BSkyB To Serve Up Next Big Breakfast

BSkyB has been awarded the multimillion pound contract to produce the successor to Channel 4’s flagship breakfast programme, The Big Breakfast.

The initial contract runs for a year and BSkyB will produce the as yet unnamed programme, which will occupy the same 7am to 9am slot as the Big Breakfast, in partnership with Princess Productions.

Sharon Powers, Channel 4’s editior for the breakfast strand, said: “We felt that this pilot was a genuinely distinctive offer at breakfast time. The new show will include topical entertainment stories, news, weather and sport in a contemporary way.”

The last edition of The Big Breakfast, which was launched almost ten years ago, will be shown on 29 March and the new programme is expected to begin shortly afterwards, although an official start date has yet to be announced.

Bidding for the contract to produce The Big Breakfast‘s successor began in June and BSkyB is thought to have fought off competition from Endemol and Planet 24.

The contract represents a significant success for BSkyB, which yesterday came a step closer to entering into the mainstream terrestrial TV market by signing a deal with Channel 5 to show Sky News on terrestrial TV for the first time (see BSkyB Signs News Deal With Channel 5).

BSkyB: 020 7705 3000 www.sky.com Channel 4: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com

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