Posted July 3, 200619 yr Channel Four reinforces commitment to music Credit: Music Week Channel 4 is moving its flagship Album Chart Show to a Friday night slot when the programme returns in October. The show, which currently airs on Saturday afternoon on E4, with repeats on Saturday and Sunday on Channel 4, is nearing the end of its initial 20-week run. Following the success of the first series, the channel has commissioned a further 20-week run, ending in spring 2007. The show will go out on Channel 4 around midnight on Fridays as part of the 4Music zone, with repeats on E4 on Saturday afternoons. Commissioning editor T4 and music Neil McCallum says the decision, which comes just a week after the BBC's decision to axe Top Of The Pops, demonstrates Channel 4's dedication to music television. "I think we are going in completely the opposite direction to the BBC in terms of music," he says. "We are committing more hours than before to music, the budget is up 25% and that is not a knee-jerk reaction. On the main channel we will have the Album Chart Show and more festivals, with more hours than we have ever done." He adds that the new, high profile slot will enable the show to grow audiences from its current level of around 500,000 viewers by giving it a new consistency. "It won't have a definite slot, but we won't shove it around as much," he says. "And it will be a better slot than the first series. We feel confident. One of its strengths is that the line up of bands has been really strong and we have also been able to feature new artists." The show will retain the basic format of live performances, artist interviews and a rundown of the UK albums chart Top 20, although McCallum says that he will talk to production company 3DD about possible improvements at the end of the current run. They will also discuss the possibility of one-off Album Chart Show specials, including a programme to mark the 50th anniversary of the albums chart. The decision to re-commission The Album Chart Show is part of a wider commitment from Channel 4 to music programming. Over the summer, the channel will air 4Music Presents specials with Kasabian, Gnarls Barkley, Muse and Lost Prophets, video exclusives from George Michael, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce and coverage of the Bestival, Ibiza Rocks and V festivals. This will be followed in autumn by a 12-part series examining the history of Abbey Road studios, the third UK Music Hall Of Fame and three T4/Popworld specials with "big US artists releasing records in late summer". "If people in the music industry are thinking about where to place videos after TOTP we are the obvious choice," McCallum says. "We are doing more and more and there are other discussions about how we can extend that next year. For us it is a growing, rosy picture in terms of music TV."
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