More Street on the way

Press, 22 October 1980, Page 20

More Street on the way

.. New Zealand television audiences are in for more episodes of “Coronation Street” — many more. New Zealand is four years behind Britain in screening the long-run-ning. 20-year-old “Street,” buU according to the managing director of Granada Television, Mr Barrie Heads, “Television One is talking about showing it five times a week, partly to catch up.” He said Network Ones programme • controller, Mr Des Monaghan, had recently been. ■in London making arrangements for buying more of “Coronation Street.”

“After 20 years, it is still in the top 10 programmes in this country every week,” said Mr Heads.

“It is well-made, funny, well-acted, and very realistic because in the North of England there are people just like that.” To mark the 2000th episode, the “TV Times” published a 94-page souvenir edition of what it called: “Britain’s best-loved folk story.” Included in it was the full script of the first episode screened on December 9, 1969. Mr Heads said Granada had sold 6500 hours of television programmes to 102 countries, and “Coronation Street” was the best-selling programme. He estimated that the “Street” had netted the

company between S 4 million and $7 million in overseas sales. ’ One Canadian television channel joining the Canadian Broadcasting Commission’s network had bought 1142 episodes in a single purchase.

“We put that in the “Guinness Book of Records’.” he said. “There are no plans to stop making ‘Coronation Street,’ which we will continue to

produce just as long as it continues to be so popular with- audiences here and all over the world.” Granada is at present producing Evelyn Waugh’s novel: "Brideshead Revisited,” the largest and most expensive film serial to be made for British television.

The series is being coproduced Xvith- WNET, of New York,, for the Public Broadcasting Service of America, arid with Norddeutscher Ruridfunk. of Hamburg. Thg company is also planning a second series of “Inside Europe,” made with television organisastions In Belgium, Den- ? mark, Sweden, the Netherlands, West Germany,' and the United States. Mr Heads said there had been an explosive growth in British programme . sales in the United States, though competition with American programmes and those from Europe was keen.