When the assignment report spoke to Teachers’ TV CEO Nigel Dacre earlier this month, he was unable to divulge much about his plans for the next 12 months until after an upcoming board meeting and the release of their first set of audited viewing figures. Presumably, if the audience figures are high enough then advertising and sponsorship may soon become a feature of the channel. One very interesting figure he was happy to disclose was that 25,000 programmes per month are downloaded over the internet, making it probably the most watched web channel in the UK.
The already impressive distribution channel for Teachers’ TV (Sky, ntl, KIT, HomeChoice and Freeview) is also set to expand with programming being distributed via AOL and Blueyonder. Education Digital and their advisors Digital Public have been examining the opportunities for the delivery of content via Video-On-Demand and mobile telephony. Since its launch the independent production sector and its representative body PACT have been very supportive of the channel, although after commissioning over 400 hours of locally-produced content they could hardly be otherwise inclined.
However, plans (which have yet to be officially announced), that Teachers’ TV will begin working with the BBC’s Digital Curriculum from 2006, may strain this relationship.
