six months. It read: "We’ll review progress half way through the year and if we can relax these controls, we will. If we need to strengthen them further, we will."
Over at rival Channel 4, there are similar issues, and bosses have already taken action to reduce staffing costs, having cut current roles by 18%. Alex Mahon, the boss of Channel 4, said: "While getting ourselves into the right shape for the future is without doubt the right action to take.
"It does involve making difficult decisions. I am very sad that some of our excellent colleagues will lose their jobs because of the changes ahead. But the reality of the rapid downshift in the UK economy and advertising market demand that we must change structurally. As we shift our centre of gravity from linear to digital, our proposals will focus cost reductions on legacy activity.
"In preparing for a new digital-first future, I hope we can make Channel 4 simpler for staff and our suppliers and create a more efficient, inclusive and high-performing organisation."
The Mirror has reached out to ITV for comment.
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