Jeremy Paxman’s US show axed

No doubt he will have greeted the news with a contemptuous shrug, but Jeremy Paxman, chief attack dog of the BBC's political programming, has had his hopes of breaking through in America dashed.
 
It was hoped that Paxo would become the latest in a line of gruff Brits to bowl over the US public, following in the footsteps of Gordon Ramsay and Simon Cowell. But the US version of the Paxman-fronted Newsnight has been canned after just a year.
 
While Americans have a soft spot for acid-tongued reality stars and entertainers from across the pond, it seems the same cannot be said of their news and current affairs anchors. Paxo's aggressive approach makes the likes of Jon Stewart and Katie Couric look tame and that is thought to be one of the key reasons why Newsnight failed to make an impact in the States.
 
The weekly show was launched in the prestigious 10pm Friday slot on BBC America, which is available in 63m US homes, but was soon switched to Thursdays and has now disappeared from the schedules altogether.
 
At the time of its launch, the showbiz daily bible Variety predicted that Paxman would become a star and even suggested that the show could be renamed after him. But reality bit. "This was purely based on ratings," said the Beeb. "Sometimes, even though people love the BBC news brand, you put something on and it just doesn't catch on."
 
Meanwhile, Washington correspondent Matt Frei, an altogether cuddlier type than Paxman, is going down a storm in the States. Viewing figures for his World News America slot on BBC America have jumped nine per cent to three million. ·