ITV boss criticises BBC over US acquisitions amid funding troubles

Speaking at ITV's half-year results call, Lygo said (via Deadline): "I was a bit surprised to see such promotional airtime given to some re-runs or 'pre-loved', as we call it now, American programming.

"I don’t quite understand why when the BBC are falling on difficulty with money and costs of programming, and are struggling to fund [original shows like] Newsnight, they can find the money to buy Suits and Gossip Girl and things like that.

"I think it’s a question for them. I don’t know why they choose to do that – it seems peculiar."

Newsnight, of course, has been subject to an overhaul, and has been cut back due to the BBC's money-saving strategy.

At the time, BBC News and Current Affairs CEO Deborah Turness said that the corporation has had to make "difficult choices", telling BBC News: "When we started work on this announcement, I did not know if it would make financial sense to keep Newsnight on air."

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Following its resurgence over on Netflix, the BBC snapped up legal drama Suits, with all seasons available to watch on iPlayer, outbidding ITV in doing so.

As well as new series like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and The Jetty, iPlayer is also home to acquired series like Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, The Dropout and Dopesick.

ITV similarly have acquired some hit US dramas such as Under the Banner of Heaven, Love & Death and One Tree Hill, among many others.

Speaking at the time of acquiring Suits, alongside St Denis Medical and The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Sue Deeks, head of BBC programme acquisition, said: "This is a really exciting and enjoyable trio of star-studded series: the hotly-anticipated comedy St Denis Medical; the sassy, romantic comedy-drama The Best Man: The Final Chapters; and the smart and stylish legal drama Suits.

"We couldn’t be more delighted to bring them all to BBC viewers."

Of course, ITV has achieved major success with its new year standout hit of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which has since gone on to become ITV's most-watched show of 2024 so far, as well as ITV’s biggest new drama in over a decade, beating the launch of Downton Abbey in 2010.

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