Future of Channel 4’s biggest daytime show revealed amid string of show axes and budget cuts
THE future of Channel 4’s biggest daytime show has now been revealed amid string of budget cuts.
A Place In The Sun has been on-air for over two decades, since it made its debut in 2002.
In a rare move, Channel 4 has now commissioned a new series of the spin-off, A Place In The Sun: What Happened Next.
The show sees presenters such as Jasmine Harman and Laura Hamilton revisit the people they have helped to relocate over the years.
Each TV personality will catch up with the house hunters that they assisted in their quest to move abroad.
Daytime commissioner Jo Street explained: “A Place in the Sun is such a beloved show, and we know the audience really cares what happens to the house-hunters once the cameras leave.
“What a treat to catch up and see what happened when that offer was finally accepted.”
This is a different move from the broadcaster in recent times, as it’s been forced to roll out huge cutbacks in programming.
Previous shows to face the axe include the social experiment, Scared Of The Dark fronted by Danny Dyer.
They also binned off the popular political and current affairs programme, The Andrew Neil Show.
Former BBC star Andrew, 75 explained: “It did well but like a lot of media organisations these days, they said to me quite bluntly, ‘we’ve got no money. We haven’t got any money’.”
This comes after the commercial broadcaster closed five of its terrestrial channels at the end of June.
At the start of the year, the broadcaster previously announced it would cut 200 jobs and shut its London HQ.
But it’s not just operations in the capital that will be affected, as 600 jobs based in various regions across the country will also be axed.
It forms part of a major five-year plan to focus on streaming and become a “digital-first” public service by 2030.
All of The Box music channels stopped at the end of June as More4, E4 Extra and 4Seven hung in the balance.
A Channel 4 spokesperson previously confirmed the move to The Sun, saying: “As we announced earlier this year as part of Channel 4’s digital-first Fast Forward strategy, we will be closing our Box network of channels from 1 July across all platforms – as they are no longer of sufficient scale to deliver meaningful return on investment.
“Our strategy reflects the generational shift in TV viewing and involves reducing costs – particularly in linear activities – to allow us to invest in digital priorities and stay competitive in a world of global entertainment conglomerates and social media giants.”
Channel 4 cuts so far
Channel 4 previously announced that a number of terrestrial channels would be cut
The full list includes:
- 4Music
- The Box
- Kiss
- Magic
- Kerrang!
The Channel has been forced to make over changes across the business.
- Shows to be axed include Steph’s Packed Lunch, Rise And Fall, and Scared of the Dark.
- Production was halted for 24 Hours in A&E after 13 years.
- 200 jobs were cut as Channel 4 sold its huge London HQ.
- Overall, 600 jobs from across the UK were terminated by the broadcaster.
