Comment: Magic formula eludes Mr Charisma
When Michael Grade took over at ITV just over 18 months ago, there was rare euphoria.
In an industry noted for its cynicism, Grade was hailed as a talismanic figure who would transform the fortunes of the ailing commercial broadcaster.
Staff lined up to applaud his entrance into the Gray's Inn Road headquarters - there was a real feeling that ITV would be returned to former greatness.
He was charismatic, a chancer - above all, it was said ad nauseam, a broadcaster. Instead of the expected magic, we've got today's news of yet more job cuts and a slashing of the company dividend. Grade, the wizard, increasingly gives the impression of running out of spells. If he has a formula that can work wonders he has yet to show it.
For all the claims that he would revolutionise output, ITV still appears to produce as many misses as hits. So while we've been tuning into Britain's Got Talent, X Factor and Dancing On Ice we've been giving The Palace, Rock Rivals and Moving Wallpaper a wide berth. One Grade idea that pandered to the rose-tinted brigade was to revive News At Ten. It's been a disaster.
Likewise, he hired Dawn Airey, only for the star executive to leave eight months later for Channel Five. He recaptured live football but lost Formula One.
ITV pinned its hopes on Kangaroo, a commercial equivalent of the BBC's iPlayer screening archive material on demand. But the service has been held up by the Competition Commission. And so it goes on.
To be fair, a lesser chief might have performed worse. But there again, there is precious evidence of Grade doing brilliantly. There's a steady as she goes, so-so quality to ITV which was not predicted when he decamped from the BBC. In his favour, of course, is the fact that people aren't spending and companies aren't advertising. While that is bound to provoke despond what is shocking is the air of defeatism around Grade.
Today, he talked of welcoming anyone who wants to invest in ITV, implying he's open to takeover offers. He's also spoken of ITV giving up its historical aspiration to be a licensed commercial broadcaster - in effect ditching its public service obligations and becoming just another digital channel.
Neither of those desperate moves were in the minds of those who greeted him in January last year. Grade the supposed genius is proving to be very human after all.
