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Channel 4 headquarters in Leeds

Split from Channel 4 (October 2018)

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BA
bilky asko
Mouseboy33 posted:
bilky asko posted:
Mouseboy33 posted:
So odd. Would have thought Greater Manchester would have been chosen as there is a greater talent pool to draw from, plus with the exiting Media City in place with BBC and ITV. Plus if you are gonna convince Londoners to move OOP NORF you would have thought a bigger city would have been chosen. Thats not a knock on Leeds at all. I know they produce Emmerdale there so there's that and now Ch4. Oh Well. Well done to Leeds and Ch4. Hope it works out.


If you wanted a bigger city, that leaves nowhere (Birmingham isn't northern, and Manchester as a city is smaller than Leeds).


Not sure about you, but I was referring to the metro area. Not just the city itself, which is the obvious way to access a city influence especially in a context such a this. Using the council or historic boundary would not be an accurate measurement of a "City" as a whole. Greater Manchester's Media City is actually in Salford so....there's that. If you include the metropolitan area, Greater Manchester is 2nd or 3rd and Leeds is actually 4th. Some sources list Greater Manchester as 2nd. Thats debateable, but defo larger than Leeds. And Birmingham is NORTH of London so thats just being pedantic. So there's that....


2 Birmingham metropolitan area 3,683,000
3 Manchester metropolitan area 2,556,000
4 Leeds–Bradford metropolitan area 2,302,000
5 Liverpool–Birkenhead metropolitan area 2,241,000

*

1 (32) – London – 10,236,000
2 (170) – Manchester – 2,639,000
3 (183) – Birmingham-Wolverhampton – 2,512,000
4 (259) – Leeds-Bradford – 1,893,000
5 (390) – Glasgow – 1,220,000
6 (565) – Southampton-Portsmouth – 883,000
7 (570) – Liverpool – 875,000
8 (619) – Newcastle – 793,000
9 (650) – Nottingham – 755,000
10 (701) – Sheffield – 706,000
11 (776) – Bristol – 646,000
12 (824) – Belfast – 600,000
13 (942) – Leicester – 534,000


I was referring to cities as recorded in the census. And it isn't pedantry to say that Birmingham isn't northern.
JA
Jamesypoo
bilky asko posted:
And it isn't pedantry to say that Birmingham isn't northern.

Quite, I doubt any Brummie would self-identify as "northern"...
DV
dvboy
*
MR
mr_vivian
p_c_u_k posted:
I still feel an opportunity has been lost to have a national broadcaster in more than one nation of the UK, which I would have found a healthy development. NI, Scotland and Wales obviously have more BBC/ITV opt-outs than the English regions but generally talk to themselves, rather than broadcast to other constituent parts of the UK (Wales is a slight exception here due to its drama output). It feels like there's a train of thought that "the north" ends at Salford for media execs in London and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are somewhat mystical lands which are dealt with by their own broadcasters, whereas if there is a strength of the UK it's surely having them all contributing to something bigger.

I'm also not sure how much it opens up UK television to those from other parts of the country given that Leeds and Salford aren't a million miles away from each other.

However, I do agree with most on here that it's healthy they didn't just pitch up at Salford and that they went for an alternative location. Very Channel 4. The connection with the channel's first ever show is also a nice little thing.


Totally agree with you. If Channel 4 are being serious about being "4 the UK" they should have some sort of base/hub in each region.

I knew they wouldn't choose Belfast as we're at a disadvantage geographically for a start but it's their loss. Hopefully we'll get more films and tv shows similar to Game Of Thrones coming to us instead.
ET
ethanh05
I didn't even notice my name on the thread starter after it was split Laughing
BR
Brekkie
Has a premises been identified?
NL
Ne1L C
mr_vivian posted:
p_c_u_k posted:
I still feel an opportunity has been lost to have a national broadcaster in more than one nation of the UK, which I would have found a healthy development. NI, Scotland and Wales obviously have more BBC/ITV opt-outs than the English regions but generally talk to themselves, rather than broadcast to other constituent parts of the UK (Wales is a slight exception here due to its drama output). It feels like there's a train of thought that "the north" ends at Salford for media execs in London and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are somewhat mystical lands which are dealt with by their own broadcasters, whereas if there is a strength of the UK it's surely having them all contributing to something bigger.

I'm also not sure how much it opens up UK television to those from other parts of the country given that Leeds and Salford aren't a million miles away from each other.

However, I do agree with most on here that it's healthy they didn't just pitch up at Salford and that they went for an alternative location. Very Channel 4. The connection with the channel's first ever show is also a nice little thing.


Totally agree with you. If Channel 4 are being serious about being "4 the UK" they should have some sort of base/hub in each region.

I knew they wouldn't choose Belfast as we're at a disadvantage geographically for a start but it's their loss. Hopefully we'll get more films and tv shows similar to Game Of Thrones coming to us instead.


I agree with the notion that as a "national channel" CH4 should have bases outside London but maybe in each nation.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Brekkie posted:
Has a premises been identified?

I'm not 100% sure a city has been identified yet - isn't it the "Leeds City Region" that has been selected? That includes all of West Yorkshire, Barnsley, York and Harrogate.
MR
mr_vivian
Ne1L C posted:
mr_vivian posted:
p_c_u_k posted:
I still feel an opportunity has been lost to have a national broadcaster in more than one nation of the UK, which I would have found a healthy development. NI, Scotland and Wales obviously have more BBC/ITV opt-outs than the English regions but generally talk to themselves, rather than broadcast to other constituent parts of the UK (Wales is a slight exception here due to its drama output). It feels like there's a train of thought that "the north" ends at Salford for media execs in London and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are somewhat mystical lands which are dealt with by their own broadcasters, whereas if there is a strength of the UK it's surely having them all contributing to something bigger.

I'm also not sure how much it opens up UK television to those from other parts of the country given that Leeds and Salford aren't a million miles away from each other.

However, I do agree with most on here that it's healthy they didn't just pitch up at Salford and that they went for an alternative location. Very Channel 4. The connection with the channel's first ever show is also a nice little thing.


Totally agree with you. If Channel 4 are being serious about being "4 the UK" they should have some sort of base/hub in each region.

I knew they wouldn't choose Belfast as we're at a disadvantage geographically for a start but it's their loss. Hopefully we'll get more films and tv shows similar to Game Of Thrones coming to us instead.


I agree with the notion that as a "national channel" CH4 should have bases outside London but maybe in each nation.


Sorry yes - I meant nation instead of region. In my opinion you can't really have a slogan "4 the UK" if you're only going to have bases in England and Scotland. But it is a good step forward all the same that they have spread it out away from London.
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Back in the day didn't they used to have a PO box 4000 in several places for Right to Reply etc to give the impression of being across the country?
NG
noggin Founding member
mr_vivian posted:

Totally agree with you. If Channel 4 are being serious about being "4 the UK" they should have some sort of base/hub in each region.

I knew they wouldn't choose Belfast as we're at a disadvantage geographically for a start but it's their loss. Hopefully we'll get more films and tv shows similar to Game Of Thrones coming to us instead.


What would they do in these hubs? Channel Four make no programmes, they are a commissioning operation, and as such have a small workforce of around 800 people. You can only split an operation so far before it ceases to be viable.
JO
Jon
noggin posted:
mr_vivian posted:

Totally agree with you. If Channel 4 are being serious about being "4 the UK" they should have some sort of base/hub in each region.

I knew they wouldn't choose Belfast as we're at a disadvantage geographically for a start but it's their loss. Hopefully we'll get more films and tv shows similar to Game Of Thrones coming to us instead.


What would they do in these hubs? Channel Four make no programmes, they are a commissioning operation, and as such have a small workforce of around 800 people. You can only split an operation so far before it ceases to be viable.

Bristol is fairly near to Cardiff and also is better in terms of the South West of England. Belfast might be an ideal location for show but it’s a bit isolated. In terms of spread of locations I think they’ve got it about right.

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