[Kim Wexler’s Ponytail]

It's really not just one show unfairly picked out. This isn't 80's/90's Channel 4 anymore, the scales tipped and the commercially safe, and often bland, programming vastly outnumbers the genuinely old school ''channel 4'' stuff.  They project this image of it being all 'It's A Sin' and none of that generic stuff that everyone else does but it’s mostly 'Britain’s Best Beach Huts' filling the schedules just like everyone else.

Channel 4 are always going to be under more scrutiny for what they commission compared to other broadcasters but it can be argued that the documentary fulfilled the remit. The title may sound trashy but you want something to stand out on the EPG so people will watch it, which they did.

Trashy titles aren't new or edgy either. BBC Three used to get absolutely slated for that back in the day.

[Brekkie]

Commercially strong shows have always been important to C4 and generally when they're commercially strong their PSB slate, and risk taking, is also strong too. That was lost a bit towards the end of their Big Brother days with criticism perhaps not acknowledging one could fund the other and they limped on a bit in the years after.

There are signs it is there again but not to the extent it once was and overall bland middle of the road programme dominates the bulk of the schedule, but that's the case on all channels now too.

[tellyblues]

There will be some regulation(s) about what can be used for the title of a programme but I'm not sure there are rules in place stating that it has to be new or edgy.

[Larry the Loafer]

I'd argue that, for a PSB, consumer advice on air fryers does more public service than watching Katie Price renovate her house. They've aired much worse shows than this.

[Jon]

It's really not just one show unfairly picked out. This isn't 80's/90's Channel 4 anymore, the scales tipped and the commercially safe, and often bland, programming vastly outnumbers the genuinely old school ''channel 4'' stuff.  They project this image of it being all 'It's A Sin' and none of that generic stuff that everyone else does but it’s mostly 'Britain’s Best Beach Huts' filling the schedules just like everyone else.

The point is they’d probably be things in any given week in the history of Channel 4 that could be picked out. Brookside was just another soap that was probably just a bit ofa more risqué version of what you’d see on TV. Countdown is just a gameshow that came from an ITV region, and this is a time at which ITV showed University Challenge so not sure that it would have been out of place elsewhere. 

What you need to do to prove your point is pick out the 5 most ‘different shows’ from a random week in the 80s or 90s and compare them with 5 shows from now.

[London Lite]

The Andrew Neil Show won't be coming back this autumn with an uncertain future for the spring.

www.theguardian.com 

Andrew Neil show is latest victim of Channel 4 cuts | Channel 4 | The Guardian
Sunday night political programme will not return this year and plans for 2024 st…
  Source: www.theguardian.com

[JMT1985]

I thought Andrew's show was actually decent.

[Brekkie]

Was always an odd commission for C4 just to counter perceived bias. Might make sense to bring it back around the election but I've always thought Andrew Neil was put on way too high a pedestal.

[cando]

I thought Andrew's show was actually decent.

It like the football and rugby rights were only bought to rid themselves of their cliched "metropolitan/liberal elite" image when under threat of privatisation.

[tellyblues]

The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge, You Won't Believe This, Let's Make A Love Scene all axed. Meanwhile, a spin-off of Taskmaster based on food and drink is to be piloted. Dear oh dear.