Channel 4's New Channel Plans

[Bob The Skutter]

Channel 4 are going to relaunch More 4 as a "Lifestyle Channel" next week, with more focus on their crap shows and repeats, though there already seems to be a lot of focus on that...

From Broadcast

More 4’s new branding will go live on 23 January ahead of a more prominent push in April.

New idents for the channel, which is being refocused as a lifestyle broadcaster, will start appearing from next week.

The changes will see fewer original commissions and more emphasis on factual entertainment and features repeats as well as acquisitions.

Programmes such as Grand Designs, One Born Every Minute and Secret Millionaire are the types of shows that will be shown moving forward.

However, Blast’s Confessions of a Nurse, a series looking at the challenges of day to day nursing, will premiere on More 4.

A “digital scrapbook” is being launched in April to encourage viewers to collect information from programmes online. Cooking, decorating and property tips can all be placed in the online area.

Once the “digital scrapbook” has been launched the broadcaster will have themed weekends based on key brands, such as Grand Designs. Other programmes that will continue to playout on More 4 include US acquisitions such as The Good Wife and The Big C.

One of the key changes to More 4 will see documentaries strand True Stories move to Channel 4 and Film 4.

It also seems they plan to launch a new channel currently under working title "project shuffle". Which will take the content of Channel 4 and stripe it across the week, so you have chance to see it on other days of the week to give people more chance to catch up without access to 4oD.

Channel 4 is expected to launch a new repeats channel on the Freeview platform later this year in an attempt to boost its overall portfolio share.

The channel, currently being called Project Shuffle, would take the most popular content from the main channel and repeat it for the next seven days.

The idea is that a programme premiering on a Wednesday on C4 could be repeated in the same slot on the new channel across the next week.

C4 marketing and communications director Dan Brooke is understood to be leading the project. It is thought to have been proposed as a means of boosting ratings in a year of major events including the Olympics, Euro 2012 and the Diamond Jubilee, which other broadcasters are likely to capitalise on.

It would mean viewers who miss C4’s flagship shows because of the events have the maximum opportunity to see them at a later date.

Based on consolidated ratings for 2011, shows such as Embarrassing Bodies, Grand Designs, One Born Every Minute and Big Fat Gypsy Weddings would likely air on the channel. Films and acquisitions are not likely to feature because of rights issues.

It is unclear whether C4 intends to buy a new Freeview slot or convert one of its existing channels. The latter would be the cheaper option and sources have indicated that the costs of running a repeats channel would be negligible, and that C4’s projections have forecast it would be a profitable venture

 

[Captaindemotion]

Channel 4 used to be one of my favourite channels, now it's mostly crap. I still like their news and they've given us the wonderful Fresh Meat. But apart from the odd decent comedy import, it's rubbish like My Big Fat (insert whatever you like here) and makeover type shows. More4 doesn't even give us The Daily Show any more.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Msfits and This is England prove Channel 4 still has some brilliant commissions, I liked Beaver Falls and Sirens was passable too. I do like 10 o'Clock Live too. Wonder what'll happen to Margaret Todd, was a Channel 4 co-production on More 4, wonder if it'll move to Channel 4 or not picked up.

 

[MacLeod]

Barely watch the terrestial stations these days. About the only one I watch is BBC1 and that's only for DW and F1.

 

[stoneroses]

That is a shame. I loved the recent 'History of Cinema' series on there. I would hate to think there will be less of that.

 

[Servo]

...and F1.

And now you won't be watching that on terrestrial TV either.

 

[Dick_Valentine]

...and F1.

And now you won't be watching that on terrestrial TV either.

Yes you will, not everyone can afford sky and BBC1 will still show 10 races live and the other 10 in extended highlight form.

(Plus, those in the know have realised that the BBC have snuck in the best commentator out there so even those with Sky will probably give the BBC a re-watch because he is so good )

Good to see original programming and creativity being stifled once again for the lowest common denominator crap that you can get on every other channel anyway.

Makes you thankful for the BBC really, the commercial sector will just give us whats cheap to make and what's popular (so it will all be the same!) while at least the licence fee keeps the BBC in check and makes it produce some quality programming (BBCFour, which More 4 was trying to emulate, won't go down this road thankfully)

To be fair to C4, with Black Mirror and some of their comedy output they put out better programming than the dross that's on ITV (literally the only program I watch on there is TV Burp!) but this isn't really good enough from a channel that was created to push boundaries not accept them.

 

[MacLeod]

I think a 2hr highlight show should do the trick for F1, should be enough time for a complete re-run of the race. As per what the concorde agreement says (I think).

Not that we'll get that. Maybe a 90 minute prgramme with 1hr for the race and 30 mins of analysis