The BBC has provoked a huge row with ITV and the advertising industry by scheduling Fame Academy in direct competition with Pop Idol. ITV executives are said to be angry the BBC has moved FA to a Saturday night slot seeing it as a cynical scheduling ploy that will deprive viewers of genuine choice.
The decision comes after the failure of last-minute talks between the BBC1 controller, Lorraine Heggessey, and the ITV director of programmes, Nigel Pickard, which in turn followed the accidental slip at a Fame Academy press launch where people involved with the show revealed the Saturday night slot. BBC execs has hoped to keep the scheduling secret until the last minute.
One furious ITV source told Media Guardian: "Once again the BBC is showing its true colours. It's no wonder no one believes them when they claim their motives are anything but competitive. Fame Academy was derivative enough last year, now it's aping Pop Idol's format even more closely. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but unfortunately for the BBC neither Simon Cowell nor Ant and Dec were on the market."
A BBC insider hit back, insisting the Fame Academy move was not "the BBC being aggressive", but an attempt to schedule the programme at the best time for its target audience of 16 to 34-year-olds.