You are viewing the archive: “Richard Desmond”

Five Getting Cut-Price ‘Big Brother’ Bargain

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday August 26, 2010 @ 6:43am PDTTags: Big Brother, Endemol Big Brother, Reality TV, Richard Desmond, Richard Desmond Five, UK Big Brother Finance

Richard Desmond, new owner of Channel 5, could pay as little as £20 million ($30 million) for the reality show, one insider tells me. Desmond wants the Endemol show to transfer from Channel 4, where it ended its 11th series this week, to his new Channel 5. Channel 4 paid £60-65 million in a three-year deal for the Big Brother rights from Endemol. Like Desmond’s audacious £103.5 million swoop on Channel Five, it’s not as if there are any other bidders out there. Big Brother has been getting average daily ratings of 2.5 million – an all-time low for the reality show on Channel 4 – and would probably get 1.5-2 million daily on Channel 5. That is still healthy for a channel whose top-rated daily show, Aussie soap Neighbours, gets around 1.5 million viewers.

Even more important is the audience Big Brother attracts. Channel Five doesn’t need any more downmarket, older viewers. They’re the easiest to attract because they spend all day watching TV at home. The hardest market for advertisers are young, upmarket audiences, the demographic which watches the least TV — which Big Brother delivered in droves when it first launched. Media commentator Steve Hewlett tells me: “I can see the commercial logic for Desmond wanting Big Brother if it has any life left in it. The show still has a commercial value in the marketplace because of its audience.”

Desmond has talked publicly about how he wants the show. He teamed up with show producer Endemol with a plan to mount a joint bid for Channel Five. Endemol maintains the standing set of the Big Brother house in Elstree, Hertfordshire, and the show employs a large dedicated staff. Closing down the house and moving staff elsewhere would be costly, so Endemol will need a quick decision if the show is to re-launch on Channel Five in 2011. Desmond’s daily tabloid the Daily Star has an umbilical relationship with the show, often splashing a Big Brother headline over other stories. He could start cross-selling ads on the paper and the TV show. It may seem like a tired cast-off from another channel, but Desmond believes there’s life in the format yet.

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Five Promises ‘Astounding’ Acquisitions

By TIM ADLER in London | Monday July 26, 2010 @ 3:59am PDTTags: Dawn Airey, Five, Richard Desmond, Richard Desmond Five, UK TV, UK TV Finance

That’s what CEO Dawn Airey told senior managers at a group meeting this morning. Richard Desmond, Five’s new owner, told Sky News that he’s planning to invest £50-100 million ($77-155 million) in Five’s schedule. He can afford it. The Sunday … Read More »

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TOLDJA! Desmond Buys Five For $160M

By TIM ADLER in London | Friday July 23, 2010 @ 10:45am PDTTags: Celebrities, Celebrity, Five, Richard Desmond, Richard Desmond Five, UK TV

The UK newspaper baron is apparently thinking of transforming Five into a UK version of E! Entertainment, the US channel which broadcasts a stream of celebrity news and profiles. Apart from owning the tabloid Daily Express, Richard Desmond also owns … Read More »

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Richard Desmond Offers $150M For Five

By TIM ADLER in London | Monday July 19, 2010 @ 2:38am PDTTags: Big Brother, British TV, CSI, Endemol, Five, Law & Order, Richard Desmond, Richard Desmond Five, UK Channel Five Bids

FiveThe newspaper tycoon is in pole position to win control of Five, reports the Sunday Times. Deadline predicted Desmond would take over the channel three weeks ago. Desmond will honour long-term US programming contracts for shows include CSI and Law & … Read More »

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Who’s Not Bidding For UK’s Channel Five

By TIM ADLER in London | Friday July 2, 2010 @ 4:22am PDTTags: Big Brother, BSkyB, Endemol, Express Newspapers, Foreign, ITV, John de Mol, Richard Desmond, RTL, Time Warner, TV, UK Channel Five Bids, UK Terrestrial Channel Five

FiveEXCLUSIVE: The European TV producer Endemol will not be among those bidding for the UK’s fifth terrestrial channel. ITV has also walked away from the auction, as has BSkyB and Time Warner. Endemol’s founder John De Mol is bidding, as is … Read More »

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Newspaper Tycoon Tipped To Win Five

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday July 1, 2010 @ 8:21am PDTTags: Cyrte Investments, Express Newspapers, Foreign, John de Mol, Richard Desmond, RTL, TV, UK Terrestrial Channel Five

FiveRichard Desmond, owner of Express Newspapers, is seen as a frontrunner to buy UK terrestrial channel Five. Other bidders include John De Mol, founder of TV producer Endemol (Big Brother), and Endemol itself, which De Mol’s investment company Cyrte Investments owns … Read More »

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