It could be said that Ant and Dec are the jewels in ITV’s crown attracting viewers to the channel in shows like I’m A Celebrity, Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent. But after winning the National Television Award for Best Presenter – for the 15th year running – it seems that the duo may be parting company with the network…
According to The Sun, the presenting duo have hinted at a parting of the ways with ITV to sign up with one of the internet streaming channels Netflix or Amazon Prime.
“Shows like Britain’s Got Talent bring the whole family together which is kind of irreplaceable on those streaming services,” Dec, 40, told the newspaper. "But there’s room for both. The big difference is the amount of money your Netflixes and your Amazon Primes have to spend.”
Now in the final year of a three-year contract with ITV, Ant and Dec have been paid £5million apiece to present Britain’s Got Talent, I’m A Celebrity and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. But it seems they have realised that more money is to be made away from the major TV broadcasters.
When asked if they would consider leaving ITV, Ant, who’s also 40, said: “Well, we’re in the last year of our contract so that would be very unfair of me to say... wouldn’t it?”
“Who knows where we are going to be?” added Dec.
The duo would follow in the footsteps of Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, who have signed a £160m deal with Amazon to create a new motoring show. After Clarkson was sacked by the BBC, Hammond and May decided that they couldn’t present the BBC motoring show with him, and turned down a deal to present the series.
