Originally Posted by C14E:
“The nature of Channel 4 means it can't take risks every day. But I think they still do their bit. Getting The Murder Trial onto TV must have been an incredible effort but they did it, it counted for a bit of PSB and they got decent ratings for it. The Plane Crash really paid off last year (ratings wise, financially who knows!) and was years and years in the working with multiple broadcasters trying to do it over the years. They're airing a French subtitled drama in the prime drama slot of the week!
Even Million Pound Drop - sure they've over exposed it. But it really did push the genre forward and did some interesting things. That's now a format developed with Channel 4 which has become a massive global hit.
I would even say that some of the date related programming recently has been what C4 should be doing. Both First Dates and Dates may have been crippled by dodgy scheduling more than anything.
The problem isn't a lack of risks, it's a lack of cash cows in primetime. Basically, they're having to do far too much commissioning. BBC1/ITV1 have massive resources and yet only really have one hour of primetime to worry about from Monday-Friday. Channel 5 have built up a good portfolio of US imports (22-24 hours rather than 6 hours for a UK series) and now Big Brother.
C4 used to have the US shows. They used to have 120+ hours of Big Brother. And they used to have Ramsay (and a few others on their talent roster) doing multiple shows all rating well.”
“The nature of Channel 4 means it can't take risks every day. But I think they still do their bit. Getting The Murder Trial onto TV must have been an incredible effort but they did it, it counted for a bit of PSB and they got decent ratings for it. The Plane Crash really paid off last year (ratings wise, financially who knows!) and was years and years in the working with multiple broadcasters trying to do it over the years. They're airing a French subtitled drama in the prime drama slot of the week!
Even Million Pound Drop - sure they've over exposed it. But it really did push the genre forward and did some interesting things. That's now a format developed with Channel 4 which has become a massive global hit.
I would even say that some of the date related programming recently has been what C4 should be doing. Both First Dates and Dates may have been crippled by dodgy scheduling more than anything.
The problem isn't a lack of risks, it's a lack of cash cows in primetime. Basically, they're having to do far too much commissioning. BBC1/ITV1 have massive resources and yet only really have one hour of primetime to worry about from Monday-Friday. Channel 5 have built up a good portfolio of US imports (22-24 hours rather than 6 hours for a UK series) and now Big Brother.
C4 used to have the US shows. They used to have 120+ hours of Big Brother. And they used to have Ramsay (and a few others on their talent roster) doing multiple shows all rating well.”
C14E, are you by any chance Jay Hunt in disguise?
The problem with Channel 4's public service pieces is that they feel like public service pieces. A lot of the stuff the BBC do, especially on BBC2, don't come across as PSB programming. Gardeners World or Stargazing Live or The Tube don't feel like public service programming, but they do cater for a niche audience. Ironically, they often garner larger audiences than C4.
A lot of Channel 4's output suffers from the fact that it doesn't have an editorial 'spine'. Their factual output comes across as a big sloppy pile of facts and stories, not joined or bonded together in any way. Any good factual programme has a skeleton, supported by a strong backbone and is rich in content. C4's factual certainly has a long way to go.
Originally Posted by rzt:
“Demographic Information for BBC1 and ITV for Monday 8th to Sunday 14th June: http://oi41.tinypic.com/2md53ed.jpg
Top programmes for the week among 18-49 year olds from that list (excludes soaps, news and repeats) were:
1. The Apprentice: 12.9
2. Nick & Margaret: We Pay Your Benefits: 6.8
3. Luther: 6.7
4. Andy Murray: The Man Behind The Racquet: 6.0
5. Long Lost Family: 5.2
6. Great British Budget Menu: 5.2
7. The Zoo: 4.9
8. Your Money, Their Tricks: 4.4
9. Your Face Sounds Familiar: 4.3
10. Casualty: 4.0
Note: Each number indicates the % of the UK 18-49 population. For e.g. 12.9% of 18-49 year olds living in the UK watched The Apprentice”
“Demographic Information for BBC1 and ITV for Monday 8th to Sunday 14th June: http://oi41.tinypic.com/2md53ed.jpg
Top programmes for the week among 18-49 year olds from that list (excludes soaps, news and repeats) were:
1. The Apprentice: 12.9
2. Nick & Margaret: We Pay Your Benefits: 6.8
3. Luther: 6.7
4. Andy Murray: The Man Behind The Racquet: 6.0
5. Long Lost Family: 5.2
6. Great British Budget Menu: 5.2
7. The Zoo: 4.9
8. Your Money, Their Tricks: 4.4
9. Your Face Sounds Familiar: 4.3
10. Casualty: 4.0
Note: Each number indicates the % of the UK 18-49 population. For e.g. 12.9% of 18-49 year olds living in the UK watched The Apprentice”
Good week for factual programming. Nick & Margaret doing very well. Will be interesting to see if it holds up this week.
”
