Channel 4 axes another comedy show as struggling broadcaster tries to cut costs
Channel 4 has axed another comedy show as the broadcaster undertakes a desperate effort to deal with rising costs.
The Big Narstie Show, which first aired in 2018 and is presented by rapper Big Narstie and comedian Mo Gilligan, is the latest programme on the chopping block, and will not be returning for a sixth series.
The BAFTA-winning late night show featured musical performances and interviews with celebrity guests, and Channel 4 informed producers earlier this year that The Big Narstie Show was not coming back.
A spokesperson for the channel insisted that it was not axed due to ongoing cost-saving measures, but was cancelled as part of a “natural evolution” of its busy schedule.
The comedy duo have yet to comment on the news (Channel 4)“The decision not to recommission a sixth series of The Big Narstie Show is not part of our response to challenges in the advertising market,” they added, according to Deadline.
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“We are immensely proud of the five series we have made of this innovative BAFTA-winning show but we have to look carefully at what we commission each year to make sure we continue to innovate and offer viewers a varied range of programming.
“We look forward to working with Dice, Expectation and Big Narstie on other projects in the future,” they concluded.
Earlier this year, it was revealed Channel 4 was taking extreme measures in an effort to cut costs as the channel’s advertising revenue drastically reduced, and ratings plummeted.
Five Dates a Week, Scared Of The Dark and Rescue: Extreme Medics, have all been canned in recent weeks.
Big celebrity names were regular guests on the late night show (Tom Dymond/REX/Shutterstock)It's also been claimed Naked Attraction has fallen victim to the mass culling, but Channel 4 hit back at the reports over the weekend.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 told the Mirror on Sunday: “Naked Attraction has not been decommissioned and a new series will return to Channel 4 next year.
"Scared of the Dark enjoyed a celebrated first season with excellent linear and streaming performance."
Channel 4’s content chief Ian Katz email producers recently to confirm that the channel will be commissioning “relatively little over the summer months”.
A number of shows have been axed, rested or pushed back until next year, in a bid to deal with rising costs.
Khalid Hayat, Channel 4’s Director of Strategy, told a committee of lawmakers earlier this month that their priority was to “preserve shows as much as we can”.
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“Our priority throughout this period is to preserve shows as much as we can, to minimise any disruption or cancellations to commissioning and any decisions that we make are about ensuring the sustainability and delivering the sustainability of Channel 4’s remit delivery,” he explained.
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