Serving up a catchy mix of Baywatch, local sitcoms like The Novaks and titillating late-night fare, the channel swept up 70% of Czech viewers and was delivering $50 million a year in operating income (earnings before depreciation, interest and taxes).
The ratings success and buzz of Lifetime's latest original productions is a far cry from the type of fare the channel used to air, with titles like "The Stranger Beside Me" and "Cyber Seductions: His Secret Life" that featured C-list stars either in jeopardy from dangerous men or health maladies.
Beyond the standard TV fare, "The Weather Channel is the most important channel because we need to keep track of tornados and flash floods".
That is partly because there has been a sustained attempt to introduce more serious fare at the channel.
On Sundays, big 9pm films will stay, but commissioners will try to offer contrasting fare to other channels at 8pm.
Industry on both sides of the English Channel fared somewhat better in December, and in January the euro zone posted a surprise increase in manufacturing activity.Things are somewhat cheerier at home, too.
What is unclear is whether these "registered-traveller" lines distract attention (and time, resources, etc) from other security channels that serve ordinary travellers.It also remains to be seen how these paid-for channels will fare if a new type of self-selecting security channel is rolled out across the country.
"A comedian takes a sideways look at something," he said, characterising the channel's fare.
This show is happy to just be a genre piece, a bit of grindhouse fare on an arthouse channel.
In New York, taxi passengers are shown a mix of news, weather and light cultural fare on a single channel provided by either WABC or WNBC.
