ITV chief says BBC under Dyke is obsessed with ratings

The departing head of programming at ITV has criticised the BBC director general, Greg Dyke, for failing to maintain the "cultural values" of public service broadcasting.

David Liddiment, 49, who steps down from ITV in October, accused BBC executives of being obsessed with ratings.

Mr Liddimentannounced his intention to leave the network earlier this year after five years in the post, which culminated with the messy demise of the ITV Digital venture.

In a newspaper interview before the Edinburgh International Television Festival next week, he attacked what he said was Mr Dyke's negative effect on BBC traditions. He saidMr Dyke "is providing a terrible disservice to range and quality and cultural values in Britain... There is little evidence that [the BBC] values the cultural contribution it has the capacity to make."

Citing the success of the hit BBC nature series Blue Planet, Mr Liddiment said it was one of too few examples of the corporation fulfilling its role.

He said there should be a clearer demarcation between the territories of commercial and public broadcasting, hinting that the BBC could be brought under the auspices of the new media super-watchdog, Ofcom.

He said senior BBC executives had an unhealthy obsession with viewing figures. "What matters to the people who decide what programmes are shown on BBC1 and BBC2 is the absolute performance in terms of millions of viewers. Not a lot else."

The broadside comes after BBC1 pulled ahead of ITV in the ratings last year, leading to suggestions that Mr Liddiment may be venting wounded pride.

Asked whether he thought Mr Dyke, whose broadcasting CV includes stints as the head of London Weekend Television and TV-am, was the right person for the BBC job, the ITV boss said: "I don't think so."