Lots has been written about Richard Desmond’s purchase of Five - mostly centred on the view that he is going to make Five an extension of Asian Babes!
To me, this view is just mischief making. When Five was Channel 5, their policy of making the then Channel 5 into Channel Filth was well documented. Who can’t fail to remember Cheggers in Naked Jungle a programme which lead one observer to refer to it as a “nasty little piece of voyeurism posing as a game show”? It didn’t work to build ratings and revenue ten years ago and it certainly won’t work now. And Richard Desmond knows this. The Daily Express doesn’t have a page 3 girl and the Daily Star hasn’t become the Sport!
More to the point is how Desmond’s energetic and entrepreneurial spirit will shake up Five. So far he has said a lot of sensible things. He is likely to stick with CSI, Australian soaps and go for Big Brother but I’m sure he’ll also give the channel a little shot in the arm with some Daily Star and OK! content. It looks like he is fully committed to Project Canvas which will champion broadcast and broadband connectivity through the TV rather than the computer.
There is little doubt that Five’s sales teams will become more Express like and will ferret around for any loose change found under the sofa cushions. And there is absolutely no doubt that fully fledged cross platform deals will be part of everyday negotiations.
If his track record with the Daily Star and OK! is anything to go by Five’s future looks to be safe hands but it won’t be the dawn of a new age of broadcast quality!
Ian Prager
Planning Director
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