Worldwide Disbelief

With the recession ready to give us all a good kicking, it appears that it’s not only companies taking a massive hit but broadcasters as well. Today The Times reported that Channel 4 is currently circling the drain and will most probably go bankrupt within the next five years.

It’s not that surprising. When Channel 4 started up in 1982 its remit to produce distinctive, innovative programming and cater for minorities not served by the existing three channels. To begin with it introduced American football to English audiences as well as broadcasting the cream of American drama and comedy overlooked by the other broadcasters. Over the years Channel 4 has turned its back on what was good, pandering instead to simpletons and utter fuckwits.

Like Woolworths, itself in the middle of a fire sale, Channel 4 now offers plenty but ultimately, for people with any sense, provides nothing of any worth. Instead it’s now cluttered with idiotic lifestyle programmes presented by over-caffeinated imbeciles with no business being in front of a camera, too many fucking chefs, lame soap operas, crass comedies, and reality shows in which people nobody cares a jot about go on a worthless “journey”, all propping up yet another annual collection of celebrity-hungry arseholes in Big Brother. A breeding ground for rejects from The Island of Doctor Moreau, it’s no wonder the channel is utterly fucked.

As a state-owned public corporation, the proposal currently being discussed by ministers and broadcast regulator Ofcom is for Channel 4 to be merged with BBC Worldwide, the company that makes more than a tidy profit from selling the rights to popular BBC programmes to foreign broadcasters as well as lucrative DVD and magazine sales. Is it really a good idea handing over Worldwide’s annual profits of over £100 million to keep Jon Snow in colourful ties? Given that Channel 4, which made a measly pre-tax profit of £1.6 million last year, is already saying it needs half as much again just to keep going, the answer has to be no.