Channel 4 cuts drama budget

I'm surprised this story hasn't been mentioned

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2027204,00.html

Channel 4 will fail to fulfil its stated ambition of showing a major new drama every month this year or in 2008. The broadcaster's commissioning editor for drama, Liza Marshall, has admitted that Channel 4 would not be meeting its target of 12 flagship pieces per year.

But Ms Marshall denied industry rumours that the tally would be cut by as much as half.

Channel 4 drama projects which are understood to have been shelved include plans for a third and fourth series of the teen drama Sugar Rush. A planned TV adaptation of the blog turned book, Belle du Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, is also understood to have hit the buffers, despite the fact that Billie Piper was attached to play the lead in the Tiger Aspect project.

Ms Marshall was responding to industry speculation that Channel 4's budget for drama - easily the most expensive genre in terms of cost per hour - was being hit hardest in the Channel 4 programming budget freeze for the coming year.

Overall, Channel 4 has frozen its £600m budget to buy in and commission shows, representing a real-terms cut of about £30m this year.

This was partly prompted by the higher fees Channel 4 is paying Endemol for Big Brother under the recent three-year-deal.

The Channel 4 programming budget is also being squeezed because advertising revenues dropped by around 7% last year to about £665m, down from £706m in 2005.

One drama producer said that there was "ill feeling throughout the indie sector" about the likely cuts to programming budgets, because the Channel 4 is understood to have agreed to increase its annual payment to Endemol for Big Brother to £30m-£40m.

"It would have even been better to have seen the channel lose Big Brother to a rival broadcaster where it would have probably died a death than to have to make cuts elsewhere," he added.

Another "blame Big Brother" article - when in reality probably the price they're forking out for US shows like Desperate Housewives is more to blame!

I think it's a shame they aren't doing a third series of Sugar Rush, I really enjoyed that and think they could have got another series out of it.

To be fair Channel 4's Drama output isn't too bad, they seemed to have freed up the budget since Brookside got the axe about four years ago or so.

I bet they're regretting that now, looking at the recent figures.

I'm glad there's not going to be a 3rd series of Sugar Rush. Series 1 was great but series 2 was poor compared to the first series.

It's a shame they're cutting back on Drama of all things, seeing as that's what they do best IMO. Even more reason to resent 'Big Brother'.

BB can;t be making them money if there having to cut cost!

doens't all the money there make have to go back in to programmes/ staff wages.

as it a public company

C4 though are still screening far more drama now than in recent years.


I think losing a third series of Sugar Rush isn't a bad thing - it's never made the impact the likes of Shameless have and the money can be spent better than on a 30-minute post 11pm show - like on a second series of Skins for example.


I still don't get the point in committing to numerous one-off dramas and television plays - the focus should be on series, or at least mini-series IMO.

The occassional one-off production is fine - but there has to be a point to it.

Elizabeth I is the obvious success story, but apart from that how many of their recent one-off dramas have made any impact at all.

Maybe it's earning the channel less money now than it was, but Big Brother has always provided a significant income for Channel 4 which of course will have gone to fund many dramas.