ITV breaks silence over Loose Women and This Morning axe fears after 'ratings drop'
Some of ITV's biggest stars are reportedly fearing for their future at the broadcaster as contracts come under review.
ITV have addressed the recent speculation thast there's talks of big axes across the channel. It had been reported that cuts to presenting rosters were in talks amid falling ratings.
Some of the broadcaster's biggest shows, such as Good Morning Britain, Loose Women and This Morning were set to see a revamp, according to a source speaking to The Sun. They claimed that big-name contracts will be getting reviewed over the upcoming months with names such as Adil Ray and Dermot O’Leary most likely to be in the firing line due to being on 12-month contracts.
The person alleged: “It’s panic station time. The presenters’ contracts are under major review when they come to expire, normally in August or September and further cuts have been warned of.
“Editors are so concerned that they are sending staff daily ‘heat maps’ on ratings, showing which items lost viewers.”
However, the source added that Dermot is a big hit with viewers and will “be safe” as no one wants him to go anywhere. Although it’s reported the same can’t be said for the Loose Women ladies.
The source continued: “A few of the Loose Women panel are worried too, as so many new faces have been brought in and some have worked better than others.”
With Good Morning Britain also facing some big changes over the past few months, the source claimed things are frenetic at the moment.
In regards to This Morning, the programme has suffered a major blow as The Mirror reports a drastic decline in viewing ratings.
With Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard being named as the new faces of the ITV show, following the exit of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, their first month saw a huge drop in figures.
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It’s been reported that ratings fell from over a million to 692,500 within their first month, after two months on the show it continued to fall as low as 635,000.
By the end of April, the publication claimed the average number of people watching live was 544,000, a drastic difference from the start of the year.
However, ITV has dismissed claims as they told Express.co.uk: “This isn't true. ITV's Daytime shows have never had a better connection with viewers reaching 7.5 million weekly.
“They are amongst the most popular on ITVX and reach millions more across digital platforms.
“Furthermore, we are very proud of our teams, both on and off screen, who produce seven and half hours of brilliant live content every weekday."
Recently, it was reported that the broadcaster was axing 200 jobs. It’s believed the cuts will be part of a wider restructuring programme as ITV aim to save £50m a year.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall told staff at the broadcaster via email that redundancy consultations will begin, reports The Telegraph.
The publication states that although there will be a change for workers to take voluntary redundancy, some axings will be compulsory.
