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CHANNEL 4 IN THE NEWS IN 2009

Channel 4 Drops Noon and More4 News
From the new year, we'll be back to one programme a day - our evening news at seven.  The tough economic climate means we won't be able to bring you News at Noon or More 4 News.
Channel 4 news 5/8/2009
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In the Shadow of Big Brother, will Andy Duncan be Evicted?
by Dan Sabbagh
Big Brother used to give us all the cultural treasures — Nasty Nick, Nadia the transsexual and, of course, the late Jade Goody. But this time round, apart from a disturbing incident involving an evicted housemate, most of us haven't a clue what any of the contestants are up to. 

So bad is the performance that Channel 4 will have to promise advertisers some free airtime later this year to make up for the viewers it has failed to deliver. Not good for a programme that costs about £60 million a year (with Celebrity Big Brother thrown in).

Outsiders in the know say it is now losing money, estimating the break-even level at about 2.5 million viewers, although Channel 4 insists this isn't the case.  Nevertheless, the company has to face up to the difficult question of whether it should call time on Big Brother — a programme that was once innovative but has never really recovered from the Celebrity Big Brother race row. Worryingly, probably only a similar controversy would bring back big audiences — creating a headache that is not what Andy Duncan, Channel 4's chief executive, needs right now.
The Times 31/7/2009
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Spending on UK Children's Shows 'Down 70%' at ITV, Channel 4 and Five
Ofcom public-service broadcasting report finds fall in spending on UK-made children's programmes between 2004 and 2008.

The amount spent on UK-produced children's programmes by ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five fell by 70% between 2004 and 2008, according to a new Ofcom report on the increasingly perilous state of investment in UK public service programming.

Ofcom's third annual report into UK public service broadcasting found that overall investment in PSB programming, from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, S4C and Five, fell by 15% between 2004 and 2008. Investment in original UK PSB programmes has fallen from £3bn to £2.6bn over the period.

Ofcom points to the declining investment figures across the board as stark evidence of the need to move forward with its proposals, published in January and taken on by the government in Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, to safeguard the future of PSB in the UK.
MediaGuardian 21/7/2009
Read More...     Save Kids' TV

Models Pose Nude on Daytime TV
Lunchtime TV is well known as the preserve of news bulletins, women's talk shows, Australian soap re-runs and cosy family dramas.  So you can imagine the surprise when mothers sitting down with their children flicked over to Channel 4 yesterday and were greeted by a fully naked woman. 

Dozens of viewers are understood to have complained after they saw more than they bargained for of fashion model Kirsten Varley as she posed for an artist. 

John Beyer, of TV pressure group mediawatch-uk, questioned showing the programme at the time of day that it went out.  He has referred the matter to media regulator Ofcom after being contacted by concerned parents. 

Mr Beyer said: "I have had complaints about this. Obviously people feel this is not really suitable for daytime TV when they have got children at home.  One was particularly incensed because his child was at home and thought it was not appropriate. It's a pity Channel 4 cannot revive its Watercolour Challenge show."

Channel 4 has defended the programme and insisted that it was not gratuitous and would help artists capture the female form.
Daily Mail 9/7/2009

Channel 4 Casts Net for Andy Duncan Successor
Channel 4 has begun quietly sounding out potential successors to Andy Duncan, its chief executive, increasing speculation that he may step down later this year. 

Media executives say they have been contacted informally by senior staff in recent weeks to gauge their interest in the role. It is not thought a headhunter has been appointed. 

Duncan has pledged to see the Big Brother broadcaster through regulatory changes designed to preserve its future by plugging a shortfall in funding for its public service output. This has led to long-running talks to set up a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, to boost Channel 4's finances.
The Times 5/7/2009
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C4 Viewers Question Michael Jackson Tribute
Channel 4's coverage of Michael Jackson's death has divided viewers, with questions raised both about the amount of airtime given over to the pop star and of whether Big Brother housemates should have been told. 

Tribute programme Michael Jackson: A Life of Pop was C4's most praised programme in June, with 12 messages of support.  However, it also attracted 17 complaints, both from those who argued, in one viewer's words, that "it was yet another example of celebrity culture taking over" and from fans who wanted a more meaningful tribute. 

Some criticised the channel's decision to broadcast the programme twice in two days.  Viewers also questioned the amount of airtime Channel 4 News gave to the story. As one viewer put it: "Mention Michael Jackson's death by all means, but the lead story? Is there no crisis in Iran or Zimbabwe?"  C4 will debate the issue in its monthly programme The TV Show tomorrow (4 July).
Broadcastnow 3/7/2009
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ITV, C4 and Five Rapped for Pushing Products
Chat show hosts Alan Titchmarsh and Paul O'Grady as well as Five News gave undue promotion to products in recent shows, Ofcom has ruled.

ITV1's The Alan Titchmarsh Show was upheld over two live interviews broadcast in one week, with actresses Jane Seymour and Stephanie Beacham both referring to product ranges they endorsed. In Beacham's case, Ofcom judged that the show had gone too far in preparing for the actress to discuss the products by laying out the products in the studio. Titchmarsh also read out an official website address for the products.

Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show was found in breach for mentioning the brand name of an anti-ageing cream six times in two minutes. Ofcom was satisfied that C4 had struck no commercial deal with the company behind the product, but said the item effectively endorsed the product.

Meanwhile, Five News was upheld over a "particularly egregious" pre-recorded item and a live studio discussion about the launch of a sports watch that, in Ofcom's words, "had some features in common with a teleshopping promotion."

Ofcom said it took a stern line on the item because it appeared within the context of an impartial news bulletin.
Broadcastnow 22/6/2009
Read More...    Ofcom in the News

Duncan to Fight on at C4
Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has vowed to stay with the broadcaster for at least another two to three years.

Duncan has shot down rumours that the publication of the government's Digital Britain report last week would pave the way for his departure, in an interview with The Observer.
Broadcastnow 22/6/2009
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Security Concerns Block 4oD on iPhone
Channel 4 is not going to make 4oD programming available on the iPhone until concerns over content security have been addressed, Digital Spy has been told. The broadcaster's head of online products Richard Davidson-Houston said that while he would like to put 4oD on mobile, it will not be developed until there are more provisions for content security on devices such as the iPhone.
DigitalSpy 22/6/2009
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High Def 4oD "Difficult to Justify"
Serving 4oD streams in high defintion is "difficult to justify" due to the costs involved, Digital Spy has been told.Forum member Wayne Moule asked Channel 4 head of online products Richard Davidson-Houston whether the broadcaster's on demand service would go HD this year.

Davidson-Houston responded: "It would seem inevitable that we will go HD at some stage. I'll tell you absolutely straight that there is no one working on it. The problem for us, being a commercial organisation, is if we're going to stream in HD it costs us more money. Unless advertisers or somebody else is prepared to pay more money to us, then it's a very difficult thing to justify doing."
DigitalSpy 22/6/2009
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Channel 4 to Put Back Catalogue Online for Free
Channel 4 is to become the first UK broadcaster to put its back catalogue online completely free of charge - giving viewers the chance to watch every episode of homegrown shows such as Brass Eye, The Camomile Lawn and Father Ted without having to buy a DVD box set. 

From July, more than 4,000 hours of the channel's archived content - about 10,000 programme titles - will be added to the 4oD catchup service.  Other much-loved series to be made available include Queer As Folk, Shameless, Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Ali G and Teachers, as well as old episodes of lifestyle and property shows such as Location, Location, Location and Grand Designs. 

There will be a selection of episodes of the now defunct soap Brookside, featuring what it calls its "most important storylines", including the infamous body under the patio and the first lesbian kiss to be shown before the 9pm watershed.  Six million viewers tuned in to see Anna Friel's character, Beth Jordache, lock lips with Margaret Clemence, played by Nicola Stephenson, for eight seconds in 1993. 

The catchup service currently offers viewers programmes for 30 days after they broadcast, but Channel 4's decision to put such a huge amount of older content online represents a major development, as more viewers choose to watch online at a time that suits them.
MediaGuardian 7/6/2009
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Channel 4 and Five Look to Join Project Canvas
The venture, which would allow people to watch on-demand services such as the BBC iPlayer, and other internet content via television sets, has been delayed indefinitely by the BBC Trust, the body which keeps the corporation in check, as revealed by The Telegraph. 

A source close to Channel 4 said: "Channel 4 has a lot of financial restraints at the moment and especially in a challenging economic climate, all new investments have to be balanced against current commitments - but it is still very interested in becoming a Project Canvas partner and considering it." 

A channel Five source confirmed the RTL-owned broadcaster was still examining becoming a partner of the venture. They said: "We are hugely supportive to of Project Canvas and are still exploring opportunities to become a full partner of the venue. The prospect of getting internet on TV sets in living rooms is very exciting."
Daily Telegraph 4/6/2009
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Ofcom Allows ITV, Channel 4 and Five to Run Teleshopping and Gambling through the Night
The three commercial TV channels are to be allowed to broadcast teleshopping shows through the night.  Media regulator Ofcom said yesterday the move would help them make more money for programmes. 

It gave permission for the interactive promotional shows to go out between midnight and 6am on ITV1, Channel 4 and Five despite criticism that they were not what was expected of public service broadcasters. 

Included under the teleshopping banner is transactional gambling - where viewers pay to take part in games such as roulette, or place bets on virtual competitions and horse races. The move to allow nightly shopping has also been criticised because it is not what viewers expect for public service broadcasters and some fear it could encourage reckless spending or gambling. 

John Beyer, of pressure group mediawatch-uk, has said: ‘The transferring of teleshopping techniques to ordinary commercial television channels is something most people would not welcome.' The regulator defended the decision insisting that it allowed struggling commercial broadcasters that had been hit hard by the economic downturn a new money-making opportunity. 

A spokesman for Ofcom added that encompassing gaming output into the teleshopping framework meant it came under stricter controls than before because it was classed as a form of advertising.
Daily Mail 27/5/2009
Read more...     Daily Telegraph    The Guardian

Celeb Big Brother cleared over Coolio Complaints
Ofcom has rejected 527 complaints about both the behaviour and depiction of rapper Coolio in this year's Celebrity Big Brother.  Complainants objected to what they called his "misogynistic" comments, particularly towards singer Michelle Heaton, and his general "bullying" and "boorish" behaviour.

Some also thought the programme negatively stereotyped him as an aggressive black man.  Noting that none of the participants - who were free to leave at any time - had complained about his behaviour, Ofcom said Coolio was a "larger than life" character who had assumed the familiar role of the "villain" of the house with actions that were calculated to offend.
Broadcastnow 26/5/2009
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C4's Sex Education Show Rated and Slated
Channel 4 shows The Hospital and The Sex Education Show v Pornography divided audiences last month, with viewers singling both shows out for praise and scorn.  While 43 people contacted C4 to praise The Sex Education Show v Pornography's handling of sexual issues, making it the most lauded show last month, a further 83 expressed their disapproval to C4. 

The Hospital, an observational documentary that went behind the scenes with NHS staff, received 32 plaudits from people sympathetic with the medical staff's high-pressure workload.
Broadcastnow 13/5/2009
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Andy Duncan Defends Top Channel 4 Salaries to MPs
Andy Duncan, Channel 4's chief executive, and its director of television and content Kevin Lygo have traditionally been among the highest paid executives in British television, while 80 staff earn over £100,000 a year. 

Andy Duncan, the Channel 4 chief executive, was today forced to defend the salaries paid to the broadcaster's top executives amid claims by MPs that they were "grossly excessive".  Duncan and Channel 4's director of television and content, Kevin Lygo, have traditionally been among the highest paid executives in British television, while 80 staff earn over £100,000 a year. 

Johnson was challenged today over Channel 4 salaries at a Commons culture, media and sport select committee hearing by chairman John Whittingdale, a Conservative MP. 

When Duncan told the select committee that 80 of the broadcaster's 700 full time employees earned more than £100,000 a year, Whittingdale responded: "Many people would say 80 people paid over £100,000 a year was grossly excessive."
MediaGuardian 12/5/2009
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C4 Hopeful of BBCW Tie-Up by Mid-June
Channel 4 could be just weeks away from reaching a partnership deal with BBC Worldwide to plug its £150m funding gap and head off further damaging cuts to its creative output. 

C4's senior management told MPs today they were hopeful they would sign a memorandum of understanding with BBCW to coincide with the publication of the government's Digital Britain report, expected on 16 June. 

"Discussions have been going very well," C4 chief executive Andy Duncan told the cross-party House of Commons Media Select Committee. "The ambition on all sides is to try to get some kind of broad agreement in time for that report. In essence, it would be a headline understanding of how the partnership would work." 

But both Duncan and C4 chairman Luke Johnson reiterated their view that unless the government sanctioned a partnership deal or alternatively agreed to divert money from the BBC licence fee in a contestable funding scheme, C4 would face damaging cutbacks.
Broadcastnow 12/5/2009
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Gordon Ramsay Slammed for Record Number of f-Words
Foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsay was slammed by watchdogs after the f-word was used a record 115 times in the first 40 minutes of his show.  Ramsay's Great British Nightmare featured the chef berating managers as he tried to turn around two failing restaurants. 

In an explosive confrontation between one owner and his chef, the word was used 30 times in Ramsay under two minutes. The excessive swearing drew 51 complaints from viewers - many of them Ramsay fans.  Channel 4, which aired the two-hour special in January, escaped a fine.
Mirror 12/5/2009
Read more...     Swearing on TV

Channel 4 Head Calls Christians to Engage more with Media
The head of Channel 4, Andy Duncan, has said that Christians need to engage more with the media and keep up-to-date with new media technologies in order to further promote their cause.  Duncan, who attends a Baptist church in Croydon, also said that TV programmes about religion often did not have high audiences, reports Baptist Times. 

Speaking at a seminar at the recent Baptist Assembly entitled "God and the media - an unholy alliance", Duncan used the example of the recent Channel 4 series History of Christianity, which had around one million viewers per episode.  He said while that was a significant number of people, given that the programme was aired in a peak time slot it could have easily had a lot more viewers, had it been a different programme.
christiantoday 11/5/2009
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C4 Rapped Over Ramsay; Pre-Watershed Sex Cleared
Ofcom has rapped Channel 4 over Gordon Ramsay's swearing immediately after the watershed - but has cleared pre-watershed sex that was "at the edge of acceptability". 

The regulator has upheld 51 complaints over the two-hour special Ramsay's Great British Nightmare, which featured 115 uses of the word 'f***' and its derivatives in its first 40 minutes.

Half an hour in, a two-minute row featured the word 'f******' 30 times in two minutes.  Ofcom noted that the complainants included many fans of Ramsay's shows who felt he had gone too far.  Despite Ramsay's reputation for profanity, it said C4 "did not apply generally accepted standards" in scheduling the show at 9pm. 

Meanwhile, Ofcom rejected 152 complaints about C4 series The Sex Education Show, which discussed topics such as pornography and sexually-transmitted diseases and featured close-ups of genitalia in an 8pm slot.  However, with particular reference to the follow-up series The Sex Education Show v Pornography, which aired at 9pm, it argued that the show would have been more appropriately scheduled after the watershed. 

The regulator said a discussion of tantric sex was particularly close to the bone.  "The nature of some of the images in the series was at the limits of what is considered to be acceptable under the Code for this time," Ofcom said. "During this item, the programme's emphasis shifted from educating and informing viewers about sexual health to suggesting methods of improving sexual technique and arousal."
Broadcastnow 11/5/2009
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Madeleine McCann Doc Draws 2.3m to C4
Two years after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a documentary in which her father revisited the Algarve resort where she was last seen drew an audience of 2.3m (10.5% share) for Channel 4 at 9pm. 

Gerry McCann returned to apartment 5a in Praia da Luz where he last saw his daughter for the documentary Madeleine Was Here.  The hour-long programme, part of the Cutting Edge strand, held a largely stable audience throughout but picked up 2.4m over the last 30 minutes.

The documentary was then seen by 262,000 on C4+1 an hour later.  It managed to outperform the channel's slot average for the year so far of 1.8m (7.9%) but couldn't quite match C4's performance in 2008 of 2.4m (10.7%).  The Cutting Edge programme managed to have the advantage over both of its nearest rivals.
Broadcastnow 8/5/2009
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Channel 4 Chief Executive Predicts Ad Gloom will Continue in 2010
Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan does not expect any improvement in the British TV advertising market in 2010, as the broadcaster braces for a drop of almost £120m in ad revenue this year. 

The worsening advertising climate has forced Channel 4, which yesterday produced a relatively solid set of financial results for 2008 given market conditions, to revise its commercial performance forecasts down with ad revenue expected to fall about 15% in 2009. 

At the end of 2008 Channel 4 expected an ad revenue fall of between 5% and 10% this year.  The fall is expected strip more than £118m from Channel 4's TV ad revenue in 2009. Last year Channel 4 brought in £789.7m in ad revenue.
MediaGuardian 7/5/2009
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Rory Bremner to be Casualty of Channel 4 Cuts
Channel 4 sources confirmed that there were no plans to commission a new series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune, although there would still be one-off specials.  Insiders said that each episode of the show, which broadcast its fourteenth series last year and first aired in 1999, costs a minimum of several thousand pounds an hour to make due to the expense of high quality writing. 

Mr Duncan said that all areas of programming were being looked at, but lower rating or high cost programmes, particularly in arts and drama, were likely targets.  Channel 4, once the home of US shows hits as Friends and Desperate Housewives, is now unlikely to buy any new US shows.
Daily Telegraph 6/5/2009
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C4 Forecasts 18% Drop in TV Ad Revenues
Channel 4 has estimated TV advertising revenues will decrease by 18% in the first half of 2009 and will cut its editorial budget by 10% in a bid to insure itself. 

In its annual report and financial statements 2008 published today (6 May), the commercial broadcaster said that although it continued to outperform the market, it was "currently budgeting to reduce editorial spend by at least 10% across its network in response". 

C4 benefited from record ratings and share of revenues in 2008 despite the severe advertising downturn.
Broadcastnow 6/5/2009
Read more...      MediaGuardian

Tories Promise to Name and Shame High Earners at BBC and Channel 4
BBC and Channel 4 staff will be included in Tory plans to name and shame high earners working for public institutions, the party has confirmed. 

A Tory spokeswoman said that both broadcasters would be covered by the party's plans to personally name all public sector workers earning more than £150,000 a year in a list that a Conservative government would publish online. 

"Let's see which officials have been getting rich at the taxpayer's expense - and whether they're worth the money," the Tory leader, David Cameron, said in a speech at the party's spring conference at the weekend which called for a "new age of austerity" and greater value placed on "frontline workers" as opposed to "fat cats". 

The Tories said that any public sector executive earning more than the prime minister's salary of £194,250 would have to justify their pay in person to the chancellor. Cameron accompanied the announcement with the publication of a list of public sector workers already known to earn more than £150,000, which included the Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards.
MediaGuardian 1/5/2009
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Click on page 2 for stories from January 2009 - April 2009...