Channel 5 plans screen jibe at ITV’s early evening news

The feud between ITV and Channel 5 over their early evening news slots takes to the airwaves this week.

Channel 5 will poke further fun at ITV’s early evening news, aired at 6.30pm, during its broadcast of the Chelsea versus Valerenga European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final. It is running poster ads saying “ITV – You’re Later and You know You Are”.

The channel has also booked poster space in front of ITV’s London headquarters, and Channel 5’s advertising agency, Walsh Trott Chick Smith, has produced radio work based on the same theme.

The spat began last week when ITV marketing and commercial director John Hardie wrote to Channel 5 director of legal and business affairs Colin Campbell about an ad promoting Channel 5’s 6pm news.

Hardie wrote that its tagline, “Repeated 6:30pm on ITV”, was “beyond the bounds of permissible wit and humour”.

He warned that if they were repeated he would turn the matter over to ITV’s solicitors, Goodman Derrick.

Campbell wrote back saying it was a fact that Channel 5 evening news coverage appeared before ITV’s and was happy to let the material run again.

Hardie was not sure if the matter would be taken further and said: “This is a case of a small brand piggybacking on the back of a bigger brand in a quite immature way. I have consulted with our lawyers, but Channel 5 has problems of its own.”

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