Archive for the ‘C4’ Category

Channel 4’s head of programming, Julian Bellamy, has warned of a “culture of compliance” in British television. He said that the industry was becoming less creative, and that there was “less surprise and variety” than there should be.

In particular, he criticised the BBC for being “increasingly conservative in its editorial decision making”.

“After a string of scandals about taste and decency, it seems to avoid disruptive, potentially controversial ideas like the plague,” Bellamy told an audience at the Royal Television Society last night. “Time and again producers tell me this. And I believe it.”

He added that the recent culture of restraint was an “unintended consequence of the BBC’s method of funding” and the unrivalled public scrutiny that came with it.

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Today’s digital switchover in North-West England has contributed to a massive rise in the number of dumped analogue TVs, environmental campaigners have said.

Figures from Cumbria County Council, which serves nearly half a million people, reveal a 70% rise in the number of TVs dumped in landfill in the region over the past year. This year, the council dealt with over 50,000 TVs, of which 30,000 could have been converted to digital with a simple set-top box costing as little as £20.

Devon County Council, which switched over to digital earlier in the year, saw the number of dumped televisions nearly double between April and September.

Around 7 million viewers in Cumbria, Manchester, Liverpool and the rest of the Granada TV region had their analogue signal for BBC2 turned off in the early hours of this morning.The permanent digital switchover of BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five will take place on 2nd December for all households served by the Winter Hill transmitter.

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Gordon Ramsay is to be a producer on a new US remake of MasterChef. He will also appear on the series from US network Fox in a yet unspecified role.

US independent producer Reveille, a subsidiary of Elisabeth Murdoch’s UK-based Shine, will co-produce with Ramsey. Fox, which also owns the Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmare brands, is expected to order between 12 and 15 episodes of MasterChef.

“This is a huge, nationwide search for the best amateur cook in America,” said Howard T Owens, executive producer of Reveille.

“It’s about people who are lawyers, construction workers and stay-at-home mums but whose real passion is to make great food. This is their shot to prove they have what it takes.”

Contestants will compete for a place in the semi-finals by cooking for a panel of three judges. The semi-finalists will then compete in a series of cooking challenges until the winner remains.

Ramsay will also host an hour-long special for Fox, called Gordon Ramsay Cookalong Live, on 15th December.

Channel 4 is to hold an online debate about the death penalty following its fictional drama The Execution of Gary Glitter.

The controversial 90-minute programme examines the possible consequences that reinstating capital punishment would have on the UK.

In the fictional courtroom drama, the first person to be tried under a new Capital Crimes Against Children law is Paul Gadd, who went under the stage name of Gary Glitter during his 70’s rock career. Gadd is played by Doctors actor Hilton McRae.

Billed by Channel 4 as a “courtroom drama shot in the style of a documentary”, The Execution of Gary Glitter is written and directed by Rob Coldstream and produced by Juniper Productions. The programme will air on Monday 9th November.

Executive producer Samir Shah will chair a debate on the death penalty afterwards on channel4.com.

“High-profile crimes against children often prompt calls for the return of the death penalty – this drama confronts the public with what many say they want,” said Hamish Mykura, head of documentaries and More 4.

“Putting a resonant figure like Gary Glitter into a fictional situation helps to engage the viewer as the drama unfolds. The debate around the death penalty arouses passions on both sides. This drama, with its compelling and original narrative, is an intelligent and thought-provoking examination of the issue.”

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Graham Norton has been chosen to host the BBC’s New Year celebration show, according to The Sun.

BBC executives have announced that the show will be pre-recorded in December, rather than being shown live, in order to attract more high-profile guests who are likely to have other engagements on New Year’s Eve itself.

The show will take the form of an “entertainment spectacular” based around Norton’s hit BBC1 chat show, but will cut live to BBC Scotland for the traditional Hogmanay celebrations around midnight.

“Landing the show is a coup for Graham as it’s a plum slot - millions tune in,” said a BBC insider. “The idea is for it to be a little bit more family-focused as youngsters will also be watching.”

The last New Year’s Eve event that Norton recorded was at the millennium for Channel 4.

Live coverage of the next Ashes cricket season in the UK is to return to terrestrial television, it has been announced.

The test series played between two of international cricket’s greatest rivals, England and Australia, which was shown this summer by the paid-for broadcaster Sky, will be returning to free-to-air television in 2013.

The move follows a review of leading sporting events led by David Davies, the former Football Association executive. Ministers are likely to back his proposals on the Ashes, it is understood.

“It’s a no-brainer. This is one thing we can do that chimes in with the wishes of millions of voters,” a government source told the Sunday Times.

At its peak just 2 million viewers watched this summer’s deciding test match at the Oval when it was broadcast on Sky this summer. By contrast, the previous Ashes series broadcast in 2005 by channel 4, attracted over 7 million viewers.

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The Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, today announced he will stand down before the end of the year, ending weeks of speculation as to his future.

Duncan, who took on the job in July 2004, said he confirmed his decision with the Channel 4 executive board earlier today, and informed the network’s staff at 11am.

Luke Johnson, the Channel 4 chairman, said that finance director Anne Bulford will take over from Duncan as chief executive, unless another successor is found before the end of the year.

Duncan said that he and Johnson had been in discussion over his stepping down for a number of months.

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Whilst commercial products are often displayed prominently during films, including James Bond’s famous Omega watch, British TV programmes have for a long time had to use fictional products, such as pints of Newton & Ridley in Coronation Street’s Rovers Return, because of a ban on product placement in the UK.

However, that could all change this week after an expected decision that will allow broadcasters to display sponsored products on their shows for the first time.

Commercial broadcasters are likely to welcome the move as they struggle to cope with significant falls in advertising revenue. Some analysts believe that the deal could raise up to £125 million for commercial broadcasters, although product placement will not be allowed in children’s programmes or by publicly funded organisations such as the BBC.

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Paul O’Grady is expected to decide this week whether to stay on as host of his Channel 4 chat show, or move to a rival broadcaster such as Sky 1, which has offered him a lucrative deal thought to include a new peak time weekend show.

Earlier this month O’Grady publicly criticised Channel 4 after the broadcaster told him it was likely to slash the budget of his weekday chat show by 50% in a bid to cut costs. The presenter said that he would rather leave the show altogether than “do it on the cheap”.

O’Grady is understood to have held talks with rival broadcasters including Sky1 and ITV over the last few weeks, and is likely to come to a decision as to whether he stays will Channel 4 or decamps to a different network at the end of next week, according to a friend.

“There have been various approaches from different broadcasters and there are ongoing talks with Channel 4,” the source told The Guardian. “Everything is in flux at the moment, but more should be known towards the end of next week.”

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Alexa Chung’s new Channel 4 chat show, It’s On with Alexa Chung, has been pulled off MTV’s schedule, just hours before it was supposed to go on air after an “unforeseen” issue over broadcasting rights.

The show, which Chung has also been hosting in the US since April, had been intended as the centrepiece to MTV’s new British autumn schedule.

Last Friday, MTV UK’s director of television Heather Jones described the deal to broadcast the show on British television as a “great coup” following its success across the pond.

However, the show, which was due to launch at 4pm yesterday (Monday 7th September), has been pulled from the airwaves, with no indication as to whether or when it will feature in MTV’s UK schedule in the future.

“Due to unforeseen clearance issues, MTV Networks UK will not now be airing It’s On with Alexa Chung,” said a spokeswoman for MTV UK. “At this time, the show has only been cleared by the distributors for broadcast in the US, and at this stage, we cannot confirm whether the series will eventually air in the UK.”

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