Fincham replacing Shaps in ITV restructure

by Andrew McCormick, Media Week 28-Feb-08, 09:31

LONDON - Simon Shaps, ITV's director of television, is to be replaced by ex-BBC One controller Peter Fincham as part of a major senior management shake-up.

Fincham left the BBC last year in the wake of the "Crowngate" controversy that followed the doctoring of a TV documentary on The Queen that portrayed the monarch in a bad light.

Shaps has spent more than 26 years at ITV in various guises, including director of programmes for LWT and Granada and chief executive of Granada Productions.

His departure in the spring will come just months into ITV's new programming strategy, which Shaps was instrumental in drawing up.

The company has also extended executive chairman Michael Grade's original three-year contract by an extra year to the end of 2010.

Grade, who joined the broadcaster at the start of 2007, can still leave the broadcaster after one years' notice.

ITV has also promoted commercial chief Rupert Howell and managing director of global content Dawn Airey to the board, as executive directors.

The pair joined ITV in October 2007. ITV said the promotions followed strong growth in its commercial and content divisions.