Four Says Goodbye To 'Friends'

Channel 4 has announced that it is to drop what was originally a massive 'smash-hit sitcom', Friends.
Four said this is to free up cash to "refresh its schedule" with original programming and US buy-ins.
The station has agreed with Warner Bros, the programme's distributor, to end its rights to the series in the autumn of 2011 - around the same time as the final series of Big Brother draws to a close.
The Manhattan sitcom first aired in 1995 and became a ratings hit for the channel, with viewers soon hooked on the daily banter, the will-they-won't-they relationships and the haircuts of Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, Ross and Monica.
After ten series, the final episode of Friends which aired in 2004, drew an audience of 8.6 million viewers.
It's popularity is still a force to be reckoned with however, as E4 has screened two repeat episodes of the series every night for the past six years, and is still drawing an average of 400,000 viewers.
Channel 4 and its offshoots continue to screen an array of other US shows, such as vampire drama True Blood, and new series such as the musical comedy Glee and The Good Wife.
(BMcC/GK)