Trouble to target older audience

Trouble is planning to reposition itself as a channel aimed at an older audience with a new roster of "edgier" shows.

The Flextech station has traditionally chased a teen audience but has struggled to win over older teens because of its location in the 'Kids' section of the Sky EPG.

The channel's programming director, Jonathan Webb, said Trouble would use its recent switch from the 'kids' category to the 'entertainment' category as a platform for launching new, more adult series.

"It's always been a difficult thing for Trouble, because we target 10- to 20-year-olds. But show me a 14-year-old who actually watches anything on the kids EPG," he told the Media Guardian.

"[The kids EPG] is a ghetto, which is incredibly good for channels such as Nickelodeon and Disney, who are targeting four- to 12-year-olds. But 70% of that audience bugger off after 7pm. We're positioning ourselves somewhere between MTV and E4. We're still targeting the same group of people, but in a much cleverer, more sassy way."

Among the new shows on Trouble's adult slate are Freddie Prinz Jr comedy Freddie, Melanie Griffith comedy Twins, Aussie drama Secret Life Of Us and US sitcoms Cuts and Girlfriends.