[tellyblues]

Why have ITV left themselves in this position? Surely they knew first Ant and Dec were ending SNT, and so a 7 week void there will happen, and of course how stupid can they be knowing their autumn Saturday schedule looks dead in the water?

A lot of people have focused on the problems at Channel 4, ITV are in just as bad condition, especially with some of their recent comedies now axed after just one series.

Finding a replacement for SNT even with plenty of heads-up was always going to be difficult but it can be done. The likelihood is that it won't, because for every Masked Singer there's about 20 shows that don't last more than one or two series, deservedly so. It's obvious why amongst the glut of gameshows commissioned, Lingo, Deal or No Deal and The 1% Club are hits - they're different and show ambition.

ITV's autumn schedule isn't so bad for viewers that like certain shows and they do decent numbers, but when you hear people at ITV saying they won't try to compete with Strictly, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and undermines the shows that do.

Channel 4 get more criticism because they haven't had many hits recently and the comedies they've axed were supposed to be hits and not just streaming platform exclusives. I think it's also the case with C4 that there are particular people who have been namechecked enough online that it has made it easier for viewers to direct their anger towards them instead of the corporation itself.

They could do with a big splashy play but I’ve no idea where that comes from and they must be kicking themselves that they missed out on Gladiators.

It would be interesting to know if ITV were approached about Gladiators.