At the time of writing, it’s been 25 days since Channel 4’s Black to Front takeover of the schedule and with Highlife having ended it’s 4 week run last Thursday, it’s time to analyse the numbers for the reality series which focused on a group of rich young British Nigerians and Ghanaians. Episode 1 which aired on Friday 10 September (22:00 – 23:05) attracted 370,000; Episode 2 which aired on Friday 17 September (22:00 – 23:05) attracted 385,000 (3.4% audience share); Episode 3 which aired in a new slot on Thursday 23 September (22:00 – 23:05) attracted 200,000 (1.6% audience share) and the season finale which aired on Thursday 30 September (22:00 – 23:05) attracted 122,500 (1.2% audience share) – the lowest of the series and some way off the Thursday night slot average of 552,000 (4.5% audience share). Across the 4 weeks, the total number of viewers just scraped over a million with a weekly average of 269,000.
So what is the explanation for a massive drop off in viewership? From all accounts it certainly wasn’t because of the colourful goings-on of our principal characters who came into their own by the end of the series. The first explanation, for which an answer has yet to be provided, was a sudden change to the schedule with episodes 3 and 4 moving from Friday to Thursday – depriving the series climax with its Nigerian Independence Day last hurrah and the start of Black History Month. EPG’s and listings magazines would not have picked up on the 1stchange in time to meet copy deadlines, thus ensuring that viewers would be lost. Neither was there any mention of the date change on-air as the end credits rolled after episode 2.
The explanation for Highlife’s lowest rating of the series (coming right at the end) is part related to the aforementioned factors and also part related to the gremlins in the system which has haunted Channel 4 for a week with key shows like the finale of Married at First Sight being affected, and viewers complaining of sound issues during the Highlife broadcast. This was all due to a fire alarm being set off at the broadcaster’s Red Bee playout facility in West London.
As recently as last Saturday, there was further alarm when viewers were unable to catch-up with Highlife online as there were problems with the final programme being uploaded – thus further denting its chances of a better consolidated figure. But as Channel 4’s Ian Katz said a few weeks ago it’s not about the numbers. If that was the case, one is tempted to ask why the show was moved from its original slot. In my experience, shows get moved from its original slot for 1 reason – viewing figures. A well placed source with knowledge on the matter spoke off the record to Screenlately saying that Highlife is a ’natural fit for a Friday’.
Cr8tive Row are the brains behind Highlife and earlier this year it partnered with Optomen (An All3media indie) to get the show commissionedas part of Black to Front.
Speaking in the press recently, the Cr8tive Row chief Daps, whose business has predominantly focused on commercials to date and has shot music videos for the likes of Stormzy and Cardi B, said the time has come for “new faces and new stories” and that the show was designed to showcase the glossy lives of its cast: “It was very refreshing to have the opportunity to put people on-screen in a positive way that isn’t indicative of what a lot of people assume black programming would be like,” he added.
“It was about showing the lives of well-to-do black people on-screen without focusing on trauma porn or pain. “The show is not supposed to be a cross-section of black Britain. Different black people do different things, just like white people. Part of the problem is when we think we have to fly the flag for all black people – no-one questions whether a white show is representative”.
Daps said he is already considering the potential for a return. “The first episode trended number one in the UK on Twitter so C4 knows [another series] would not be a gamble,” he said. “I want to showcase different African and West Indian communities. There are unlimited stories to tell.”
For those who watched the 4 week run on the main channel, there are obvious nods in terms of format to the E4 juggernaut that is Made In Chelsea. Looking at the numbers from its very 1st season 10 years ago, its no surprise that the show remains on air thanks to its bunch of likeable, love-to-hate, aspirational, passive aggressive personas.
During its debut 8 week run, the very first episode which aired on 9 May 2011 was watched by 583,000, peaking at 791,000 by episode 6 and climaxing with 718,000 by episode 8. By the end of series 1, the weekly average was 655,000.
10 episodes were ordered in its 2nd season, which aired in the same year from 19 September – 21 November (excluding 2 Christmas specials). Numbers were slightly lower though across the piece, the weekly average held steady at 598,000. The show posted over a million viewers for an episode for the first time in season 3, another 10 episode season, airing from 2nd April – 4 June 2012. 8 out of the 10 episodes posted figures over 700,000 leading to a weekly average of 784,000. Buoyed by its continuing success, E4 ordered another season in the same year, increasing the number of episodes to 11 (weekly average = 712,000).
It wasn’t until series 12 that viewers would see the first Black cast member in the form of Akin Solanke-Caulker. The weekly average in that season was 768,000 (10 October – 19 December 2016). Akin remained in the cast for 1 more season (series 13) which posted a weekly average of 821,000 (20 March – 29 May 2017). Series 20 saw Paris Smith become the first woman of colour to appear in the show. The weekly averages in that season continued to hold steady at 770,000 across 12 episodes (28 September – 14 December 2020). She remained in the cast for series 21 which commenced on 29 March this year posting a reported weekly average of 712,000.
It was also reported that 4 episodes out of the 12 in the last season ranked as the most watched weekly programmes on E4. And with 260 episodes under its belt, Made In Chelsea continues to deliver bankable numbers for E4. One wonders what the numbers would’ve been like if Made In Chelsea was on the main channel. Fans of Highlife will be hoping that the likes of Cuppy become part of the TV furniture in due course. But as we’ve already discussed in this column, Highlife’s weekly average will not be the sole determining factor in whether series 2 becomes a reality. Over to you Ian Katz…
One last footnote re: Black to Front. The era of catch-up TV seems to have benefited the numbers for some of the shows which aired that day. Highlife was initially watched ‘live’ by 370,000 consolidated to 400,000 after 7 days; The 2nd most watched show during Black to Front was Love it or List it (20:00 – 21:00) with consolidated figures of 877,414. Presented by the brother and sister duo of Scarlette and Stuart Douglas, the re-imagined property show was the 15th most watched programme on Channel 4 for that particular week (6-12 September). Celebrity Gogglebox (21:00 – 22:00) was the 2nd most watched programme on Channel 4, behind the US Open Women’s Tennis Final (20:00- 23:45) which aired the next day. Incidentally, Gogglebox was initially watched ‘live’ by 2.6 million consolidated to 3.5 million after 7 days. To put this into context, not only was the audience share a healthy 18%, Gogglebox ranked as the 28th most watched programme on TV in the UK that week (the tennis was ranked 4th with 6 million / 37% audience share). Gogglebox ranked higher than an episode of ITV?s The Chasewhich aired on the same day (2.9 million / 29% audience share) and also ranked higher than BBC 1 sitcom The Cleaner (starring Greg Davies) which aired at the same time as Gogglebox (3.2 million / 17% audience share). With Black History Month now upon us, time will tell whether Black to Front was just the beginning or a means to an end.
You may recall from previous columns what kind of programming will be seen to be offered up by other broadcasters in the wake of Channel 4 lighting the blue touch paper a month early.
Late last week came news of Sky TV’s Black History Month which, upon first glance, noticed that many of the films, documentaries and programmes were already on-air and on demand.
The likes of Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, King in the Wilderness, Harriet (starring Cynthia Erivo), The United States Vs Billie Holiday, John Lewis: Good Trouble, Tina, What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (produced by Lebron James’s Springhill Entertainment), Kipchoge, Kobe: The Interview, Tiger Woods: Back, The Equalizer (reimagined as Queen Latifah), Young Rock, For Life (starring Nicholas Pinnock), Just Mercy,and Lovecraft Country are already on-air. Also on-air and on demand are the only 3 British offerings: Burning an Illusion (directed by Menelik Shabazz), Save Me / Save Me Too (created by and starring Lennie James) and new drama series Wolfe, created by Paul Abbott (Shameless)and starring Babou Ceesay (Damilola, Our Loved Boy) as forensic scientist professor Wolfe Kinteh – North England’s finest crime scene expert. Historically, Sky viewing figures haven’t been widely reported (apart from a few exceptions) and with its recent rebranding of Sky One, viewers will do well to stay in the loop with Sky’s programming output.
From Sky TV to Apple TV who announced their Black History Month programming on the 1st of October.
And though there is no original programming to speak of, the tech company aggregates the best of Black content at its disposal (including the aforementioned Sorry I Didn’t Know, the BBC’s Dreaming Whilst Black and Channel 4’s Black to Front). It also showcases Black Voices and Creators who in turn, reveal the inspirations behind some of their favourite films and TV shows. This year’s foursome features Tosin Cole (Star Wars, Doctor Who), Maya Jama, the aforementioned Lennie James and Ola Orebiyi (Cherry, A Brixton Tale).
In terms of what Apple TV have aggregated archive-wise, there’s pretty much something for everyone, of all ages. If you look under the section entitled Tales of Black British Life you’ll find Pressure by Horace Ove – the 1st feature film by a Black British director (1976).
Under the section Black Love, you’ll find the likes of Chewing Gum, Second Coming and No Shade (2018) – a film which I produced directed by Clare Anyiam-Osigwe and stars Kadeem Pearse (who was in Chewing Gum), Adele Oni (The Witcher), Shone Romulus (Top Boy), Zephyrn Taitte (Call The Midwife) and Judith Jacob (The Real McCoy).
Disclosure: The British Urban Film Festival (which I founded in 2005) has its own section on this portal having struck a partnership with Apple TV in December last year. The majority of last year’s film selections are still available to watch on the Apple TV/iTunes platform, includingTransference (starring Wil Johnson), and Snowflakes (starring Sharon Duncan-Brewster – soon to be seen in Dune).
It appears that a lot of the new content on offer at Sky and Apple will still be available long after Black History Month is done and dusted. Last October, Netflix launched its Black British stories collection and it’s not clear what Channel 5 or the BBC has announced in terms of Black programming this year.
Last June, the BBC announced a £100 million investment to increase diversity on TV over a three-year period (2021-2024). Named The BBC’s Creative Diversity Commitment, the organisation pledged that it will guarantee the production of ‘diverse and inclusive content’. It has been defined as ‘the first in a new series of bold steps to transform its programming and better represent the public it serves.’
In detail, the investment will be supported by a new, mandatory 20% diverse-talent target in all new network commissions, which will come into force from April 2021. Through this endeavour, the BBC argues that it will ‘open its doors more widely than ever to diverse stories and diverse storytellers’, and said measure will ‘accelerate the pace of change in increasing diversity and inclusion both on and off air’. Relevant progress will be highlighted in the pubcaster’s annual report.
We shall watch this space to see what the progress is.
Written by Film Producer and Columnist, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, MBE
