What a difference a year makes for ITV drama

Here's an extract from a July 2005 report in The Stage:

Drama to flourish as ITV gains £20m programming boost
Drama will dominate ITV’s autumn schedule, with 12 new productions and more than five returning series, following an extra £20 million investment in programming by the Network.

The additional cash has been made available following last month’s announcement by industry watchdog Ofcom that the broadcaster’s annual licence payments will be slashed by £135 million. Nigel Pickard, ITV’s director of programmes, has decided to invest more in high-quality drama and star-led productions in order to win back dwindling audiences.

Now, here's an extract from a July 2006 report in The Stage:

ITV1 plans massive drama budget cuts
Drama on ITV1 is facing budget cuts of around £20 million over the next year as the network’s latest clampdown on costs begins to take effect.

However the network’s director of drama, Nick Elliott, was confident that the reduction in cash flow to £300 million a year would not have an impact on the quality of programming. He said: “It is just a matter of being smarter about what you commission. That’s not a bad thing.”

When it comes to drama, it seems ITV giveth and ITV taketh away...