Channel 4’s content boss has said the relaunches of old television shows such as Big Brother and Gladiators are “depressing”.
Ian Katz said Big Brother is a “wonderful show” but he is more interested in bringing new shows to viewers: “I’m sure [Big Brother] will bring an audience to ITV, but I do think there is something depressing about this microwave moment with TV shows being reheated. If Channel 4 is about anything, it is about finding that new dish.”
Big Brother was originally a hit for Channel 4, before moving to Channel 5. It has been off British TV screens for four years, but will return in 2023 to ITV, which is hoping to replicate the ratings success of Love Island.
Other recently commissioned British TV reboots include the BBC bringing back the 1990s family hit Gladiators, while a revival of the early 2000s reality TV show Survivor is also on the cards.
Katz, who is responsible for commissioning programmes for Channel 4, told the Edinburgh TV festival he preferred his new commissions – which include a musical about Prince Andrew, and a documentary about men with abnormally large penises.
Asked about the criticism, the BBC content boss, Charlotte Moore, pointed out that Channel 4’s ratings rely heavily on The Great British Bake Off – which was poached from the BBC.
She said trusted formats from the past can attract viewers who don’t remember the shows first time around. “I don’t think it’s that easy to bring titles back and be successful; it actually takes a lot of creativity. If you’re going to have an impact with young audiences, some of these big titles help have that impact.”
Katz has himself recently revived Changing Rooms, The Big Breakfast, and the 1980s comedy show Friday Night Live for Channel 4.
With Channel 4 still facing the threat of privatisation by the Conservative government, Katz said he was unsure whether the new prime minister would push ahead with the sell-off plans: “I covered politics for a long time … it’s a fool’s game to try to predict what politicians do.”
However, any change to the broadcaster’s business model would do “really profound thing to do to the wider culture and economy of television … Our contribution is best protected by staying in public hands. We’re in the rudest health we’ve probably ever been in”.
