Channel 4

[Brekkie]

They begin with a sting saying something like "This is an advertising premiere on C4" and then run the ads.

Must say that VT again shows the possibilities they have with the blocks - even as a dog person I'd much rather kittens playing with the 4 blocks than the robot man.

[reworP wehttaM]

Think another one worth noting is the #togetheragainsthate ad break, in which the insults slowly get so compulsively in-your-face they break the TV screen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibIVuxbkyuk

If this ad break was aired in America, the whole thing would’ve been up in flames when they got to the GrubHub ad

[Neil Jones]

The more things like this throwback to Treasure Hunt appears in things like Bake Off the more I suspect they really want to revive it:
https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishbak...755463674/

Not entirely sure why they've captioned it Challenge Anneka, since it's using the Treasure Hunt theme, unless the actual challenge is the cooking but anyway...

[Ant]

Editing fail on The Circle tonight, you could see the superimposed TV image 'square' in a shot with Syed during the ratings

I noticed that too. I always thought they superimposed the TV on some shots, perhaps to make the words appear quicker on screen for viewers than they would for the contestants?

The Circle is fantastic, I'd be fascinated to see how they do it all behind the scenes. Alex (aka Kate) from series 1 posted a couple of YouTube videos with some interesting nuggets of information (if anyone's as interested as I am).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEV19aKF6eo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY7BknfwPkI

The creator Tim Harcourt was also interviewed - very interesting read for fans of the show.

[thegeek]

Locations now comes with a bit of product placement - presumably the bit in the first part where one of the househunters uses his Alexa to video call a mate and ask him for a pint. It's almost believable, save for the fact that the series was clearly filmed late last year, when meeting someone in a pub was generally not possible. (Filming such a meeting would count as work though so I'm sure that part was above board)

[XIII]

Locations now comes with a bit of product placement - presumably the bit in the first part where one of the househunters uses his Alexa to video call a mate and ask him for a pint. It's almost believable, save for the fact that the series was clearly filmed late last year, when meeting someone in a pub was generally not possible. (Filming such a meeting would count as work though so I'm sure that part was above board)

I think for the purposes of TV, the people who take part on Location are considered to be working even if they're not being paid, it's the same with game show contestants.

[Rick]

Location is not a show that needs product placement or these fake "real life interactions" inserted now. It's hopefully something they have trialled for this series and will drop it for all future series. It managed 34 series without it, it really didn't need to be introduced now.

[Brekkie]

It sounds like it's awkwardly shoe horned in rather than something natural like the cars they drive or phones they use being a result of product placement. That is the sort of thing that had largely been avoided so far.

[Jon]

Location is not a show that needs product placement or these fake "real life interactions" inserted now. It's hopefully something they have trialled for this series and will drop it for all future series. It managed 34 series without it, it really didn't need to be introduced now.

They don't add product placement with the intention of improving the quality of the programme.

Not seen it, but I'm pretty sure this is pushing the boundary of the rules though.

[Flux]

Locations now comes with a bit of product placement - presumably the bit in the first part where one of the househunters uses his Alexa to video call a mate and ask him for a pint. It's almost believable, save for the fact that the series was clearly filmed late last year, when meeting someone in a pub was generally not possible. (Filming such a meeting would count as work though so I'm sure that part was above board)

Depends when it was filmed. There's a strange narrative I've noticed being used in the media right now when it comes to lifting restrictions about us being "locked down for a year" (the boss of Heathrow was throwing the line around yesterday with regards to international travel for example). But we really haven't been. Most things were open for large chunks of last year, albeit with social distancing and limits on the number of customers. Pubs in England were opened in July. And even later in the year when the Tier system came in, pubs were still allowed to open in Tier 2 as long as customers were ordering a substantial meal. So unless the show was filmed in actual lockdown (March - June, or November) or he was in Wales where the rules were much stricter, then he quite likely would have been fine to meet his mate for a pint. Maybe they were planning on ordering a substantial scotch egg so they could eat out to help out?

[Humphrey Hacker]

I hope this isn't an inappropriate place to note this information, but it's very sad to see the news of Paul Ritter's passing from a brain tumour this morning. I didn't feel it required a specific news thread but as he was arguably best known for starring in Chernobyl and Channel 4's Friday Night Dinner, this seemed the most appropriate home for the update. A real shock as he was only 54. Utterly terrific as the anarchic father, Martin, in Friday Night Dinner. Incredibly sad news. Thoughts with his loved ones.

I'd heard of the name but it wasn't until I saw his face that I'd knew I'd seen him before. He played Jeremy Lloyd in "Don't Panic: The Dad's Army Story". Such a sad loss at a tragically early age.

[James Martin]

Channel 4 won the night last night with Gogglebox picking up 4m viewers, more than ITV and BBC One combined as viewers voted with their remotes or huddled around their phones and computers and turned to streaming.

[Hybrid]

I was just flicking through my TV and saw that E4 were using their ECP at the bottom of the sceen (at the end of Hollyoaks) in a simular fashion to a IPP.

[DavidWhitfield]

Posts about Channel 4's decision to axe 'The Circle' have been split.

This discussion can be found here: https://www.tvliveforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=328

Thanks, folks.

[ToasterMan]

Thought I'd repost this from another thread:

Has anybody read the books What Price Channel 4 and A License to be Different?

Both books seem to cover how the indie producers sector in Britain arrived in the mid-80's, love to read them sometime.

If so, what are your thoughts?