Next linear channel to close?

[JAS84]

Both Paramount Network and 4Music have really inappropriate names. As mentioned already, Paramount should mean prestige - that means movies and drama and comedy TV. Not fly on the wall documentaries. The old Paramount Network should've been left alone, and 5Spike should've been given a different name or just shuttered.

As for 4Music, it's pretty much morphed into E4 2. If they're going to keep it, I'd rebrand it as T4, the old teen brand that served the same audience as E4.

[Jacq]

Paramount Network.

Surely its current terrible line up of nothing but cop shows can't last much longer. The Paramount name deserves better.

It really devalues the Paramount name by putting the 5Spike content onto it. It’s only on because ViacomCBS have the channel running in other countries. I get Spike was being phased out by the company, but from memory Spike was still doing ok in this country. It would have made more sense to rebrand 5USA as Paramount Network.

I could see more of the lesser +1’s getting the chop at some point.

Dare I say it, I wouldn’t rule out Challenge. I hope I’m wrong but it really is being ran into the ground.

I used to watch Challenge a lot. They used to have some decent old stuff on there.

Now, it just seems like endless Pointless and The Chase. I love both of those, but not for that long!

I know they still sneak in the odd Brucie thing, or older gameshow. But they used to show Knightmare!

Now, my older child saw some Knightmare episodes on YouTube the other week, because my mum and I had a conversation about it, and he seemed very interested in our conversation, so I showed him.

If they were being shown on Challenge, he'd lose his mind. As he did when the old Robot Wars were shown. And he also likes Gladiators. And he was very annoyed when he was watching "Stupid Market Sweep" and it stopped being shown....


My apologies. This went off on a tangent!

[Brekkie]

Both Paramount Network and 4Music have really inappropriate names. As mentioned already, Paramount should mean prestige - that means movies and drama and comedy TV. Not fly on the wall documentaries. The old Paramount Network should've been left alone, and 5Spike should've been given a different name or just shuttered.

As for 4Music, it's pretty much morphed into E4 2. If they're going to keep it, I'd rebrand it as T4, the old teen brand that served the same audience as E4.

Or rebranding it something like 4MusicMix or 4Music+ would probably be a better description of what it is. All music channels have gone the same way though - though not quite as bad as MTV in the US which has a show called Ridiculousness (a viral video clip show) which now airs pretty much 22-23 hours a day every single day.

[paul_hadley]

4Music definitely needs to be renamed. 4 Mix or something similar perhaps? Even All4 might work as Channel 5 tried something similar with their naming convention.

[RegularCapital]

On the topic of ViacomCBS, I'm surprised that they haven't done anything with the CBS branded channels co-owned with AMC Networks after the Viacom/CBS remerger as CBS no longer needs a broadcasting partner and then move some of the programming to the 5-branded channels. I've had a quick glance at the BARB viewing figures for Paramount Network, it's doing okay, but 5Star and 5USA perform better though.

I don't see much future in music channels, younger people are getting their music through YouTube, Spotify etc. The Now 70's, 80's and 90's channels have been a success because they appeal to older people, elsewhere in Europe, MTV has copied that formula. In regards of music channels, MTV Base is probably next to go.

ViacomCBS has also been making some cost-cutting measures and been consolidating channels on the quiet (not in the UK but especially in smaller countries/markets), for instance, Nickelodeon in Scandinavia and Nickelodeon in Spain are now exactly the same channel in terms of scheduling, the only difference is the language track and the ads, they share the "Nickelodeon Commercial Light" service, as they have minimal advertising, there is also the MTV Global and Nick Jr Global services shared by some countries too. I know this about Nickelodeon because I looked on the Dutch broadcasting authority's (CVDM) website and it was also discussed on the AnimeSuperhero forums where the schedules were compared.

As for Discovery in terms of viewing ratings, if they want to close another channel, it would either be Discovery History or Discovery Science. It seems that they wish to curtail their presence on pay-TV in favour for a SVOD (Discovery+) and FTA (DMAX, Quest and HGTV) presence instead, unless they wish to maintain a three-prong business strategy of course, but with their pay-TV business in a slightly diminished role.

National Geographic Wild could also go due to the success of Disney+.

[James Martin]

The linear Sky movie channels can't be long for this world, surely?

[JetixFann450]

I'll vouch for GINX Esports TV. Pretty sure sooner or later that will move online only, since the channel covers something that is now too niche for a linear channel.

Well Ginx is owned by parent company Sky, who happens to be owned by the parent company Comcast who operates their own gaming channel, G4. Who knows if they'll rebrand Ginx into G4.

[HEW2343]

Paramount Network.

Surely its current terrible line up of nothing but cop shows can't last much longer. The Paramount name deserves better.

It really devalues the Paramount name by putting the 5Spike content onto it. It’s only on because ViacomCBS have the channel running in other countries. I get Spike was being phased out by the company, but from memory Spike was still doing ok in this country. It would have made more sense to rebrand 5USA as Paramount Network.

I could see more of the lesser +1’s getting the chop at some point.

Dare I say it, I wouldn’t rule out Challenge. I hope I’m wrong but it really is being ran into the ground.

I used to watch Challenge a lot. They used to have some decent old stuff on there.

Now, it just seems like endless Pointless and The Chase. I love both of those, but not for that long!

Challenge don't show Pointless anywhere near the same extent that they used to.
At present they only show them at the weekend.

[Stanley Matravers]

I'm amazed at how even the comparatively limited number of channels on Freeview sustain their own existence, let alone the seemingly infinite number on satellite/cable. Most of the digital linear channels that I know of by name, I've never actually watched a single second of (and likely never will).

My perception is that much of what's out there are "garden shed" operations each staffed by a total of about 10 people (which is at least 10 times the number of viewers that they attract...) on a budget of tuppence per year, and just show endless hours of back-to-back blocks of the same couple of programmes on a loop.

As I was a tiny tot when Channel 4 launched, the only "event" channel launch appreciable to me during my lifetime was Channel 5 in 1997. Nowadays, channels' whole lifespans just come and go pretty much totally unnoticed by the world.

[Keith]

I'd have thought that 4Seven and 5 Select would have been favourites to close, considering they're essentially catchup channels. Viewers could then be pointed to All4 and My5 respectively. However I'm guessing for now there's still enough advertising revenue coming in to cover their costs.

I'd have thought in the long term many of the Sky Cinema genre channels would close in favour of the Sky store. Maybe retaining the Sky Cinema Premier channel(s) and one or two others for promoting specific films.

Long term I also suspect the BBC radio channels will be replaced with the BBC Sound app, probably under a cost saving excuse.

[channelbox]

I suspect that Paramount Network will be one of the next to fall. Since it's merger with 5Spike, it has basically morphed into what 5Spike used to be.

When I think of Paramount, I think of excellent movies & drama series, not endless episodes of Police Interceptors & Traffic Cops. I'm surprised they didn't merge Paramount with 5USA instead, one because of similar content, and two, it would have had the advantage of being higher up in the listings (on Freeview), at LCN21, as opposed to LCN32.

I also feel that 5Select may collapse, as it is fundamentally a repeats channel.

Like RegularCapital's post, I wouldn't be surprised if ViacomCBS and AMC decide to merge the CBS channels into the Channel 5 portfolio. If that did happen, I could see Reality merging into 5Star, Drama & Justice merging into Paramount & Horror perhaps staying separate.

I wouldn't be shocked if 4Music is axed/rebranded soon too.

[moonygiiiuls]

To be honest, I have that feeling that Court TV sooner or later will be closed too. I mean, at least when on Sky on that LCN there was Sony Crime, at the beginning it had enough content for be here (then it blowed up in the worse way possible, but that's another story).
But Court TV is just court hearings. I can see why it has a really low audience.

[Brekkie]

I'd have thought that 4Seven and 5 Select would have been favourites to close, considering they're essentially catchup channels. Viewers could then be pointed to All4 and My5 respectively. However I'm guessing for now there's still enough advertising revenue coming in to cover their costs.

I think actually the 4Seven style of channel may survive long term as they're not commissioning themselves and are there to serve an audience that isn't necessarily using On Demand. It may even outlive E4.

[Brekkie]

To be honest, I have that feeling that Court TV sooner or later will be closed too. I mean, at least when on Sky on that LCN there was Sony Crime, at the beginning it had enough content for be here (then it blowed up in the worse way possible, but that's another story).
But Court TV is just court hearings. I can see why it has a really low audience.

Although court hearings are ideal for a linear stream, whether on TV or online. It may be those sort of channels that survive in an on demand age.

[ChrisOnTees]

5Select or Paramount Network have got to be quite likely. Paramount in particular doesn't really have much of a purpose other than screening endless repeats of Police Interceptors and Traffic Cops.

4Music is a possible candidate as well.

4Music is pretty useless, it's basically 4Seven for E4. It's only had 5 original programmes. I don't really think people watch it for music these days, as it makes up a relatively small amount of its broadcast hours.