I'll never understand the UK networks' need for this kind of format. Mix it up Channel 4! Try something different.

IrrationaliTV | January 08, 14:19 CET

I did like getting a new episode a few days after the US, but I do kind of prefer the traditional UK method of running the entire season without interruption.

Airing everything in a row is probably better for ratings in the UK anyway since we're not as used to America's start/stop scheduling of network shows, but there have been changes in recent years and certain shows are getting aired quickly after the US. I hope sky1 are going to remain pretty close to American airings of Arrow though.

manbearpig | January 08, 14:30 CET

Ack. This is going to make it difficult to avoid spoiling people on social media.

Sunfire | January 08, 14:30 CET

They probably should have started airing in January if this was a concern. But hey. I know going into repeats is ratings suicide in the UK, you rarely get the audience back (previous examples are ER, et all).

[ edited by gossi on 2014-01-08 23:41 ]

gossi | January 08, 14:41 CET

That's what Sky did with Buffy and Angel. Not sure what BBC2 did back in the day. Not sure what's stopping Channel 4 from putting the episodes on 4OD two or three days after they air in the States and then airing them on the tv later on in March.

Simon | January 08, 14:44 CET

They would get less money compared to airing on a TV, I guess (online ads cost less). But it's swings and roundabouts, a portion of the audience will just return to less legit means (and who can blame them) which yields zero monies.

gossi | January 08, 15:14 CET

Yeah, it seems a bizarrely long wait. Post Olympics maybe?

hann23 | January 08, 15:18 CET

Simon, BBC2 started Buffy a good eighteen months later, possibly longer, so they were able to run one season into the next, apart from pauses for bloody snooker, which came far too often. They never really caught up, because Sky had first-run rights, but S7 was on three evenings a week during the autumn of 2003.

C4 made such a mess of Angel that I don't think anybody cared, but it was, again, a fair while after first showing.

I'm not surprised they've decided to put off restarting AoS for a bit - you just can't keep putting repeats on mid-season over here and hope to hold an audience. Our series/seasons are shorter, but they are all planned to run straight through from start to finish, with very few exceptions. I imagine they plan to start showing them at a point where they can slowly catch up and air the finale not long after actual time.

Gill | January 08, 15:24 CET

I haven't owned a television since UK went digital, and I'm pretty sure I've missed nothing.

Bunnies | January 08, 20:31 CET

Probably the best move, if they are sticking to TV model. As a UKer myself, the constant stop starting of US shows is baffling to me and I can't see how it does anything but damage a show.

Unfortunately for me, I've been using methods to watch AoS via ABCs streaming service. Given their recent changes in policy, that means I will still have to wait sometime before watching. Both cases show just how ignorant TV Execs are of the current market and the global nature of the Internet. Expect piracy to increase.

Vandelay | January 09, 00:46 CET

So when C4 twitter said 'soon' they meant 'probably March'. Strange definition of soon.

I despair at the thought of dodging spoilers on the many social media sites even with tags blacklisted. It was made worse since twitter feed shows images rather than links :(

The Do That Girl | January 09, 08:50 CET

The Do That Girl - I also have to question their definition of "soon". Disappointing. Australian fans also have to wait indefinitely but hopefully it'll be end of Jan or early Feb for them.

In other news though Ireland is resuming on January 19th on RTE.

Beth | January 09, 15:35 CET