Everybody in television production has become risk-averse, according to the chairman of Ofcom.
The 81-year-old made the comments when making a comparison between modern production and what his media mogul uncle, Lew Grade, established when he founded Incorporated Television Company (ITC) in the 1950s.
The crossbench peer, who has been at the helm of Britain’s media regulator since 2022, told Radio Times that the modern equivalent of ITC ‘doesn’t exist’.
‘There’s too much competition, so it’s very hard to take the risks that he took,’ Lord Grade said, adding: ‘Everybody’s so risk-averse.’
Last year, Lord Grade criticised commissioners and broadcasters for turning up the ‘exploitation dial’ in TV shows for ratings.
The Ofcom chairman did not single out specific programmes for criticism, but he expressed concern that members of the public were all too often being used on screen in place of professional entertainers.
He added: ‘In the old days, professional entertainers used to entertain the public. Now the public are entertaining themselves.’
Lord Grade, the former chief executive of Channel 4 and chairman of the BBC (pictured), lamented the lack of risk-taking in television these days
The 81-year-old made the comments when making a comparison between modern production and what his media mogul uncle, Lew Grade (pictured), established when he founded Incorporated Television Company (ITC) in the 1950s
ITC, which later became part of ITV, created some of the most inventive British television shows ever made under Lew Grade’s stewardship, including The Muppet Show, The Saint, The Prisoner, The Persuaders! and Thunderbirds. Pictured: Lew Grade meets Fozzie Bear from the award winning Muppet Show
Lew Grade, credited as the man who invented popular television, learnt about commercial TV in the US, according to his nephew.
‘He saw commercial TV when he was there, and what was possible,’ Lord Grade explained.
‘He was up against the very patrician BBC, whose idea of an entertainment show was a night out at the Savoy with all the men in white tie and tails and the women in long gloves,’ he added.
ITC, which later became part of ITV, created some of the most inventive British television shows ever made under Lew Grade’s stewardship, including The Muppet Show, The Saint, The Prisoner, The Persuaders! and Thunderbirds.
For Lord Grade, his uncle’s greatest skill was ‘taking risks, backing talent,’ as well as ‘going with his instincts – always’. ‘[His] real legacy is The Muppets,’ he added. ‘When no one in America would touch them, Lew took the risk, then like a true salesman sold them back to where they came from.’
His comments come ahead of a BBC Radio 4 broadcast this Saturday that charts the story of Lew Garde’s ITC company, describing it as having ‘revolutionised British television in the 1960s and 70s’.
‘The story of ITC is crucial to the story of television and the arrival of commercial TV as a challenge to the BBC’s monopoly,’ the description of the show adds.
‘His real legacy was The Muppets… when no one in America would touch them, he took the risk.’
For the full Radio Times interview click here.