Given how many column inches have been dedicated to ITV's slow demise in recent years, one would be forgiven for thinking that putting it out of its misery once and for all might be kindest for all concerned.
Even the channel's brand and commercial managing director, Rupert Howell, has admitted that ITV is 'scrapping for its life'. However, Michael Grade, its executive chairman, believes he has hit upon a particularly potent, if bitter-tasting, medicine that may help resuscitate the broadcaster.
In a volte-face from the 'content-led' recovery that he initially argued would revive the company's fortunes, Grade has implemented what his predecessors viewed as unthinkable - an unprecedented £65m cut to ITV1's programme budget this year, with a further £70m to be slashed in 2011. Drama, once ITV's most successful format, but also its most expensive to make, has taken the brunt of the hit.
The cuts will bring the demise of gentle Sunday night ratings-stalwarts Heartbeat and The Royal when their current run ends, while crime drama Wire in the Blood will also not return. The network will now show only seven hours of drama a week, down from eight, while long-running police soap The Bill is being repackaged into a weekly one-hour format. Ambitious plans to produce an adaptation of EM Forster's A Passage To India have also been put on ice.
So what should advertisers make of this strategy? Kevin Peake, head of customer marketing at utilities company Npower, is unperturbed, citing the slump in airtime prices as of greater importance. 'In terms of quality, things that we want to buy into will still be there,' he says. 'Also, now airtime prices are better value, I'm getting more for my budget.'
Media buyers, too, are generally supportive. 'It's not about the budget, it's about how they spend it,' says Steve McDonnell, TV director at MediaCom. 'Period dramas might look nice on the schedule, but they don't pull in the advertisers.'
Furthermore, ITV is not alone in having to make cutbacks. Channel 4 cut its programming budget from £615m in 2007 to £575m in 2008. It will also knock off a further £50m this year, although it claims that this will come from public-service programming. Five, meanwhile, is cutting a quarter of its staff to cope with the ad recession.
The impact will not be fully felt on screen until the end of next year, as the commissioning lag means that ITV has nearly two years' stock on its shelves of Heartbeat and The Royal.
Changes to the daytime schedule will be felt more immediately, however. Although ITV will not confirm it, This Morning is likely to take a hiatus over the summer holidays, when viewing levels are traditionally lower, to be replaced by children's programming.
This is where the problems could start. FMCG advertisers targeting housewives, are traditionally strong supporters of ITV daytime, where they can build frequency cheaply. This raises the question as to whether the decision to replace the current schedule with repeats of kids' shows will affect this.
Simon Cross, business unit director at media auditor Billetts, does not believe that it is a foregone conclusion. 'Brands targeting housewives don't solely spend in daytime - they normally only use it to balance out their peak'.
One problem ITV might encounter is maintaining share in daytime. After all, the children's TV market is already saturated, so getting kids to seek out its shows might prove a challenge. This will be a small price to pay, though, if it means ITV comes off the critical list.