News


Sex advisers take Channel 4 to task over teen show


A group of sexual health advisers and experts will meet with the Channel 4 fact ent commissioning team next week to discuss criti- cisms of the broadcaster’s sex- education programming. The meeting is a result of two


letters, signed by 23 experts, that were sent to C4 about Betty’s The Joy Of Teen Sex, which aired earlier this year. The signatories include Dr Petra Boynton, who was an adviser on The Sex Education Show, and Radio 1 Sunday Sur- gery’s Dr Stuart Flanagan. The first letter in February ques-


tioned the topics covered in the series and how they were addressed. Head of fact ent and features Sue Murphy responded by defending the series, pointing to the positives resulting from it. The recommission of The Joy Of


Teen Sex prompted another letter at the end of June, which said C4 appeared to be “justifying prob- lematic programming, rather than reflecting on areas where content needs to be improved”. Murphy, along with fact ent


commissioner Tina Flintoff and multiplatform commissioner Adam Gee, will all attend next week’s meeting. Channel 4 said it wel- comed an open debate and was proud of its track record in sex- education programming.


HMRC asks CLAC rivals for help in tax probe


BY JAKE KANTER


HM Revenue & Customs has turned to Christopher Lunn & Company’s (CLAC) rivals as it attempts to uncover evidence for its investigation into the media accountancy firm. Last week, officials from the


government tax body met with about 40 accountancy firms that now have former CLAC clients on their books and asked them to provide copies of written exchanges between the customers and the embattled company. Accountants at the meeting told


Broadcast that email exchanges or written advice from CLAC could be used by HMRC to inform the crimi- nal investigation and civil probe into the tax returns of the account- ancy firm’s 7,000 clients. Keith Hall, who attended the


talks for specialist media account- ant Feist Hedgethorne, said: “It looks like HMRC might use this to help reduce taxpayer penalties for potential unpaid taxes.” During the talks, HMRC also


said it would still accept disclosures from CLAC clients who believe there may be irregularities in their tax returns. It is thought that only


Freelancers: HMRC is investigating the tax returns of 7,000 CLAC clients


1,500 of CLAC’s 7,000 client base have made disclosures to date. Those who have disclosed will


not necessarily escape penalties, though, as HMRC judges each case on its “own merit”. It is not known what this could mean for the special-interest group of former CLAC clients, which is looking to negotiate a settlement en masse on behalf of its members, should HMRC hit them with a claim for unpaid taxes.


Hall and the other accountants


argued that the “group approach” would be best for all parties, and HMRC will consider their views before another meeting takes place later this year. The tax body refused to


comment, except to confirm that the meeting took place. A CLAC spokesman said the company was present at the talks. No charges have been brought against the company.


C4 delays decision on Comedy Blaps shorts after flood of ideas BY BALIHAR KHALSA


Channel 4 online comedy talent initiative Comedy Blaps has been delayed after being inun- dated with ideas. The broadcaster called for video


shorts to be submitted in March, with producers asked to submit their ideas by the end of April. The plan was for C4 to contact


indies towards the end of May, but after receiving more than 500 sub- missions, Jody Smith and Fiona McDermott emailed producers last week to explain the delay. Smith, multiplatform commis- sioner for comedy and entertain-


www.broadcastnow.co.uk Thisjustin: C4 online comedy


ment, and McDermott, comedy editor, apologised for the “radio silence”, saying they had received more pitches than they had “ever dreamed of”. Producers said the interest could be due to uncertainty about


too much pressure Producer


way of developing new talent without


Online shorts are a good


Despite the number of submis-


sions, C4 still plans to give eight companies the green light to produce three short films each. The 24 shorts will be roughly four minutes long and showcased online on the C4 website, YouTube, and possibly through podcasts. Smith said the scheme had high-


changes to online commissioning at the BBC. “Online shorts are a good way of developing talent without too much pressure”, said one. “It goes to show there is a demand because there are so many comedians and production companies waiting to get some- thing going.”


lighted new indies, writing talent and performers, and the concepts selected could have a life beyond online, possibly ending up on TV. Indies who submitted ideas to


Comedy Blaps can expect feedback in the next few weeks, with the project slated to go live in late summer or early autumn.


1 July 2011 | Broadcast | 5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44