The Newsroom

Brexit Dramarama

UPDATE | Extension to 31st Jan 2020 (November 2018)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MA
Markymark

What Mosey is really getting at, is ITV had the statement on their primary channel, but the BBC didn't.


Think ITV2 viewers would've been slightly shocked if they'd tuned in and seen Theresa May appearing.


From what I've seen of some of ITV 2's programming, I would think they are shock-proof
IT
itsrobert Founding member
Yes, that’s the whole point. The BBC clearly shot itself in the foot if more people watched ITV News! That hardly ever happens.


Not really. Match of the Day beat ITV News at Ten during the 10-10:30pm slot with over 4m viewers.

Of course the delayed BBC News at Ten at 10:35 got fewer viewers than it would in its actual slot but I doubt anyone at the BBC is losing any sleep over it.

Comparing sports viewership to news is apples and oranges. The avid football fans would have watched the football regardless. And how many of those football viewers were actually there for the news but missed the announcement about BBC2 and were waiting for it to be on BBC1?

Comparing like for like, more people watched the news and the statement on ITV than the BBC. Therefore, in terms of news, the BBC made a misstep. On any other night they would have hammered ITV in the news ratings. The BBC could have switched the football to BBC2 whose viewership would probably have moved to see the conclusion of the match. That would have freed up BBC1 for the news and statement where those regular viewers who wanted it would have expected it (not on BBC2) and not needed to turn over to ITV.

Of course, this can be spun anyway we like, really. That's just how it appears to me.
BR
Brekkie
The avid football fans would have watched the football regardless.

And so would the news viewers.

Quote:
And how many of those football viewers were actually there for the news but missed the announcement about BBC2 and were waiting for it to be on BBC1?

You really should credit "news viewers" with more intelligence.


Also remember the two are not mutually exclusive. Indeed if football viewers had followed it over to BBC2 as you suggest they would have lost the 2.5m who watched the bulletin afterwards. Overall the Ten still had around 4m viewers last night across it's two editions.

The BBC made absolutely the right decision for everyone concerned. Well, except Insert Name Here viewers.
IT
itsrobert Founding member
The avid football fans would have watched the football regardless.

And so would the news viewers.

Quote:
And how many of those football viewers were actually there for the news but missed the announcement about BBC2 and were waiting for it to be on BBC1?

You really should credit "news viewers" with more intelligence.

Not really. Given there had been football on most of the evening in the run up to 10pm, it's a logical conclusion that some of the (non-football watching) news viewers would have been tuning in specifically for it at 10pm. If they missed the start, and therefore any announcement about it being on BBC2, the logical assumption under normal circumstances would be that the BBC News would follow the football. That's how it's generally been done for decades. So the option for most, may have been to wait or turn to ITV. That's certainly what the news ratings would appear to suggest. How many people are going to expect the news to be on BBC2 at 10pm?


I think we'll have to agree to disagree. There are too many interpretations. You think the BBC made the right decision; I'm afraid I don't.
SW
Steve Williams
Not really. Given there had been football on most of the evening in the run up to 10pm, it's a logical conclusion that some of the (non-football watching) news viewers would have been tuning in specifically for it at 10pm. If they missed the start, and therefore any announcement about it being on BBC2, the logical assumption under normal circumstances would be that the BBC News would follow the football. That's how it's generally been done for decades. So the option for most, may have been to wait or turn to ITV. That's certainly what the news ratings would appear to suggest. How many people are going to expect the news to be on BBC2 at 10pm?


They announced about four times around 10pm that the news - including the statement - was on BBC2 and then following the football on BBC1, and put it very clearly on screen as well. If you missed all that, it's hardly the BBC's fault.
MA
Markymark
The BBC could have switched the football to BBC2 whose viewership would probably have moved to see the conclusion of the match.


But they couldn't in this instance. At 21:59 BBC 2's programme was still showing its closing credits, over on BBC 1 there was intense activity. As I said previously, there was no opportunity to do a graceful overlap between 1 and 2, and any gap in the football would have been unacceptable.

If the BBC wanted to guarantee last night's News at Ten would start at 22:00:00 then they shouldn't have
scheduled a football match with the potential to go into extra time and penalties to be on BBC 1.
IT
itsrobert Founding member
The BBC could have switched the football to BBC2 whose viewership would probably have moved to see the conclusion of the match.

If the BBC wanted to guarantee last night's News at Ten would start at 22:00:00 then they shouldn't have
scheduled a football match with the potential to go into extra time and penalties to be on BBC 1.

I completely agree - to schedule a pretty low-level football match on BBC1 butting up to the main news on a week (or even year!) of insanely important news does seem a bit short-sighted. The football should probably have been on BBC2 to start with. As someone pointed out much earlier in the thead, it's hardly the World Cup.
AN
Andrew Founding member
The BBC could have switched the football to BBC2 whose viewership would probably have moved to see the conclusion of the match.


But they couldn't in this instance. At 21:59 BBC 2's programme was still showing its closing credits, over on BBC 1 there was intense activity. As I said previously, there was no opportunity to do a graceful overlap between 1 and 2, and any gap in the football would have been unacceptable.

If the BBC wanted to guarantee last night's News at Ten would start at 22:00:00 then they shouldn't have
scheduled a football match with the potential to go into extra time and penalties to be on BBC 1.


You’ve obviously never watched Wimbledon, where equally unimportant matches have switched channels mid flow.

As long as you start BBC Two before you end BBC One, it can be done very cleanly.


What is odd is that beforehand many here were suggesting what may happen at 10 with moving the football being a credible option, whereas now when it didn’t happen apparently moving the football is a ludicrous idea that shouldn’t be entertained.
MA
Markymark

You’ve obviously never watched Wimbledon, where equally unimportant matches have switched channels mid flow.

As long as you start BBC Two before you end BBC One, it can be done very cleanly.


Read what I wrote properly please. Are you suggesting the programme BBC 2 were showing should just have been terminated 5 mins before its end, to allow the football to be transferred ?

That's the point, the BBC 2 programme was still running less than a minute before 22:00:00
JM
JamesM0984
Aah... but: I believe the BBC knew the announcement was going to be a 22:03 clock start. Start the footy ASAP, and cue a bit of signposting up to 22:02.30 to highlight the football coverage was moving.

As I've said upthread, this is how BBC Scotland would handle the situation when they opted out of network to show football - ET on BBC Two, then back to BBC One for Pens using the Reporting Scotland slot. Cue a VERY quick wrap up to pick up the network schedule.
JM
JamesM0984
This all bodes an interesting question for Cup Final day. A 5:15pm kick off is going to be a major issue, as it's also Eurovision.

They can just about get in ET and Pens, but there'll be precious little room for the reaction and presentation if they're to hit Te Deum bang on 8pm, and dumping Eurovision on BBC Two isn't exactly an option; whatever you think of it, we are still one of the main territories where Eurovision is a ratings powerhouse.

The main issue, though, is having no news bulletins from about 4:45 until just before midnight.
DV
DVB Cornwall
Back to the Football. Things could have been resolved much easier if Number 10 had given 10 more mins notice. The statement was flagged at 9pm. If it was known during Half time in the football, a decision could have been made to switch the second half to BBC TWO at 9pm clearing the BBC ONE service for a Ten News without possible hinderance. Once the second half had begun that was all but impossible without preempting an in progress programme. Hindsight is always valuable and maybe Number 10 will make these decisions sooner in the light of what happened on Tuesday.

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