More News, More Talk, More Drama - More4 Goes On Air from 10th October

26 August 2005

Blunkett scandal gets launch night showcase on new public service channel from Channel 4

Channel 4's new public service TV channel, More4, launches on Monday 10th October, with a satirical drama charting the affair between David Blunkett and Spectator publisher Kimberly Quinn taking pride of place in its opening night line-up.

The new channel, which will be available free from launch in more than 15 million[1] UK TV homes via Freeview, Sky Digital and digital cable, will go on air at 8pm on 10th October and thereafter will broadcast daily from 4pm to 6am.

Its opening night highlight, A Very Social Secretary (working title), starring Bernard Hill as Blunkett, Victoria Hamilton as Quinn and Robert Lindsay as Tony Blair, is the first in a planned series of landmark, feature-length dramas and documentaries that will play monthly on Monday nights on More4.

Other Monday night landmarks in the channel's first months on air include Animal Research (working title), a drama documentary on the contentious issue of animal experimentation and the UK TV premiere of Downfall, the Oscar nominated film portraying life in Hitler's bunker with Bruno Ganz starring as the doomed dictator.

Peter Dale, Head of More4, said: "These are programmes of a scale and an ambition that would not seem out of place on Channel 4 itself and yet are very thin on the ground elsewhere in the digital TV universe. They sum up what we want More4 to be - a lively, outspoken and above all entertaining channel for discerning viewers who want more from digital TV than repeats, football and back-to-back acquisitions."

Nearly two-thirds of More4's £33 million programme budget will be spent on original, British content allowing the channel to run its own daily news bulletin and a late night topical talk show.

Sarah Smith will anchor More4 News, a half-hour bulletin broadcasting Monday to Friday at 8pm and mixing updates on the day's main news stories with more detailed analysis of key issues. The bulletin, produced by the Channel 4 News team at ITN, will aim to give a platform to voices not normally heard in the mainstream media.

The Last Word will air Monday to Thursday at 11pm and will be presented by a rotating line-up of presenters, including David Mitchell, Mark Dolan and Stanley Johnson. They will be joined to comment on each day's events by journalists, cultural commentators and comedians. 

Oscar nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock will also guest present The Last Word during a week on More4 dedicated to his work. Morgan Spurlock Week includes the UK premiere of his new US documentary series, 30 Days and another chance to see his breakthrough film Super Size Me. This is the first of a series of themed weeks and seasons planned by More4 in its first year on air.

While More4 will not major on acquired programming, it will find space in its schedule for the best and most intelligent US shows. The West Wing finds a new permanent and exclusive home on More4 for its sixth season, while Larry David's quirky US comedy, Curb Your Enthusiasm, will also enjoy a peak-time slot on the new channel. There will also be a five day a week slot after the news for The Daily Show, in which host Jon Stewart takes an irreverent look at the day's news from around the world. Recorded on weekday evenings before a New York audience, the show will be screened the following night on More4.

Several nights a week More4 will also showcase its own, originally commissioned documentaries and documentary series, often with an international flavour. In 2005 these include Georgi and the Butterflies, Darcus Howe's authored film, Son of Mine and Police Investigations.

More4 will also regularly showcase the best theatrically released international documentaries including The Corporation, Capturing the Friedmans and Fahrenheit 9/11 in its first three months on air. To coincide with a three-hour special on Channel 4, The 50 Greatest Documentaries, More4 will also show again some of the best films from Channel 4's documentary archive, including Kevin Macdonald's Touching the Void and Kim Longinotto's Divorce Iranian Style.

There will also be a weekly film slot on More4, mixing free-to-view UK TV premieres of films such as The Magdalene Sisters and House of Mirth with British cinema classics including The Crying Game, The Madness of King George and Dance with a Stranger.

More4 will offer viewers a second chance to see the most talked about shows from Channel 4. Highlights of the Channel 4 autumn schedule that will be repeated on More4 include The Queen's Sister, Jamie's Great Escape, The Year London Blew Up, The Somme, Demolition, Priest Idol, The Unteachables and the second installment of David Starkey's Monarchy.

Andy Duncan, Channel 4's Chief Executive, added: "We're understandably excited about our launch line-up and convinced that More4 represents a significant extension of choice for our  viewers. No other commercial broadcaster in the UK would contemplate launching a free-to-air channel with the richness and creative ambition of More4, which aims to make a significant public service contribution in its own right.

"This launch will be a significant milestone in Channel 4's history - for the first time since the launch of the original Channel 4 service we will be introducing a new public service channel to British viewers. Engaging multi-channel audiences with new channels like More4 is vital if Channel 4 is to continue punching above its weight in the fully digital TV market of the future."

Notes to editors

1.      The launch programme will be a More4 News bulletin at 8pm on 10th October.

2.      A More4+1 service is planned to launch on Sky Digital, NTL and Freeview.

3.      More4 is Channel 4's third digital TV channel launch after FilmFour in November 1998 and E4 in January 2001.

4.      Pictures of Bernard Hill as David Blunkett are available from Channel 4 Picture Publicity at www.channel4.com/press or by calling 020 7306 8685.

Copies of a press pack giving more information about programmes in More4's launch schedule are available at www.channel4.com/press or by calling 020 7306 8444.