Folks looking for their fix of braised and battered home bakers must soon change the channel away from the BBC. The Great British Bake-Off, the most-watched show in the UK, moves to Channel 4 in 2017. The BBC apparently couldn’t reach an agreement with producer Love Productions to keep the show for the eighth season.
For the uninitiated, GBBO brings in amateur cooks to bake sometimes complicated cakes, pies, and pastries. Contestants are under the gun of a time limit and the watchful eye of Mary Berry. Mary is the most loved/feared judge on television since Anne Robinson left the Weakest Link. The combination of ingredients creates a tense competition which captivates fans the world over.
What About PBS in the US?
While the show exits its network at home, US broadcasts of The Great British Baking Show should continue on the Public Broadcasting System. PBS gets the show via a separate contract with Love Productions. The name of the show changes for the US market because the term Bake-Off is a registered trademark of the Pillsbury Company in America.
During its BBC run, the Bake-Off dominated television. Half of all viewers watching TV in the country tuned to the Season 7 opener. Later episodes proved more popular than network coverage of the Rio Olympics.
We don’t know how Channel 4 plans to modify the show; it’s too early in the transition for that. We do know the network will start their run with a celebrity version of the Bake-Off in 2017. “Channel 4 is very proud to be the new home for The Great British Bake Off, read the statement from the network’s chief creative officer Jay Hunt. “I’m delighted we have been able to partner with the hugely talented team at Love Productions to keep this much-loved show on free-to-air television.”
