Daytime

CHANNEL 4 DAYTIME, SPRING 2018

Our next development round is focusing on two key areas.

• 1.    New half hours for 5/5.30pm
• 2.    A live daily show

1. New shows for 5-6pm

Slots will generally be 30 mins (60 mins will be the exception)

Current output includes: Come Dine With Me, Four in a Bed, Extreme Cakemakers plus occasional presenter-led features (Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas).

The key areas we’d like to commission into are:

•    One or more shows featuring Brits abroad on holiday. This could be a fact ent format with the tone and flavour of Come Dine, Four In A Bed or Coach Trip (while feeling distinct from any of these). Alternatively, it could be more observational based in a place that has lots of stories happening in a short space of time, delivering plenty of narrative. Think across all types of holidays – cruises, for instance, appeal to a daytime demographic. (We’re not looking for new shows that feature expats)
•    Bake Off and Masterchef among others, demonstrate that viewers have an appetite for competitive formats that have a warm-hearted feel to them. The same would apply to daytime. Apart from food, what are the territories where we can see skilled amateurs competing against one another? How would we make these work in a weekly stripped format?
•    Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas worked well at 5pm; we’ve also found a lot of people are watching Escape to the Chateau: DIY on catch-up at that time. What other shows, with those sensibilities – warm but still with  a bit of drama and narrative - might work in this slot?
•    Extreme Cakemakers and the Posh Frock Shop are both documentary series featuring subject areas that already feature in long running series abroad. Can you identify other subject areas that are working internationally, and lightly format them in a way UK viewers might enjoy watching daily?
•    What else could we experiment with at 5pm? Buy It Now was a departure into a territory we hadn’t tried before. We’re open to trying one or two other things that feel different from our current output.  
When thinking of shows, bear in mind the demographic: it’s broad in background (empty nesters, home workers or homemakers, people coming home from work, as well as students and kids). It’s split two thirds female to one third male. Similarly the age range is very broad and doesn’t skew young.

Ideas should be entertaining but with playalong, take-out or good stories that viewers can engage with. Avoid anything too serious or too heavy in nature (no personal relationship counselling for instance). We’re open on subject matter – the test is whether its attractive enough to a broad audience, rather than appealing only to a sub-set of viewers.

All shows at 5pm and across our schedule should have the aspiration to ultimately run in large volume – we aren’t interested in short runs or one-off weeks.