06-12-2023, 07:57 PM
A consultation has gone out on changes to C4, including cuts to original programming, current affairs programming and what remains of their schools programming obligation (30 minutes a year apparently).
News wise though they want to axe the lunchtime summary, a relic of the long axed News at Noon. I can't recall if they had a bulletin before that - think it might just have been as part of their lunchtime political shows. And up until 2003 they'd had News as part of their breakfast output too.
More controversially and opposed by OFCOM is a desire to cut their weekend News commitments. C4 are the only channel to offer half hour bulletins most weekends. The Saturday bulletin began in 1999 and the Sunday edition followed a few years later (there was a period where C4 offered a full Saturday bulletin and C5 a full Sunday bulletin). Prior to that it was just a 5 minute summary.
It really would be a loss to lose news completely from C4 and I doubt that is the genuine aim - if they can reduce to 15 minutes as BBC1/ITV have that might be the compromise. C4 state they wouldn't axe lunchtime bulletins immediately or weekend bulletins, but want the flexibility to make changes in the future.
RXTV sum it up better than I do:
rxtvinfo.com
And the OFCOM consultation:
www.ofcom.org.uk
News wise though they want to axe the lunchtime summary, a relic of the long axed News at Noon. I can't recall if they had a bulletin before that - think it might just have been as part of their lunchtime political shows. And up until 2003 they'd had News as part of their breakfast output too.
More controversially and opposed by OFCOM is a desire to cut their weekend News commitments. C4 are the only channel to offer half hour bulletins most weekends. The Saturday bulletin began in 1999 and the Sunday edition followed a few years later (there was a period where C4 offered a full Saturday bulletin and C5 a full Sunday bulletin). Prior to that it was just a 5 minute summary.
It really would be a loss to lose news completely from C4 and I doubt that is the genuine aim - if they can reduce to 15 minutes as BBC1/ITV have that might be the compromise. C4 state they wouldn't axe lunchtime bulletins immediately or weekend bulletins, but want the flexibility to make changes in the future.
RXTV sum it up better than I do:
rxtvinfo.com
And the OFCOM consultation:
www.ofcom.org.uk