Challenge TV launched on Freeview!

Yup. Central Television Enterprises.

I have always thought that a missed trick with Challenge was showing the original US versions of UK hit shows (particularly the old Goodson-Todman productions). These would be available for a song, and were very successful for Lifestyle in the early days of satellite TV. I know they're a niche product, and they may or may not work, but surely it was worth at least a shot?

Whenever any US versions of UK shows were requested on the old forums, they'd be rejected on the grounds that they tried US Millionaire and it did really badly.

There also tried us weakest link did there not?

They did?

I noticed on tonight's Crystal Maze, they had a guy doing some signing for the dead and hard of hearing wearing a purple top. Fair enough, but I haven't seen this before and he did interfere somewhat with the action - could have been a little smaller. I wish you had a choice with these kind of things or put signing programmes on at 3.00am in the morning like the BBC do.

I could quite possibly be confusing Millionaire for Weakest Link. They definitely tried something like that and it put them off doing any more.

That said, US Distraction still frequents the schedule.

Signing for the dead!? I've heard Challenge referred to as Braindead TV but that's a new one.

Indeed; I was one of those who made a request.

But I think this is short-sighted; the problem with Millionaire was that it was a US version of a UK programme, made in exactly the same way and inherently less interesting as a result. My suggestion was US *originals* -- some of these old classics were far superior to the UK equivalents, and hold a kitsch charm about them that Millionaire/Weakest Link lack. They would also be far cheaper, being much older, and would hold an immediately-grabbing "what the **** is this?" mystique about them that would generate cult viewing I'm sure -- just what a niche channel would want surely? It probably wouldn't last very long but could be explosively popular for a few months.

To not even try was monumentally blinkered IMO.

BTW I'm talking about *really* old stuff here -- head over to YouTube and have a look at the 1970s US equivalent of Blankety Blank, Match Game 7x, and tell me that isn't the daftest piece of TV garbage... er... gold you've ever seen!

I think you mean signing for the deaf .
Unless you know something the rest of us don't...

Green Flag are sponsoring daytime programming on Challenge it seems...

Argh not again, these blanket sponsorships get really tedious really quickly. Confused.com did it for about 2 months, it was terrible.

The episode of Family Fortunes that has just started has signing as well.

I notice the DOG is now right in the corner of the screen of widescreen broadcasts, I guess this is to make it in line with the rest of the Sky network.