• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Clean Feed

Clean Feed

  • Timeline
  • News
  • Opinion
  • PresWatch
  • Bloopers
  • News+
  • Resources
  • Other Pages
    • About This Site
    • Contact Us
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Our Other Websites
    • Rewind
    • Showreel
  • Related External Websites
    • Pres Café
    • TV Pres

Channel 4’s first foray into breakfast television

Posted on 4th September 2022 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 4th September 2022 Filed under Opinion

It is 30 years this month since Channel 4’s first attempt to break the mould of breakfast television came to an end.

The Channel 4 Daily included a high quality world news service, arts coverage, business bulletins and even a mini version of Countdown.

Launched in a wave of publicity its initial ratings were dismal but, as was typical of Channel 4 at the time, the channel persevered. The programme won a loyal audience albeit one much smaller than the BBC’s and TV-am’s.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Channel 4 Daily: first edition (3rd April 1989).

It came to an end months before Channel 4 started to sell its own advertising and lost its direct subsidy from ITV. The timing was not coincidental.

Channel 4 was not prepared to subsidise this particular venture with the ad money from Brookside or Countdown. It had much more important things to support.

In its place came The Big Breakfast – a show aimed at a different audience which soon became very popular and commercially successful but was also in keeping with the quirky side of Channel 4’s personality.

When Channel 4 announced it was to move into breakfast television, the channel was clear that it would not take resources away from the rest of the schedule.

Just as the regional ITV companies sold Channel 4’s advertising time in their areas, so TV-am sold the time between 6am and 9.25am.

TV-am then paid a “fourth channel subscription” agreed by the IBA – this effectively meant TV-am was subsidising The Channel 4 Daily. In turn, The Channel 4 Daily was not aimed at TV-am’s target audience and did not compete against it.

However, as far as we are aware, TV-am was not responsible for playing out the adverts and the Channel 4 signal was not rerouted through TV-am.

At all times the Channel 4 signal continued to pass through the regional ITV companies on its way to the transmitters.

It is thought – but not confirmed – that ITN played in the ads. ITN was also responsible for the coordination of the whole programme. The whole package – programme and ads – then passed through Channel 4 Presentation on its way to the network.

It is perhaps sad to think of the failure of The Channel 4 Daily. Did the market not exist? Or was it simply overshadowed by the two big programmes on the two big channels? In particular was it sufficiently different to BBC Breakfast News?

Still nobody can say Channel 4 didn’t try.

For years now Channel 4’s early mornings have simply been filled by repeats of American comedies. The slot seems to have been written off.

The Big  Breakfast was recently revived but in a late-morning Saturday slot.

Will Channel 4 ever try to make waves in the early mornings again?

Related

Acknowledgements

Related

FEATURE IMAGE:

PICTURED: The Channel 4 Daily opening titles. COPYRIGHT: Channel 4 Television Corporation.

Related

Related

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sidebar

Tags: Channel 4, Channel 4 Television Corporation, ITN, The Big Breakfast, The Channel 4 Daily, TV-am

Dates for the Diary

30th January: BBC Reporting Scotland moves to a temporary set. The programme will move back to a refurbished Studio C in the summer.

30th/31st January: BBC One East HD and BBC One East Midlands HD launch on satellite.

6th/7th February: BBC One West Midlands HD, BBC One East Yorkshire/Lincolnshire HD and BBC Alba HD launch on satellite. BBC One/Two Wales SD services close on satellite.

13th/14th February: BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD, BBC One London HD and BBC RB1 HD launch on satellite.

20th/21st February: BBC One North East and Cumbria HD, BBC One North West HD, BBC One Yorkshire HD and BBC Parliament HD launch on satellite. BBC One Scotland SD and BBC Scotland SD services close on satellite.

22nd/23rd February: BBC One South East HD launches on satellite.

February 2023: new set for BBC Midlands Today goes live.

13th February 2023: Sky Kids launches.

Q1 2023: BBC Chameleon branding introduced on air for BBC Weather, CBBC and CBeebies.

April 2023: BBC News Channel and BBC World News merge.

November/December 2023: World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23).

Q1 2024: SD versions of BBC channels close on satellite.

2024: BBC Four and CBBC go online-only.

2024: BBC Radio 4 Extra goes online-only.

Don’t Miss Out – Follow Us on Twitter

Our Twitter account will usually report the latest broadcast-related events shortly after they've happened and ahead of the website. You'll also catch a variety of items there that will not be covered on the website.
Clean Feed on Twitter.

© 2023 The TV Room. This site is not affiliated with any broadcaster, production company or design/marketing/talent agency.

Back to top