It is understood that Granada has acquired the rights to the ITV.com domain name, paving the way for a genuinely-united ITV internet presence. The previous owners of the domain, registered in 1994, were unrelated to the TV Network and are understood to have sold the address to Granada for £100,000.
So far, each ITV franchise company has concentrated on its own individual web presence – playing to its own programme brands – to the overall neglect of a united ITV Network website.
Speaking at MediaTel Media Question Time in 2000, former ITV chief executive Richard Eyre said that “ITV shareholders claim ownership of programmes, so instead of an ITV.com we have Carlton.com or G-Wizz or Lineone… To me, this is less good than ITV.com.”
He added that it was ‘disappointing, but commercial and honest’ of each ITV group to be looking after its shareholders’ interests, rather than the Network as a whole.
However, since the further consolidation of ITV into two main players – Carlton Communications and Granada – an integrated approach has become more likely. The two companies are already understood to be close to merging their online assets and Granada has recently closed its own G-Wizz internet service provider.
The current ITV.co.uk site is generally regarded as a lacklustre effort at a concerted ITV web presence and pales in comparison with the BBC Online offering, for example. However, with ITV.com, Granada (in conjunction with Carlton) plans to offer “one of the largest UK-based web offerings,” in strong competition with BBC Online.
