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BBC Three

(July 2012)

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JA
JAS84
JAS84 posted:
The channel numbers will be the same as usual. CBBC normally has the daytime hours on BBC Three's frequency, so it's that what will effectively take Parliament's daytime hours. Parliament's channel number will just broadcast the standard red "off air" caption used during BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC and Cbeebies downtime.
CBBC and BBC Three appear to share the same transmission material (cue times when the CBBC DOG has appeared on BBC Three programming) so I presume there's a spare transmission "system" to run BBC Three all day and CBBC at the same time and feed the DOGs?
Isn't BBC Parliament supposed to be down during the day when BBC Three and CBBC are both broadcasting? That frees one up. Or is that just Freeview?
WP
WillPS
Extending BBC3's hours permanently wouldn't really be worth it. ITV2 and E4 both pick up the bulk of their audience in the evening and are both full of repeats or cheap imports during the day. BBC3 would end up the same way, but because they're only on air for 2 hours pre-watershed, most of the repeats would either be on a constant loop or they'd be 'stealing' shows from BBC1. They'd be criticised for not being value for money which is something the channel already faces, not to mention the problems BBC2 daytime is currently experiencing.

Perhaps if they had a full daytime service they'd actually commission some pre-watershed content. I don't see any harm with showing a couple of episodes of Bargain Hunt/Homes Under the Hammer in the afternoon - there's clearly demand for it as Discovery RealTime and Home both put it out all the way through the day.

If it was all down to me I'd have 3 all-day 'adult' stations, rather than 2 full and 2 evening only. I know it's that way (in part) because of DTT capacity and the 2 children's services. There's not much that can be done about that now (as it'd be wildly unpopular merging Cbeebies and CBBC), but winding back the clock I think splitting was a mistake. Parents with young children went from having an hour or two of content per day to having a full daytime service - I personally think this was overkill.
GO
gottago
JAS84 posted:
JAS84 posted:
The channel numbers will be the same as usual. CBBC normally has the daytime hours on BBC Three's frequency, so it's that what will effectively take Parliament's daytime hours. Parliament's channel number will just broadcast the standard red "off air" caption used during BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC and Cbeebies downtime.
CBBC and BBC Three appear to share the same transmission material (cue times when the CBBC DOG has appeared on BBC Three programming) so I presume there's a spare transmission "system" to run BBC Three all day and CBBC at the same time and feed the DOGs?
Isn't BBC Parliament supposed to be down during the day when BBC Three and CBBC are both broadcasting? That frees one up. Or is that just Freeview?


I'm pretty sure BBC Parliament will be continuing on all other platforms.
IS
Inspector Sands
JAS84 posted:
CBBC and BBC Three appear to share the same transmission material (cue times when the CBBC DOG has appeared on BBC Three programming) so I presume there's a spare transmission "system" to run BBC Three all day and CBBC at the same time and feed the DOGs?
Isn't BBC Parliament supposed to be down during the day when BBC Three and CBBC are both broadcasting? That frees one up. Or is that just Freeview?

It's just Freeview, but I'm pretty sure that BBC Parliament comes from Millbank and not Red Bee so it's irrelevant.

I don't think there's extra playout equipment as such, but there will be spare capacity on the existing systems. As I understand it, the software for each playout area/suite can run several channels output, in fact I believe that overnight 3 and 4 are moved over to be looked after by the director looking after 1 and 2..

The bigger issue I'd have thought is supplying an extra channel to the satellites and the cable headends. On Freeview it's just taking over the bandwidth used by Parliament, so there's nothing extra just a change of EPG number
GE
thegeek Founding member
CBBC and BBC Three appear to share the same transmission material (cue times when the CBBC DOG has appeared on BBC Three programming) so I presume there's a spare transmission "system" to run BBC Three all day and CBBC at the same time and feed the DOGs?

You're right, the 'DNET3' playout chain is normally CBBC during the day, and BBC Three at other times.

AIUI, CBBC is going to be using the former BBC One SD chain - as BBC One is now HD-only, and the SD network is a downconvert.
RW
Robert Williams Founding member
Was it Breakers?

Yes, I'm pretty sure it was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakers_(TV_series)

The first hour of BBC Choice from 5-6pm was branded as 'Chill on Choice', and the first half was indeed the soap Breakers which started on BBC1, but I think it flopped so ended up being shunted to Choice. The second half of the hour varied, and was usually something like a Top of the Pops artist compilation, or a repeat of The Brittas Empire.

I remember reading about Backstage on the old TV & Radio Bits site but apart from one screenshot of three presenters on a sofa I haven't seen any footage of it.

Another show I remember reading about was 'The RDA'. TV & Radio Bits had a whole page dedicated to pre-Stuart Murphy BBC Choice shows.

Backstage initially ran from 6-7pm, before being halved in length in October 1999. Kaye Adams was the original presenter, and was later replaced by Julia Bradbury and Jon Monie taking turns. All three united for the last ever edition in March 2000, which is where the screenshot on my old website came from. I think I still have a moment or two from the start of that episode on tape so I might be able to stick it on YouTube if anyone is really desperate to see it. Also still got a few RDA bits too, I think.

The daytime hours of BBC Choice consisted of a preview loop, with a menu and music shown for half an hour before the start of programmes, until CBBC on Choice started in December 1999. When Chill on Choice and Backstage were axed, CBBC on Choice was extended to run until 7pm.

Such a shame no version of that website exists any longer, and that they saw fit to force the Web Archive to delete/hide their cache.

It is, it had lots of good stuff on there. The owner is a member on here,

I'm sorry that I had to block it from the Internet Archive, but the reasons behind the closure, which I won't go into any detail suffice to say involved copyright issues, meant that I wanted it all completely removed from the internet.

Extending BBC3's hours permanently wouldn't really be worth it. ITV2 and E4 both pick up the bulk of their audience in the evening and are both full of repeats or cheap imports during the day. BBC3 would end up the same way, but because they're only on air for 2 hours pre-watershed, most of the repeats would either be on a constant loop or they'd be 'stealing' shows from BBC1. They'd be criticised for not being value for money which is something the channel already faces, not to mention the problems BBC2 daytime is currently experiencing.

The problem here is that there is absolutely no capacity on Freeview to extend any of their channels permanently, unless they closed 301 or reduced it to evening hours, or switched BBC Parliament back to audio only. Also I read somewhere recently that as part of DQF they will no longer be commissioning for pre-watershed BBC Three anyway, instead concentrating budgets on the 9pm and 10.30pm slots.

I think I would have preferred CBeebies and CBBC to have been a single channel, especially since since the demise of Class TV, CBBC is broadcasting to an audience which shouldn't be available to watch. It could perhaps be split: CBeebies 6-7am, CBBC 7-8.30am, CBeebies 8.30am-3.30pm, CBBC 3.30-7pm. However daytime BBC Three wouldn't be particularly worthwhile, and BBC Two daytime is effectively going to become BBC Four daytime anyway.
JA
jay Founding member
The presentation for BBC Three looks so incredibly tired these days - are there any hints or sign of a rebrand on the horizon at all?
BU
buster
jay posted:
The presentation for BBC Three looks so incredibly tired these days - are there any hints or sign of a rebrand on the horizon at all?


I would have thought it's stuck in a queue behind virtually every other BBC channel in terms of being given funds for a rebrand (which in itself must be much more scarce than a few years back) - it's actually one of the youngest channel identities in the BBC family.
JO
Jonny
I've never been a fan but it would probably be in a better state if they hadn't messed about with it so much (see the now/next menu sort-of-tweaks). What's left is a bit of a diluted mish-mash, some parts look fine but don't when jumbled together.

And they jarringly hacked the opening bits off the idents a few years ago for reasons I don't fully understand; I guess it was the trend at the time...

Compare it to how E4, whose current pres launched in December 2007, ie before BBC3's (not that you'd guess), has treated its set and its shortcomings become even more obvious.
VM
VMPhil
Jonny posted:
Compare it to how E4, whose current pres launched in December 2007, ie before BBC3's (not that you'd guess), has treated its set and its shortcomings become even more obvious.

I think E4 is in need of a refresh too. The idents are repetitive now and the I've tired of the sticker graphics more quickly than the 2001-2007 graphics.
GO
gottago
E4's presentation is long overdue a refresh, particularly when you consider one of the idents still has that "Shove it up your tellyhole" catchphrase in it from the glorious Peter Dickson era. The set of idents they had before the current lot with the lift music band were around for far too long as well.
SW
Steve Williams
Another show I remember reading about was 'The RDA'. TV & Radio Bits had a whole page dedicated to pre-Stuart Murphy BBC Choice shows.


The RDA was an amazing series, it was basically a programme about itself so it would always broadcast the warm-up and they'd get the staff on air to talk about what was happening next. Because there were no ratings for BBC Choice in those days, they invented the faxometer to track its success which was a fax machine next to a window on the top floor of the East Tower which they invited viewers to fax to see how far down the building the roll got. And one night they broadcast through the night for a live on-air sleepover. The most famous episode was when the producer resigned on air after they'd phoned him up when he was off sick, with the rest of the show including a long discussion between the host John Gordillo and the rest of the crew as to whether he was joking (and he never appeared ever again).

There's no value in putting CBBC and Cbeebies as one channel, it's easy to say oh, kids shouldn't be watching in termtime, just put the pre-school stuff on then, but presumably you'd have to swap it all around come the school holidays which would just confuse everyone. And even if you're only going up to twelve years old there's going to be some content that would be unsuitable for pre-school viewers. Even aside from the ratings there are obvious PSB benefits from showing kids shows all day rather than showing BBC3 all day.

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