Samsung have added Channel 4′s 4oD catch-up TV service to their range of connected Smart TVs.
Available through Samsung Apps, the company’s Smart TV service portal, 4oD offers thirty days worth of recently-broadcast content from the likes of Channel 4 and More 4, alongside archive content.
Shows like BrassEye and Peep Show are all available to be viewed on demand.
“We’re pleased to be able to extend the availability of 4oD, our successful video on demand service, to Samsung’s Smart TVs as we continue to widen the reach of Channel 4 content onto key platforms,” said Sarah Milton, head of video on demand at Channel 4.
“Smart TV owners will now be able to catch up with recent popular Channel 4 programmes and access many shows from Channel 4′s vast archive spanning 30 years of broadcasting – on demand via their television.”
The app is available to all Samsung Smart TVs released in 2012, or newer.
The announcement follows a similar move by Sky, who also recently added 4oD to their catch-up TV offering.
Sky have announced the arrival of Channel 4′s 4oD service as part of Sky TV’s On Demand hub.
Landing next Monday, Sky subscribers with their boxes hooked up to the internet will be able to access on demand content from Channel 4 and More 4, with E4 and Film 4 content set to launch a little later.
As well as recently televised shows, the 4oD service also offers top-notch archival content, including great comedy shows like Peep Show, Brass Eye and The Inbetweeners.
“The way people enjoy TV is changing as customers embrace technology to take control over their viewing. We know customers have busier lives than ever, which is why we’ve created the most comprehensive catch-up service in the UK,” said Luke Bradley-Jones, Sky’s Director of TV Products.
“Offering great TV from Channel 4 on demand on Sky+ and on Sky Go at no extra charge is all part of our continued commitment to offer our customers the best combination of content and innovation.”
Sarah Rose, Channel 4′s Director of Commercial & Business Development, added:
“The launch of our successful VOD service, 4oD, on the Sky on demand and Sky Go platforms this month will extend the reach of our content to enable even more viewers to enjoy our wide range of programmes. And through the recent arrival of More4 HD and much anticipated launch of Film4 HD in September, we’re delighted to complete the roll out of our HD portfolio.”
The the free app should go live on Monday, so check back in your Sky On Demand portal then to view the new content.
It’s probably the most hyped archaeological dig since dinosaur fossils were first unearthed, but the long-lost remains of King Richard III have been identified by archaeologists at the University of Leicester “beyond reasonable doubt” – much to Channel 4′s delight as they plan to screen a documentary about it tonight.
The remains were found last year exhumed from under a car park near where the king’s body was thought to be lost. Suspicions over the identity of the skeletal remains were initially raised based on the curvature of the skeleton’s spine and battle wounds consistent with historical accounts of Richard III’s death way back in 1485, as well as the nature of the burial.
Now a team led by Richard Buckley has used extensive radio carbon dating and DNA analysis comparisons with the king’s living descendants to confirm that the remains are in fact those of Richard III, ending a 500-year mystery as to the location of his final resting place.
Descendants used in the DNA testing included four living males, as well as a sample from Michael Ibsen, a Canadian-born carpenter and 17th generation descendent of the king’s sister.
The team were also able to ascertain that the late king was killed between his late 20s and early 30s, further details that correlate with historical accounts, as well as signs of scoliosis and the ten points of battle-inflicted trauma that was said to have caused his death.
Richard III’s death occurred at the conclusion of two years reign over Britain from 1483 to 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. It marked the end of the War of the Roses and, for many academics, the closure of the medieval period. However, in modern times Richard III has become best known as depicted by William Shakespeare, one of the Renaissance playwright’s most vile historical villains.
The remains will now be re-interred at Leicester Cathedral, close to the Greyfriars site where he was first discovered. The cathedral will also house a new monument to the king, and is expected to become a tourist hotspot.
Richard III: The King in the Car Park, Channel 4 tonight (February 4th), 9pm
In these cash strapped times there really is no need to hand over your hard-earned dosh for a copy of Radio Times (other listings magazines are available), because we’ve bought a copy and have worked out which are the best shows over the holidays. It’s our Xmas gift to you.
QI: Jingle Bells
Stephen ‘National Treasure’ Fry hosts a Christmassy edition of the show with guests Sarah Millican, Danny Baker, Phill Jupitus and regular sidekick Alan Davies. Go on, admit it, the show has now been on TV for so long that most of the things you know you learned from QI.
Friday 21st December BBC2 10PM
The Snowman And The Snowdog
Altogether now: ‘We’re walking in the aaaaair. With a dog’. The long-anticipated sequel to The Snowman features a snowman and his dog. Or something. We’ve not properly looked into it because we don’t want the surprise spoilt. It’ll be ace whatever happens.
Monday 24th December Channel 4 8PM
Friday Night Dinner
Christmas with the Goodmans – a truly nerve-tingling proposition. Robert Popper’s magnificent sitcom gets its first festive special, if you’ve not got into FND yet this is the perfect opportunity.
Monday 24th December Channel 4 10.30PM
Doctor Who
You’d have thought it impossible for Doc Who’s producers to replace Karen Gillan but they seem to have done a fantastic job with Louise Coleman. Here she makes her debut proper in a storyline that sees her and the doctor take on some funny/ fearsome-looking snowmen.
Tuesday 25th December BBC1 5.15PM
Call The Midwife
Miranda Hart, Jessica Raine, Jenny Agutter et al are back for some Xmas midwifery antics. TV’s most visceral period drama follows the midwives of 50’s East London as they deliver a load of post war sprogs called Carol and Noel. Probably.
Tuesday 25th December 25 BBC1 7.30PM
Downton Abbey
Xmas. Downton. Downton. Xmas. Was there ever a time when these two words were not synonymous? One day they will stop making Downton Abbey. Now there’s a thought to chill the soul.
Tuesday 25th December ITV1 8.45PM
The Royle Family
Let’s be honest, the Royle Family Xmas special has always been a bit hit and miss. But we’ll all still be sat in front of it in the hope that it’s a vintage year. After all, it’s the Royle Family, innit?
Tuesday 25th December 25 BBC1 9.45PM
Miranda
Oh look, it’s Miranda Hart again. This time not in period costume and not delivering babies but talking to camera and falling over a lot. At Christmas.
It doesn’t sound promising, does it? Gok Wan hosting a Blind Date-style dating show where desperate singletons tell prospective dates about their faults in the hope of getting a snog? Well, that’s the premise of ‘Baggage’, which starts this Friday on Channel 4.
The eight part series will see contestants open suitcases containing details of one of their character flaws. The luggage gets bigger with each round, as does the flaw. The potential date then chooses which of the contestants he dislikes the least and they go for dinner. Or something.
It’s all a bit tawdry and harks back to the days when Channel 4 used to fill Friday night with the likes of the ‘I’d do anything to get on TV’ slot on The Word and that other awful thing that Denise Van Outen used to present which featured penises.
For those of you thinking ‘Oh, no. It’ll be fun. I like that nice Gok Wan and it all sounds like a harmless lark’, take a look at the clip below taken from the US version of the show, hosted by Jerry Springer. It shows women eating butter, glue and dirt while a man tries not to vomit – if that doesn’t convince you this thing will be dreadful then, frankly, you need treatment.
Tonight sees the start of Mad Week on Channel 4, when it shows a series of programmes looking at attitudes to mental health. This being Channel 4, though, the shows are generally celeb-fronted and appear light-hearted.
First up tonight at 10PM, depression-sufferer Ruby Wax follows a number of successful business people as they reveal their illness to employers, family and friends in Ruby Wax’s Mad Confessions.
Then on Tuesday at 10, sand up comic Jon Richardson presents A Little Bit OCD, where he meets numerous OCD sufferers and discovers more about the condition.
Wednesday at 10 brings the World’s Maddest Job Interview, which finds 8 people with serious mental health issues interviewed and assessed by a panel of business experts (including Apprentice job interview hatchet man Claude Littner) to try and see if their condition affects their work ability.
And finally, on Thursday at 10 is Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder: The Big Clear Out. Here, OCD sufferer and extreme hoarder Richard Wallace tries to rid himself of as many of his pointless possessions as possible.
All the programmes sound great, interesting and (worryingly) a little like the sort of thing Chris Morris would have been lampooning a mad TV of the future a few years ago. Here’s hoping the gimmickier-sounding of these shows are handled sensitively.
With new Ricky Gervais’s new sitcom pilot ‘Derek’ due to air at a BAFTA screening next week, we wonder why commissioners Channel 4 appear so reluctant to simply order a full series.
The pilot features Gervais as Derek, a care home worker described as ‘a tender, innocent man whose love for his job and the people he cares for shines through. He’s 49 years old and loves animals, Rolf Harris, Jesus, Deal or No Deal, Million Pound Drop and Britain’s Got Talent – but his main hobby is autograph hunting’. The show also features Karl Pilkington, in his first acting role, and (reportedly) Sean Connery.
So, with Gervais’s sitcom history and a big name cast, this would seem to be a significant opportunity for Channel 4 to score a sure-fire hit – why are they dragging their feet in only making a pilot?
In a statement the channel say: ‘Channel 4 is very excited to be working with Ricky Gervais on this new project and it’s wrong to say we have rejected a series. The pilot will be on TV in April and then there’ll be further discussions about the potential for a full series.’
However, after the critical disaster of Gervais’s last sitcom ‘Life’s Too Short’ and (relatively) poor audience figures it would appear either that Channel 4 have slightly cold feet about what would be a major series for them or that Gervais himself wants feedback before he commits to another less-than-popular project.
You get chance to decide for yourselves as the pilot airs on Channel 4 in next month.
As CIA/ Al-Qaeda/ is he?/ isn’t he? political drama Homeland passes its fourth episode of series 1 on Channel 4, we’ve been looking at opinion to see how we all think its doing. Is it a gripping thriller that takes the viewer on a white-knuckle ride through a post-9/11 America or is it a Lost-style sham, dropping just enough into each episode to keep ratings buoyant?
Homeland – for those of you who have series-linked the first few episodes and are still prevaricating about watching it – is the story of an American soldier (Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody) who has returned to the US from imprisonment in Iraq and the counter-terrorism CIA officer Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison) charged with his post-kidnap care. The big question is whether or not Brody has been brain-washed by his Al-Qaeda captors and is actually a double agent intent on destroying America from the inside. The show has won many awards in the US, where it also received a very positive critical response. It was bought by Channel 4 in the UK after bosses saw the first few episodes and were convinced of the show’s quality.
Many viewers, though, are less sure of the series with many on social networks saying that episodes 2 and 3 were a little lacklustre and others threatening to quit the show if the plot doesn’t coalesce soon. Some have compared it to desert island show Lost which won a massive initial audience but kept viewers tagged along for so many series that it ‘lost’ all credibility – frustrating more than it entertained. UK audience figures for Homeland have been steady, at around 2 million per episode, so it would seem that (for the time being at least) most are gripped enough to stay with it.
Advance word from the US is that episode 7 is a ‘watershed’ and it was then that reception of the show became 100% positive – so, will you be sticking with it?
Tonight Channel 4 shows the 50th Anniversary Secret Policeman’s Ball, recorded at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. The show features the likes of Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Noel Fielding, Micky Flanagan, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart and Jack Whitehall, but can it stand up to some the great ball’s of the past?
Here are a few clips from yester-balls to help you decide:
Rowan Atkinson gives a masterful performance by simply reading the register.
Natalie Imbruglia shows she’s a game gal when she encounters a mime.
Classic slapstick Monty Python.
Tim Minchin stands up for his race.
Peter Cook plays E.L. Wisty and bores the pants off John Cleese.
Russell Brand in typically reserved form.
Considered by many to be the Secret Policeman’s Ball’s greatest ever sketch (but unfathomable to anyone under 40), the judge sums up in the Jeremy Thorpe murder case.
Ricky Gervais is set to sign a deal with Channel 4. The 50-year-old comic has filmed a pilot for a new sitcom for the network and is said to be “very pleased” with the show, which has a working title of Derek.
Channel 4 chief Jay hunt is reportedly “thrilled” with the show, which is set in an old people’s home and features Ricky as elderly and confused resident Derek Noakes. The show features the comic’s sidekick Karl Pilkington in his debut acting role and is expected to feature a series of guest stars, including the likes of Sir Sean Connery.
The proposed move to Channel 4 comes after Ricky’s last series, Life’s Too Short – which starred Warwick Davies – was a ratings flop for the BBC in comparison to the funnyman’s previous shows The Office and Extras.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “There have been many meetings in a bid to discover why it missed the mark. No one really knows. Some you win, some you lose.”
Despite recording the pilot, Channel 4 executives insist they have not yet commissioned Derek for a full series.
A spokesperson said: “This is a continuation of our relationship with Ricky Gervais.”
With lashings of ginger beer no doubt, The Comic Strip is set to return to our screens.
The classic series – which helped launch the careers of Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith Allen, Alexei Sayle and Adrian Edmondson – has been re-commissioned by Channel 4 for a one-off special.
The special will see former Prime Minister Tony Blair on the run after committing a murder. A source said: “Tony Blair vows to clear his name no matter what.”
Original stars Jennifer Saunders, Nigel Planer, Robbie Coltrane, and Rik Mayall will appear alongside newcomers James Buckley, John Sessions, Ross Noble, Catherine Shepherd, Ford Kiernan and Morgana Robinson.
Channel 4 comedy boss Shane Allen told The Sun newspaper: “It’s an irresistibly hilarious script from the Godfathers of modern comedy. There are so many juicy parts for the big comedy hitters of the Comic Strip team alongside newer talents.”
The Comic Strip was first devised by Peter Richardson in 1982 to showcase emerging talents, before going off the air in 1993.
The show then returned for three specials in 1998, 20000 and 2005.
You can see the first ever Comic Strip, the Enid Blyton spoof, Five Go Mad in Dorset, below:
Channel 4 has recomissioned ‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’.
The station were thrilled with the response to the first series of the programme – which averaged 9.1 million viewers over five episodes – and Firecracker Films executives have already begun meeting members of travelling communities ahead of filming the six-episode series, which will air early in 2012.
Jes Wilkins, the show’s executive producer, said: “We are excited about the creative challenge of how to follow up such a successful series.
“We are extremely grateful to all the gypsies and travellers who have opened up their lives to us over the last two years and we look forward to cultivating more relationships going forward.”
The new series will explore similar rituals to the first – including lavish weddings and confirmation ceremonies – while also exploring life on the road, health, family, prejudice, cultural differences and relationships in different travelling communities, as well as work and finance issues.
Tina Flintoff, Channel 4 factual entertainment commissioning editor said:”‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ was a phenomenon.
“It would have been very easy for us to just commission more of the same but we wanted to enhance the series by adding more journalism and offering an even deeper insight into the gypsy and traveller way of life without losing what makes the show accessible – the weddings, christenings and spectacular celebrations.”
As well as introducing new families, the second series will also feature popular stars of the first series, including some of the brides, Irish traveller Paddy Doherty and dressmaker Thelma Madine.
‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ star Thelma Madine is to launch her own reality TV series.
In the new ‘Apprentice’-style show, Thelma will teach 15 traveller girls how to create the outlandish dresses featured in the Channel 4 documentary last year, with the eventual winner bagging a permanent job in her Liverpool boutique, Nico.
Thelma told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “We will have a little factory and I will train the girls up. Gypsy girls don’t normally have jobs but with me they have a chance to see how their dresses were made.”
However, if ‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ star Sam Norton’s wedding attire is any indication of what’s to be expected in the new series, the dressmaking newbies will have their work cut out.
The 17-year-old’s wedding dress weighed in at a colossal 196lbs, and was fitted with fairy lights and robotic butterflies.
Under order of Thelma, the bride’s “something new” turned out to be a fire extinguisher – just in case Sam’s over-the-top dress exploded.
Thelma said at the time: “I am still worried about the fire issue so we’ve decided we will take a little fire extinguisher with us just in case. All that combustion, it could just go up in flames.”
Channel 4 are planning a ‘Big Fat Gypsy’ Christmas special.
The show – which follows the lives of the travelling community – was a huge hit when it was aired earlier this year and now bosses want a festive version, which focuses on how gypsies prepare for Christmas.
Newlyweds Sam Norton and Patrick Sky Lee – whose extravagant wedding was shown in the series – are sure the show will be ratings winner because there’s so much that goes on in the run-up to Yuletide, including the husbands having to splash out on eye-catching dresses for their wives to wear on December 25.
Sam told the Daily Star newspaper: “It’s brilliant. The women all get specially-made dress for the day and that’s on top of all their other gifts.”
As well as the splashing out on extravagant dresses for their other halves, the men are allowed to let their hair down on Christmas Eve, leaving the women at home.
However, Patrick admitted: “Last year I got into trouble for coming home a bit worse for wear.”
Channel 4 is to launch a British version of ‘Family Guy’.
The “edgy” cartoon – entitled ‘Happy Families’ – will be made by the same people behind ‘The Simpsons Movie’ and will follow the lives of a typical suburban family living in the UK.
‘Happy Families’ will also feature cameo appearances from a whole host of stars.
Channel 4 creative officer Jay Hunt said: “It will feature cameos from celebrities as you’ve never seen them before.”
Meanwhile, ’10 O’Clock Live’ presenter Charlie Brooker is to star in new series ‘Black Mirror’, which will be a follow-up to zombie drama ‘Dead Set’, and will portray a world where technology has taken over.
Jay explained: “It taps into that unease we all fear about the way computers are changing how we interact.”
This is part of a new wave of changes from the broadcaster, including yesterday’s (11.05.11) announcement that Fern Britton’s chat show ‘Fern’ after just one series.
However, channel executives are currently in the process of discussing new formats for the show – which filled the slot previously taken up by Paul O’Grady’s chat series after he departed the channel for ITV – and are keen to continue working with Fern in the future.
Just when we thought Big Brother was well and truly done and dusted, it seems Channel 5 is giving it the kiss of life.
According to The Guardian, the broadcaster is reportedly no more than a few days off signing a deal which will mean the return of the reality TV show, and we presume old Davina too.
Sources say that Five boss Richard Desmond is keen to take on the Endemol production and has already agreed terms and financial details with the company.
“Endemol need the money, which is why they’ve done the deal, having broken it off before,” said one source. “Executives are now down to final details but broadly they are there.”
“Channel 5′s ratings are not great and Big Brother will really help them deliver, particularly given there is nothing on the schedule or seemingly in the works to produce such numbers,” said a second source.
Is this good news or bad and do you think the show do as well as it did on Channel 4?
Leave your comments below and let us know.
We’ve also put together a mini gallery of the frights and delights from the Channel 4 show.
If you’re squeamish or already scared to death about childbirth then last night’s One Born Every Minute probably wasn’t the thing to be watching.
That said, the award winning Channel 4 documentary really brings back what prime time television should be about. 40 cameras in the maternity unit at Princess Anne hospital in Southampton film the ladies in labour right through to birth.
Last series there was the average shouting and crying but the new series, which kicked off last night was nothing like I’d ever seen.
Married mum to be (spoilt) Stephanie, screamed the place down with ever contraction, so much so that I had to turn the volume down. I don’t know how the midwives coped with it, but the patience and help from them is what every maternity unit needs. Thankfully an epidural calmed her down but the screams were enough to frighten 18 year old Janet, who in contrast was sitting quietly and getting on with it in the next room.
However, it was her boyfriend who really got us interested. Unlike many 18 year old prospective fathers Ralph was supportive and more mature than a lot of older fathers. He also had me in tears at the end when he was filmed sitting on a chair staring at his son and crying tears of happiness.
I’m probably not going to be very popular after I say this but I can’t stand Chanel 4′s Famous and Fearless. The live show hosted by Chris Evans sees a range of “celebrities” and I say that very loosely – take part in extreme sports in an arena in a bid to win a prize for charity. The latter has to be the best part about this.
Maybe you have to be an extreme sports fan to enjoy the show, which so far has seen the males – Sam Branson, Charley Boorman, Rufus Hound and Jonah Lomu – take part in a BMX challenge, which wasn’t on proper BMX’s and the girls – Jenny Frost, Kelly Holmes, Sarah Jayne Dunn and Kacey Ainsworth- go head to head in some sort of street sledging.
However as you can probably gather I’m not an extreme sports fan meaning that every minute of watching is torture. In fact it’s so bad I’d rather be watching Eastenders with it’s very depressing stoyline.
After a wave of good homegrown thriller series (Whitechapel, Thorne: Sleepyhead, Sherlock), there’s a new US series in town: The Event.
Judging by the first episode, which airs on Channel 4 this Friday, The Event is very much trying to fill the gap after series like Lost, Heroes and Flash Forward. Whilst there is no black smoke or polar bear (not that we know of at least), there is a plane involved…
The U.S. thriller follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter) who, while investigating the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée Leila (Sarah Roemer), unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history.
His choices affects the lives of strangers, including the U.S. President, but it soon becomes apparent that ‘their futures are set on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of humankind’.
Do you know what The Event is? I can’t wait to find out!
If you can find something from within yourself to stomach yet another programme about food without immediately self-harming your innards with household bleach, then you’ll be thrilled to know that this week sees another series of River Cottage (Channel 4, Thursday, 12 November, 8pm). While it’s perfectly reasonable to say that TV is overloaded with far too much food these days, it’s not fair to say that they’re all rubbish. They’re just mostly rubbish.
Samsung have added Channel 4′s 4oD catch-up TV service to their range of connected Smart TVs.
Sky have announced the arrival of Channel 4′s 4oD service as part of Sky TV’s On Demand hub.
With lashings of ginger beer no doubt, The Comic Strip is set to return to our screens.
From:Set The Video: NASA: Triumph and Tragedy, BBC Two, Wednesday, 24 June, 9pm