ITV has unveiled the details of its business review, which includes a three to five year self-funded, content led plan to restore growth. Eh? The broadcaster wants to double its content revenues to £1.2 billion by 2012, and is aiming for online revenues of £150 million by 2010. This is to be partly achieved by growing ITV.com to become a ‘top ten’ UK commercial entertainment site.

ITV executive chairman Michael Grade said: “By 2012, I want ITV to be widely acknowledged as the UK’s favourite source of free, original entertainment across all popular platforms and devices, not just on television. Reshaped, revitalised and redeployed, ITV’s unrivalled assets will ensure that it is once again a top and bottom line growth business. To achieve this we are implementing a content-led growth plan, built on ITV’s creation and ownership of the UK’s most valuable programmes. Our plan enables us to sustain investment in original programmes and content through self-funding.”

Content led meaning what exactly? Are ITV promising to show decent programmes then? Surely that’s what they’re supposed to be doing anyway?

Grade said ITV would pay for the extra content by “greater efficiencies throughout the business” and the “disposals of remaining non-core assets.” “This is a plan rooted in self-help. Our priority is to put our own house in order, making our assets work better, harder and more in tune with each other,” Grade said. Plans to increase in-house commissions from ITV Productions from 54% to 75% – the permitted maximum – were also outlined, but Grade added that ITV commissioners will “continue to choose all programmes on merit.”

Hang on… hang on… I’m no expert on these matters (sorry to break it to you at this late stage) but it looks like ITV are saying this.

‘We hope to make lots of money by showing quality programmes on the box. We will choose what we show by picking the programmes that we feel are the best one.’ Rearrange this phrase for me. Shit. No. Sherlock.