ITV plans massive drama cuts

Drama on ITV1 is facing budget cuts of around £20 million over the next year as the network’s latest clampdown on costs begins to take effect.

At the moment the broadcaster spends close to £900,000 a day but in coming months this figure will sink to around £800,000, as part of chief executive Charles Allen and director of television Simon Shaps’ drive to deliver a total of £100 million in savings from across both the schedules and the organisation.

However the network’s director of drama, Nick Elliott, was confident that the reduction in cash flow to £300 million a year would not have an impact on the quality of programming. He said: “It is just a matter of being smarter about what you commission. That’s not a bad thing.”

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