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More 4 Rebrand

to be refocused as a lifestyle chanel (November 2011)

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JC
JCB
From Broadcast...

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/pictures/704x528fitpad[150]/4/8/2/1143482_new_more4_logo.jpg


Channel 4 is entering its next phase of creative renewal with a revamp of More 4, a raft of new programming and plans to up its spend to an all-time high of £600m next year.


Chief executive David Abraham revealed the ambition at the broadcaster’s Upfront event for advertisers on 2 November. He committed to at least maintaining the £576m spent on screen this year, and is hopeful that it will hit £600m even if there is a dip in the ad market.

It is understood a predicted surplus of around £70-80m will be used to boost its budget in that event.

The overhaul of More 4 will refocus it as a lifestyle channel, with international documentaries strand True Stories moved to C4.

The strand, a mixture of acquisitions and commissions, will play on a week night in a 10pm slot from early 2012 and receive a 25% increase in investment.

More 4’s new identity will also be closely aligned with 4oD and the launch of a ‘digital scrapbook’, which will allow viewers to collect online C4 information together in one place.

Recipes, guides, tips and advice will be kept in the scrapbook, which is due to launch in April 2012 on channel4.com initially, with the ambition of being integrated with 4oD.

Richard Davidson-Houston, head of Channel 4 Online, said the development would allow viewers to follow an interest from linear TV to interactive platforms.

“It moves us beyond the traditional web-publishing model and allows us to have a closer relationship with our audience, providing us with valuable information and insight,” he added.

C4 chief creative officer Jay Hunt’s ambition is for C4 to be “jam-packed with innovative new shows” for 2012. “We want to deliver large audiences and make some mischief; C4 should have a view on the big issues of the day,” she said.

One element will be a When Britain Worked season, looking at the industrial revolution.

Darlow Smithson drama series The Mill has been ordered by C4 history commissioner Julia Harrington and will be based on the 20,000 letters, wage books, contracts and diaries from the Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire.

The story will unfold from the view of the workers, with Garrow’s Law producer Dominic Barlow as executive producer.

And British motor racer Guy Martin, who Hunt introduced in BBC1’s The House That Guy Built, will rebuild iconic machines and buildings from Britain’s industrial past in North One’s six-part Guy Martin: Building Britain. It was also ordered by Harrington.

In a major scheduling decision, C4 will strip Monkey Kingdom’s live Home For The Holidays for 10 days culminating on Christmas Eve.

A soon-to-be-married couple’s relationship will be tested via decisions, temptations and games as their ill-suited extended families are brought together in a single house. The two families will have the chance to win £500,000.

Baking, which gave BBC2 a massive hit in the shape of Great British Bake Off, is the basis of Betty TV’s male-skewing Fabulous Baker Boys, and Blast! Films’ 10-part Three Nines will use a mix of fixed-rig and camera crews to look at the three emergency services in Blackpool.


Meh
AB
ashley b Founding member
From the image above, I think the logo is pretty hideous. Generally Channel 4 seem to pull off something good though, so I think this is going to be another, 'wait until I see it on screen' logos.
NW
nwtv2003
I like the logo, although it'll probably look better on screen, as said Channel 4 seem to pull these things off quite well.

The only thing that disappoints me about More 4 overall is that it's no longer the channel it was in 2005/6, it just seems to be endless loops of Come Dine with Me.

Any news on HD? It's the only Channel 4 service (aside of 4Music) that hasn't got an HD channel.
RO
roo
It's unfortunate that it lost its originally strong sense of worthiness - so putting a little more love into it and accepting its fate as a channel for "repeats which wouldn't fit on E4" is probably a little better than doing nothing at all, but only just. Not that I expect it'll become much more than a dumping ground for Come Dine and the previous week's Dispatches.
LL
Larry the Loafer
I'm assuming the likes of Curb and Father Ted will be shifted elsewhere?
PA
paul_hadley
I'm assuming the likes of Curb and Father Ted will be shifted elsewhere?


Curb is still shown by Sky Atlantic - not sure how it worked but I'm guessing they have rights to certain seasons and More 4 has rights to the others.

Father Ted would likely move to Dave I would imagine, as they show a fair few Channel 4 programmes these days.
NW
nwtv2003
I'm assuming the likes of Curb and Father Ted will be shifted elsewhere?


Curb is still shown by Sky Atlantic - not sure how it worked but I'm guessing they have rights to certain seasons and More 4 has rights to the others.


From what I read elsewhere, if a ninth series of Curb is made then it will definitely be premiered on Sky Atlantic. But this is no shock as More 4 seem to show Curb at 12.30am on a Sunday night, with only the new (unpromoted) series being shown a bit earlier, although the Ricky Gervais episode was promoted.

Considering stuff like Black Books and Spaced have been on Dave, I think Ted would be a nice addition.
IS
Inspector Sands
I'm assuming the likes of Curb and Father Ted will be shifted elsewhere?

The IT Crowd and Father Ted have been shown on a loop since the channel started, time for a rest I think
IS
Inspector Sands
It's unfortunate that it lost its originally strong sense of worthiness - so putting a little more love into it and accepting its fate as a channel for "repeats which wouldn't fit on E4" is probably a little better than doing nothing at all, but only just. Not that I expect it'll become much more than a dumping ground for Come Dine and the previous week's Dispatches.

No Dispatches I'd have thought - it's being made into a lifestyle channel. The move of True Stories to C4 is good news, it's excellent but easy to miss on More4.

I'm glad they're finally making their mind up as to what it is, I used to watch loads of More4 but once they axed The Daily Show I ended up watching it less. Their looped repeats of C4's big hitters doesn't help - Father Ted, IT Crowd, Grand Designs, Time Team and Scrapheap have been round many times over.
PA
paul_hadley
It's unfortunate that it lost its originally strong sense of worthiness - so putting a little more love into it and accepting its fate as a channel for "repeats which wouldn't fit on E4" is probably a little better than doing nothing at all, but only just. Not that I expect it'll become much more than a dumping ground for Come Dine and the previous week's Dispatches.

No Dispatches I'd have thought - it's being made into a lifestyle channel. The move of True Stories to C4 is good news, it's excellent but easy to miss on More4.

I'm glad they're finally making their mind up as to what it is, I used to watch loads of More4 but once they axed The Daily Show I ended up watching it less. Their looped repeats of C4's big hitters doesn't help - Father Ted, IT Crowd, Grand Designs, Time Team and Scrapheap have been round many times over.


Will be interesting to see if they bring The Daily Show back to More 4 in January.

It got axed in January 2011 so will be exactly one year when the relaunch happens.

TDS is an entertainment show <technically>.
GO
gottago
It's unfortunate that it lost its originally strong sense of worthiness - so putting a little more love into it and accepting its fate as a channel for "repeats which wouldn't fit on E4" is probably a little better than doing nothing at all, but only just. Not that I expect it'll become much more than a dumping ground for Come Dine and the previous week's Dispatches.

No Dispatches I'd have thought - it's being made into a lifestyle channel. The move of True Stories to C4 is good news, it's excellent but easy to miss on More4.

I'm glad they're finally making their mind up as to what it is, I used to watch loads of More4 but once they axed The Daily Show I ended up watching it less. Their looped repeats of C4's big hitters doesn't help - Father Ted, IT Crowd, Grand Designs, Time Team and Scrapheap have been round many times over.


Will be interesting to see if they bring The Daily Show back to More 4 in January.

It got axed in January 2011 so will be exactly one year when the relaunch happens.

TDS is an entertainment show <technically>.


Confused Why would they bring back the Daily Show? They're relaunching it as a lifestyle channel.
BR
Brekkie
A real shame it's going to become even more of a cheap repeats channel and have it's few quality strands stripped from it. Also the new logo is hideous - why change it? The C4 and E4 logos remain unchanged since launch, and though More4 does need a new look, it definitely doesn't need a new logo.

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