Channel 4 isn't living up to its mission
Opinion
As C4’s chief creative officer calls for more low-budget remakes of Euro-dramas, has the broadcaster lost its way?
Channel 4’s reputation for creativity and innovation has occasionally taken a critical battering over recent years, sometimes deservedly, and others not so much.
But the news at this week’s unveiling of the C4 Annual Report that the cash-strapped broadcaster is actively looking for more cheap remakes of Euro (mostly crime) dramas is profoundly depressing.
In chief content officer’s Ian Katz’s own words: “Now we’ve got a strand of low-cost drama that’s incredibly effective. Before We Die has done really well on streaming in the last few weeks and it’s a good example of remaking European shows. We’re really interested in models of doing that and we’re looking for more of that into 2025.”
Never mind that critics have in the main slammed these do-overs as poorly made and badly written (mostly by former C4 PR guru Matt “not that one” Baker), with ratings mediocre at best, Katz’s statement strikes at the heart of what many believed C4’s mission is; creating unique content originated in the UK. And strange that Katz didn’t even praise these remakes as good shows, choosing to single out their low cost as the chief reason for ordering them.
Please Sir, can I have some more Euro-pudding?
Quite how churning out sub-par versions of Nordic, Belgian and other drama squares with the C4 remit is beyond me. Hardly what the industry expected when C4 was saved from sell-off, mainly by the efforts of UK producers, trade organisations and periodicals keen to preserve this bastion of British creativity. Albeit one tarnished under the Alex Mahon/Ian Katz regime, which doubled down on some of the worst inclinations of the previous David Abraham/Jay Hunt leadership.
During the press conference, C4 pointed out what they saw as their programming highlights of the last year. Yes, there were some standouts (Evacuation, Late Night Lycett, I Am Ruth), but if the decision to single out established hits Gogglebox and Derry Girls (both commissioned under Abraham/Hunt) seemed counterintuitive, shining the spotlight on ratings/critical flops Rise & Fall, Prince Andrew: The Musical and Scared of the Dark was downright peculiar. Evidence of Katz’s contrarian inability to admit failure?
C4 revenue down ‘only’ 2% as TV market declines faster than expected
‘I literally just told you’
The CCO also took questions from reporters. This exchange I found particularly interesting, both in the snippy tone adopted by Katz, and the disingenuous nature of his response:
Deadline’s Jake Kanter: “The charge I hear from people on a regular basis about C4 is that you’re potentially over-reliant on old brands like Gogglebox and poached shows like Bake Off and Taskmaster and that there’s a concern about a lack of new engine-room ratings shows for you. How do you respond to that charge?”
Ian Katz: “I just think that’s a duck that doesn’t fly. I mean, just look at the data. If you take this year for instance, and you look at our top 20 shows on linear, half of them are new shows. If you look at our top 20 shows in digital more than half of them are new shows. If you look across all of our genres now, you will see new returners in every single genre from The Dog House, which is now one of our biggest returning documentaries to Help! We Bought a Village which is one of the biggest new launches in daytime features to, I literally just told you, in every single genre now has major established returners…. So, I just think that is, if I may say so, a slightly lazy charge that isn’t in any way borne out by the data.”
As any fule know
To riff on Katz’s own analogy, that ratings dog won’t hunt.
You can shake the data kaleidoscope and get the desired result if you cut the results the way you want/need it, as I did it for the BBC and ITV, many, many times as a lowly research grunt.
If ratings are low, the Top 20 will reflect this with shows that would previously be outside the chart, for example, 10 years ago a C4 show with 1 million viewers would probably be in the lower end of the Top 20, but now a programme with 0.45m will take the spot. The old hits will still be the ones heading the table, but the lack of other strong performers lets the weaker titles in.
‘Simples’ as the animated meerkat would say; a form of Three Card-Monte/shell game that can baffle the rubes until you examine the substance of Katz’s claim.
I asked an old colleague who currently analyses TV data, scheduling, and strategy for their reaction to Ian Katz’s spiel. The response: “If they got rid of Bake Off, Gogglebox, and Taskmaster there’d be even more new shows in the Top 20 not getting a million viewers.”
And (almost) finally, another piece of news from C4 that may not go down too well with UK producers confronted with the network’s Summer Special of cuts/slowdowns and cancellations.
C4’s rebranded streamer Channel 4 has acquired from Disney The X Files, Empire, Bones, The Americans, Abbott Elementary, Scandal, The Killing, Star, Grown-Ish, and Alias. All titles will remain on Disney+, so no exclusivity. In April 2023, the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service also struck a deal with NBCUniversal titles including the new US “re-imagined” version of Queer as Folk, Dr Death, and Becoming Elizabeth.
For skint UK producers, the news that C4 still has cash to spend on mainly oft-seen US re-runs must be galling.
The revelation yesterday that Katz’s remuneration (including the deferred bonus) in 2022 was a whopping £845,000, 36% more than in 2021, must also been the cause of some indignation in the UK production community.
Stephen Arnell began his career at the BBC, moving to ITV where he launched and managed digital channels. He continues to consult for streamers and broadcasters on editorial strategy. He currently writes for The Spectator, The Independent, and The Guardian on film, TV and cultural issues. He is also a writer/producer (including Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime for Sky Arts) and novelist.