Archie Norman, soon to be ITV's non-executive chairman, has made it clear that The X Factor does not dominate his weekend viewing. When I asked whether he was a Jedward fan, he said firmly that his busy schedule does not give him much free time, although his wife enjoys The X Factor. The Leeds United supporter prefers football.
In other words, he will not lead ITV with the same flamboyant showmanship as the entertainment format-loving Michael Grade.
Perhaps more significantly, Norman is clear that ITV needs a new direction. Expect a strategy less dependent on the volatile spot-advertising market, but still appealing to those who will drive the bulk of ITV's revenue in the foreseeable future - the advertisers.
Norman must not lose sight of the need to keep them onside when hiring a chief executive at ITV. He has a history of hiring Asda alumni, many of whom have a strong track record in building brands and improving customer service.
Norman's experience of a consumer-facing business is invaluable, but ITV needs more than this. Even if ITV's chief executive is not a media man, a marketing background with an understanding of the sales process is key.
At Asda press events in the 90s, Norman, who went on to serve as Tory MP for Tunbridge Wells, was rarely seen without his trademark 'Happy to help' badge. This customer-service focus has proved central to his strategy throughout his career, from Kingfisher to Asda to Energis.
Of course, advertisers will be his customers at ITV, and any improved service to them would be valuable.
But this is not a simple case of giving customers cheap clothes and food, backed by a sizeable marketing budget and helpful staff. The challenges at ITV are more complex.
First, viewers need to keep coming. This was Grade's greatest achievement at ITV, with shows such as Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor attracting big weekend audiences, the like of which we last saw in the 80s and early 90s. Yet this alone has not been enough to drag the broadcaster out of the doldrums.
Obviously, the economic climate has not helped, but the downturn in advertising began before the recession set in. The internet and technology such as PVRs have changed our viewing habits, and ITV has had a tough time making money from this trend.
Only now is the commercial broadcaster considering signing video-on-demand (VoD) deals with the likes of Hulu and YouTube. Such partnerships should have come years ago. This is partly the fault of management, but also a mistake by regulators, who failed to give the go-ahead to Project Kangaroo, ITV's ad-funded VoD alliance with rivals Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide.
Only now is ITV creating exclusive content for the web, considering charging for its online archive and pondering a pay-TV offering.
Its needs are no longer straightforward. It used to be merely about selling spot advertising, but technology has changed and ITV needs to come up with a formula to revive its fortunes.
Norman's search for a chief executive will take months and, if his ideal candidate is already in employment, it will take longer still for them to start in the role. While interim chief executive John Cresswell has proved himself to be a smart operator - tackling the group's pension deficit and announcing a much welcome convertible bond to raise £120m in recent weeks - his work has just been clever housekeeping.
A much-needed strategy overhaul is still a distant dream until the new leadership team is at the helm.
Amanda Andrews is media editor at The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and telegraph.co.uk
30 seconds on Archie Norman
Archie Norman was born in 1954. He attended the University of Minnesota, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and Harvard Business School.
After graduating he joined McKinsey & Company, after which he held directorships at Geest and Railtrack.
Norman became group finance director at Kingfisher at the age of 32, moving swiftly through the ranks to become group chief executive and, finally, chairman.
In 1991, he was the only applicant for the role of chief executive at Asda, which was then nearly bankrupt. Norman led the supermarket from 1991 to 2000, as chief executive and then chairman, and sold it to Wal-Mart for £1.6bn in 1999.
Norman ran a successful campaign in 1997 to become the Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells. He served as shadow minister for the environment from 1999 to 2001, and stood down as MP in 2005. He was known as 'the Conservative Party's chief executive'.
Of his philosophy of wealth, Norman said: 'You should aim to get some money in the bank, but after that, there will always be a bigger yacht.'