Speaking at a Royal Television Society dinner, he also said that ITV was running out of airtime around its highest-rating shows and that the broadcaster needed more flexibility in the number of ads it is permitted to run during peak time.
The Week: Media news - Howell hits out at ad rules
Rupert Howell, the managing director for brand and commercial at ITV, has blamed restrictions on advertising airtime for the premature end of its long-running chat-show Parkinson.