[Jamie.....]

Big Brother comes back for the last time on Channel 4 next Wednesday, out the door nice and quick just ahead of the World Cup. While most of us will watch the football, loyal ‘Bruv’ viewers are already limbering up for what will inevitably be an elaborate, protracted farewell. Yet, while fans prepare for the mawkish twists and turns of the last season, Channel 4 needs to show quite a lot more creativity elsewhere too.

David Abraham arrived last month as chief executive, and has done a fine Derren Brown-style disappearing job since then. He inherits a pretty serious set of problems. There have been a few on screen highlights – you had to like Million Pound Drop even if it was a bit ITV – but Desperate Housewives and Shameless seem never to end. And you have to just wish there was more comedy to rank alongside The Inbetweeners or the still excellent Peep Show.

The viewing figures continue to sink. The main channel’s share of all viewing is down to 7.2 per cent so far this year from 8 per cent a year ago. And, yes, while everybody is suffering, the BBC is just plain massive and even bashed-up ITV is still twice the size. Come to think of it, ITV is enjoying a return to big event form this year, what with Britain’s Got Talent and, of course, the small matter of the World Cup – all of which means that the big commercial broadcaster is hoarding the lion’s share of the cash dribbling back into the bombed out ad market.

Meanwhile, off camera, there is more talk of consolidation. It has been no secret for months that Five’s ownership is up for grabs, while Virgin Media’s Bravo to Trouble suite of channels seem set to be sold to Sky after the longest sales process in history. Mr Abraham, no doubt, thinks plenty about this, although the most logical combination of C4, Five and Virgin Telly looks set to drift by as C4’s state-owned/cash-strapped status prevents a cash offer to tempt Virgin Media.

Who knows, also, whether Mr Abraham wants to have some chat about resurrecting the Five deal that his predecessor hated so much. Andy Duncan set Channel 4 on a solo Dispatches to Deal or No Deal existence, at a time when the faltering economy was making life as a medium-sized, one country broadcaster very difficult. Even C4’s much-hyped digital channels don’t yet make any money, and a number of diversifications tried by previous regimes, Channel 4 Radio and Film4 have not succeeded commercially.

Amid the silence, the new boss with the prophetic name has precious little time: the long talked about realignment in British broadcasting could actually be over in months. And few expect the ad market to carry on recovering 2011, which means there won’t be more cash to invest on screen next year. With no prospect of help from the new Government either, Channel 4 needs to pursue commercial solutions if it is to secure its future.

Yes, for the moment, Channel 4 still has £800 million-plus to play with, so it won’t exactly be disappearing, but get it wrong now and it will be an open question if there will be much Channel 4 left in 2020. By then it risks being squeezed out by the still big BBC (protected from Tory cuts by the Lib Dems), a deregulated ITV that may have hoovered up Five, and a powerful Sky which has an economic model that allows it to gradually increase investment.

Oh, and we’d like something good to replace Big Brother next summer too. So, there’s not much to ask for then.

http://www.beehivecity.com/televisio...for-channel-4/

[BigBroFanHere]

Channel 4 might be gone by 2020?

[MojoNixon]

Friends re-runs.

[Jack_]

C4 are going to have to pull something huge out of the bag to fill the void that Big Brother will leave. And I really don't know whether they can do that.

Wasn't there that documentary style reality show, similar to BB/The Real World, confirmed as one of the replacements a while back?

Either way, falling ratings or not, you just have to ask yourself, do Channel 4 really have anything else but Big Brother?

[crossieKIDD]

CBA reading all that lol!

[vesavius]

Originally Posted by crossieKIDD

CBA reading all that lol!

Thats a shame, it's probably one of the most interesting posts to have been put up here this year from what I have seen. I do also wonder why people bother to post in threads to tell us they don't want to read, or take part, in it... Is is cool to show off that you have a attention span/ concentration issue? I don't know.

On the subject of the OP though...

C4 have kind of painted themselves into a corner here I think.

One of the main problems they stated with BB was that it wasnt the image they wanted to project in the future, presumbly seeing themselves as better then the 'trash' TV it represented, so I can't see them wanting to merge in any form with C5 personally (even now). Not when the major drive of dumping BB was to part of C4's attempt to 'rediscover' itself.

BB has made C4 a stack of revenue over the last decade though, so I really can't see them having no plan to replace it, though if the Million Pound Drop is the best they can do I wonder why drop BB at all.

Is this really the image breakthrough they were hoping for?

I know the MPD isnt a direct replacement for BB, but it is a statement of intent in many ways for C4 as it stands now. Swapping low brow programming with mediocre figures for more of just the same seems just like change for change's sake to me, and I have to question it.