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DiS asks: What the crunk is going on...?
Last week we heard news of the Popworld magazine launching then rather sharply being closed after a mere 9,000 first edition sales. Now Channel 4 have decided to cut the cord and axe the TV show too.
Channel 4 told the Daily Mirror "We've decided not to recommission Popworld. The series has performed very successfully but we're keen to use our T4 platform as a launch pad for new music formats that reflect our audience's tastes and the way they consume music."
This news follows the still echoing death knell of jumped-ship-at-the-perfect-time Simon Amstell (pictured) whom with Miquita Oliver launched the pop show, with a funny cynical Dennis Pennis-esque slant, six years ago. It is also a massive blow for the world of pop and popular culture in general which finds itself now without a real flagship show since the loss to terrestrial TV in recent times of both CD:UK (which wasn't that good any way) and Top Of The Pops (which had become devoid if personality or anything exciting for a long while). So, DiS ponders over a cuppa, is TV as a whole actually dead?
Well, the beginning of the end is at least in sight. When we get home from gigs it's just orange people presenting quiz phone-ins and snooker. TV viewing figures are fracturing and falling around the world, with a whole generation getting what they want online. It is not completely unconnected that Channel 4 are also reporting news today that a whopping one million people have downloaded their on-demand content, which is free from channel4.com/4od. It makes you wonder whether Popworld, as an established cult show could have been perfect as an on-demand show, with even less boundaries online. DiS wouldn't be shocked if some clever corporate brand came along to give the show a new home online...
DiScuss: What now for hungover observers of mass culture to consume pop on a weekend Doesn't T4 currently just show Goldfrapp and Moby every other week, alternating them with terrible NME-approved indie bands like The Enemy? Does this leave you without a career choice if you wanted to be the next presenter? What was your favourite Popworld memory?
