C4 to launch C4+1

Re on-demand.

OD for programmes that are FTV anyway are only popular at this stage because they are free.

As stated above, if there are no ads, revenue has to come from somewhere. People will be able to wind past any adverts burned into the OD files, so the only way they will be viable long-term is if they are charged for.

Viewers in general will not pay for something that they can get for "free", so this type of OD programming is an evolutional dead-end (and this is before the additional costs of massive-scale IPTV are factored in).

Therefore, if companies are using up bandwidth by opening channels as a response to this so-called next generation of TV viewing they're being grossly short-sighted.

The only future OD has is as a premium, add-on service. It is totally unviable as a free add-on. I see it as the modern equivalent of the free ISPs which sprouted up a few years ago -- every man and his dog was getting in on the act, but it all ended in tears. The BBC News website had an interesting piece the other day on how the ISPs are living on the infrastructure built up by all the bankrupt ISPs before the dotcom bubble burst. This whole thing is going the same way.

unless they restructure the OD files as part one - new file, adverts that are not windable - part two. Most US news websites have a single ad before their clips.

+1 channels, where they're direct clones of the original channel (i.e., no new prez, no opting out, no changing trailers, etc), are included in audience figures for the parent channel rather than counted separately..


Got a link?

Although BARB list them separately.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/6756899.stm

ITV were on about launching a so-called "ITV1 + 1" channel some months back, but then decided to launch ITV2 + 1 and ITV3 + 1, then got heavily complained at anyway because the new channels were launched before they had the rights to show most programmes timeshifted so everybody had to look at the green and red "legal reasons" screens.

Anyway it was only a matter of time before one of the big players launched a timeshift version of their main channel. How long before Five and ITV follow suit? The BBC I can't see wanting to timeshift anything at the moment, they're keen to push on-demand viewing on their website as it is, plus I can't see culture secretary approval for BBC1 + 1.

I'm all in favour for +1 channels. They cost pennies t run, and help to increase the audience figures for the main channel, so its a win win situation for channel 4.

Hope they get a decent EPG number on SKY. Will be a bit s**t if its stuck in the 200’s.

Having a PVR, +1 channels have little use for me. Whilst I've no great objection to them on Sky, but I do think the limited bandwidth on Freeview could be put to much better use.

As a freeview viewer, the only +1 channel I get much use out of is E4+1. The rest we dont need.

Channel 4+1 will give us:
DoND at 5:15-6pm (when it's on More4 at 6:10pm)
C4 News at 8pm (same as More4 News)

At least Countdown will be back at its proper time (4:30pm)

Here's me who is totally against +1 channel's. I find them total white elephants and waste of bandwidth (even on sky) because they are done with channels that really just don't need them as most repeat the same programmes twice in the same day anyway.

I've always thought +1 channels would be a good in principle if they were just on decent channels, and now we get a slightly useful one with C4+1 Now maybe it's a tiny step closer to getting the +1 channel's that would be the greatest and a treasure to have. BBC 1&2 +1

I can live in hope. This makes a 'tiny little bit' more likely.

Considering the typhical BBC1 viewer doesn't seem to realise other channels exist and find great difficulty in switching to BBC2, I doubt they'll ever be a demand for BBC1+1 or BBC2+1.

I have no problem with +1 channels on Sky or Cable, even though I have Sky+ they come in useful if there are more than 2 programmes on that I want to watch.

On Freeview it's a different matter, they are a waste of the very restricted bandwidth until analogue switch-off (and even then things won't improve that much).