No formal offers? So LP demanding that the BBC match or exceed £25 million per year (the sane figure that C4 had come up with) was just coincidence?

Or is someone playing with words here regarding what constitutes a "formal offer"? We can rightly assume that talks with C4 had reached such an advanced stage that not only did LP have a "closure" figure laid out, all parts of the contract were ready to be signed off within a couple of hours.

The long & short of it was that LP had been in an advanced stage of negotiation with C4 long before the talks with the BBC had irretrievably broken down (or, in accordance with the BBC's public statement at the time, broken down but hopefully could be picked up again). At that stage LP had a taxi ready & waiting to zip across town to tie up the deal with C4.

One poster's quasi-religious and obsequious deference towards their beloved BBC.

The life of a programme is as long as the broadcaster wishes to air it, usually due to ratings. If viewing numbers drop, then they are within their rights not to continue with it and declare it's life over as far as they are concerned. So the broadcaster would be able to cancel.

It's then available for other broadcasters to take it if the production company wishes to continue making it and they can find someone to take it.

Taking into account catchups and recordings, Bake Off is pulling in 13plus million viewers for each episode on the BBC. Therefore it is nowhere near the end of its life on the BBC. Channel 4 will attract a fraction of that. The BBC made it as successful as it is, not Love Productions. Therefore it will not be as successful and will come to the end of its life sooner than it would with the BBC.

I would think that if they had a golden handcuff deal with the BBC then we would be seeing them used a lot more by the BBC particularly on the spin-off from Bake Off. I am inclined to believe them more than anything said by Love Productions.

But Sue and Mel are both freelance and not tied to any channel. Although most of their work is with the BBC, they both appear on other channels from time to time, including Channel 4 and More 4.

So the claim that they are tied to the BBC is nonsense.

It hasn't even been produced yet, let alone you or anyone else having seen it, so the contention that it has been 'destroyed' is utterly laughable hyperbole.

Depends whether you believe the audience watches for the format - A baking show in a tent in a field or is it the exact mix of presenters + judges + channel + format? Bearing in mind Hunt's bogus assertion that they'd keep it "exactly the same" then yes, GBBO as we know it is effectively cancelled/destroyed.

So basically you want the BBC to have full control, so if ratings drop the BBC can cancel at any time, if ratings soar they can keep it indefinitely, yeah, I can see all the production companies signing up for that.

That is exactly the deal most production companies expect.

Popular shows get repeat commissions, unsuccessful shows don't.

I can see the BBC having more favorable contracts for commissioned programming, not so much for content bought in like GBBO. I would have thought contracts for these types of programmes (production owned formats) would have favored the production company.

Wow, how are you lot still finding things to talk about on this subject? Kudos!

Are any bookmakers taking bets on the size of the audience for the Channel 4 Bake Off? That is usually a good test of whether people think it will be a success.

Ah, yes, that poster.
Who IMO, is not too well at all.

How can it possibly be "exactly the same" with it being a shorter programme with adverts and only one of the original cast taking part then there is it being Channel 4 which is sure to affect the whole 'feel' of the programme. Many people will not watch on principle, it is unlikely to attract many from Channel 4's normal viewers.

If the BBC can get their new version on first then the Channel 4 one is going to a big failure.

Options might be running out for Channel 4:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articl...h-bake-off-job

And some food for thought in this opinion piece in the Guardian:

Last season we had brilliant art installations in creme pat; now we’re reduced to lurching sponges and acid-casualty icing. Maybe it’s a good thing the BBC is losing Bake Off after all

And French and Saunders as well. Jen's done the celeb one before and I reckon they would've been C4's best bet to replicate Mel and Sue but that seems unlikely at this point, particularly seeing as the four of them are mates apparently.

I have a little more respect for Carr after that comment - He demonstrates a self-awareness that most lack in his line of work.

Probably is on its way out, in which case Love Productions may just have done very well indeedy thankyou very much..

Look at The Apprentice, a prime example of the law of diminishing returns. Staying on the BBC hasn't stopped that show becoming a parody of itself, and inferior to early series.

Dragon's Den is another.

No. Under accepted practices ALL channels (not just the BBC) keep broadcasting a programmes until it's clearly come to the end of its life, usually when ratings drop below a certain level. Then it's available for other channels to take if they think they can breathe more life into it.

At least they have done until now, when Love Productions broke the unspoken rule. They decided they didn't care that they wouldn't have had a programme without the BBC because no-one else would take it, and now that the BBC had built it up to be the success it is they'd hold the BBC to ransom and stick two finger up at them and take it elsewhere with a "Thanks for working to make it so successful, but tough - we can get more money elsewhere."

No Mel, Sue or Mary + adverts/product placement/sponsorship/full-on commercialisation = destroyed (in my opinion).

Mel and Sue both held contracts with Love for each series not the BBC , Mel has done work for other channels during her time on GBBO as has Sue, so neither have a handcuffs deal with the BBC and most if not all former such deals with others have ended

Problem is that some people would rather believe their prejudices than bother to find out the truth about things such as that Mel and Sue are not exclusive to the BBC, but in this instance decided that in their view Bake Off belongs on the BBC so they didn't want to go elsewhere with it.

The commercial sector refused the opportunity to take up the GBBO and if the BBC hadn't then it would probably never seen the light of day. The first series only received 2 million viewers and again a commercial broadcaster such as ITV would most likely have dropped it. The BBC is unique in that it can persevere with a format like GBBO and try and tweak it and make it better. If however the BBC continued to invest in a format that wasn't working then not many licence payers would happy if they didn't cancel.

Agreed it hasn't been produced yet (and won't be for two years) but it is obvious it will not be like the BBC original and that will disappoint millions of viewers.

Some years ago I recall hearing an interview on BBC Essex Radio about a local '60's band that were "reforming" and going to start gigging again.

It turned out that the only 2 "original members" were the base player and the drummer, and instead of 2 other male artists - as per the band's original all male lineup - they were using the drummers teenaged daughter and her friend as vocalists.

Hardly "reforming" the band !!