Quote: Comedy anorak @ March 18 2013, 11:54 AM GMTGold used to show some really good stuff back in the early 90s! I'm guessing they didn't have much to spend on shows, But they did used to show some of the lesser known/cult comedies.
Nowadays, 90% of their output seems to be BBC, and is quite modern! I wonder if the fact that the BBC has a stake in UKTV networks means that it's just a dumping ground for their sitcoms.I recently tweeted Gold about Happy Families, and was told that it wouldn't bring in a big enough audience! Didn't seem to bother them in the past!
That's basically the reason. The BBC have always owned 50% of UKTV/Gold, having initially been a joint venture with Thames, hence the wide variety of both ITV and BBC programming they had in the 1990s.
Now, with even more channels for people to choose from, they stick to the popular series rather than offering any inkling of variety, needing to attract people to specific big-name shows rather than just get audiences because they're one of the only decent channels.
I think it's a real shame. They still pull out an occasional interesting programme or unreleased classic, but then only show it at 2 or 6 am. Sykes, Bread, etc.
I'd love a reason to watch GOLD again.
