The Media Club · 2 February 2024 · 44 min
RAJAR, Blue Peter and Channel 4 Cuts
- Channel 4 Cuts and Strategy
- RAJAR Figures: Commercial Radio Lead
- BBC Speech Radio Decline
- Universal Music vs TikTok Dispute
- Closure of RDF
- Local News Decline
- Blue Peter Tender
- The Traitors Success
In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by guests Faraz Osman and Adam Bowie to discuss the week's media news. The panel examines Channel 4's recent staff cuts and strategic shift towards digital and streaming, the latest RAJAR figures showing commercial radio's growing lead over the BBC, and the closure of RDF, a storied indie production company. They also cover Universal Music's dispute with TikTok, the closure of The Messenger, and redundancies in the Scottish press. The episode includes a media quiz on Super Bowl ads and a discussion on the future of local news.
Key takeaways
- Channel 4 announced staff cuts, particularly in commissioning, with a focus on streaming and digital-first content.
- RAJAR figures show commercial radio now leads the BBC by 11 points in all listening.
- Universal Music pulled its artists from TikTok after failing to reach a new licensing deal.
- RDF, the indie behind Wife Swap and Faking It, is being closed by Banijay.
- The Messenger, a US news startup, shut down after a year despite $50 million in investment.
In this episode
- Intro and News Roundup
- Blue Peter Tender Discussion
- The Traitors Success
- Channel 4 Cuts and Strategy
- RAJAR Figures Analysis
- Universal Music vs TikTok
- News in Brief: Scottish Press and Local News
- Boom Shakala Closure
- Media Quiz: Super Bowl Ads
- Outro and Promotions
Notable quotes
“I think it's one of the most exceptional pieces of entertainment programming that we've seen in a long time.”
“It's all well and good saying you're going to do big, glossy dramas and big documentary stuff, but there's lots of other places that are doing big glossy dramas and big documentaries.”
“I think Meta should be paying for local reporters and court reporters, and that should be a free service that they offer.”
“If RDF can't make it work, then you worry that there's kind of little hope for the little guys.”
“It's like, you know, all joking aside about how great it is, the way that they've rolled out the PR and publicity across every single network, across every single sofa, it's just been a blackout of like that show and nothing else has even had a look in.”
Discussed
Channel 4 · BBC · RAJAR · Universal Music Group · TikTok · RDF
Mentioned or recommended
- The Traitors
- Blue Peter
- Wife Swap
- Faking It
- Only Connect
- Mr Bates vs The Post Office
- Gogglebox
- 24 Hours in A&E
- The Great British Bake Off
- Smartless
- Today in History with The Retrospectors
- GAMS
- Super Bowl
