Some people said that Channel 4's decision to spend millions on the terrestrial rights for The Simpsons was a highly risky gamble that was possibly bordering on the reckless, and judging from the initial decline in ratings it now looks as if the pessimists could be right. The holy grail for broadcasters seems to be the "young person demographic" and was the rationale behind Channel 4's expensive purchase.
The Simpsons aside, it could be argued that C4 missed an opportunity to develop a successful new show along the lines of TFI Friday before Friends had finished its final run. However it might have been the case that C4 thought at the time that acquiring the rights to Friends follow-up Joey would be a mere formality due to their arrangement with Warner Brothers, though of course that didn't happen.
But should Channel 4 solely be about chasing ratings? Of course not, but under the current circumstances there is a requirement to at least keep advertisers happy for some of the time along with showing 'experimental' comedy such as Nathan Barley. And niche television is one of Channel 4's greatest strengths which helps to distinguish the channel in a crowded market; a fact not lost with C4's current bosses.
