Channel 4 To Have A Pop At BBC Music Programming
Competition amongst pop chart programmes looks set to increase as Channel 4 prepares to launch its answer to the BBC’s iconic Top Of The Pops, in the form of a Saturday morning music show counting down the chart as used by commercial radio stations.
The new venture will be based on the recently launched Hit 40 UK music chart, a collaborative poll operated by commercial radio companies and formed from a combination of record sales, airplay and votes from listeners. The show will also adopt Hit 40 UK’s name and will form part of Channel 4’s teen-orientated T4 programming strand.
Hit 40 UK 10am broadcast time will pitch it head to head with Top Of The Pops Saturday on BBC One and ITV’s CD:UK. Both channels have seen their flagship music shows decline in popularity over recent months and Channel 4 is clearly hoping to pick up the deserting viewers.
Offering a selection of music videos rather than live performances, Hit 40 UK will differ from the predominantly live-action offerings of the BBC and ITV. The programme will also benefit from affiliation with the Hit 40 UK radio show, being voiced by the same presenter, Simon Hirst, and produced by the same company, Somethin’ Else.
While Top Of The Pops Saturday enjoys an average audience of 600,000 it is CD:UK which Channel 4’s new programme is most likely to target, with a regular pull of 1.3 million on Saturday mornings, the programme enjoys success which the broadcaster will no doubt seek to ape with Hit 40 UK.
Commenting on the new show, Neil McCallum, Channel 4’s commissioning editor, music said: “We’re delighted to be teaming up with Hit 40 UK – the country’s leading chart – and are looking forward to building a long-term, creative partnership that will bring even more music into the schedule.”
One of the most appealing propositions to Channel 4 is the ease with which the programme can be created, as Hit 40 UK ltd’s managing director, Rob Corlett, explained: “Hit 40 UK can now, through one production session with Somethin’ Else, offer the music industry the biggest radio audience, a huge television audience, and a massive music website.”
The expansion of Hit 40 UK into television has also seen the sponsorship of the format by Woolworths extended. The high-street retailer will now sponsor the chart’s radio content until March 2006, as well as supporting the programme on Channel 4 and E4 until December 2005.
Speculation surrounding the future of Channel 4 was recently stoked by the appointment by the broadcaster of investment bank UBS to review its strategic options. Expectations of a merger between the state-owned broadcaster and commercial rival Five are now heightened as both broadcasters assess strategies for strengthening their position against the BBC and an ever more powerful ITV (see Channel 4 Hires UBS As It Mulls Merger With Five).
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