JA
Channel 5 still make some kids' content, though would they be doing it without the BBC still making it as well?
BR
Is the counter argument that CBeebies is what makes it difficult for the commercial sector to compete. Of course though we know from the history of absolutely everything withdrawing a public service under the belief private companies will step in to fill the gap never comes to fruitition.
IN
Not true, otherwise you wouldn't be able to dial local numbers which start with 911 without inserting the area code beforehand.
Only 112 or 999 will work from a landline. Mobile operators tend to redirect 911 but they can do that since the whole number is processed at once rather than one digit at a time.
(yes I know BT bodged the system to intercept these calls but that's not the point).
Not true, otherwise you wouldn't be able to dial local numbers which start with 911 without inserting the area code beforehand.
Only 112 or 999 will work from a landline. Mobile operators tend to redirect 911 but they can do that since the whole number is processed at once rather than one digit at a time.
JO
Given how parents of very young children use CBeebies and other channels, I'm not sure that there is a commercial opportunity that ca be exploited by the private sector here. In other words, parents actually rarely watch the adverts and the pester power of 6 year olds and younger is not quite as developed as the audience for CBBC.
I'm certainly not an industry expert but I think CBeebie's programming budget (before other costs) is £28m a year. In order to have a chance of breaking even at these figures, they'd need to sell about £3,200 an hour on average of adverts to break even just the programming budget.
Given the limited number of companies which do advertise on other channels targeting the same audience, I am not sure that there are enough advertisers with deep enough pockets to make a profit-driven CBeebies competitor viable.
johnnyboy
Founding member
Is the counter argument that CBeebies is what makes it difficult for the commercial sector to compete. Of course though we know from the history of absolutely everything withdrawing a public service under the belief private companies will step in to fill the gap never comes to fruitition.
Given how parents of very young children use CBeebies and other channels, I'm not sure that there is a commercial opportunity that ca be exploited by the private sector here. In other words, parents actually rarely watch the adverts and the pester power of 6 year olds and younger is not quite as developed as the audience for CBBC.
I'm certainly not an industry expert but I think CBeebie's programming budget (before other costs) is £28m a year. In order to have a chance of breaking even at these figures, they'd need to sell about £3,200 an hour on average of adverts to break even just the programming budget.
Given the limited number of companies which do advertise on other channels targeting the same audience, I am not sure that there are enough advertisers with deep enough pockets to make a profit-driven CBeebies competitor viable.
JA
Nick Jr is mostly repeats and American imports though, and much of their UK content is co-produced with Milkshake (and in fact has been even before Viacom bought Channel 5), Tiny Pop is entirely repeats and imports, so neither are going to cost anywhere as much to run as CBeebies.
LN
Presumably because some credit styles (especially imported programming) wouldn't suit it.
CBBC had a similar design, but much smaller in the bottom right. It also lasted a lot longer but eventually they just started putting the credits on the TV screens in the background.
Also according to tvtropes (so I'm not sure how true this is)
CBBC (when aired on BBC One) almost always got its credits squashed - often into an area as small as 1/4 by 1/4 of the screen - just so that the broadcasters could give an extra 20 seconds for the in-vision linking announcer to ramble on uselessly during
This got so bad at one point that even the children who watched these programs began to write in to complain about not being able to see the credits
CBBC's response to this? They squeezed the credits of even more programs, so that the announcer could read out the letters from the children who were complaining about the practice of credit squeezing. And then the announcers actually started mocking the kids for wanting to see the credits.
Its on TV Whirl:
https://www.tvwhirl.co.uk/presentation/bbc/cbbccbeebies/?clip=1239
I've noticed upon watching early CBeebies continuity how it really felt like the last few days of CBBC on Choice, minus the name of the strand and of course, the presenters and continuity style.
One thing I discovered was that CBeebies on BBC One initially had a revolving ECP in the shape of a blob, in-keeping with the bug patterns of the channel, with the presenters on the right reminding viewers to switch to the CBeebies Channel. This was usually followed by a promo for either CBeebies or CBBC, before handing over to CBBC One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xup43bzoa68
However, from Autumn 2002, the ECP was dropped, with the continuity link playing after the programme's credits, usually with the presenter making or doing something, and once again reminding viewers to switch to the CBeebies Channel. This was accompanied by an ambient tune of bells and light percussion, in the style of the strand's jingle in the idents:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0oR_ZO3eKs
Anybody know why this was changed?
One thing I discovered was that CBeebies on BBC One initially had a revolving ECP in the shape of a blob, in-keeping with the bug patterns of the channel, with the presenters on the right reminding viewers to switch to the CBeebies Channel. This was usually followed by a promo for either CBeebies or CBBC, before handing over to CBBC One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xup43bzoa68
However, from Autumn 2002, the ECP was dropped, with the continuity link playing after the programme's credits, usually with the presenter making or doing something, and once again reminding viewers to switch to the CBeebies Channel. This was accompanied by an ambient tune of bells and light percussion, in the style of the strand's jingle in the idents:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0oR_ZO3eKs
Anybody know why this was changed?
Presumably because some credit styles (especially imported programming) wouldn't suit it.
CBBC had a similar design, but much smaller in the bottom right. It also lasted a lot longer but eventually they just started putting the credits on the TV screens in the background.
Also according to tvtropes (so I'm not sure how true this is)
Quote:
CBBC (when aired on BBC One) almost always got its credits squashed - often into an area as small as 1/4 by 1/4 of the screen - just so that the broadcasters could give an extra 20 seconds for the in-vision linking announcer to ramble on uselessly during
This got so bad at one point that even the children who watched these programs began to write in to complain about not being able to see the credits
CBBC's response to this? They squeezed the credits of even more programs, so that the announcer could read out the letters from the children who were complaining about the practice of credit squeezing. And then the announcers actually started mocking the kids for wanting to see the credits.
Its on TV Whirl:
https://www.tvwhirl.co.uk/presentation/bbc/cbbccbeebies/?clip=1239