Excuse me, could you show me some less popular programmes, please? (ITV 4)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	ITV 4
Date:	06/11/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The occasional gem

Disadvantages: Mainly less popular TV shows, for me

Well, ITV 4 doesn't seem to be the most popular channel, really. Pushed firmly into the background by the more mainstream programmes shown on the other ITV channels, it usually features a rather random mixture of programmes that for some reason don't work together very well.

Other channels, such as BBC Three, have a quirky mix of shows, a mixture of documentaries and entertainment and drama, that works well as it carefully pinpoints the target audience. However, ITV 4 randomly has a few dramas such as Minder or The Champions early evening, or they'll have a Batman cartoon at 4 in the morning.

Some nights, they'll have a decent film on. Tonight, they have Green Street, a violent football hooligan film, followed by a couple of documentaries, but the format changes quite often, and you rarely get any recent TV shows, or any soaps, on here.

Occasionally, there'll be a football match or a boxing match on, and in this respect, it can be quite good. You sometimes get a European match shown live, which is something other channels don't get, and you get the feeling that ITV put it on their 4 channel to entice more viewers onto the channel in general.

I suppose the main problem is that the shows aren't usually of the same top quality that a lot of similar channels air. I often get confused between ITV 2, 3 and 4, and BBC Three, and Alibi, and Watch, but where ITV 4 falls down is that is seems to have the less popular shows on as reruns, whereas the others tend to show the more popular ones, albeit repeated.

There is the occasional gem of a film, or show, and there are moments, such as the football matches, where it is a good channel to watch, but I rarely find myself stopping here to watch something. ITV 4 airs on channel 120 on Sky, straight after ITV 2 and 3. It's worth a look to see if something catches your eye every now and then, but don't rely on it for top TV.

Summary: One of ITVs offshoot channels