Media Perspective: Has Grade made his final throw of the ITV dice with Fincham?

As with Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach, ITV's recently conceived post-modern soap experiment, there's more intrigue behind the scenes at ITV right now than in the on-screen drama.

While the ad industry was devouring must-watch BBC stuff, such as the Masterchef final and the advertising drama Mad Men, all the action at ITV centred on events at its Gray's Inn Road HQ.

Ahead of unveiling an unspectacular set of results, Michael Grade, ITV's executive chairman, announced that the director of television, Simon Shaps, would be leaving to hand over the job to the former BBC executive Peter Fincham. While it's hard to see how this will have a swift impact on adland since any new commissions won't see the light of day until next year, it's a sign that ITV sees the need for a new approach Advertisers were supportive of Shaps' new-look winter schedule, with its mix of the old (News at Ten back at ten) and the new (underperforming peaktime dramas such as The Palace and Echo Beach), in that it at least threatened to liven up the ITV1 brand and appeal to younger audiences.

But some of the numbers weren't good. ITV1's problem (and it's not alone among commercial channels) is that its impacts in the early part of the year were down, while the BBC is doing well. However, agencies and advertisers, perhaps more so than the City, are willing to give Grade and his team more time. They sense a new ...