Some may argue that ITV’s decision to sell-off Friends Reunited proves that its acquisition for £175 million just three years ago was a huge mistake. In fact, a fairer analysis is that the project has been a noble failure.

It should be remembered that ITV bought into social networking just as it was going to take off - it accurately predicted the trend. But the site lost its way in ITV’s hands, and was soon sidelined by more inventive competitors.

Very few could have predicted the astronomical rise of Facebook, a site that is far more user-friendly than Friends Reunited.

Facebook now has a market penetration that makes Friends Reunited largely redundant. Want to get in touch with old school friends? More than one-third of the UK’s online audience has Facebook accounts, so you’re more likely to find them there than on Friends Reunited.

Michael Grade, ITV’s chairman, believes he can still obtain a good price for the site, but it’s unlikely the broadcasting company will make its money back. Many industry insiders value Friends Reunited today at around £50 million.

The real failure by ITV was the timid promotion of the Friends Reunited service. What the site could really have done with was a bit of X Factor sparkle. John Cresswell, ITV’s chief operating officer said: “We’re not allowed to mention our online businesses, like Friends Reunited, on air during programmes — it would be easier to mention websites we don’t own than those we do, which is perverse.”

Fine.

But there are more creative ways to draw attention to the site. A genealogy programme, perhaps? Instead, the BBC beat them to the punch with the popular Who Do You Think You Are?. What ITV needed to do was produce a show that drew on the mass of information and resources available to Friends Reunited. But the fact that no such programme was made embodies why ITV is in trouble in the first place. There is a lack of commercial innovation within the company and the sell-off of Friends Reunited is just a symptom.

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