I'm sure I've seen this story linked on TVF before but...
Quote:
Netflix is testing a programmed linear content channel in France, Variety reported. The channel, called Netflix Direct, will be available to Netflix streaming subscribers and will provide content from its existing streaming library in a linear format, much like cable and broadcast TV stations do.
BBC Three reached 8% of British 16-34-year-olds per week in 2018/19, down from 22% in 2015/16.
The BBC now says its research shows there is a potential large linear audience for the channel's programmes, which it says are reaching both young people and the wider audience in "big numbers".
I understand this.
I loved streaming TV - I dreamed of having it as a child - and I would say that at least half my TV viewing is on demand.
However, I will often spend 5 or 10 minutes on the Sky EPG browsing what's available and then make a choice to watch live or record somethnig based upon what I've found.
Perhaps there is an argument for saying that a linear channel with EPG listings acts as a form of advertising for a channel.
I do think they should bring BBC3 back as a linear channel anyway but I worry that the 5 or so years it has been off air means that it will find it difficult to compete with its rivals who have the momentum.
CNN makes over a billion dollars a year in profit through subs and advertising, as I understand.
With the vast majority of that income coming in through long term carriage agreements, I'm disappointed but not surprised they've grown fat from the fees and have got lazy as a result.
I really enjoyed CNNI from the mid nineties til around 2010. Not anymore though.
I think this is the right step for Channel 4, leave the expensive Dramas to the likes of BBC, ITV and Netflix. The market is different to the 80’s/90’s so it’s only right an ‘edgy’ channel should focus on a younger audience more by doing more online. In fact I think they should have done this sooner, like the BBC with BBC Three.
What do you think good people?
TBH, it almost harks back to the original remit of Channel 4 which was to produce edgy, experimental programming other commercial broadcasters wouldn't touch.
Of course, when it started filling its schedules with property porn, much of that original remit was lost.
From a selfish point of view, I just hope it's stuff that a 46 year old like me would like to watch
Why not turn BBC Scotland into BBC Three, maintain its Scottish base / The Nine etc (wider remit but still made in Scotland) but add in BBC Three programming and make it UK-wide. Stick it in channel 7 on Freeview, giving over an hour for the local network. Bosh.
That's the best idea I've heard for a long time, to be honest.
It almost harks back to the separate national programming on BBC CHOICE plus they could make specific programming for the Welsh, the Northern Irish, and, who knows, even the regions of England although the last option is probably a stretch.
Perhaps have that programming on up until 9 and then BBC THREE type programming after 9.
The BBC have the Freeview/Sky/cable bandwidth to do it and a prominent EPG slot by law.
They have the content.
All content could be made available UK-wide and on demand via iPlayer.
Loving your work here, Phil - it ticks all the boxes.
Last edited by johnnyboy on 27 November 2020 5:33pm
An update on the progress of BBC Scotland in The Times this morning.
It's behind a paywall so here are the pertinent parts...
Quote:
"Ofcom said that its flagship news programme The Nine suffered low viewing figures and failed to meet its goal of attracting a younger audience.
In their annual report on the BBC, the media regulator said that the show attracted average viewing figures of 15,890 per episode during its first year.
The average audience among 16-34 year-olds was “very low” with under 1,000 tuning into the programme which is presented by Martin Geissler and Rebecca Curran.
Its average audience share in Scotland was just 0.84 per cent compared with 28 per cent for Reporting Scotland on BBC One Scotland."
Quote:
"The channel is still establishing itself with audiences in Scotland there were early indications “that the channel may have had an early positive impact on viewers’ impressions of the BBC”"
In the same paper, Nicola Sturgeon announced that she wants to hold a referendum "as soon as next year".
With a referendum looking increasingly likely to return a "Yes" vote, is there an argument for closing the channel and using the funding instead to relaunch BBC THREE with a bigger budget and as a linear channel?
In recent discussions on the merit of relaunching BBC THREE as a linear channel, the argument was put forward that linear channels do a very effective job of promoting a channel's content.
Another article in today's Times stated that "16 to 34-year-olds spend less than an hour a day with the BBC, and that’s going down".
Does it increase the Beeb's chance of long-term survival to invest much more in programming for 16-34 year olds with a relaunched BBC THREE as this demographic contains the licence payers of the future (and of now too)?
It's a tough one but, if I were making the decision, I would choose to spend the money on BBC THREE even though this would mean that the already unfair gap between what Scots spent on the BBC and what the BBC spent on Scotland widened further.
And, if our Scottish brothers and sisters choose to leave the Union, the BBC's investment in the channel would turn out to be unintentionally wasted anyway.
PS. The source for this article in this post is The Times. I know and understand that many people dislike strongly and distrust the Murdoch press - not an unreasonable position, in my opinion. However, I'd love to know Forumers' opinions on the topic so I would be grateful if we could stick to the subject rather than talk about Murdoch et al.
"In the 1980s, the BBC explored the world of computing in The Computer Literacy Project. They commissioned a home computer (the BBC Micro) and taught viewers how to program.
The Computer Literacy Project chronicled a decade of information technology and was a milestone in the history of computing in Britain, helping to inspire a generation of coders.
This site contains all 146 of the original Computer Literacy Project programmes plus 120 related programmes, broken down into 2,491 categorised, searchable clips.
• Watch any of the 266 programmes
• Explore 2,491 programme clips by topic or text search
• Find out how the BBC Computer Literacy Project came about
• Run 166 BBC Micro programs that were used on-screen"
--------------------------------------------
Amazing website - it'll be of particular interest to:
• those forum members like me who were fascinated by the primitive computers in the 1980s and who are aged 40+ and
• those forum members with an interest in 1980s TV production values.
A handful of these programmes are available on the standard iPlayer service but there are 266 full-length programmes on this archive.
I remember watching Ian McNaught Davis and the crew on Sunday mornings with my Dad entranced at the advance of technology.
BBC - hate it soooo much
Sky - hate it and hated it for ten years
ITV - not bad
Channel 4 - preferred the older ones but pretty good
CNN - quite like it actually
Al Jazeera - not that keen
We've seen a crisis engulf TV idents with bland mediocrity in recent years (with the exceptions of BBC2 and ITV).
Are we now in the midst of the next TV Forum crisis with the state of broadcasters' fonts?
