ITV is poised to drop the numeral one from its flagship channel for the first time in more than a decade as part of a major rebrand.
The changes are set to hit the screen in January next year, having initially been pencilled in to take place this autumn. The overhaul will be the biggest branding shake-up at the commercial broadcaster in six years.
In addition to the decision to change ITV1’s name, its traditional yellow colour scheme will be phased out and a new series of idents will be introduced, possibly with a more flexible colour palette.
The look and feel of ITV’s digital channels will also be overhauled, and although they are set to keep their names, the likes of ITV2 will have a substantially different on-screen presence.
“These changes are not just a paint job,” said one ITV insider. “This is a big undertaking and will have a sense of scale. It is aimed at ensuring viewers attribute our content to the ITV brand.”
Another ITV source added: “ITV1 is the bread and butter, the mothership, and it needs to be bold. The brand will totally change and reflect British culture.”
The changes are being led by ITV’s group marketing and research director Rufus Radcliffe, who joined the broadcaster from Channel 4 in April last year. Radcliffe’s in-house strategy at C4 saw him relaunch E4 and More 4, as well as introducing C4’s floating logo idents.
ITV’s most recent brand overhaul was in January 2006, when it ditched its old blue-and-yellow livery and introduced new on- and off-air logos for its channels.
Dropping the ‘1’ from ITV1 is a reversal of another rebrand in 2001 when then chief executive Stuart Prebble said it would better position the network as a multi-channel business.