There's a simple solution if you are bored with the formats - don't watch 'em! That is a win for you, and win for those that do enjoy them.

I keep thinking to myself, we are getting slaughtered by the Americans as they have the money for drama's, whilst cheap factual and short series is the UK thing.

Are we seeing a slow death of TV in the UK, or in the event of a regime change in 2015 will we see more money spent?

I don't thanks, but I wish there were more innovative and different ideas, more drama/sci-fi hence why I hope they fail

Trouble is, there's only so many permutations, so many new concepts before you end up recycling stuff. And as these shows come in as part of the Light entertainment offering, without a radical change in policy the budgets would only go towards more LE programming, not drama. And if there were a change in policy towards more drama and less LE, sections of the viewing base would feel ignored (those who enjoy LE programming), whilst the broadcasters would be likely to lose ad revenue (as viewers drift away from the diet of drama).

I'm not saying that more drama would be unwelcome, just that there needs to be a balance across the schedules, and that LE in its various forms provides that balance.

I think if BBC/ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5 had the budgets at their disposal that American TV had, they'd spend it better.

British TV is looking more at the bottom line financially.

There's more than enough drama. We need more successful light entertainment programmes. For years in the 70s the LE department was delivering huge audiences regularly q for the BBC that their dramas couldn't.

Possibly, and in the end, I accept LE is almost always rubbish (for me). I guess my problem are these type of things generate a lot of hype which I can't ignore. Whilst Family Fortunes or the Lottery show is something I can avoid easily.

In the end whatever, I guess I'll watch little of it, I like Pointless, and used to enjoy Harry Hill, but I don't really enjoy much LE.

When I say I hope they fail, I'm saying I hope peoples tastes change so that better (IMO) stuff makes the money.

Like, I don't enjoy Downton Abbey, but I'm happy for it's success.

Its to take the Deal Or No Deal slot and get some awards.

Wow. Even before the pilot. I wonder who is saying positive things? Lol

Quite.

But comments from people that went to training and weren't on the show were positive. It's the reaction from the pilot that I want to see.

From an overnight of 4.94m - timeshift of 750k. Not too bad, one of ITV's highest rating factual series.

Provisional schedules have The Great British Bake Off down to launch on Wednesday 6th August at 8pm on BBC1.

In The Club starts Tuesday 5th at 9pm. Who Do You Think You Are is Thursday 7th at 9pm. The other 9pm slots have a repeat of Death In Paradise on Monday, Operation Wild on Wednesday and Walter (whatever that is) on Friday. EastEnders is an hour on the Thursday. Also no One Show that week so The Sheriffs Are Coming is at 7pm every night except Tuesday when they've got Fake Britain instead.

Meanwhile the lights are flickering back on at ITV. New documentaries Kids Behind Bars, Secrets From The Clink and Kids With Cameras: Diary of A Children's Ward air at 9pm Tuesday-Thursday. They're also launching a new quiz at 5pm called The 21st Question. The Star Wars repeats remain for now but that may change the following week once the games are done. The Foyle's War repeat is also the last one in the series they're repeating (up against the Closing Ceeremony so I think that's excusable) so hopefully they'll have something new replacing that next week.

Good slot for it, it will do well there against the last episode of All Star Mr and Mrs. I imagine it means WDYTYA will follow at 9pm.

Looks like Wednesday could become a new stronghold for BBC1.

ITV have commissioned a new three part series of 'The Zoo'

And at least they have kept the traditional 8pm slot of it rather than as some had thought, 9pm, and have resisted the lure of Sunday.

I notice there's still half an hour of slack at 8.30pm, in case Bergg joins his Emmerdales together.

I imagine The Village was added to that week's programme info by mistake and will be on the following Sunday. I wonder where Our Girl and The Driver will fit in given that they are already being trailed, and have been for a while.

Interesting (and by that I mean poor) use of the GBBO lead in, I didn't really expect WDYTYA to get it since there's isn't room for a full series of that and still have The Apprentice finished by Christmas.

ITV has turned a £ 300 million loss into £ 400 million profit, which is to be applauded, as ITV continually making losses like this would result in the broadcaster being broken up and taken over by people like Rupert Murdoch, who would have achieved his dream of owning the biggest commercial broadcaster in Britain and using it to further his own ends. The broadcaster has become a bit more of a risk taker, moving back into sitcom, bringing back political debates every so often and trying harder with drama, but it is operating in a cut thoat environment where the sorts of programmes Granada would make in the seventies would be too big a risk now. However, the main problem now is the bulk of ITV progeammes are shown to death like Emmerdale or kept on way past their sell by date like Loose Women. I do think that when their big hitters like TXF and IAC jump the shark, though the jungle seems to have this habit of doing better than expected, there will be problems when there aren't replacements available.

A shame BBC one didn't choose Tuesday at 8pm for "The Great British Bake Off" and move or rest "Holby City" while it progressed to the autumn. It may have supported "EastEnders" and had a better lead for itself. It will now probably be following factual that's lightweight against "Coronation Street" however the ITV soap could act as a lead in to "The Great British Bake Off" too. Its a decent enough slot but Wednesdays are generally poor raters for BBC one I've noticed.

The BBC have also commissioned a new six part series about scrapyards, named 'Scrapyards'. It will launch on Friday 8th August.

Places I remember well from the nineties. Could be interesting.

The Sheriff's are Coming and Fake Britain are typical factual series BBC1 that rate well during daytime or against ITV soaps.

Is Alex Jones presenting this before or after "Tumble" is axed!!

Groundbreaking stuff.

More groundbreaking stuff.