2. Its Showcasing Of Some Of The Finest American Imports
The Sopranos. Friends. The West Wing. South Park. Lost. Oz. ER. What do they all have in common? They are all excellent American shows that were first introduced to British audiences by Channel 4. Sky have a tendency to bid more money for the right to air the later seasons of shows that succeed in attracting British viewers in their droves (they bought the rights to Lost after two seasons on Channel 4, for example), but this doesnt stop the channel from continuing to seek out the next big thing, as it has done recently with Homeland, the Showtime drama about a US marine returning home after being held in captivity in Iraq who is believed to have been converted into an Islamic extremist by an unhinged CIA official. With their bottomless wallets and new deal to exclusively air all HBO programming (including the likes of Game of Thrones), Sky currently has the best selection of Stateside programming to offer, with the Fox channel is in a close second, airing the likes of The Walking Dead, Louie, Dexter, Breaking Bad and NCIS before any other channel. Channel 4 continues to make a valiant effort and probably comes third though, given their ownership to the rights of several popular sitcoms such as How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory, as well as Homeland and the other occasional drama, such as Scandal. The BBC and ITV, meanwhile, air very few American programmes, though the BBC will air Parks And Recreation for the first time on BBC4 later in the year and ITV2 attracts a moderate viewership for shows such as The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl. Channel 5 has more, though their decision to air the many iterations of the CSI franchise on a near constant loop criminally ensures that the likes of Justified and Sons Of Anarchy get little exposure.