ITV boss Carolyn McCall has said primetime period drama Vanity Fair is “a win” despite losing in the ratings war with the BBC’s Bodyguard.
Ms McCall said the success of big dramas on the small screen is good for TV and shows that large audiences are still possible.
Speaking to the Royal Television Society Conference in London, she pointed out that Bodyguard – seen as a rival to ITV viewing figures during primetime – is handled by ITV Studios.
She believes helping the competition in this way is a wise way to make profit.
Ms McCall said: “Vanity Fair is doing OK. It’s consolidating at around four or five million. Closer to four.
“And it will consolidate higher. It will build. It’s a very different kind of programme.
“It’s a win for TV, I think, it’s the only place you can get these massive numbers. And I keep saying, it’s on the BBC but it’s made by ITV Studios. We produced it.
“It’s a win for us, definitely. It’s a good strategy. It’s another profit pool for us.”
McCall: We are not going to be British #Netflix, #Itv is ITV and we need to play to our strengths but there is a demand for British content that people have missed. People having multiple subscriptions is a message that’s coming through very loudly #RTSLondon
— RTS Events (@RTS_Now) September 18, 2018
The former head of easyJet would not be drawn on a potential collaboration with other British broadcasters to form a subscription video on demand service to rival Netflix in the UK, but said ITV is looking into the possibility.
The first episode of Vanity Fair drew an average of 2.9 million viewers and a peak of 3.9 million, including those watching on ITV+1 and ITV HD, according to overnight ratings.
Its consolidated figure, including recordings, grew to five million.
Political thriller Bodyguard scored the highest overnight audience for a drama launch this year when it debuted on its first Sunday night to an average overnight audience of 6.7 million and an audience share of 35%, the BBC said.
The programme peaked with 6.9 million viewers and reached consolidated viewing figures of 10.4 million for the first episode.