Great British Bake Off: Channel 4 seeking 'exclusive sponsor' for baking show
CHANNEL 4 has opened the doors to sponsors for The Great British Bake Off as the show airs on the commercially funded channel for the first time.
Channel 4 has opened the doors to sponsors for The Great British Bake Off
The broadcaster said it had already been swamped by interested companies after it announced it was looking for an exclusive sponsorship partner on Thursday.
The hit baking show will return to screens in Autumn after moving over from the publicly funded BBC last year.
It will extend the running time of the traditional one-hour episodes to 75 minutes each to allow for commercial breaks, without cutting any baking drama.
Channel 4 sales director Jonathan Allan said: "As soon as Channel 4 was announced as the new home of Bake Off, we've been inundated with interest from advertisers keen to get involved with the biggest show on TV.
The broadcaster said it had already been swamped by interested companies
"We're looking forward to working with an exclusive sponsor and a whole host of brands to get creative with their communications around the show to entertain and delight Bake Off viewers.
We've been inundated with interest from advertisers keen to get involved with the biggest show on TV
"As a commercially funded, not-for-profit broadcaster, this advertiser investment will ensure that we can keep quality British shows like Bake Off free to air for viewers."
The chosen sponsor is expected to be agreed by July and will be involved with the regular show as well as all connect programmes that have been planned so far, including two Christmas specials, one celebrity special, Jo Brand's spin-off show Extra Slice and judge Paul Hollywood's new series, A Baker's Life.
The baking show will return to the screens in Autumn after moving from BBC last year
‘Bake Off’ winner Candice shares FUN hot cross bun recipe
A spokeswoman for the channel said creators were also thinking of ways to add a "bonkers" twist to the ad breaks themselves.
"We are known for messing about with ad breaks," she told the Press Association.
"We are looking at ways of including some of that."