Soda - Keeping Curious

I guess the (imminent) departure of Charles Allen from ITV is yet another sign of the changing world we live in. One imagines that a massive media company like ITV would be in an ideal position to have its finger on the public pulse. Surely it should be a market maker, not, as it has become of late, a victim of market forces. Its purchase of Friends Reunited seemed to mirror News Corp’s investment in MySpace - both steps in the right direction you would of thought. But as Chris Dobson, vice president international advertising, Microsoft, pointed out in The Sunday Telegraph. “Increasingly, people are self-scheduling and watching what they want and they can simply skip the ads”?. Now, where’s the money in that?

I suggest whomever they get to replace the unfortunate Mr Allen should perhaps come from outside the television industry. Surely there’s someone senior over at Google who could parachute in and turn the whole things round. There seems no limit to that company’s abilities - and areas of interest. As for Charles Allen, his CV may be distinctly lacking in any real hands on new media experience. In todays rapidly changing media world that could count heavily against him.