Finally, Channel 4 have announced their new channel plan, using the space they have sitting on the Freeview platform (as well as securing cable and satellite coverage). With a working title of More 4 it’ll be aimed at 30+ year olds, carrying all the property and wife-swap type programming which Channel 4 currently fills its airwaves with.
There’ll also be more acquired programming, but it’ll have to make ends meet with advertiser revenue.
In particular, Broadcast reports that The West Wing is likely to switch to More 4, which isn’t too surprising. I’ve long argued that programmes like this are at total odds with the rest of the E4 offering. I watched it the other night, and there are three commercial breaks, each of which is top and tailed with a trailer for another E4 or C4 programme. The only conceivable crossover show was Six Feet Under, and maybe repeats of Sex and the City. Then there was a rerun of Queer as Folk, but beyond that it was stuff like The Salon. Lots of crossover there then. Still, at least E4 have now dropped their pointless “direct” (so not live then) coverage of US Big Brother, which doesn’t involve viewer voting, and was fantastically boring. Well worth the $19.95 that CBS charge for online coverage…