ITV have managed to fill the gap at the top of its hierarchy while simultaneously creating a gap at the top of the BBC by appointing the Corporation's chairman, Michael Grade, as its new chairman. Grade will take over the top job at the commercial broadcaster from Charles Allen, who announced he was stepping down back in August.
It's not a great time for the Beeb to lose its chairman - Grade was a crucial player in the Corporation's battle to secure a bigger licence fee as well as the key man behind the BBC Trust, the new body set to replace the Board Of Governors that oversees the running of the public service broadcaster. The BBC's Business Editor told BBC News: "The timing of Michael Grade's departure to ITV could hardly be worse for the BBC. As one member of the BBC board of governors put it to me, it's a mess."
Some city types, however, have welcomed the move (not that they'd care about problems at the state owned BBC anyway), claiming that Grade is just the kind of well connected charismatic media leader needed to turn round ITV's flagging fortunes. That said, Grade, who has committed to run ITV for at least three years from 1 Jan 2007, will have a big task on his hands to demonstrate to both shareholders and advertisers how ITV is going to successfully compete in the increasingly competitive broadcast media space.