I'm also 48 and haven't tolerated sitting through multiple/non-skippable ads for years. The only thing on traditional TV stations I watch is sport. Everything else is on RUclips or a streaming platform.
The vast majority of people. Internet based streaming is cool but it does not compare to live tv that runs and all you have to do is sit there and switch it on. Nothing worse than a live stream freezing in the middle of a football match.
If anyone is reading this, I don't like the fact that we're constantly switching back and forth between shots of Marina and shots of Richard. In the old studio we could see you both at once.
Sky Sports have involved a lot of RUclipsrs in their football coverage in the past few years. And it’s dreadful. It just doesn’t translate to a professional TV show.
Agree entirely. It's become a turn off channel for me. Some of the pundits they have on TV as well are awful, where you have good people usually on the EFL coverage, those that appear on the EPL are just unlistenable.
@@readingfcdecthe difference is Talksport genuinely couldn't get any worse. You can't tell me Mark Goldbridge is any more worse to listen to than Jamie O'Hara or Andy Goldstein.
I was chatting to an old advertising exec friend of mine a year or so ago - someone with very long teeth. He said that of course certain advertisers and agencies will go off linear broadcasting because they can get away with playing with the truth of their products in certain types of online ads in a way that you can't on broadcast media. For instance, they can book an ad on Facebook and it will simply pass through and "air", then only get pulled up for inaccuracies if someone complains. Whereas on broadcast media, you have to clear first. So, it is only partly because of following the audience, it is about how they can message too. A bit dodgy, really.
It's how they can track the data too. TV viewing figures are total works of fiction. Only 5,000 house in the UK supply the viewing data that makes up the BARB rating system, which means if 200 people watch the show, it gets reported as 1 million people. Frankly, it's the biggest scam ever invented. With social media advertising, you can see how many people came from Facebook, you target their age, income, interests, friends, etc and with the facebook pixel you can finely tune your ads so that they show to people more likely to buy your specific products. I'm not saying ads on Social Platforms aren't complete bollox either but they are vastly more tangible (and affordable) than TV advertising.
I must be the only person who’s never watched a Mr Beast video. I haven’t been actively avoiding him, but he just hasn’t been recommended and none of the channels i watch regularly ever talk about his videos.
Really fascinating, I think the idea about the current govenrment only caring about news content is a really important. I think that's true in a lot of sectors, where they have been laser focused on one or two (relatively unimportant) issues and then leave really simple, good, uncontroversial ideas on the side of the road.
Speaking as an older parent surely the elephant in the room is that C4’s youth audience do not watch tv through choice. They watch output on social media. You say C5 knows its audience. Perhaps C4 needs to laser in on a new ( or slightly older one).
Yes exactly, 15 years ago Channel 4's demo might've been YA. But today it's still those same people who are now in their mid to late 30's who still tune in to the same episodes of Big bang theory as they saw 10 years ago, because it's comfortable. I honestly don't think another inbetweeners or peep show would bring younger eyes to the channel, why would they want to regress to watching adverts again. Ad blocker and youtube is all the current generation need.
Increasingly I find commercial television unwatchable mainly due to the basic format. If I see an interesting topic on RUclips, it's usually condensed into a ~20-minute video. On TV, that same content is padded out to an hour, intercut with various other topics to keep you watching through the 15 minutes of advert breaks.
They're all muscling into the online space now and pushing out the small creator because nobody (With a brain) is watching the absolute garbage & lies that the mainstream TV stations pump out
They stopped making great shows and went all in on Big Brother reality TV crap. Bring back what the had in the 90s.They had great evenings with themed movie nights, Godzilla one week, Bollywood the next. Vidz, Bitz, The Word, edgy comedy shows, a lot of stuff. Nowadays its terrible gogglebox and housing shows that should be on the daytime schedules.
Just so you know, Big Brother hasn’t been on Channel 4 for at least 15 years it went to Channel 5, they got rid of it. ITV took that over so that’s not gone back to ITV and Channel 4 actually makes a profit. Everybody is being misled by retarded governments, trying to privatise everything, so they can get a piece of that pie. I do also think Channel 4 makes terrible content, but that’s not really the point they are making
@@totallybored5526 Precisely, remember things like : The Snowman, films from people like Peter Greenaway and Derek Jarman, the televised stage adaptation of Nicholas Nickleberry, Porterhouse Blues, Drop the Dead Donkey, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, After Dark, Secret History, Equinox, etc? Those were Channel 4 doing the innovative stuff - I can't remember the last time it did anything like that in recent times.
Yeah, ITV is mostly pretty weak. But it does excellent docu-dramas. What does Channel 4 even do now? Except for the news and the occasional panel show.
Completely agree, it was cutting edge and controversial back in the day. The biggest harm was the updates to the c4 on demand app which doesn't work properly on a vast number of devices. As a result I've ended up watching much less c4 shows because of this.
No, that’s that idiot, Conservative Nadeem Dorris or what other her name is I’ve deliberately spelt it wrong because she does not deserve her name typed out properly when she tried to justify to the public why it should be sold because it is not financially stable, even though they benefited the British taxpayer, £84 million per year
I'm 51 in Ireland and haven't watched TV in nearly 12 years. Currently a major scandal involving state tv, RTE, the licence fee, corrupt use of funds and waste is ongoing. There has been a significantly sharp drop off in those purchasing licences. This combined with the huge fall off in advertisement revenue calls into question the sustainability of regular tv stations, public service broadcasting and any licencing model they may introduce. Middle aged and younger people are seeing less value in regular tv and moving online which is much more flexible and you are guranteed to find content that interests you.
I came to the comments section to say the exact same thing. Channel 4 - the clue is in the name. Its competition when its remit was created was three other channels. Adapt or die - the problem is that the 15% layoffs will come from the production staff instead of senior management.
Funny that Richard worked for Endemol because I blame Big Brother as starting the slide into programmes broadcasting absolutely nothing interesting happening for hours.
The problem with Channel 4 is that was known for things like Banned Week, w@nk week, live autopsies, and Brookside, now it’s known for the safety of middle class Baking.
As someone who is quite firmly in the Channel 4 demographic this is all pretty depressing. Modern RUclips is crap (used to be good), ITV is crap, Channel 5 is diabolical. Guess I'm at odds with the world.
@svnvijil Dude, it's NOTHING like it was 5 years ago, it's been sanitized by the advertisers & money men now, very watered down, trying to appeal to a mainstream audience, that's not how it started out, in 5 years time it'll be dead, watch this space
The undeniable reality that's hard to ignore is the shift away from traditional television viewing. Personally, I find myself consistently disappointed by TV shows nowadays, gravitating instead towards more extended, unedited forms of content. This shift intrigues me because it fosters a more natural, uncondensed dialogue. Specifically, television programs, particularly on channels like Channel Four, offer roughly 40 minutes of actual content padded out with 20 minutes of commercials within an hour, and the quality of these advertisements is particularly poor. Reflecting on my millennial upbringing, there was a time when we all watched the same shows and discussed them the next day at school. It felt very formulaic. I appreciate that society is evolving beyond this type of 'programming' to seek out content that truly resonates with us, rather than being forced to consume simplified, uninspiring content that lacks depth or sparks meaningful conversation. When you compare today's television offerings to those from 50 or 60 years ago, it's apparent there's been a decline in the richness of conversation, standards, and quality of content, which often now carries a political bias or an underlying agenda.
Yes but it is more often than not the government's fault. Who was it that deregulated commercial TV in 1991 and started the ball rolling in the first place?
The public service remit is imposed on C4 by the government. I think C4 do great news as a result of it... but it does contrain them. Maybe they do need a bit of support in some form as a result?
Tbh the output at Channel 4 is pretty poor these days, they do have the odd standout drama but most of their output is mediocre, relying on the same old shows that are 15+ years old. I can't remember the last time I checked to see what was on.
For the most part, Channel 4 appealed to a mostly younger audience than its contemporaries. I imagine that is the main demographic that would have watch the likes of Mr beast or other similar online content. It's very hard to compete. The player app has improved a lot over the past couple of years, but is still way behind most of the others, which would swing some people. Your points about Channel 4 form leave being a place known for making edgier material, taking risks and being a place where people break out (for lack of a better term) is interesting. Nowadays, all of that is happening online, which is more that Channel 4 has to compete against.
There seems to be a link between young people Watching youtube and channel 4 struggling. Even some longer content on RUclips such as Colin Furze, Slo mo guys, or Simon a bloke in the woods seems like it would find a home on channel 4.
Bring back After Dark. It was an open ended relaxed live late-night discussion that had no fixed finishing time. Celebrities would sit on settees in a dimmed studio and discuss all sorts of weird and sometimes philosophical topics. I also liked 'In The Psychiatrists Chair' with Antony Clare. I'm not sure whether that was on Channel 4 though. Anyway, quirky programmes like that would make me happy although I don't think it would have a major effect on viewing figures!
TV as a medium is dead, it just hasn’t realised yet, streaming is the new TV, just as email killed the fax machine. Young people don’t watch TV, older people don’t want the kind of programming that TV stations are putting out, advertisers want an audience and they know that TV, in comparison to online ads is tiny and expensive. The license fee is also a factor, with many people not choosing to pay for it and watch TV anymore, it is antiquated and irrelevant nowadays.
Channel Four is in trouble because they make too much niche content that doesn't appeal to a wider audience, which is why their advertising revenue is down.
It has content that is not in line with most of the populations morality. The general public is no where near as interested in those topics as the executives of the TV channels assume. It has now got to the point where they have to disguise the content in the first episode to get people hooked before they start to unpack it. We are now in an era where a shows finishing audience is a fraction of the starting audience.
One point not mentioned in the Channel 4 discussion is that there cannot, legally, be such a thing as Channel 4 Studios- they started a boom in independent studios specifically because they *had to* buy in all their content. They now face a double-whammy; not only is all the advertising revenue going online where it can be targeted at individual viewers (hence C4's drive to promote their streaming service), competition among global streamers has massively increased demand for production facilities and skills, raising prices to insane levels. ITV does have its own production business, and for years has been buying independent companies all over the world, so ITV Studios are raking in the benefits of the increased demand, neatly compensating for the advertising drain. PS: ITV and Channel 5 actually do have public service obligations, which is why, for example, ITV still does local news bulletins, and Channel 5 still shows children's programmes at breakfast time.
The TV licence and endless ads help push people away from boring programming.. .. whereas YT has great content for free.. ..ie Mr Beast, Colin Furze, The Petherics, science programming.. .. anything and everything, and mostly done in high quality video with great editing and production
This is a great episode. Would be great for you to do an episode about all the arts etc that are covered by the TV license as most people think they are getting nothing for it.
Exactly, me too. I also get annoyed at having to pay license, should have tiers - do you listen to bbc radio (£30 pa), do you access iPlayer streaming (£5 pm) etc
Why are they not producing/commissioning great shows like Father Ted, the IT crowd, the Word anymore… im sure those kinds of shows are out there somewhere. They have aired some good programs but they’re very far and few between unfortunately!!
The first two you mention were written or written/directed by a person who is persona non grata with the left and would never be allowed on Ch4 now. The range of opinions allowed on Ch4 these days would exclude a significant number of talented people. The third programme finished in 1995, 28 years ago... Channel 4 deserves to fail.
My 8yo doesn't watch linear TV and doesn't have much interest in the pay TV streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon or even Disney+. But he knows all about the top RUclipsrs. I'm a TV professional and this was a great watch, I'll be subscribing!
Perhaps Channel 4 could go back to one channel, pool funding into the quality programmes it was known for in the 1990s and rely less on talking TV and nude trashy dating shows. For a channel that once gave us the Crystal Maze, Whose Line is It Anyway, and the ground breaking early years of Brookside as well as the finest of American imports, Frasier , ER etc, it would be sad to see them go. But it can't carry on the way is It currently is. A change of government and a change in controller is definitely in order
This is the podcast I didn’t know I needed till I found it. Two people with great media knowledge as well as insight I haven’t heard anywhere else. Channel 4 means a lot to me, I’m old enough to remember the days of three channels only and still remember the day Channel 4 launched, waiting in front of the TV for it to emerge on the screen. Some of the early stuff they showed had such an impact on me; the Derek Jarman film season, the first proper gay film programming, the European arthouse cinema. It definitely filled a gap the other channels weren’t reaching. Sad to hear of the channel’s decline and hope they can turn things around.
I am 54, and I feel a certain tingling of excitement these days when I am watching actual TV. I gave up years ago and am just on streaming platforms and places like RUclips. Why would I watch dumbed-down shows like Bakeoff (sorry! I know it has a big following), which is about 1000 copuycat programmes, when I can have something a lot more fresh, instant, to the point and authenitic stuff on RUclips! It has moved away from navelgazing spotty youths a long time ago and I can find anything I am interested now there. from following content creaters on sialing ships, to interesting political discussions, to topics that dont even exist in broadcast media, like in depth discussions on the Steely Dan album Aja was made with the actual people who actually made it. Traditional broadcasting is dead in the water and like someone said further down int he comments - it just has been forgotten to bury it.
@nikcrosina. I remember running home from school to watch Channel 4 start, being similar age to you. Even back then I felt the programmes for teenagers were aimed at late twenties who had not grown up. A couple of years earlier, my geography teacher was Adrian Edmondson's dad and it seemed that the programming was for Adrian's age group, not mine, or missed the point by talking down to the kids. I always wondered what became of the show "Little Armadillos"?
@@fanfeck2844 A good portion of the few RUclips channels I subscribe to have given up or are leaving, because they say "RUclips wants them just to do shorts" and they are "not getting the money they would have under amended rules". The more documentary type channel say they can "no longer show anything interesting without crossing guidelines". Some just stopped posting. All say they feel RUclips "wants to be TikTok" and they are "looking to move platforms" or "I had to put the full video on Patreon" though others "do not like some of the content" on that. The general feeling seems to be "RUclips is moving in the wrong direction for the audience". Note, I am just repeating what I heard.
Television is a simple model. Make programmes people want to watch and then sell the advertising. Why do so few "television executives" understand this concept?
Chanell 4 has lived of the backs of working class people and those who struggle as well as indulging narsasism in the form of big brother, all so the middle-upper class watch on for the joy of it - let it burn the future is online and if they wanted loyal followers they should have produced good programmes and a news room that isn't bought and paid for
Ch4 has been a heavy hitter in the past, some of it's dramas were incredibly serious and top tier...however they decided years ago that they were going down the cheap 'reality tv' route and now they reap what they sow...also they have massively over estimated the country's hunger for far left programming, they are only appealing to 16-21 yo's and unfortunately that demographic is far more interested in the Internet
Channel 4 has become a channel that is championing DEI and it is paying the price. It is outdated in its outlook and more concerned with being trendy at the expense of the truth. Very London and very left wing. Guardian readers love it ie the bigoted left. I’m glad to see it go!
And I’d be really interested to know if she is talking more than Richard… language research has demonstrated that women are routinely judged as talking significantly more than men when they talk the same amount or less…
Not sure why Mr Beast going on telly is seen as a switch to mainstream? It’s the hubris of established broadcasting to think in those terms. Unless his TV show has the Impact of 2010’s era Top Gear or Strictly… he’s going to have five times more viewers on his own YT channel than he’ll ever get on TV.
@@patsissons4025 why is he going to tv? i would guess because he will get a lot of money upfront and knows it will fail and be cancelled very fast, then he can go back to a much much bigger audience.
@@jaimefernandez2624 Oh yeah it's for the money ofc. But I still question the term "mainstream" It's so pre 2008. Mainstream has more money only because of the corporate and emotional friction caused by advertisers and producers leaving them
TV is dying, my mum watches tv, I occasionally watch it, the kids don't watch it at all. BBC needs to move to stream only and scrap the stupid licence fee.
On Channel 4, worth also calling out It's a Sin and Derry Girls as some fairly recent hits - particularly It's a Sin cut through. Really interesting podcast as ever!
Would agree with It's A Sin although Derry Girls is a few years old now. I haven't watched tv for years but when i first heard of Derry Girls i thought it was on streaming. It now is. So that's not making me watch it on channel 4.
its a far cry from the 90s when they had Friends, Frasier, Father Ted, Space, graham norton etc etc that dominated friday night especially before digital, now its mostly unscripted lower production shows
@@cgdimension - but Friends and Frasier were bought in from the US at great expense (so not their shows), Spaced (I presume you meant) had 14 episodes *EVER* so was hardly a big show (it had very low ratings). Graham Norton's show was hardly a rating behemoth (it was very odd and edgy - much less tame than his BBC show); and again, Father Ted only ever had 24 episodes (and stopped airing before either Spaced or Graham Norton existed). So at best, you had 2 months of the year with the 2 big hit US shows and Father Ted on one night. Channel 4 have *continued* doing this - it's just their two big US smash hits are "smaller" than Frasier and Friends - and with the proliferation of other channels, they use E4 to put all the shows on so there is no need to watch it on one night. The Big Bang Theory & How I Met your mother for instance - the equivalent (in terms of pull) of Frasier/Friends, have 2-3 hours daily broadcast on e4, and the whole series available to stream online. The Last Leg is today's equivalent (but better) of the Graham Norton show; Derry Girls is bloody great and can easily be compared to Spaced/Father Ted in terms of small number of episodes (19) but with a great cultural impact and export; then you've got things like 8 out of cats (+ does countdown) and Friday Night Dinner. I think you are massively over-rating the 90s era of Channel 4. I'd say the mid 2000s era was way better (think Black Books, The IT Crowd, Green Wing) - the issue isn't as much nowadays Channel 4 isn't producing as much good comedy as the *UK* isn't - the best comedy on the iPlayer is Australian (Colin from Accounts); couple that with the best of the American stuff, even if it does make it's way over here, tends to be on a streaming platforms - think the Good Place, which is available on C4, but the whole show has been on netflix for years (so why would you wait for it to come out over on linear television). Other than Derry Girls, the last truly good British comedy was fleabag, which ran for only 2 seasons in 2016 and 2019.
Going for a youth audience in a rapidly aging population presents three problems. One. Every channel going for the youth audience 16 to 39 age group. All fighting for the same slice of the pie. Two. We have an aging population. So that age group is shrinking. Three. That age group is the one most likely to consume online and streaming content rather than traditional TV. There is a 4th issue. That age group also has the lowest level of disposable income. So for advertisers marketing that demographic via TV makes little or no sense at a cost point that would make creating good programming to support those advertising spots viable.
The first season of Westworld was great. The second season wasn't as good as the first but was still fairly okay. In the latter seasons, the show totally jumped the shark. The overall story and the production qualities went down greatly as did the overall viewership and interest. It was a pretty expensive show for hbo to make, I'm not surprised that they got out quickly.
First season was great, second season was awful. Didn’t watch anymore but was stunned it was still being made by season 4. Should have been a limited series.
I think a lot of people was disapointed when they changed the setting in season 3 and left the park. People fell in love with the gunslinger-robot show, but then it became a futuristic dystopian show. It could probably have been very successful if it stuck with the formula of a robot western show with tits and gore for many many seasons. But I loved all of it. the futurism, the non linear story telling, the constant ambiguity about who was robots and who wasn't. In the end it didn't matter, and that was the whole point. I'm very fond of the old movie from 1973, the one with Yul Brynner as wild west proto Terminator. The 1973 movie had a sequel, Futureworld, from 1976, about a secret plot to replace important leaders with androids. The TV show followed exactly in those footsteps. I would have loved to see how it would be tied up in the planned final season. God, I would have loved a little more time with Dolores. Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world the disarray. I choose to see the beauty.
bake off and pottery throw down too. channel 4 programmes always seem to have so much heart and just feel cosy and wholesome. i really hope they can ride this out
Taskmaster should of stayed on Dave. I watched it when it was on Dave, when it moved to C4 I stopped watching. Not out of protest or hate for C4, I simply didn't watch C4 anymore.
Channel 4's survival shouldn't be dependent on which government is in power in the UK... are they a party political broadcaster? (not even a state broadcaster) they are broken if this is true and they should be shut down.
Though it's utterly absurd to me that the US has a tax system which actively rewards people for destroying expensive works of art rather than allowing them to be seen by the public.
Bell Media in Canada just had a similar bloodbath including deep cuts into its CTV news service. Britains unusual licensing system makes it different but share the same underlying cause: the internet. The UK could make some policy changes to broaden its market beyond its borders by fixing its strange way shows use copyright soundtracks and the loss of the licensing and co-production framework it had under the European Union.
"Channel 4 needs a successful quiz show, it doesn't have anything like the BBC or ITV" Here's a quiz question for Richard: what was the first programme broadcast on Channel 4, remains its longest-running show, and would be recognised instantly by a substantial chunk of the British population with a phrase as simple as "consonant please" or "teatime teaser"?
Channel 4 has been in decline for nearly 30 years. The turning point was in the mid-1990s when, having broadcast the superb "Tales of the City", suddenly they didn't want to fund a second series.
This is what happens when people are watching , i.e channel 4, itv , ect, ect & bbc getting all the money , for channels that don't belong to them , it's criminal
Interesting conversation. Err, having not had a TV for 10 + years, I’ve just spent 3 months looking after my beautifully dear old mum. She’s of the generation, buying the TV times on Tuesday, then ringing the programs is compulsory. My observation is the majority of programming is made for the female viewer. Female news readers, weather forecasters, dramas like Call the Midwife, soaps, programs about mass murders. Chuckle, Chuckle, my sister & mum love this type of content. Mmm, Men under 50 don’t seem to watch TV, the legacy media. Evenings at my sister & brother, (both late 50’s married for over 30 years). My brother & brother in law slip off to surf youtube, (news, sport, hobbies), whilst the my sister & sister in law sit down to watch TV. All my love, love, love to you both. Xx
I remember someone saying something similar about the Daily Mail a while back and now I can't unsee it. There's always some kind of 'fashion' strapline just underneath the title which is usually as big as the title if not more so, and there's usually a picture of a female Royal (or other female celebrity) in the bottom righ-hand corner as well (which is usually pointing out there good/bad fashion choice).
Old school media is so behind the times. Mr Beast is huge, but he has been for years. Most modern discourse is about how he has ruined the platform. His success has led to a drastic change in how creators make content and it’s not for the better. This is almost like he’s the big new thing and not the god of the platform.
Yes, the independent solo production youtube creator is now the bane for google. Google purposly wants bigger more professional, even mainstream production/content creators. RUclips see the market of bigger creators to attract advertising with none of the restrictions that mainstream advertising has.
My problem with Channel 4 is that if I stream half of Taskmaster one day, I can't pick up where I left off and I have to go through all the ad breaks again. Not sure if it is just my setup but it has basically stopped me ever watching the channel
Moving to a steaming only model I feel is where the industry is heading anyway. Services like Sky Glass where your entire television platform is streamed is the direction UK television will be going. And like Channel 4 are turning their app into their overall brand, it's evident that ITVX is the same model for ITV and iPlayer will become the same for the BBC. It's a difficult transition phase, and eventually the plan held by all UK broadcasters (Freely) will consolidate all of this in order to take on Netflix, Disney+, Prime, etc.
I used to watch the last leg but I have noticed that it has not been the same since it was of air last summer and they shut down thier twitter account. And the hills ep where he had had covid and in studio was a TV shaped head looked wrong. The days of the last leg are coming to an end. I loved the chaos era of the brexit stuff. Stavros boris, Rosie Jones and the paralympic chaos. It's all gone a bit flat these days. Oh and miriam saying whatever she wanted. Hills rants. It was fun while it lasted.
I was hoping to ask Richard and Marina a question if possible. My question is directed at the fascination that I feel Richard has with the miner's strike as stated in this episode. I have a program/documentary idea that is based on the year of the strike and is an unknown true story.
I am 50 and anyone younger than I am is basically spending far more time online watching RUclips or other streaming sources and the drag of programmed content is the last thing they want. Even I don't watch broadcast tv any more. A lot of this is also that the content feels stale, likely because the broadcast channels have had to target older viewers who watch out of habit to keep some viewership and so the content reflects this in a bad way.
@@voulafisentzidis8830 okay, I see your point. I'd argue that it's important to take a look still, though, because as much as the format of a show matters, the execution is key. If you have a shit host, in my view, no matter the format, it'll be shit. If you have Jimmy Carr on the other hand, even the shittiest format will be made a lot more watchable by him hosting. This is to say, maybe you shouldn't simply research what the format is and what the reviews were and simply watch a show or two and get your own experience of it. I've watched things that were deemed unwatchable by reviews and absolutely loved them, and viceversa. Unless your research already includes watching a bit of these shows, , in which case I'd say you've already given it a go and simply didn't like it, I'd argue in favor of a change in research method, if you will
@@nahuelma97 I'm a fan of British programming, less so of American. I don't always follow reviewers as, after all, it's just their opinions. I try to be open-minded but can tell instantly whether something's been made to a formula, which I dislike.
@@voulafisentzidis8830 American comedy is bland compared to British comedy, so I completely agree. Some British formats that I thoroughly enjoy have been made in the US and have completely sucked, so I 100% agree. I'm curious about what you mean when you say that some things have "been made to a formula". All TV programs follow a format, so I'm not sure if you're referring to that or something else entirely. Could you clarify?
Guys I’m sure you’ve been asked countless times already but I really do think it would be great for a focussed discussion on the current state of the unscripted industry. I’ve only just discovered this podcast (it’s great) and so I’m sorry if I’ve missed it but just from a quick perusal of the clips/episodes on the channel I can’t see that this has been done in any great detail. I appreciate that the wider public might not immediately engage with the industry’s troubles however ultimately they will see the ramifications down the line.
I love Richard and had no idea he did this until he put “mrbeast” in his thumbnail and the algorithm says “this is for you”
Taskmaster one is what got me, this podcast is great, but the algorithm is strong
Same.
Who under 35 is watching TV and willing to sit through multiple/non-skippable ads? Writing as a 48 year old bloke.
Morons & sheep I think dude ha ha
I'm also 48 and haven't tolerated sitting through multiple/non-skippable ads for years. The only thing on traditional TV stations I watch is sport. Everything else is on RUclips or a streaming platform.
The vast majority of people. Internet based streaming is cool but it does not compare to live tv that runs and all you have to do is sit there and switch it on. Nothing worse than a live stream freezing in the middle of a football match.
34. I don't watch TV. I watch RUclips and some shows on Netflix/Prime.
@@fvefve12Record stuff and watch it later to skip ads
It's rare that you hear something truly new, but "Gilded Age Clicks" is an amazing phrase
Don't forget those Medici Renaissance Clicks, too.
If anyone is reading this, I don't like the fact that we're constantly switching back and forth between shots of Marina and shots of Richard. In the old studio we could see you both at once.
I got motion sickness
I don't mind.. A 3rd wide camera would assist.
Camera shots have me clicking out after 35 seconds. I’m done
I just wasn't a fan of the weird lighting shadows on Marina. Whatever -- the conversation was great as usual.
Sky Sports have involved a lot of RUclipsrs in their football coverage in the past few years. And it’s dreadful. It just doesn’t translate to a professional TV show.
talk sport are moving that way too and it doesn't work
And on sky F1 too
Agree entirely. It's become a turn off channel for me. Some of the pundits they have on TV as well are awful, where you have good people usually on the EFL coverage, those that appear on the EPL are just unlistenable.
@@readingfcdecthe difference is Talksport genuinely couldn't get any worse. You can't tell me Mark Goldbridge is any more worse to listen to than Jamie O'Hara or Andy Goldstein.
If you're 15 or 16 it probably does
I was chatting to an old advertising exec friend of mine a year or so ago - someone with very long teeth. He said that of course certain advertisers and agencies will go off linear broadcasting because they can get away with playing with the truth of their products in certain types of online ads in a way that you can't on broadcast media. For instance, they can book an ad on Facebook and it will simply pass through and "air", then only get pulled up for inaccuracies if someone complains. Whereas on broadcast media, you have to clear first. So, it is only partly because of following the audience, it is about how they can message too. A bit dodgy, really.
It's how they can track the data too. TV viewing figures are total works of fiction. Only 5,000 house in the UK supply the viewing data that makes up the BARB rating system, which means if 200 people watch the show, it gets reported as 1 million people. Frankly, it's the biggest scam ever invented.
With social media advertising, you can see how many people came from Facebook, you target their age, income, interests, friends, etc and with the facebook pixel you can finely tune your ads so that they show to people more likely to buy your specific products. I'm not saying ads on Social Platforms aren't complete bollox either but they are vastly more tangible (and affordable) than TV advertising.
Mainstream media in general is in trouble because its shite with crap shows and people are going elsewhere to get entertainment.
Agreed, bonny lad 🙄
I must be the only person who’s never watched a Mr Beast video. I haven’t been actively avoiding him, but he just hasn’t been recommended and none of the channels i watch regularly ever talk about his videos.
ruclips.net/video/_FX6rml2Yjs/видео.html
that pretty much got him famous.
I never watched a Mr Beast video, though I have watched and had comments replied to by Mr Beat.
they are aimed at children that's why
He's absolute crap.
@@AbiSaysThingsI’ve never watched him, but he’s obviously not crap
Was not expecting the Jet Lag Game show Shutout. Congrats on being super connected with RUclips culture in 2024
Waiting for the comparison between Nebula and Netflix
22:32 @jetlagthegame
Tom Scott has also helped develop a number of quiz and panel-show formats clearly inspired by British TV, but on an indie RUclips budget.
@@andybrice2711 Well said, have some mystery biscuits :D
Fascinating discussion about channel 4. I could listen to Richard talking about telly for hours.
Really fascinating, I think the idea about the current govenrment only caring about news content is a really important. I think that's true in a lot of sectors, where they have been laser focused on one or two (relatively unimportant) issues and then leave really simple, good, uncontroversial ideas on the side of the road.
Really enjoyed this, Ive also subbed on Google Podcasts.
I could listen to Richard, talk about anything for hours and end even how recycling works LOL
Speaking as an older parent surely the elephant in the room is that C4’s youth audience do not watch tv through choice. They watch output on social media. You say C5 knows its audience. Perhaps C4 needs to laser in on a new ( or slightly older one).
Yes exactly, 15 years ago Channel 4's demo might've been YA. But today it's still those same people who are now in their mid to late 30's who still tune in to the same episodes of Big bang theory as they saw 10 years ago, because it's comfortable. I honestly don't think another inbetweeners or peep show would bring younger eyes to the channel, why would they want to regress to watching adverts again. Ad blocker and youtube is all the current generation need.
Increasingly I find commercial television unwatchable mainly due to the basic format.
If I see an interesting topic on RUclips, it's usually condensed into a ~20-minute video. On TV, that same content is padded out to an hour, intercut with various other topics to keep you watching through the 15 minutes of advert breaks.
@@andybrice2711I started watching RUclips on x2 setting. Most programs just end up the same word speed as Brett Cooper on normal setting.
@@Simon-ku7ky you're forgetting netflix and disney plus
They're all muscling into the online space now and pushing out the small creator because nobody (With a brain) is watching the absolute garbage & lies that the mainstream TV stations pump out
This was a very good video. Really enjoyed hearing the business side of entertainment in the UK.😊
I love the behind the screens chat about the industry. love this show.
chanel 4 been dead for years....someone just forgot to bury it
Wondered what that smell was
Channel 4s a fantastic broadcaster.
Channel 4 does some great stuff. Their news programmes is probably the best on TV.
They got captured by the radical left identity politics obsessed clowns.
Such as ?????@@craigfoulkes
If you pander to everyone, you cater for no one.
They stopped making great shows and went all in on Big Brother reality TV crap. Bring back what the had in the 90s.They had great evenings with themed movie nights, Godzilla one week, Bollywood the next. Vidz, Bitz, The Word, edgy comedy shows, a lot of stuff. Nowadays its terrible gogglebox and housing shows that should be on the daytime schedules.
Just so you know, Big Brother hasn’t been on Channel 4 for at least 15 years it went to Channel 5, they got rid of it. ITV took that over so that’s not gone back to ITV and Channel 4 actually makes a profit. Everybody is being misled by retarded governments, trying to privatise everything, so they can get a piece of that pie. I do also think Channel 4 makes terrible content, but that’s not really the point they are making
Godzilla movie straight after Vic Reeves Big night Out! Great telly.
Channel 4 did it to itself. They stopped being an innovative broadcaster a long time ago.
It went from dealing with “controversial” and taboo busting shows to middle class people in a tent baking.
@@totallybored5526 Precisely, remember things like : The Snowman, films from people like Peter Greenaway and Derek Jarman, the televised stage adaptation of Nicholas Nickleberry, Porterhouse Blues, Drop the Dead Donkey, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, After Dark, Secret History, Equinox, etc? Those were Channel 4 doing the innovative stuff - I can't remember the last time it did anything like that in recent times.
Yeah, ITV is mostly pretty weak. But it does excellent docu-dramas. What does Channel 4 even do now? Except for the news and the occasional panel show.
Completely agree, it was cutting edge and controversial back in the day. The biggest harm was the updates to the c4 on demand app which doesn't work properly on a vast number of devices. As a result I've ended up watching much less c4 shows because of this.
No, that’s that idiot, Conservative Nadeem Dorris or what other her name is I’ve deliberately spelt it wrong because she does not deserve her name typed out properly when she tried to justify to the public why it should be sold because it is not financially stable, even though they benefited the British taxpayer, £84 million per year
I'm 51 in Ireland and haven't watched TV in nearly 12 years. Currently a major scandal involving state tv, RTE, the licence fee, corrupt use of funds and waste is ongoing. There has been a significantly sharp drop off in those purchasing licences. This combined with the huge fall off in advertisement revenue calls into question the sustainability of regular tv stations, public service broadcasting and any licencing model they may introduce. Middle aged and younger people are seeing less value in regular tv and moving online which is much more flexible and you are guranteed to find content that interests you.
Channel 4 made barely any attempt to change since 1997 when Netflix incorporated its a bit like blockbuster failing to change
I came to the comments section to say the exact same thing. Channel 4 - the clue is in the name. Its competition when its remit was created was three other channels. Adapt or die - the problem is that the 15% layoffs will come from the production staff instead of senior management.
They remind me of the Southern TV ITV franchise circa 1981.
Funny that Richard worked for Endemol because I blame Big Brother as starting the slide into programmes broadcasting absolutely nothing interesting happening for hours.
Endermol sounds like an over the counter constipation medicine.
The problem with Channel 4 is that was known for things like Banned Week, w@nk week, live autopsies, and Brookside, now it’s known for the safety of middle class Baking.
I am so happy to have found this podcast. You're both brilliant 😊
As someone who is quite firmly in the Channel 4 demographic this is all pretty depressing. Modern RUclips is crap (used to be good), ITV is crap, Channel 5 is diabolical. Guess I'm at odds with the world.
@svnvijil to find the good ones.
@svnvijil Dude, it's NOTHING like it was 5 years ago, it's been sanitized by the advertisers & money men now, very watered down, trying to appeal to a mainstream audience, that's not how it started out, in 5 years time it'll be dead, watch this space
I probably haven't watched C4 since the Jordan Peterson vs. Cathy Newman interview.
I remember that. What a silly own-goal for C4 and Cathy Newman.
This was a fascinating listen about Channel 4
I remember seeing a trailer for "Shafted" with Kilroy Silk! Looked absolutely chronic 😂
The undeniable reality that's hard to ignore is the shift away from traditional television viewing. Personally, I find myself consistently disappointed by TV shows nowadays, gravitating instead towards more extended, unedited forms of content. This shift intrigues me because it fosters a more natural, uncondensed dialogue. Specifically, television programs, particularly on channels like Channel Four, offer roughly 40 minutes of actual content padded out with 20 minutes of commercials within an hour, and the quality of these advertisements is particularly poor. Reflecting on my millennial upbringing, there was a time when we all watched the same shows and discussed them the next day at school. It felt very formulaic. I appreciate that society is evolving beyond this type of 'programming' to seek out content that truly resonates with us, rather than being forced to consume simplified, uninspiring content that lacks depth or sparks meaningful conversation. When you compare today's television offerings to those from 50 or 60 years ago, it's apparent there's been a decline in the richness of conversation, standards, and quality of content, which often now carries a political bias or an underlying agenda.
Cathy Newman and her Jordan Peterson interview was probably a key moment
Nevermind Channel 4. Who gives a fook about the BBC. You're all sacked.
Blaming the government for everything 😅 the commercial landscape has changed and C4 hasn't.
Yes but it is more often than not the government's fault. Who was it that deregulated commercial TV in 1991 and started the ball rolling in the first place?
The public service remit is imposed on C4 by the government. I think C4 do great news as a result of it... but it does contrain them. Maybe they do need a bit of support in some form as a result?
Channel 4 needs new leadership ASAP.
Tbh the output at Channel 4 is pretty poor these days, they do have the odd standout drama but most of their output is mediocre, relying on the same old shows that are 15+ years old.
I can't remember the last time I checked to see what was on.
all UK television is pretty poor tbh. i was really surprised marina said the entertainment industry is one of the last things the UK does well.
I dunno they're very creative,9 out of cats does countdown is fantastic.
@@Nick-fg4dq quiz coms and game shows are meh, its entertaining but nothing groundbreaking.
@@Nick-fg4dq Channel 4 doesn't make programmes - they just commission them from production companies.
@@paulburton9386 OK commissions them,but it's a collaborative effort and they're ch4 shows.
For the most part, Channel 4 appealed to a mostly younger audience than its contemporaries. I imagine that is the main demographic that would have watch the likes of Mr beast or other similar online content. It's very hard to compete.
The player app has improved a lot over the past couple of years, but is still way behind most of the others, which would swing some people.
Your points about Channel 4 form leave being a place known for making edgier material, taking risks and being a place where people break out (for lack of a better term) is interesting. Nowadays, all of that is happening online, which is more that Channel 4 has to compete against.
The app is still too clunky
There seems to be a link between young people
Watching youtube and channel 4 struggling. Even some longer content on RUclips such as Colin Furze, Slo mo guys, or Simon a bloke in the woods seems like it would find a home on channel 4.
Bring back After Dark. It was an open ended relaxed live late-night discussion that had no fixed finishing time. Celebrities would sit on settees in a dimmed studio and discuss all sorts of weird and sometimes philosophical topics. I also liked 'In The Psychiatrists Chair' with Antony Clare. I'm not sure whether that was on Channel 4 though. Anyway, quirky programmes like that would make me happy although I don't think it would have a major effect on viewing figures!
I hadn't heard of this podcast before.
It's good.
Subscribed!
TV as a medium is dead, it just hasn’t realised yet, streaming is the new TV, just as email killed the fax machine. Young people don’t watch TV, older people don’t want the kind of programming that TV stations are putting out, advertisers want an audience and they know that TV, in comparison to online ads is tiny and expensive. The license fee is also a factor, with many people not choosing to pay for it and watch TV anymore, it is antiquated and irrelevant nowadays.
Brilliant. My new favourite RUclips channel!
Channel Four is in trouble because they make too much niche content that doesn't appeal to a wider audience, which is why their advertising revenue is down.
It has content that is not in line with most of the populations morality. The general public is no where near as interested in those topics as the executives of the TV channels assume. It has now got to the point where they have to disguise the content in the first episode to get people hooked before they start to unpack it. We are now in an era where a shows finishing audience is a fraction of the starting audience.
One point not mentioned in the Channel 4 discussion is that there cannot, legally, be such a thing as Channel 4 Studios- they started a boom in independent studios specifically because they *had to* buy in all their content. They now face a double-whammy; not only is all the advertising revenue going online where it can be targeted at individual viewers (hence C4's drive to promote their streaming service), competition among global streamers has massively increased demand for production facilities and skills, raising prices to insane levels. ITV does have its own production business, and for years has been buying independent companies all over the world, so ITV Studios are raking in the benefits of the increased demand, neatly compensating for the advertising drain.
PS: ITV and Channel 5 actually do have public service obligations, which is why, for example, ITV still does local news bulletins, and Channel 5 still shows children's programmes at breakfast time.
Last year's Media Bill will remove this restriction, allowing Channel 4 to make its own content
@@epicmade-zo3fc And it's just passed its Third Reading in the Commons, so things may actually start to happen!
22.37....
Nobody noticed ha
Spouting hahahaha
And this is exactly what would happen to the BBC if people weren't forced to pay the licence fee.
It looks like the British population have the same opinion on channel 4 as the Tory government. Its aload of rubbish.
yet they dont get rid of it
Depends which bit. It's also been the only credible news outlet for the last decade+
The TV licence and endless ads help push people away from boring programming.. .. whereas YT has great content for free.. ..ie Mr Beast, Colin Furze, The Petherics, science programming.. .. anything and everything, and mostly done in high quality video with great editing and production
Loved this thank you really absorbing - subbed on Google Podcasts as well. ❤
This is a great episode. Would be great for you to do an episode about all the arts etc that are covered by the TV license as most people think they are getting nothing for it.
In my opinion; C4s last big hit was It’s A Sin released in 2021.
Exactly, me too. I also get annoyed at having to pay license, should have tiers - do you listen to bbc radio (£30 pa), do you access iPlayer streaming (£5 pm) etc
Why are they not producing/commissioning great shows like Father Ted, the IT crowd, the Word anymore… im sure those kinds of shows are out there somewhere. They have aired some good programs but they’re very far and few between unfortunately!!
The first two you mention were written or written/directed by a person who is persona non grata with the left and would never be allowed on Ch4 now. The range of opinions allowed on Ch4 these days would exclude a significant number of talented people. The third programme finished in 1995, 28 years ago... Channel 4 deserves to fail.
My 8yo doesn't watch linear TV and doesn't have much interest in the pay TV streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon or even Disney+. But he knows all about the top RUclipsrs.
I'm a TV professional and this was a great watch, I'll be subscribing!
Perhaps Channel 4 could go back to one channel, pool funding into the quality programmes it was known for in the 1990s and rely less on talking TV and nude trashy dating shows.
For a channel that once gave us the Crystal Maze, Whose Line is It Anyway, and the ground breaking early years of Brookside as well as the finest of American imports, Frasier , ER etc, it would be sad to see them go.
But it can't carry on the way is It currently is.
A change of government and a change in controller is definitely in order
This is the podcast I didn’t know I needed till I found it. Two people with great media knowledge as well as insight I haven’t heard anywhere else. Channel 4 means a lot to me, I’m old enough to remember the days of three channels only and still remember the day Channel 4 launched, waiting in front of the TV for it to emerge on the screen. Some of the early stuff they showed had such an impact on me; the Derek Jarman film season, the first proper gay film programming, the European arthouse cinema. It definitely filled a gap the other channels weren’t reaching. Sad to hear of the channel’s decline and hope they can turn things around.
Why have I only just discovered this podcast now?
RUclips, your algorithm is failing me 😂😂
I am 54, and I feel a certain tingling of excitement these days when I am watching actual TV. I gave up years ago and am just on streaming platforms and places like RUclips.
Why would I watch dumbed-down shows like Bakeoff (sorry! I know it has a big following), which is about 1000 copuycat programmes, when I can have something a lot more fresh, instant, to the point and authenitic stuff on RUclips!
It has moved away from navelgazing spotty youths a long time ago and I can find anything I am interested now there. from following content creaters on sialing ships, to interesting political discussions, to topics that dont even exist in broadcast media, like in depth discussions on the Steely Dan album Aja was made with the actual people who actually made it.
Traditional broadcasting is dead in the water and like someone said further down int he comments - it just has been forgotten to bury it.
@nikcrosina. I remember running home from school to watch Channel 4 start, being similar age to you. Even back then I felt the programmes for teenagers were aimed at late twenties who had not grown up. A couple of years earlier, my geography teacher was Adrian Edmondson's dad and it seemed that the programming was for Adrian's age group, not mine, or missed the point by talking down to the kids.
I always wondered what became of the show "Little Armadillos"?
Spot on. Love RUclips for the very reasons you stated
@@fanfeck2844 A good portion of the few RUclips channels I subscribe to have given up or are leaving, because they say "RUclips wants them just to do shorts" and they are "not getting the money they would have under amended rules". The more documentary type channel say they can "no longer show anything interesting without crossing guidelines". Some just stopped posting. All say they feel RUclips "wants to be TikTok" and they are "looking to move platforms" or "I had to put the full video on Patreon" though others "do not like some of the content" on that.
The general feeling seems to be "RUclips is moving in the wrong direction for the audience".
Note, I am just repeating what I heard.
All the TV 'presenter' weirdos are moving online now cos they know TV is as dead as the dodo and they're desperate for attention
Television is a simple model. Make programmes people want to watch and then sell the advertising. Why do so few "television executives" understand this concept?
Because nowadays people don't watch linear TV & skip all ads.
I'm guessing, like me, you've skipped ads on RUclips to watch this episode!
Chanell 4 has lived of the backs of working class people and those who struggle as well as indulging narsasism in the form of big brother, all so the middle-upper class watch on for the joy of it - let it burn the future is online and if they wanted loyal followers they should have produced good programmes and a news room that isn't bought and paid for
Ch4 has been a heavy hitter in the past, some of it's dramas were incredibly serious and top tier...however they decided years ago that they were going down the cheap 'reality tv' route and now they reap what they sow...also they have massively over estimated the country's hunger for far left programming, they are only appealing to 16-21 yo's and unfortunately that demographic is far more interested in the Internet
Film4 was amazing!!
Film 4 as a production house has helped release some incredible films recently. It’s still going strong !
I'll be honest, I never thought I'd be hearing Richard Osman talk about Mr Beast lol
Loving The Newsreader. Thanks Richard - great recommendation
Channel 4 has become a channel that is championing DEI and it is paying the price. It is outdated in its outlook and more concerned with being trendy at the expense of the truth. Very London and very left wing. Guardian readers love it ie the bigoted left. I’m glad to see it go!
Marina's had some coffee this episode. 😮
yeah she needs to calm down and let Richard talk
And stop with the hand waving
@@TK_Brainslugoh no, telling and articulate opinionated woman to calm down is my least favourite thing 😢😢😢
And I’d be really interested to know if she is talking more than Richard… language research has demonstrated that women are routinely judged as talking significantly more than men when they talk the same amount or less…
Did you get your feelings hurt?@@rachelstubley2539
Not sure why Mr Beast going on telly is seen as a switch to mainstream?
It’s the hubris of established broadcasting to think in those terms.
Unless his TV show has the Impact of 2010’s era Top Gear or Strictly… he’s going to have five times more viewers on his own YT channel than he’ll ever get on TV.
Why is he now chasing a streaming audience then?
@@patsissons4025 why is he going to tv? i would guess because he will get a lot of money upfront and knows it will fail and be cancelled very fast, then he can go back to a much much bigger audience.
@@jaimefernandez2624 Oh yeah it's for the money ofc. But I still question the term "mainstream" It's so pre 2008.
Mainstream has more money only because of the corporate and emotional friction caused by advertisers and producers leaving them
I do watch Taskmaster and Bakeoff, but I think of Channel 4 as being the home of Scandi Noir and loads of other great foreign dramas.
TV is dying, my mum watches tv, I occasionally watch it, the kids don't watch it at all. BBC needs to move to stream only and scrap the stupid licence fee.
Really interesting insight into what's going on in the tricky creative industry right now
Channel 4 doesn't have a quiz? Is Richard forgetting Countdown?
It’s hardly a hit though these days, plus it’s been going since 1982 which goes by what he is saying about the channel’s biggest hits being years old.
countdown doesnt exist anymore, it was replaced by the random garbage with jimmy car show.
On Channel 4, worth also calling out It's a Sin and Derry Girls as some fairly recent hits - particularly It's a Sin cut through. Really interesting podcast as ever!
Would agree with It's A Sin although Derry Girls is a few years old now. I haven't watched tv for years but when i first heard of Derry Girls i thought it was on streaming. It now is. So that's not making me watch it on channel 4.
its a far cry from the 90s when they had Friends, Frasier, Father Ted, Space, graham norton etc etc that dominated friday night especially before digital, now its mostly unscripted lower production shows
@@cgdimension - but Friends and Frasier were bought in from the US at great expense (so not their shows), Spaced (I presume you meant) had 14 episodes *EVER* so was hardly a big show (it had very low ratings). Graham Norton's show was hardly a rating behemoth (it was very odd and edgy - much less tame than his BBC show); and again, Father Ted only ever had 24 episodes (and stopped airing before either Spaced or Graham Norton existed). So at best, you had 2 months of the year with the 2 big hit US shows and Father Ted on one night.
Channel 4 have *continued* doing this - it's just their two big US smash hits are "smaller" than Frasier and Friends - and with the proliferation of other channels, they use E4 to put all the shows on so there is no need to watch it on one night. The Big Bang Theory & How I Met your mother for instance - the equivalent (in terms of pull) of Frasier/Friends, have 2-3 hours daily broadcast on e4, and the whole series available to stream online. The Last Leg is today's equivalent (but better) of the Graham Norton show; Derry Girls is bloody great and can easily be compared to Spaced/Father Ted in terms of small number of episodes (19) but with a great cultural impact and export; then you've got things like 8 out of cats (+ does countdown) and Friday Night Dinner.
I think you are massively over-rating the 90s era of Channel 4. I'd say the mid 2000s era was way better (think Black Books, The IT Crowd, Green Wing) - the issue isn't as much nowadays Channel 4 isn't producing as much good comedy as the *UK* isn't - the best comedy on the iPlayer is Australian (Colin from Accounts); couple that with the best of the American stuff, even if it does make it's way over here, tends to be on a streaming platforms - think the Good Place, which is available on C4, but the whole show has been on netflix for years (so why would you wait for it to come out over on linear television). Other than Derry Girls, the last truly good British comedy was fleabag, which ran for only 2 seasons in 2016 and 2019.
Going for a youth audience in a rapidly aging population presents three problems.
One. Every channel going for the youth audience 16 to 39 age group. All fighting for the same slice of the pie.
Two. We have an aging population. So that age group is shrinking.
Three. That age group is the one most likely to consume online and streaming content rather than traditional TV.
There is a 4th issue. That age group also has the lowest level of disposable income.
So for advertisers marketing that demographic via TV makes little or no sense at a cost point that would make creating good programming to support those advertising spots viable.
I'm still salty they canceled the final season of *Westworld.*
I loved it all the way through. I would have loved to se the conclusion.
The first season of Westworld was great. The second season wasn't as good as the first but was still fairly okay. In the latter seasons, the show totally jumped the shark. The overall story and the production qualities went down greatly as did the overall viewership and interest.
It was a pretty expensive show for hbo to make, I'm not surprised that they got out quickly.
First season was great, second season was awful. Didn’t watch anymore but was stunned it was still being made by season 4. Should have been a limited series.
Season 4 was great, and I enjoyed most of 2 and 3. A shame it was cancelled, but the ending wasn't too unresolved.
I think a lot of people was disapointed when they changed the setting in season 3 and left the park. People fell in love with the gunslinger-robot show, but then it became a futuristic dystopian show. It could probably have been very successful if it stuck with the formula of a robot western show with tits and gore for many many seasons.
But I loved all of it. the futurism, the non linear story telling, the constant ambiguity about who was robots and who wasn't. In the end it didn't matter, and that was the whole point.
I'm very fond of the old movie from 1973, the one with Yul Brynner as wild west proto Terminator.
The 1973 movie had a sequel, Futureworld, from 1976, about a secret plot to replace important leaders with androids. The TV show followed exactly in those footsteps.
I would have loved to see how it would be tied up in the planned final season.
God, I would have loved a little more time with Dolores.
Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world the disarray. I choose to see the beauty.
I assume Batgirl got cancelled because test audiences hated it.
i dont care about big films but what about taskmaster! what will happen to that!
bake off and pottery throw down too. channel 4 programmes always seem to have so much heart and just feel cosy and wholesome. i really hope they can ride this out
They said in the video they don't make it, they bought it. So someone else will likely pick it up on the cheap.
Taskmaster should of stayed on Dave. I watched it when it was on Dave, when it moved to C4 I stopped watching. Not out of protest or hate for C4, I simply didn't watch C4 anymore.
All I watch is Film 4
Channel 4's survival shouldn't be dependent on which government is in power in the UK... are they a party political broadcaster? (not even a state broadcaster) they are broken if this is true and they should be shut down.
Warners-Discovery have just shut the newsroom at TV3 in New Zealand with the loss of hundreds of jobs over 3+ shows. Wonder what we'll get instead?
I’m surprised WB pushed The Flash film out given the issues with its leading actor and not cancelled as a tax write off.
Though it's utterly absurd to me that the US has a tax system which actively rewards people for destroying expensive works of art rather than allowing them to be seen by the public.
Aquaman 2 could also have been written off for tax due to AH.
Want more of this. Very engaging conversation.
Bell Media in Canada just had a similar bloodbath including deep cuts into its CTV news service. Britains unusual licensing system makes it different but share the same underlying cause: the internet. The UK could make some policy changes to broaden its market beyond its borders by fixing its strange way shows use copyright soundtracks and the loss of the licensing and co-production framework it had under the European Union.
Channel 4 lack the live content they need to drive their viewership. What show do we have to tune in to live or we'll regret it?
"Channel 4 needs a successful quiz show, it doesn't have anything like the BBC or ITV"
Here's a quiz question for Richard: what was the first programme broadcast on Channel 4, remains its longest-running show, and would be recognised instantly by a substantial chunk of the British population with a phrase as simple as "consonant please" or "teatime teaser"?
Countdown
Channel 4 has been in decline for nearly 30 years. The turning point was in the mid-1990s when, having broadcast the superb "Tales of the City", suddenly they didn't want to fund a second series.
This is what happens when people are watching , i.e channel 4, itv , ect, ect & bbc getting all the money , for channels that don't belong to them , it's criminal
Interesting conversation. Err, having not had a TV for 10 + years, I’ve just spent 3 months looking after my beautifully dear old mum. She’s of the generation, buying the TV times on Tuesday, then ringing the programs is compulsory. My observation is the majority of programming is made for the female viewer. Female news readers, weather forecasters, dramas like Call the Midwife, soaps, programs about mass murders. Chuckle, Chuckle, my sister & mum love this type of content. Mmm, Men under 50 don’t seem to watch TV, the legacy media. Evenings at my sister & brother, (both late 50’s married for over 30 years). My brother & brother in law slip off to surf youtube, (news, sport, hobbies), whilst the my sister & sister in law sit down to watch TV. All my love, love, love to you both. Xx
I remember someone saying something similar about the Daily Mail a while back and now I can't unsee it. There's always some kind of 'fashion' strapline just underneath the title which is usually as big as the title if not more so, and there's usually a picture of a female Royal (or other female celebrity) in the bottom righ-hand corner as well (which is usually pointing out there good/bad fashion choice).
Ignoring the elephant in the room totally 😳
Old school media is so behind the times. Mr Beast is huge, but he has been for years. Most modern discourse is about how he has ruined the platform. His success has led to a drastic change in how creators make content and it’s not for the better. This is almost like he’s the big new thing and not the god of the platform.
Yes, the independent solo production youtube creator is now the bane for google. Google purposly wants bigger more professional, even mainstream production/content creators. RUclips see the market of bigger creators to attract advertising with none of the restrictions that mainstream advertising has.
My problem with Channel 4 is that if I stream half of Taskmaster one day, I can't pick up where I left off and I have to go through all the ad breaks again. Not sure if it is just my setup but it has basically stopped me ever watching the channel
Their online player is terrible! There’s no wonder that no one is watching it.
The C4 catch-up service is a disaster. Unwatchable.
Channel 4s current output is awful...it was once was a fantastic channel.....such a shame..
Moving to a steaming only model I feel is where the industry is heading anyway. Services like Sky Glass where your entire television platform is streamed is the direction UK television will be going. And like Channel 4 are turning their app into their overall brand, it's evident that ITVX is the same model for ITV and iPlayer will become the same for the BBC. It's a difficult transition phase, and eventually the plan held by all UK broadcasters (Freely) will consolidate all of this in order to take on Netflix, Disney+, Prime, etc.
I used to watch the last leg but I have noticed that it has not been the same since it was of air last summer and they shut down thier twitter account. And the hills ep where he had had covid and in studio was a TV shaped head looked wrong. The days of the last leg are coming to an end. I loved the chaos era of the brexit stuff. Stavros boris, Rosie Jones and the paralympic chaos. It's all gone a bit flat these days. Oh and miriam saying whatever she wanted. Hills rants. It was fun while it lasted.
Love the new AC Milan kit.
Are they really in the same studio.
Does she hate him as much as it looks like??
I was hoping to ask Richard and Marina a question if possible. My question is directed at the fascination that I feel Richard has with the miner's strike as stated in this episode. I have a program/documentary idea that is based on the year of the strike and is an unknown true story.
I am 50 and anyone younger than I am is basically spending far more time online watching RUclips or other streaming sources and the drag of programmed content is the last thing they want. Even I don't watch broadcast tv any more. A lot of this is also that the content feels stale, likely because the broadcast channels have had to target older viewers who watch out of habit to keep some viewership and so the content reflects this in a bad way.
I'm older than you and I ONLY watch RUclips
I enjoyed this podcast, could listen to Richard all day. 5 Stars
Go woke
Go broke..
Ch4 the latest victim of this..
C4 wasn't beholden to the Tory party so it had to go.
The tax right off thing just sounds like the plot for The Producers.
At almost 70 I haven't had access to public tv for two decades and don't believe I'm missing out - given the quality of programmes being made today.
How do you know the current quality of the programming if you haven't watched TV in 20 years?
@@nahuelma97 because I research in hope of avoiding formulaic shite...
@@voulafisentzidis8830 okay, I see your point. I'd argue that it's important to take a look still, though, because as much as the format of a show matters, the execution is key. If you have a shit host, in my view, no matter the format, it'll be shit. If you have Jimmy Carr on the other hand, even the shittiest format will be made a lot more watchable by him hosting. This is to say, maybe you shouldn't simply research what the format is and what the reviews were and simply watch a show or two and get your own experience of it. I've watched things that were deemed unwatchable by reviews and absolutely loved them, and viceversa. Unless your research already includes watching a bit of these shows, , in which case I'd say you've already given it a go and simply didn't like it, I'd argue in favor of a change in research method, if you will
@@nahuelma97 I'm a fan of British programming, less so of American. I don't always follow reviewers as, after all, it's just their opinions. I try to be open-minded but can tell instantly whether something's been made to a formula, which I dislike.
@@voulafisentzidis8830 American comedy is bland compared to British comedy, so I completely agree. Some British formats that I thoroughly enjoy have been made in the US and have completely sucked, so I 100% agree.
I'm curious about what you mean when you say that some things have "been made to a formula". All TV programs follow a format, so I'm not sure if you're referring to that or something else entirely. Could you clarify?
Guys I’m sure you’ve been asked countless times already but I really do think it would be great for a focussed discussion on the current state of the unscripted industry. I’ve only just discovered this podcast (it’s great) and so I’m sorry if I’ve missed it but just from a quick perusal of the clips/episodes on the channel I can’t see that this has been done in any great detail.
I appreciate that the wider public might not immediately engage with the industry’s troubles however ultimately they will see the ramifications down the line.
Marina gesticulates as if she’s really overwrought.
The ghost of Richard makes good points. Will you be fixing the lighting in this new studio?
Always liked Richard. But this made me see him a new light.Very impressed by his intellect and insight.