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Turner eyes rescue deal for TruTV

UPDATE: Sony has apparently bought embattled channel (December 2016)

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RE
Rex
From Broadcast:
http://m.broadcastnow.co.uk/5112309.article

Quote:
Free-to-air broadcaster TruTV is under threat of closure if owner Turner fails to strike a last-minute funding deal.

Broadcast has learned that US media giant Turneris considering closing the digital channel, which launched in 2014 and airs series such as Ink Master and a raft of true crime programming.

However, it is understood that Turner, which also runs CNN and Cartoon Network among other channels, is in negotiations with an unknown third party over a deal that could save the TruTV from the axe.

International distributors were thought to be shopping some of the shows that air on TruTV in the UK to rival broadcasters at Mipcom.

The channel has struggled to cut through in the competitive free-to-air market, averaging a consolidated all hours audience of 27,000 (0.3%) since the start of the year.

Its biggest show was America’s Got Talent, which averaged 175,000 (0.9%) in July 2016, followed by an episode of Ink Master, which scored 150,000 (0.7%) in August last year.

It also launched high-profile US talkshow Conan, but scrapped the show after it failed to rate.

Turner had planned to move into original commissions for the channel, to build on US shows such as Container Wars, Hardcore Pawn: Chicago and South Beach Tow.

Ian McDonough, senior vice-president and managing director of Northern Europe at Turner Broadcasting said in February 2015: “We want to move quite quickly with this channel, so I don’t think we’ll wait too long. By year two, we want to start looking at UK commissions.”

Turner declined to comment.

TruTV is honestly unappealing to a large majority of viewers - including myself - that's no wonder why Turner is concerned with this new development.

The glut of crime programming and scarce amounts of new original content are just a piece of the puzzle with the troubles regarding TruTV.

Ratings are also mediocre for its new shows - no wonder why Turner aren't taking risks by filling the schedule with crime shows - a genre already catered for by other channels on Freeview such as CBS Reality and YourTV (even if the latter is utterly poor).

Then you have EPG placement - the lower end of the entertainment section is filled with channels that just feel bland in its content - and TruTV suffers from this.

If it does close - it signals the momentous bad luck that Turner has had with DTT - we all know what happened with Nuts TV - and could join the ranks of abc1 and Virgin1 in the Freeview channel graveyard.
Last edited by Rex on 15 February 2017 10:51pm
LL
Larry the Loafer
The only decent offering in my personal opinion was Conan. And they aired it in the dead of night IIRC. No wonder they scrapped it over ratings.
DB
dbl
TruTV UK is such a contrast in content compared to its US counterpart, which focuses a lot more on comedy orientated shows (two originals such as: Impractical Jokers (US) & Billy On The Street are on Comedy Central UK). But the UK seems to be stripped out with real life crime programmes.

I mean just look at the YouTube channel, so much more watchable.
https://www.youtube.com/user/truTVnetwork/videos
Last edited by dbl on 17 December 2016 11:08pm - 3 times in total
VM
VMPhil
The only decent offering in my personal opinion was Conan. And they aired it in the dead of night IIRC. No wonder they scrapped it over ratings.

They showed it at 11pm weeknights before the inevitable happened and nobody watched it. As happens every time they try to put a US talk show on over here
RE
Rex
TruTV, as with other Freeview channels that are run by pay TV companies, take Freeview carriage for granted and have created a situation where some of the channels have no distinct identity. Simply thanks to the glut of crime dross shoved out the lower section of the Freeview EPG.

Can't Turner, Fox and other companies learn from Sky and UKTV? Both have massively improved their offerings over the past few years.
GM
Gary McEwan
They got they first couple of seasons of Hot Bench as well and were heavily promoting it, but even that has disappeared from the programme lineup.
DV
DVB Cornwall
These channels are clickbait to persuade people onto pay platforms. If they don't attract viewers with at least some quality and variety of content, this aim falls apart. Using the channels for old material is grim and there's only one way and that's down.
RE
Rex
They got they first couple of seasons of Hot Bench as well and were heavily promoting it, but even that has disappeared from the programme lineup.

That's been shunted to the early hours of the schedule.
:-(
A former member
Your TV is the most vile channel on freeview, and brings nothing to the experenos of the viewers expect how dreadful US TV can actually be. Tru TV well only manages to beat it with some of its non crime content, but It really should just be pulled from freeview.

Quote:
Turner had planned to move into original commissions for the channel, to build on US shows such as Container Wars, Hardcore Pawn: Chicago and South Beach Tow.

Another problem here is Turner own content is else where on better channels, and its times like this freeview channels should have mini new content policy put on them.
AB
ab25170
Maybe this could be a right time for Murdoch's Wireless Group to move into TV and buy TruTV.
LL
London Lite Founding member
I like watching true crime shows, but CI and Investigation Discovery do it so much better.

Tru and Your TV are half hearted efforts from major groups to gain share on Freeview. Pick from Sky is considered dire, but that's slick compared to those two lazy channels.

Quest on the other hand appears to have found a niche on the platform.
JK
John Koenig
I have never watched this channel, same old rubbish I used to get on Sky.

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