[michael21]

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/b...030759.article

E4 will attempt to be “creative and competitive” at 8pm by playing films, US comedies and UK-originated comedy when it loses Friends in September.

The licence for the American sitcom expires on 30 September, opening a huge gap of 1,043 hours annually in the channel’s schedule.

E4 channel manager Paul Mortimer explained: “The most obvious difference without Friends will be at 8pm, where we will be doing different things on different nights. It is a sign of E4’s maturity that we are able to be a bit more creative and competitive.”

He added: “We can play movies from 8pm to 10pm because some of our titles are 12 certificates and feel a bit young for 9pm, and we can also ramp up our US comedies.” US acquisition Happy Endings is due to start on E4 in September.

Existing programmes, such as The Big Bang Theory, which E4 has on an exclusive life-of-series basis, “will be working a lot harder” to anchor two nights of comedy on the channel, starting at 8pm. The Inbetweeners will also feature in the line-up.

Beyond comedy, E4 will continue to invest in non-scripted content such as Made In Chelsea, which is coming back in September for an extended 10-part run featuring Sir Philip Green’s daughter Chloe Green, and Tool Academy.

Ten brand new series are lined up for E4, most of which are due to start this year, Mortimer said. The programmes will include “lighter, pre-watershed formats, such as a dating show”, and a new series of PhoneShop, The Midnight Beast and Chris Addison’s Show And Tell.

Mortimer added: “Broadly speaking, Friends has played in the 5pm and 8pm slots for years. All that money coming back in [from not renewing the licence] means that there is a degree of richness and a bit more ambition, and we are rapidly developing ideas.