The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Philip Jones is the managing editor of theBookseller.com. He will blog with links and comment about the book business.

Living with Richard and Judy

02.11.07

TV duo Richard and Judy might want to consider a one-off show for publishers on dealing with stress after this morning's news that the husband and wife team are to quit their daytime show.

The various Richard and Judy book clubs have had an Oprah-like effect on the sale of books in the UK--and their impact shows no signs of declining.

Just yesterday we reported how the duo's one-off show on children's books, broadcast on 25th October, led to a seven-fold increase in sales of Mark Walden's H.I.V.E. (Bloomsbury), and a five-fold rise in sales of The World According to Humphrey by Betty G Birney (Faber).

Anyone who has witnessed the feting of Richard and Judy producer Amanda Ross at industry events by publishing's big-wigs can also testify that the accolade so often bestowed of the 'most powerful' woman in the book business is not massively wide of the mark.

The news, though, is not as bad as might have been first feared. The revelation that the husband and wife team are "talking" to Channel 4 about presenting a spin-off Book Club series will be music to the ears of most trade publishers and booksellers. As Finnigan says: "We’ve had a wonderful time presenting this show, and we intend to carry on with the Book Club, which has become very important to us. But there are so many other things we want to do as well,  and it feels like the right time for a change."

Should we be worried by the carefully worded Julian Bellamy, head of programmes at Channel 4? His very non-committal statement read: "Their show has deservedly won them many loyal fans while the extraordinary success of their Book Club has brought them wider acclaim for the most successful ever TV initiative in encouraging reading as well as promoting new books and authors. We wish them great success and will continue to look at opportunities to work with them in the future."

Bellamy is most likely hedging his broadcasting bets. Television book clubs have rarely worked as good TV. Richard and Judy might appear to have cracked it, but it could be that their's only works in the context of a longer running (and daily) series--allowing a slow build-up of literary tension, and giving the pair the opportunity to speak to an audience who might not otherwise tune in for a books show. The children's books special, for instance, only got a 3% audience share, equating to 700,000 viewers, about half what they would expect from one of their daytime slots.

But any broadcaster would be crazy to dismiss the pair's advances. Despite some early criticism their move from ITV to Channel 4 has been a success--and their book club slot was genuinely innovative.

Of course, publishers should be wary of having all their books in one R&J branded basket--and the strength of any heart murmurs felt this morning might cause one or two publishers to look more widely at different routes to the television audience--but the pair are undoubted book enthusiasts, and we can all be glad of that.

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