Challenge

[Aplus1]

I think this channel needs to be axed it’s great days have long gone, it was brilliant 25 years ago.

Do the people who actually own the channel, or the people who still watch and enjoy it today, get a say in this?

[James2001]

Mos discussions of TV I see on the internet seems to be people demanding channels get closed and programmes get axed because they don't personally watch them, regardless of now many people actually do.

[harshy]

I think this channel needs to be axed it’s great days have long gone, it was brilliant 25 years ago.

Do the people who actually own the channel, or the people who still watch and enjoy it today, get a say in this?

Yeah they can rename it to the chase channel that all it shows.

[Neil Jones]

Do the people who actually own the channel, or the people who still watch and enjoy it today, get a say in this?

Yeah they can rename it to the chase channel that all it shows.

Does it?

[Col87]

A few programs that I think have been showing the last few years and some new programs they could try.

Impossible
The wall

Old lottery gameshows. ( in it to win it, who dares wins, )

8 out of 10 cats
Robot Wars
All versions of the crystal maze.
Total wipeout
Gladiators

Old CBBC / CITV gameshows ( Incredible Games, 50/50 Fun house ,finders keepers Get your own back )

Don’t try this at home
You bet
The Mole
Krypton factor
Catchphrase
Treasure hunt

There are plenty of shows there. You could probably just about get away with things like old never mind the buzzcocks and shooting stars as well.

[Neil Jones]

8 out of 10 cats is not a gameshow. It is a comedy panel show. If you had suggested 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown then while it is still a panel show (effectively) it is one with a gameshow wrapped (albeit loosely) around it.

Everything on that list you've posted (aside from Shooting Stars, Impossible, The Wall and possibly The Mole)) has already been through the Challenge mill. This includes Fun House, Finders Keepers (STV version because of... reasons) and Impossible Games is probably bit too niche and 50/50 is out of their target audience. As for Buzzococks, well Sky picked that up last year as a new series.

[BlueFrog]

Apologies if anyone already said this but I always thought Challenge would suit as part of the UKTV network. That'll mean a lot more BBC related content on the channel for sure, but would I complain? Dunno.

[Larry the Loafer]

They probably have "easier" access to a bigger archive than Sky do, but if it's not cost effective and it won't bring in enough viewers (which is the argument made towards why Challenge is in the state that it's in) it probably wouldn't be worth doing.

[BlueFrog]

I will say I like The Chase. I don't like Challenge's constant repeating of the show and it can get a bit tiring after a while, but if it's what rises up the viewership and makes money then, what can I do?

[Neil Jones]

Apologies if anyone already said this but I always thought Challenge would suit as part of the UKTV network. That'll mean a lot more BBC related content on the channel for sure, but would I complain? Dunno.

Yes if Challenge was under UKTV you may have some more BBC shows, but it doesn't change the basic fact it would have still gravitated towards more modern material - and they'd have probably still gone for The Chase and Tipping Point anyway. After all, Gold isn't only BBC shows, it does show non BBC shows, such as TV Burp and Peep Show - so the UKTV Challenge equivalent would be more BBC top heavy, but not exclusively BBC.

[Juicy Joe]

I think this channel needs to be axed it’s great days have long gone, it was brilliant 25 years ago.

I'm pinning my hopes that this channel can sometime soon be brought back to it's glory days,  with an epic mix of newer & mainly really classic shows and no Chase!

[Brekkie]

8 out of 10 cats is not a gameshow.  It is a comedy panel show.  If you had suggested 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown then while it is still a panel show (effectively) it is one with a gameshow wrapped (albeit loosely) around it.

Actually though could that be a route they should go down for later at night?   Dave pretty much takes the BBC shows, and shows like Would I Lie to You (and Catsdown), which aren't time specific, surely repeat better than those that are.   Blankety Blank is essentially a comedy panel show after all.

Sky have a few of their own - the Buzzcocks revival as you say, but I'm sure they had another music based format a few years ago, along with a movie one hosted by Alan Carr and of course A League of your Own.   I think some have got an outing on Pick but they'd be worth a shot on Challenge too to try and freshen things up.

[HEW2343]

Challenge have aired A League Of Their Own before, would try it again especially as Pick have aired recently some of the Road Trips.

[Neil Jones]

Challenge used to air a lot of the Sky 1 game show back catalogue (and a few other things such as Brainiac) including Cleverdicks, which for some reason ended up as a Sky Atlantic original production clearly inspired by the like and success of Only Connect. But while OC is still on the air 17 series later (and back at the end of August for its 18th, whoopy-doo!), Cleverdicks only lasted 30 episodes.

[Brekkie]

This is where I wish we had a rule that digital chanenls must spend a proportion of their budget on original productions (Australia used to have a rule to spend 10%, not sure if they still do). Even if it's nothing remarkable they'd at least have a "Challenge Original" in the bank from every year they've been around to fit around the classic gameshows and The Chase.

I can't think what it's called now but they did show a Sky show from around the turn of the century on Sunday mornings last year - got a feeling one of the Chasers was a contestant on it. Was actually quite watchable.