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Great British Bake Off (GBBO) Media Channel 4

Channel 4 vows to honour Bake Off ‘integrity’ with product placement ban

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By John Glenday, Reporter

July 3, 2017 | 3 min read

Channel 4 producers have confirmed that the set of their Bake Off reimagining will be a product-placement-free zone after vowing to honour the ‘integrity’ of its BBC beginnings.

Great British Bake Off

Channel 4 vows to honour Bake Off ‘integrity’ with product placement ban

As such viewers will be spared the sight of branded utensils and baking products when they watch veteran Paul Hollywood mingle with newcomers Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig and Prue Leith to coach a fresh batch of bakers in front of the cameras.

This altruistic stance will cost money however something Channel 4 is hopeful to recoup from annual commercial deals valued at £25m, the absolute minimum the broadcaster will need to accrue if it is to break even on its £75m three-year deal.

If it aint broke don’t fix it is the motto of Channel 4 as they manage the migration, with producers keen to retain as much of the existing format as possible, right down to the famous tent where much of the baking will take place, an ‘exact’ replica of the BBC’s own roving studio.

Channel 4 is understood to be struggling to obtain a hoped for headline sponsorship deal north of £8m as advertisers tighten their belts, although the broadcaster has struck gold with its so-called ‘superspot’ ads, which guarantee advertisers the same centre break in an episode irrespective of which channel it airs on be that Channel 4+1, E4 or Channel 4seven.

Jonathan Lewis, head of digital partnership innovation at Channel 4, commented: “Our superspot innovation has gone down so well with advertisers that we’ve already nearly sold out the first week of Bake Off in just a couple of days,

Bake Off is scheduled to return to television screens in the autumn. An unbowed BBC meanwhile will air its own Bake-Off spin-off Creme de la Creme later in the year, fronted by Angus Deayton.

Great British Bake Off (GBBO) Media Channel 4

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