HC
Which is fine - if the 'less ubiquitous' was far more visible on Challenge. But it's not. So it's obvious that pumping out The Chase repeats are helping to pay for yet another glossy and graded to buggery overseas made 6 part detective drama on Sky Atlantic.
We'd all tollerate three days of back to back episodes of something made within the last 4 years, if they put out back to back archive raids of a few programmes made 24+ years ago over the New Year holiday next weekend.
The excuse is The Chase and Pointless are bringing the money in so they can invest it in something less ubiquitous. But I pity anybody who's shunning every other Christmas special to watch The Chase all sodding day.
Which is fine - if the 'less ubiquitous' was far more visible on Challenge. But it's not. So it's obvious that pumping out The Chase repeats are helping to pay for yet another glossy and graded to buggery overseas made 6 part detective drama on Sky Atlantic.
We'd all tollerate three days of back to back episodes of something made within the last 4 years, if they put out back to back archive raids of a few programmes made 24+ years ago over the New Year holiday next weekend.
:-(
A former member
To be fair there did put 12 hours of Bruice game shows on Saturday, AND there doing that again this saturday 
and I have seen Family fortunes being played out, but alas it The chase and Millionaire that help pay for the channel to keep going to get the old stuff....
Mind you I never see anyone complain about Bullseye turning up every single at 11pm
and I have seen Family fortunes being played out, but alas it The chase and Millionaire that help pay for the channel to keep going to get the old stuff....
Mind you I never see anyone complain about Bullseye turning up every single at 11pm
NJ
Neil Jones
Founding member
At least when Bullseye is aired back to back ad-nauseam it's often overnight, typically 11pm to about 4 or 5am and in the grand scale of things it spends probably less time on air than The Chase, in fact most other programmes across the week are on less than The Chase.
Some of the other smaller channels when they do a marathon of something tend to only pick about four or five episodes and repeat them later in the day. UK Food or whatever its called this week does this when they do Bake Off marathons that fill a day, drilling into the EPG reveals its only five episodes that are shown in, say, a 10 hour block as they put the series and episode numbers on the entries. Whether Challenge repeated five episodes or have just aired 24 different episodes nobody knows as there's no entries.
I think it may take a miracle to acquire something that isn't Chase related, the way things are going. Or the prominent death of somebody, as nasty as it sounds, to force a change in the schedule to break up the Chase monotony to pay tribute to them.
Some of the other smaller channels when they do a marathon of something tend to only pick about four or five episodes and repeat them later in the day. UK Food or whatever its called this week does this when they do Bake Off marathons that fill a day, drilling into the EPG reveals its only five episodes that are shown in, say, a 10 hour block as they put the series and episode numbers on the entries. Whether Challenge repeated five episodes or have just aired 24 different episodes nobody knows as there's no entries.
I think it may take a miracle to acquire something that isn't Chase related, the way things are going. Or the prominent death of somebody, as nasty as it sounds, to force a change in the schedule to break up the Chase monotony to pay tribute to them.
BH
BillyH
Founding member
I've thought this for ages, it's the worst the channel's ever been in my opinion. At least in the non-stop Takeshi days it was a show you couldn't watch on any other channel, or when it was all Family Fortunes and The Crystal Maze you were going back 15 or 20 years or more in time. With Pointless and The Chase, there's literally nothing seperating the episodes Challenge air with the ones BBC/ITV air. They were all made in the last eight years and all look identical, bar a very few episodes in the first series of both shows which have some slightly different sets/graphics and were filmed in SD I think.
It's like if the Challenge of 2002 was showing non-stop Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, or the Challenge of 2007 non-stop Deal or No Deal - a complete waste of time, even more so now when you can make your own Challenge schedule by loading up either show on demand and hitting the Play All button.
If it goes on like this I can definitely see it quietly ending one day with few noticing or caring, shame but there's very little reason for its existence right now.
It's like if the Challenge of 2002 was showing non-stop Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, or the Challenge of 2007 non-stop Deal or No Deal - a complete waste of time, even more so now when you can make your own Challenge schedule by loading up either show on demand and hitting the Play All button.
If it goes on like this I can definitely see it quietly ending one day with few noticing or caring, shame but there's very little reason for its existence right now.
SE
Square Eyes
Founding member
Yet when you look at the share of viewing, Challenge share is the highest it’s been for at least 5 years.
It may be a less varied schedule but the narrower focus on current shows is doing good business.
The Chase is the standout most successful show on the channel currently.
It may be a less varied schedule but the narrower focus on current shows is doing good business.
The Chase is the standout most successful show on the channel currently.
Last edited by Square Eyes on 28 December 2017 11:11pm
ET
A bit like ITV?
It has a great on screen look but terrible selection of programming.
A bit like ITV?
LL
Does it have something to do with them being an hour long as well? Would it be cheaper to air one episode of The Chase than, say, two episodes of Play Your Cards Right?
BR
Doubt it's cheaper but probably bring in more revenue. As boring as it is I suspect The Chase and Pointless cost more per hour than the golden oldies, which would mean far from prepping the channel for closure Sky are probably investing in it, financially at least, more than ever before.
Does it have something to do with them being an hour long as well? Would it be cheaper to air one episode of The Chase than, say, two episodes of Play Your Cards Right?
Doubt it's cheaper but probably bring in more revenue. As boring as it is I suspect The Chase and Pointless cost more per hour than the golden oldies, which would mean far from prepping the channel for closure Sky are probably investing in it, financially at least, more than ever before.
HA
harshy
Founding member
It’s a shame Challenge in 1997 and now it’s so disappointing there’s so many wonderful gameshows it could dig up but all they show is the Chase, typical Sky ruin the SD picture to 544x576 and then shove in endless episodes of the Chase, it’s another channel ruined by Sky, because they believe in better!
SP
Maybe they should go back to the 97 look - bring back Prize Time and get Greggles to host it. I'd watch it!