The battle over Saturday-night TV ratings moved up a notch last weekend when The X Factor's Simon Cowell launched a scathing attack on the BBC in a tabloid newspaper.
Cowell accused the BBC of being obsessed with trying to dent The X Factor's ratings by pitching Strictly Come Dancing directly against it in the schedules, saying: 'The BBC is not a commercial firm like ITV. Why not give the viewers what they want? They want to enjoy both shows - it's not fair on the viewers.'
Competitive scheduling is nothing new, but some agencies believe that the BBC is shifting its overall programming focus toward populist shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, causing concern among advertisers. The issue is set to gain further traction from the news that most of the BBC's impending job cuts are to be from its news and current affairs departments, rather than entertainment.
There is no doubt that such scheduling makes it harder for advertisers to reach a mass audience. Phil Georgiadis, chairman and chief executive of Walker Media, says it represents a knee-jerk reaction by the BBC, which is ever-more focused on ratings. 'It is unacceptable that public money is fighting commercial money on a Saturday night,' he says.
According to Georgiadis, the Saturday-night clash highlights a fundamental problem facing the BBC. 'The issue for the corporation is whether it measures its success in terms of audience volume or reach,' he says. 'There should be more clarity over the metrics of its success, particularly in reaching a wide spectrum of audiences rather than creating shows that mimic commercial programmes to grab ratings.'
Simon Bevan, head of TV at Vizeum, believes that the BBC has become more commercial over recent years, citing its controversial decision to run EastEnders four nights a week. 'The BBC's remit is broad and it is inevitable that it will create offerings such as Strictly Come Dancing, but the commercial market is well supplied with these types of shows.'
Scheduling is a potent issue for brands, particularly those that sponsor shows such as The X Factor. But Chris Wright, joint head of TV at Initiative, says that while such a clash does present a risk from the client's perspective The X Factor remains one of ITV's most successful shows. 'Competition is simply the nature of Saturday night TV,' he says.
In any case, despite being pitched against one another, analysis from Vizeum shows their audiences are not, as is often assumed, identical. While both shows are family entertainment, The X Factor's audience is younger, with 40% under the age of 34, while 55% of Strictly Come Dancing's audience is over 55.
ITV itself is making no complaints about the issue, in contrast to 2002 when it made an unprecedented plea to the BBC not to schedule its blockbuster autumn costume drama Daniel Deronda against its glossy remake of Dr Zhivago. ITV took the unusual step of releasing the date three months in advance to give the BBC an opportunity to avoid a clash.
Chris Locke, group trading director at Starcom, says it is easy for the BBC to build its schedules around ITV as it has to release its plans months in advance to advertisers and agencies. 'The BBC's attitude is that if ITV has a problem it can move its schedules, but the BBC isn't budging,' he says.
The controversy notwithstanding, Phil Nunn, partner at Trinity Communications, says putting the two big Saturday-night shows head to head generates excitement; not least because it focuses attention on the fact that Saturday-night TV still gets people talking. 'Commercial media owners will always look at the BBC and say they want a slice of the action, but it is right that the BBC tries to get the best audience share it can,' he says.
According to Locke, Strictly Come Dancing is winning the PR battle, but in terms of audiences, The X Factor is not only delivering, but reaching a younger demographic. However, the fact that ITV has moved The X Factor in recent weeks to accommodate the Rugby World Cup - a significant ratings winner, attracting a peak audience of 12m viewers - may give Strictly Come Dancing a boost. On the Saturday of the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, the show drew 8.2m viewers - a 42% share from 6.15pm to 7.30pm.
One thing on which all agencies are agreed is that the growth of digital channels means scheduling is becoming more important, not least to broadcasters aiming to hold on to their audience for longer periods through spin-off shows such as ITV2's The Xtra Factor.
It is not surprising, then, that according to Nunn, the number of media planners at ITV, BBC and Channel 4 working on cross-promoting shows has grown exponentially. 'The in-house media planning role has grown over the past eight years, and we are seeing a coherent strategy drawing audiences from ITV to ITV2 or Channel 4 to Film4,' he says.
Although the current series of The X Factor is performing well, agencies predict that the end of the scheduling conundrum is not yet in sight. While many commercial broadcasters take issue with the BBC, many concede that the issue is far from simple. As Locke says: 'Advertisers want the highest number of possible commercial impacts, but viewers simply want the biggest possible choice.'