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BBC News continuity

BBC News 24 to drop the 24? (p3) (June 2006)

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BS
brotherton sands
I don't think that the word "channel" was ever an "official" part of the ITV News channel's name, was it? Yet, when the ITV1 bulletins plugged the channel, they would indeed say "ITV News channel".

Something similar is true of the current CITV channel - it's "official brand" is just "CITV" as far as I'm aware, but you'll hear the voiceover on the ITV1 trailers call it "the CITV channel".

So, why would it be any different when the BBC's rolling news channel drops the "24" from its name?
RT
rts Founding member
Bringing lots of things under one name have failed on most occassions. BBCi for example used in include the website. BBC News 24 has a strong identity, and just as it's creaping ahead of Sky News it would be mad to change it. Would also be confusing for some viewers. The Nationals often refer to BBC News 24. Refering to it as BBC News is a bit wolly. Everyone knows exactly what is talked about when the 24 is mentioned. Sky can do it as they only have a news channel, without scheduled bulletins on other Sky channels. Apart from Live At Five on Sky Three but you get my point.

If it aint broke, don't fix it!
NE
Newsreader
rts posted:
Bringing lots of things under one name have failed on most occassions. BBCi for example used in include the website. BBC News 24 has a strong identity, and just as it's creaping ahead of Sky News it would be mad to change it. Would also be confusing for some viewers. The Nationals often refer to BBC News 24. Refering to it as BBC News is a bit wolly. Everyone knows exactly what is talked about when the 24 is mentioned. Sky can do it as they only have a news channel, without scheduled bulletins on other Sky channels. Apart from Live At Five on Sky Three but you get my point.

If it aint broke, don't fix it!


I agree whole-heartedly, it would be confusing.
PE
Pete Founding member
what an utterly stupid idea. Perhaps it would work if they returned to biling the BBC1 bulletins as the Six O'Clock News etc (I'm pretty sure the Sunday Times Culture mag still refers to the Ten in this way) but this is confusing and pointless.

Also "the BBC News website" is such a poor name. BBC News Online or bbcnews.com sounds far more professional.

Actually, the main website is "bbc dot co dot uk" so why not "bbc dot co dot uk slash news" ?
JO
Joshua
Maybe there will not be a change to the studio,afterall trhe studio is Red & Grey like the new graphics.
CH
chris
Hymagumba posted:
Also "the BBC News website" is such a poor name. BBC News Online or bbcnews.com sounds far more professional.

Actually, the main website is "bbc dot co dot uk" so why not "bbc dot co dot uk slash news" ?


I think that "bbc.co.uk/news" is better than "bbcnews.com". "bbcnews.com" sounds more american, and considering it's a british corporation, it should be "bbc.co.uk/news".

Hymagumba posted:
what an utterly stupid idea.


I'll second that!
CI
cifpower
seamus21514 posted:
I remember the reporting scotland titles from the mid ninties, with the logo being a stylized outline of scotland.

http://localnews.thetvroom.com/images-bbc-scotland/images-1997/short-1d.jpg


For me, the best titles were for Inside Ulster in the early 1990s

http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/bbcnorthernireland/ni-bbc/news/bbcinsideulster1993.jpg

CLICKY
CI
cifpower
chris posted:
Hymagumba posted:
Also "the BBC News website" is such a poor name. BBC News Online or bbcnews.com sounds far more professional.

Actually, the main website is "bbc dot co dot uk" so why not "bbc dot co dot uk slash news" ?


I think that "bbc.co.uk/news" is better than "bbcnews.com". "bbcnews.com" sounds more american, and considering it's a british corporation, it should be "bbc.co.uk/news".

Hymagumba posted:
what an utterly stupid idea.


I'll second that!


Why don't they use the actual URL which works better for me - news.bbc.co.uk
AN
Ant
cifpower posted:
chris posted:
Hymagumba posted:
Also "the BBC News website" is such a poor name. BBC News Online or bbcnews.com sounds far more professional.

Actually, the main website is "bbc dot co dot uk" so why not "bbc dot co dot uk slash news" ?


I think that "bbc.co.uk/news" is better than "bbcnews.com". "bbcnews.com" sounds more american, and considering it's a british corporation, it should be "bbc.co.uk/news".

Hymagumba posted:
what an utterly stupid idea.


I'll second that!


Why don't they use the actual URL which works better for me - news.bbc.co.uk

Because everything else is bbc.co.uk/somethingorother. It would just look out of place.

I think this is a pretty strange decision. News 24 seems to be an established name and everybody calls it that so why confuse viewers? I think News 24 is a pretty good name anyway. Short and sweet.

I hated when the ITV News channel didn't have anything after it so it was just "channel". Seems so boring.

Keep '24' I say.
AN
Andrew Founding member
I also agree with most people, changing 'BBC News 24' to just 'BBC News' is ridiculous.

As others have said, they will have to resort to calling it 'the BBC News channel' to identify it from BBC News on BBC1, Just calling it 'BBC News' would be confusing and wouldn't last long
MO
Moz
I really don't know why it'd be called the BBC News channel! I don't know what people mean when they say 'to identify it from BBC One'. If they're referring to the channel that is called BBC One, they'll say 'BBC One' and if they're referring to the channel that is called BBC News, they'll say 'BBC News'.

There are programmes about Parliament on BBC One and BBC Two, but nobody is confused about what is meant by BBC Parliament - it's not called the BBC Parliament Channel!
BS
brotherton sands
In a post-analogue UK, having BBC national/international news bulletins on BBC One will become "pointless", as everybody who can receive any kind of telly signal at all will have access to the BBC's rolling news channel. And therefore presumably, having bulletins on BBC One will eventaully end.

As someone has already said in this thread, perhaps the BBC really ought to wait until that "no-news-on-BBC-One-anymore" day arrives, before altering the rolling news channel's name.

After BBC One bulletins have become "pointless", the "24" bit of the rolling news channel's name will then become "pointless" too. The "24" bit of the name is only really necessary as a means of conveying "we are the rolling channel, as opposed to the fixed bulletins". So, once there is no "other" BBC television news for it to need to distinguish itself from, I'd say that it would be "obligatory" for the "24" to be dropped.

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