Channel Research (Channel 4)
For my hypothetical pre-production I have selected Channel 4 as the best output for my show. As such I think its important to look in to the history and aims of the network.
Channel 4 launched in 1982 becoming the second commercially funded broadcasting network in the UK. It was designed to fill a gap in the market giving audiences more choice when it came to their viewing habits offering new and alternative content not found on other channels.
The shows early broadcasting was mainly entertainment based with some factual/educational content as well. Primarily most of the content was filmed in a studio or broadcast live from one. However as profits began to increase and more interest/money was put in to the network the channel began to delve in to documentaries during the mid to late 80’s kicking off the insightful revenue of series that we see today. The first of these shows was “Dispatches”.
Dispatches was a show that focussed on current affairs in Britain and issues that affected real people and had an impact on our daily lives. This included topics such as society and ethical issues; healthcare, political developments and events, as well as other topics such as religion. This early documentary series spoke to real people and looked at hard hitting topics that other networks might be more cautious or apprehensive over. With a back catalogue of documentaries like this that look at day to day life/local communities this is one example of why Channel 4 will make a good home for my show.
As mentioned when channel 4 was first set up, it was to provide unique content that was not currently offered by other networks. Filling a gap in the market and presenting a new perspective on what television could cover. To ensure it fulfils this goal Channel 4 set up a strict remit that it still uses today when commissioning its programmes. Channel 4 actually has a strict remit that it constantly seeks to fulfil with its programming, which is as follows.
"The public service remit for Channel 4 is the provision of a broad range of high quality and diverse programming which, in particular:
· demonstrates innovation, experiment and creativity in the form and content of
programmes;
· appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society;
· makes a significant contribution to meeting the need for the licensed public service
channels to include programmes of an educational nature and other programmes of
educative value; and
· exhibits a distinctive character."
I believe that my show appeals to the tastes a modern audience with diverse character profiles, strong creative themes and an insightful view in to the lives of real people. This is not only fitting of the channel 4 remit but also shows how this network will be able to push and promote my show with its well established audience and brand.
According to Offcom channel 4 has a target audience of between 16-60, however its main focus (40% of its audience is made up off) is 16-34 year olds. During the day time the shows content is made up of quiz shows and light entertainment. Then (at around 5PM) the show uses its following timeslot (before the 6’oclock news) to catch what is known as the “after school crowd” and broadcasts either a documentary or a reality/actuality based show at a time when it will be able to capitalise on the availability of younger viewers who will be watching TV at that time before they go off to eat or take up other evening activities. This works out well for my show as our target audience is within these parameters and channel 4’s pre-built relation with these viewers will be beneficial to us.
Channel 4 also has the advantage of being a multi channel network, with different broadcasters operating under the channel 4 name and brand. These include, Channel 4 its self (known for its diverse mix of entertainment, real life documentaries, quizzing/game shows, and alternative genres), Film 4 (broadcasts films that appeal to a channel 4 audience), E4 (an entertainment based platform that broadcasts mainly fictional shows or studio based chat shows), 4 music (which despite its name actually airs a lot of sitcoms and reality shows), as well as more 4 and 4,7 (which take channel 4’s regular programming and air it at later alternative times to catch slightly different audience demographics that may not have the chance to watch these shows live. This paired with the online presence of channel 4 (ALL 4) gives my show multiple opportunities to hit both its primary and secondary audiences.
As mentioned above channel 4 also has a strong online presence. Channel 4 launched its online streaming service (All 4) back in 2006, offering the ability for people to consume their regular channel 4 media online, anywhere, at any time. This service presided Netflix and the BBC’s service. Initially the service was simply a form of catch up TV. Giving people a chance to watch shows they may have missed live for a limited time. However the platform has since expanded, allowing users to watch an enormous back catalogue of channel 4 (and channel 4 network) shows, spanning back several years for popular series. More recently the platform has begun to generate online exclusive content to target the exclusively online audience that is starting to appear in todays world. Mostly this online content consists of drama series such as “The End Of The Fucking World” and for this reason I believe my show is best to remain terrestrial (but has this platform available to it for additional views).
Now more than ever channel 4 are keen on marketing their shows to a wide audience. Over the years channel 4 have used a variety of advertising techniques and always kept up with the times. Today we still see the traditional “teaser trailer format” on our screens, but rather than just TV promotion the channel also reaches out to social media. Placing their trailers and video extracts from their shows on sites like Facebook and YouTube. Since the network is publicly funded and has few in house team members, it also has opportunity to reach out to external marketing companies for the commissioning of Billboard posters (which we still see today) as well as Buss/Buss stop ads (which we see less of now) and offline screen ads. More recently the show has expanded in to advertising its shows online by providing interactive ads that let you learn about the show in ways the user wants, while also being informed about when it will be broadcast.
· exhibits a distinctive character."
I believe that my show appeals to the tastes a modern audience with diverse character profiles, strong creative themes and an insightful view in to the lives of real people. This is not only fitting of the channel 4 remit but also shows how this network will be able to push and promote my show with its well established audience and brand.
According to Offcom channel 4 has a target audience of between 16-60, however its main focus (40% of its audience is made up off) is 16-34 year olds. During the day time the shows content is made up of quiz shows and light entertainment. Then (at around 5PM) the show uses its following timeslot (before the 6’oclock news) to catch what is known as the “after school crowd” and broadcasts either a documentary or a reality/actuality based show at a time when it will be able to capitalise on the availability of younger viewers who will be watching TV at that time before they go off to eat or take up other evening activities. This works out well for my show as our target audience is within these parameters and channel 4’s pre-built relation with these viewers will be beneficial to us.
Channel 4 also has the advantage of being a multi channel network, with different broadcasters operating under the channel 4 name and brand. These include, Channel 4 its self (known for its diverse mix of entertainment, real life documentaries, quizzing/game shows, and alternative genres), Film 4 (broadcasts films that appeal to a channel 4 audience), E4 (an entertainment based platform that broadcasts mainly fictional shows or studio based chat shows), 4 music (which despite its name actually airs a lot of sitcoms and reality shows), as well as more 4 and 4,7 (which take channel 4’s regular programming and air it at later alternative times to catch slightly different audience demographics that may not have the chance to watch these shows live. This paired with the online presence of channel 4 (ALL 4) gives my show multiple opportunities to hit both its primary and secondary audiences.
As mentioned above channel 4 also has a strong online presence. Channel 4 launched its online streaming service (All 4) back in 2006, offering the ability for people to consume their regular channel 4 media online, anywhere, at any time. This service presided Netflix and the BBC’s service. Initially the service was simply a form of catch up TV. Giving people a chance to watch shows they may have missed live for a limited time. However the platform has since expanded, allowing users to watch an enormous back catalogue of channel 4 (and channel 4 network) shows, spanning back several years for popular series. More recently the platform has begun to generate online exclusive content to target the exclusively online audience that is starting to appear in todays world. Mostly this online content consists of drama series such as “The End Of The Fucking World” and for this reason I believe my show is best to remain terrestrial (but has this platform available to it for additional views).
Now more than ever channel 4 are keen on marketing their shows to a wide audience. Over the years channel 4 have used a variety of advertising techniques and always kept up with the times. Today we still see the traditional “teaser trailer format” on our screens, but rather than just TV promotion the channel also reaches out to social media. Placing their trailers and video extracts from their shows on sites like Facebook and YouTube. Since the network is publicly funded and has few in house team members, it also has opportunity to reach out to external marketing companies for the commissioning of Billboard posters (which we still see today) as well as Buss/Buss stop ads (which we see less of now) and offline screen ads. More recently the show has expanded in to advertising its shows online by providing interactive ads that let you learn about the show in ways the user wants, while also being informed about when it will be broadcast.
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