- Title: UNITED KINGDOM / AUSTRALIA: LIVE TV LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAMME 'TOPLESS DARTS'
- Date: 15th December 1996
- Summary: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 15, 1996) (REUTERS TELEVISION) LIVE TV PROGRAMMING MANAGER NICK FERRARI RESPONDING TO REPORTER ASKING IF HE BELIEVES IT IS CHILDISH AND SEXIST, SAYING THAT WITH MULTI-CHANNEL TELEVISION IS THAT YOU CAN EXPERIMENT, AND THAT THE BOTTOM LINE OF TOPLESS DARTS IS THAT IF THE PEOPLE DON'T WATCH IT WE WON'T SHOW IT. IF THEY ENJOY IT, WE'LL KEEP IT GOING. IT'S A BIT OF FUN. (ENGLISH)
- Embargoed: 30th December 1996 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM/ BONDI BEACH, AUSTRALIA
- City:
- Country: EUROPE England United Kingdom Australia
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA2AKLZ6W47UDV31MEZ7IAIU5TR
- Story Text: Some of Britain's satellite and cable television stations are undergoing something of a crisis as the initial hype surrounding their launch begins to fade.
Station chiefs, under pressure to pay back the heavy borrowings used to set up the channels, are searching for new programmes and new ideas.
At one station, Live TV, station chiefs believe they should aim for the lower end of the market, and have come up with "Topless Darts," a semi-nude darts show.
Head of Programming Nick Ferrari says British television needs "all the help it can get" and brushes aside accusations of sexism, describing the event as an experiment and simply "bit of fun." Currently the programme is filmed on Australia's Bondi Beach, but Ferrari says he hopes to produce it in Europe this summer, probably in Spain.
But will such down-market tactics obtain the ratings Live TV is so desperate to achieve? Few in the industry believe the move can do any harm to their ratings. Ferrari himself says that if this fails his next project will be topless synchronized swimming. And for the ladies' enjoyment, one idea that is being considered is bottomless billiards - provided that the table is high enough to protect frontal modesty( - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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