Channel 4 puts archives online

[Jeff Clayton]

Andy Duncan, CEO of Channel 4 was interviewed on Jeff Randall Live earlier this evening and mentioned a new online archive facility going live next month. The below article gives more detail.

Will Countdown feature among the content...?

Jeff

_____

Channel 4 puts archives online

Channel 4 is to become the first UK broadcaster to make its back catalogue of programmes available to watch for free on its website, it was announced.

Classic drama, comedy and entertainment shows such as Father Ted, Drop the Dead Donkey, Shameless and Queer As Folk will all be put on the 4oD section of the channel4.com site from July.

In total, nearly 4,000 hours of the broadcaster's archived material, representing around 10,000 programmes, will be on offer.

Imported US shows, which have been a mainstay of Channel 4 programming over the past decade, are not included because of rights issues, meaning fans of shows like Friends, ER and Desperate Housewives will still have to go out and buy the DVD boxed sets.

The relaunched 4oD service means Channel 4 is the only UK broadcaster to make its archive available free to view online on a streamed basis.

Jon Gisby, director of future media and technology at Channel 4, said: "We are extremely proud of the new and improved service and think the combination of fantastic content that's easy to find and view will prove a compelling service for all users."


http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/s ... ne/3200262

[Michael Wallace]

Oh man, I really hope they put X-fire on, that show was *awesome*, and I can't find it anywhere.

[Derek Hazell]

That's fantastic news. Thank you for sharing, Jeff!

I love watching old shows, and I remember the quality of some of the stuff they showed during their 25th anniversary celebrations.

[Neil Zussman]

Oh man, I really hope they put X-fire on, that show was *awesome*, and I can't find it anywhere.

Was that the show that was basically televised paintball? If so, I concur, that was great!

[Michael Wallace]

Oh man, I really hope they put X-fire on, that show was *awesome*, and I can't find it anywhere.

Was that the show that was basically televised paintball? If so, I concur, that was great!

It was, where they had those people who were meant to be, like, elite paintballers, in hilarious costumes, who did hilarious 'acting', and they were picked up/dropped off at challenges by a speeding transit van.

[Neil Zussman]

Oh man, I really hope they put X-fire on, that show was *awesome*, and I can't find it anywhere.

Was that the show that was basically televised paintball? If so, I concur, that was great!

It was, where they had those people who were meant to be, like, elite paintballers, in hilarious costumes, who did hilarious 'acting', and they were picked up/dropped off at challenges by a speeding transit van.

Ah yes, the sound effects are coming back to me now, they were pretty amusing IIRC, especially when somebody got shot.

[Michael Wallace]

Ah yes, the sound effects are coming back to me now, they were pretty amusing IIRC, especially when somebody got shot.

Oh wow, someone's uploaded a clip to Youtube since I last checked it. Awesome.

[Dinos Sfyris]

Ah Crossfire what a show! Can still remember the names of all the special forces. Loved the death-acting when they got emulsified!

[Michael Wallace]

Ah Crossfire what a show! Can still remember the names of all the special forces. Loved the death-acting when they got emulsified!

No no, it's X-fire, not Crossfire. If it was merely Crossfire it wouldn't be a really really clever name

And yes, the "oh no I have fallen over and now must lie on the floor with my eyes closed for the rest of the mission" was excellent.

[Ben Wilson]

I can't be the only person salivating at the thought of this.

[Michael Wallace]

I can't be the only person salivating at the thought of this.

This occurred to me, but aren't they still shown on Challenge? It would seem odd for them to upload them all whilst they can still (apparently) sell it to another UK channel.

[Ben Wilson]

I can't be the only person salivating at the thought of this.

This occurred to me, but aren't they still shown on Challenge? It would seem odd for them to upload them all whilst they can still (apparently) sell it to another UK channel.

Yeah but I don't have Sky, so sod Challenge.

[Derek Hazell]

Here's the latest on this, which I've just received via e-mail:

Dear 4oD user,

We wrote to you recently to alert you to some changes to your 4oD service. We're now only a few days away from the 4oD desktop application closing down.

The good news is that all your favourite Channel 4 programmes past and present are now available to watch for free on channel4.com. It's really simple to use as all the content is streamed which means you won't need to download anything before you can watch it.

TAKE ME TO 4oD ON CHANNEL4.COM NOW

If you've used 4oD to purchase any programmes on a download to own basis, you'll still be able to watch these through your 4oD application from your desktop.

If you have ever entered your payment card details to rent or purchase a programme on 4oD these will be fully removed from the system once the 4oD application closes. However your customer account will remain active and you can use it to log in to other channel4.com services, such as E4.com.

We hope you'll continue to enjoy using the new 4oD on channel4.com. For more information please click here.

The 4oD team