ILoo
Encyclopedia
The iLoo was a cancelled Microsoft
project to develop a Wi-Fi
Internet
-enabled portable toilet
. The iLoo, which was to debut at British summer festivals, was described as being a portable toilet
with wireless broadband Internet, an adjustable plasma screen, a membrane wireless keyboard, a six-channel speaker system, and toilet paper embossed with popular web site addressess. The iLoo was also to have an extra screen and keyboard on the outside, and was to be guarded. It was intended as the next in a series of successful initiatives by MSN UK which sought to introduce the internet in unusual locations, including MSN Street, MSN Park Bench and MSN Deckchair.
The project was announced by MSN UK
on April 30, 2003, and was widely ridiculed before being declared a hoax by Microsoft on May 12. On May 13, another Microsoft press release stated that although the project had not been a hoax, it had been cancelled because it would do little to promote the MSN brand. There has since been speculation as to whether the project was cancelled for fear of being sued by Andrew Cubitt, who had invented the similarly named product "i-Loo". The iLoo was described as a public relations "debacle" by Online Journalism Review.
Internet
-enabled portable toilet
that would allow users to surf the internet while using the loo. Internally, the facility would have a broadband connection via wireless 802.11b, a wireless waterproof keyboard, a swivel plasma screen running Windows XP Professional, a 6-channel surround-sound system beneath the sink, toilet paper embossed with popular urls, and a suction toilet. Externally, the facility would feature an MSN logo and have a "hotmail station" with an additional plasma screen and keyboard for waiting consumers. A security guard was to be stationed near the unit to ensure that it was being properly used and to prevent the unit from being stolen. The iLoo was to debut "at a majority of the summer season festivals". The iLoo was to be deployed only in Britain.
The project was announced on April 30, 2003 in press release by MSN
UK, MSN's British subsidiary, as part of a "series of MSN.co.uk initiatives which look at the changing nature of how we use the web as it constantly evolves". The press release stated that:
The press release also stated that "MSN is also in talks with toilet paper manufacturers to produce special web paper for those in need of URL inspiration".
News of the iLoo was widely circulated amongst mainstream media
.The iLoo was covered by the Associated Press
, BBC
, CNET
, Herald Sun
, Reuters
, San Francisco Chronicle
, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
, Seattle Times, The Guardian
, USA Today
, Wall Street Journal, and a number of other news providers. See references and further reading for more examples of coverage. The story became the most-emailed story on Yahoo! News
on May 1, 2003, being emailed over 4000 times.This is based on http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index2&cid=964 now http://news.yahoo.com/most-popular which is a service provided by Yahoo!
to track the most popular stories. The iLoo was widely derided and press coverage subjected MSN
and Microsoft
to heavy criticism. On May 10, The Inquirer
published a story in which Andrew Cubitt alleged that "Microsoft stole his iLoo idea" from his i-Loo invention. On May 12, Microsoft announced that the iLoo was a "hoax perpetrated by its British division" calling it an "April Fool's joke" and issued an apology for the confusion. The Associated Press
, however, stated that they had previously received confirmation of the project from two of Microsoft's PR firms: Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
and Red Consultancy. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
also stated that it received confirmation from Waggener Edstrom and was even provided with a schematic drawing. Furthermore, April Fools
was almost a month before, and Microsoft had never before released a fake press release.
Oh May 13, 2003, Microsoft retracted the denial, stating that the iLoo had been a legitimate demonstration project that was to be released in Britain for summer music festivals, but had been terminated by Microsoft executives in Redmond, Washington
who believed the iLoo was inappropriate with the final decision made by MSN senior vice president David Cole. MSN product manager Lisa Gurry stated that the project "didn't really map to our global branding objectives". Microsoft again apologized for the miscommunication stating "the confusion over the legitimacy of this effort was caused by people moving too quickly and who misspoke before gathering all of the relevant information". Prior to the cancellation, an iLoo prototype was in the "early stages of construction". MSN allows regional units to design their own marketing campaigns, and the UK division had developed a reputation for innovative campaigns, in this case involving British toilet humour. The iLoo which was designed for the UK as part of a "tongue-in-cheek marketing initiative" was "intended to be the next in line of a number of clever initiatives in the UK involving introducing the internet in interesting locations, including MSN Street, MSN Park Bench and MSN Deckchair". The previous initiatives were well received. Microsoft stated that no employees were disciplined as a result of the debacle, although the company stated that it would conduct "internal discussions".
Although the product was not publicly released, many questioned whether "Microsoft had lost its senses" and the product was widely derided. Critics contended that the product was a waste of money and doomed to fail. Concerns were raised about how the iLoo would serve to extend waiting lines, how hygienic it would be to share keyboards in a public loo, and what would be happen if the keyboard were to be urinated upon. Critics also questioned whether users would spend enough time in the loo to make use of the internet facilities, noting that "most port-a-potty users stay only long enough to relieve themselves without having to inhale."
The iLoo, given its toiletry-related nature, subjected MSN and Microsoft to puns and jokes especially since Microsoft's marketing slogan at the time was "where do you want to go today?
". The Herald Sun
wrote that the "iLoo is, unquestionably, very good news – mainly to journalists with a bottomless pit of laboured bum jokes" while the Seattle Times wrote "now the company has a credibility problem as well as a red face." Other newspapers issued humorous headlines: Microsoft technology headed for toilet from the San Francisco Chronicle
, Toilet mixes zeroes with ones and twos from the Washington Post, and Microsoft's Gone Potty from The Daily Mirror
.
The product has since been studied as an example of a public relations disaster and an example of an internet hoax. Microsoft's public relations response to the debacle is also considered to be one of the poorest in the company's history, given Microsoft's reputation for micro-managing news releases, interviews and promotional events.
The iLoo's negative publicity drowned out the launch of MSN Radio Plus on May 12, 2003. It has since inspired a number of spoofs.
stating that iLoo "sounds remarkably similar ... it now seems that the clever people at Microsoft have cottoned onto the idea and even call it the i-Loo, the same as mine!" Cubitt went on to say that "mine did everything that the Microsoft one is meant to do, but additionally printed information on toilet paper and didn't use a keyboard for the interface due to hygiene reasons". The i-Loo was prototyped by Cubitt as part of his thesis for his 2001 university degree in Product Design and Engineering at Brunel University
. In an interview with The Inquirer, he noted "As it was designed at the university, they own the partial rights to the product so they will be watching the Microsoft 'invention' very closely."
Microsoft never formally commented on Cubitt's allegations and instead initially stated the iLoo was an April's fool joke. As a result, Cubitt questioned whether this was "a very calculated ploy to destroy competition in its early stages, or is admitting they don't even know what time of the month it is less embarrassing and ridding them of a potentially expensive situation!" Cubitt went on to state that "as they have now discredited my idea as a joke, I will never be able to produce the idea" and as such was "consulting my law books now on defamatory statements". Neither Cubitt, nor Brunel University have taken public legal action against Microsoft pertaining to the i-Loo.
The i-Loo was described as:
The i-Loo featured an internet-enabled monitor on the cubicle wall and a special printer that would allow users to print information on a standard toilet paper roll.
The i-Loo internet toilet roll browser was featured at the 2003 Daily Mail Ideal Home Show as part of the Future Concepts exhibition in Earls Court
, London, where it was nominated for the MFI Bright Sparks 2003 awards. The i-Loo, which was sponsored by Epson Printers, received significant press coverage, and was featured on GMTV
as well as various radio shows.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
project to develop a Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-enabled portable toilet
Portable toilet
Portable toilet are simple portable enclosures containing a chemical toilet which are typically used as a temporary toilet for construction sites and large gatherings and events. Most of the portable toilets have black open-front-U-shaped toilet seat with cover...
. The iLoo, which was to debut at British summer festivals, was described as being a portable toilet
Portable toilet
Portable toilet are simple portable enclosures containing a chemical toilet which are typically used as a temporary toilet for construction sites and large gatherings and events. Most of the portable toilets have black open-front-U-shaped toilet seat with cover...
with wireless broadband Internet, an adjustable plasma screen, a membrane wireless keyboard, a six-channel speaker system, and toilet paper embossed with popular web site addressess. The iLoo was also to have an extra screen and keyboard on the outside, and was to be guarded. It was intended as the next in a series of successful initiatives by MSN UK which sought to introduce the internet in unusual locations, including MSN Street, MSN Park Bench and MSN Deckchair.
The project was announced by MSN UK
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
on April 30, 2003, and was widely ridiculed before being declared a hoax by Microsoft on May 12. On May 13, another Microsoft press release stated that although the project had not been a hoax, it had been cancelled because it would do little to promote the MSN brand. There has since been speculation as to whether the project was cancelled for fear of being sued by Andrew Cubitt, who had invented the similarly named product "i-Loo". The iLoo was described as a public relations "debacle" by Online Journalism Review.
Description
The iLoo was designed to be a Wi-FiWi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-enabled portable toilet
Portable toilet
Portable toilet are simple portable enclosures containing a chemical toilet which are typically used as a temporary toilet for construction sites and large gatherings and events. Most of the portable toilets have black open-front-U-shaped toilet seat with cover...
that would allow users to surf the internet while using the loo. Internally, the facility would have a broadband connection via wireless 802.11b, a wireless waterproof keyboard, a swivel plasma screen running Windows XP Professional, a 6-channel surround-sound system beneath the sink, toilet paper embossed with popular urls, and a suction toilet. Externally, the facility would feature an MSN logo and have a "hotmail station" with an additional plasma screen and keyboard for waiting consumers. A security guard was to be stationed near the unit to ensure that it was being properly used and to prevent the unit from being stolen. The iLoo was to debut "at a majority of the summer season festivals". The iLoo was to be deployed only in Britain.
Public relations timeline
| The internet's so much a part of everyday life now that surfing on the loo was the next natural step. People used to reach for a book or mag when they were on the loo but now they’ll be logging on! It’s exciting to think that the smallest room can now be the gateway to the massive virtual world. |
| —Tracy Blache, Marketing manager of MSN MSN MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its... in April 30 Press Release |
The project was announced on April 30, 2003 in press release by MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
UK, MSN's British subsidiary, as part of a "series of MSN.co.uk initiatives which look at the changing nature of how we use the web as it constantly evolves". The press release stated that:
The UK’s most popular website msn.co.uk is creating the world’s first ‘Internet Loo’. The iLoo will be mobile and is part of MSN’s mission to allow instant logging on ‘anytime and any place’.
In time for the summer festival season, MSN is in the process of converting a portable loo to create a unique experience for surfers looking for an alternative to the bog-standard festival loo experience. Users will be able to sit down, undock a wireless keyboard and conveniently access the first ever WWW.C.
The press release also stated that "MSN is also in talks with toilet paper manufacturers to produce special web paper for those in need of URL inspiration".
| MSN is really working on building a prototype for the Summer festivals, perhaps Glastonbury ... This is very much a 'toe in the water' experiment to gauge interest so we'll have to see how it goes, although judging from response so far it's really captured people's imagination! |
| —Ben Philipson, Red Consultancy, in response to AP query |
News of the iLoo was widely circulated amongst mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
.The iLoo was covered by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
, Seattle Times, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Wall Street Journal, and a number of other news providers. See references and further reading for more examples of coverage. The story became the most-emailed story on Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It features Top Stories, U.S. National, World, Business, Entertainment, Science, Health, Weather, Most Popular, News Photos, Op/Ed, and Local news....
on May 1, 2003, being emailed over 4000 times.This is based on http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index2&cid=964 now http://news.yahoo.com/most-popular which is a service provided by Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
to track the most popular stories. The iLoo was widely derided and press coverage subjected MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to heavy criticism. On May 10, The Inquirer
The Inquirer
The Inquirer is a British technology tabloid website founded by Mike Magee after his departure from The Register in 2001. In 2006 the site was acquired by Dutch publisher Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen...
published a story in which Andrew Cubitt alleged that "Microsoft stole his iLoo idea" from his i-Loo invention. On May 12, Microsoft announced that the iLoo was a "hoax perpetrated by its British division" calling it an "April Fool's joke" and issued an apology for the confusion. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, however, stated that they had previously received confirmation of the project from two of Microsoft's PR firms: Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide is a large privately owned communications agency, best known as the long-standing public relations firm for Microsoft.-History:...
and Red Consultancy. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
also stated that it received confirmation from Waggener Edstrom and was even provided with a schematic drawing. Furthermore, April Fools
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
was almost a month before, and Microsoft had never before released a fake press release.
Oh May 13, 2003, Microsoft retracted the denial, stating that the iLoo had been a legitimate demonstration project that was to be released in Britain for summer music festivals, but had been terminated by Microsoft executives in Redmond, Washington
Redmond, Washington
Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
who believed the iLoo was inappropriate with the final decision made by MSN senior vice president David Cole. MSN product manager Lisa Gurry stated that the project "didn't really map to our global branding objectives". Microsoft again apologized for the miscommunication stating "the confusion over the legitimacy of this effort was caused by people moving too quickly and who misspoke before gathering all of the relevant information". Prior to the cancellation, an iLoo prototype was in the "early stages of construction". MSN allows regional units to design their own marketing campaigns, and the UK division had developed a reputation for innovative campaigns, in this case involving British toilet humour. The iLoo which was designed for the UK as part of a "tongue-in-cheek marketing initiative" was "intended to be the next in line of a number of clever initiatives in the UK involving introducing the internet in interesting locations, including MSN Street, MSN Park Bench and MSN Deckchair". The previous initiatives were well received. Microsoft stated that no employees were disciplined as a result of the debacle, although the company stated that it would conduct "internal discussions".
Reaction
| Reading in the loo, or the bog, is a traditional English pastime. We've all seen the magazine racks, loo paper with jokes and cartoons on the walls in toilets up and down the land. You've got to hand it to the creative—and uniquely English—minds at Microsoft. |
| —Jeremy Davies, market researcher from Context |
Although the product was not publicly released, many questioned whether "Microsoft had lost its senses" and the product was widely derided. Critics contended that the product was a waste of money and doomed to fail. Concerns were raised about how the iLoo would serve to extend waiting lines, how hygienic it would be to share keyboards in a public loo, and what would be happen if the keyboard were to be urinated upon. Critics also questioned whether users would spend enough time in the loo to make use of the internet facilities, noting that "most port-a-potty users stay only long enough to relieve themselves without having to inhale."
The iLoo, given its toiletry-related nature, subjected MSN and Microsoft to puns and jokes especially since Microsoft's marketing slogan at the time was "where do you want to go today?
Where do you want to go today?
“Where do you want to go today?” was the title of Microsoft’s first global image advertising campaign. The broadcast, print and outdoor advertising campaign was launched in November 1994 through the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, the firm best known for its work on behalf of Nike, Inc....
". The Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
wrote that the "iLoo is, unquestionably, very good news – mainly to journalists with a bottomless pit of laboured bum jokes" while the Seattle Times wrote "now the company has a credibility problem as well as a red face." Other newspapers issued humorous headlines: Microsoft technology headed for toilet from the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Toilet mixes zeroes with ones and twos from the Washington Post, and Microsoft's Gone Potty from The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
.
The product has since been studied as an example of a public relations disaster and an example of an internet hoax. Microsoft's public relations response to the debacle is also considered to be one of the poorest in the company's history, given Microsoft's reputation for micro-managing news releases, interviews and promotional events.
The iLoo's negative publicity drowned out the launch of MSN Radio Plus on May 12, 2003. It has since inspired a number of spoofs.
i-Loo controversy
After reading an article about the iLoo, Andrew Cubitt, inventor of the similarly name i-Loo, wrote to The InquirerThe Inquirer
The Inquirer is a British technology tabloid website founded by Mike Magee after his departure from The Register in 2001. In 2006 the site was acquired by Dutch publisher Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen...
stating that iLoo "sounds remarkably similar ... it now seems that the clever people at Microsoft have cottoned onto the idea and even call it the i-Loo, the same as mine!" Cubitt went on to say that "mine did everything that the Microsoft one is meant to do, but additionally printed information on toilet paper and didn't use a keyboard for the interface due to hygiene reasons". The i-Loo was prototyped by Cubitt as part of his thesis for his 2001 university degree in Product Design and Engineering at Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
. In an interview with The Inquirer, he noted "As it was designed at the university, they own the partial rights to the product so they will be watching the Microsoft 'invention' very closely."
Microsoft never formally commented on Cubitt's allegations and instead initially stated the iLoo was an April's fool joke. As a result, Cubitt questioned whether this was "a very calculated ploy to destroy competition in its early stages, or is admitting they don't even know what time of the month it is less embarrassing and ridding them of a potentially expensive situation!" Cubitt went on to state that "as they have now discredited my idea as a joke, I will never be able to produce the idea" and as such was "consulting my law books now on defamatory statements". Neither Cubitt, nor Brunel University have taken public legal action against Microsoft pertaining to the i-Loo.
The i-Loo was described as:
The i-Loo internet toilet roll browser is a novel and unique product designed to make best use of the time you spend on the loo! The product allows you to search the internet whilst sitting on the toilet and print out any web pages you are interested in on your toilet paper. i-Loo brings a whole new meaning to the word downloading. The unit is fixed in front of a toilet on the cubical wall. The product provides up to date information about new products, daily news and lottery results through an easy to navigate software package. Normal operation of the toilet and paper dispenser is evident.
The i-Loo featured an internet-enabled monitor on the cubicle wall and a special printer that would allow users to print information on a standard toilet paper roll.
The i-Loo internet toilet roll browser was featured at the 2003 Daily Mail Ideal Home Show as part of the Future Concepts exhibition in Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
, London, where it was nominated for the MFI Bright Sparks 2003 awards. The i-Loo, which was sponsored by Epson Printers, received significant press coverage, and was featured on GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
as well as various radio shows.