Channel 4's stations: set for a Dave-style rebrand?

Monkey was thrilled to receive by special delivery a large and beautifully produced art book, in its own special protective case, with a covering letter from the UKTV chief executive, David Abraham. It chronicles the past two years, starting in October 2007 when the former St Lukes advertising executive started rebranding the 10 channels owned jointly with the BBC, with the initial triumph of turning UKTV G2 into Dave, progressing less surely through the likes of Watch and Blighty. No sign in the arty shots of dear old Richard & Judy, though, who came a cropper by switching from Channel 4 to become the ignored faces of Watch last year. But that surely that should not take the icing off the fact that ratings for the 10 channels are up 11%, year on year, nor should it hinder the reverse move Abraham would like to make, from UKTV to the vacant chief executive's chair at Channel 4. Monkey wonders how E4 could be renamed – it has always sounded to us rather like the name of a cream to treat nasty rashes.