BBC axe Services to make way for new shows

They're not closing programme pages, they're closing 'sites' - I've heard things like 'Celebdaq' and 'Sportsdaq' mention as being axed which I think is fairly reasonable as they're not actually connected to a programme


The reasoning is because it doesn't bring in a unique audience, although I think they're missing the other benefits of the station in terms of it's impact on the music industry. Radio 3

The Asian Network is an interesting one, it's being axed but they're still catering for the audiences via local radio. It does seem an odd way of doing it

Perhaps only the national DAB service is being axed, with the regional AM/MW service being retained.... in essence going back to what it was pre-DAB.

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/radio/654

It's certainly the right move for the website - beyond news and sport pages, and sites directly linked to programmes and channels, there isn't really any justification for anything else to be done by the BBC.

The radio situation is more complex - ironic really that the justification for closing 6Music is it's audience is too small and if it grows it'll trouble commercial radio. I've personally long said that with the exception of Radio 3 & 4 I think BBC Radio could be run in the commercial market on a not-for-profit basis (similar to C4), though of course considering the advertising that would take away from commercial radio they wouldn't want that either. However I'm fed up with commercial radio companies whining about things like 6 Music saying the commercial market could fill that gap - but yet they haven't really tried.

BBC Switch and BBC Blast going isn't a bad thing - not quite sure what the latter is but Switch never achieved what it set out too, and I think that answering critics about the lack of teenage programmes by setting up a new department kind of missed the point. Teenagers were served better back in the nineties directly by BBC2 with 90-minutes of shows a night, compared to 90-minutes a week under the Switch banner.


As for where the saving goes - yet again the BBC feeds it's own hand rather than refunds the licence fee payer - I think when such savings are made they can't expect to keep it all themselves, though to be fair under current plans if the fee is frozen in a couple of years it's understandable. I absolutely don't agree though with ploughing even more money into children's TV considering where it's coming from.

CBeebies and CBBC are already much stronger than their commercial rivals and much better funded, and surely improving their position further just makes things more difficult for their commercial rivals - and could ultimately bring into question whether the BBC should be operating children's channels. Yes, on the one hand they are still investing in the industry whilst others have given up - but on the other hand has CBBC and CBeebies forced their commercial rivals out of the market?

The unions managed to discover the figure from Birmingham council (all in the public domain) - It was a peppercorn rent on a very long lease. The cost of The Mailbox is circa £3 million per year but you need to add on the cost of the drama unit and other leases which have had to be taken up - that isn't in the public domain because the BBC refuse to release the information (as it was a huge c*ck up at the time). When it is added up Birmingham is a very expensive cost centre as a percentage of what it produces. Renovating Pebble Mill was a far cheaper option but the reason it closed was far more about internal politics and empire building within BBC management. When Salford opens, expect to see almost all drama & production moved there & proberbly a move for English regions. It looks like the Mailbox will be largely redundant by 2014 being nothing more than just another regional centre.

As for the wider changes, focussing on programming rather than endless technology and channels always made sence to most people - it just wasn't the in thing to say. In short it's come full circle once again - more 'worthyness' & less is more.

I'd say quite the opposite. The internet is a new medium, and it's certainly not wrong for the BBC to have projects that are only online; why shouldn't the BBC provide excellent bespoke sites for subjects which wouldn't be profitable for other companies to produce, such as a natural history site not directly linked to a programme. Imagine if, when TV first came about, everybody had said 'the BBC should not be making TV programmes, they are a radio broadcaster'. It's a similar situation here. The internet is the future, and whilst the BBC's internet activity should be carefully considered to avoid impacting commercial properties, it should not be hastily slashed and restricted.

If you want sites to just focus on 'programmes and sites linked to channels', take a look at ITV.com. If that's the future you want for the BBC, it's a great shame.



6Music is one of the most obvious cuts. There's absolutely no reason why its music content cannot be introduced onto Radio1, and the thought of Lauren Laverne facing redundancy thrills me immensely.

[quote="Brekkie" pid="652535"BBC Switch and BBC Blast going isn't a bad thing[/quote]

I agree. I don't think 'teenagers' are under served by the BBC or any other broadcaster. The notion that teens only want to watch poor quality, cheaply produced 'wacky' content like that churned out by BBC Switch is absurd. Teens love programmes like Eastenders too for example.

[quote="Brekkie" pid="652535"I absolutely don't agree though with ploughing even more money into children's TV considering where it's coming from. [/quote]

I assume you don't have children of your own? All the figures featured in the full BBC report showed that homes without children voted the BBC should spend less on Children's programmes, whereas homes with children rated it as one of their top priorities.



CBeebies is performing strongly. CBBC less so. The BBC haven't forced anybody out of the market in children's - all the big shows come from abroad and none of them are educational. The BBC is the only broadcaster making and commissioning educational and original programming for children and if anything this is one area where it fulfils its public service remit to great effect. Even now, the BBC struggles to get companies to co-produce children's programmes, because there's so little money in it.

Do any of you know what BBC Blast is? Don't lump it in with the crap that is Switch.

BBC Blast is one thing that shouldn't be cut and the Beeb should be priased on. For people who don't know, in simple terms it encourages young people to get involved with the media and creative industries, holding workshops/competitions/lectures and the like. It's basically an improved 'BBC Talent' with more of an educational foundation.

Apparently...

BBC Blast was created in 2002 to support 13 to 19 year olds to help them develop their skills in art, dance, film, music, writing and games. ..

I've just seen it as a bunch of kids playing with video cameras and lots of expensive kit, trucks, and festivals.

I never heard of it til I saw a trailer for it on BBC Learning Zone. Sums it up really.

Should we be encouraging Media Studies? It seems pretty clear that for the next few years at least it's going to be a poorer community with less lucrative job opportunities. Time to promote different career routes I think.

You could say that of any industry though at the moment. There are less jobs in general. There will always be demand for Media Courses.

Plus there are many more jobs that benefit from students who have done Media Studies than just TV/Radio. Obviously print, but even jobs that have any sort of communication/marketing/advertising element. So no I think Media Studies is still worthwhile. As for BBC Blast, the only time I've ever seen Blast people around is for free labour. So if anything the BBC profits from it greatly

Don't agree with less sport on BBC2 either - what they're going to show instead - Animal Park?

Too much is already restricted to just the red button and BBC2 audiences have shown they appreciate live sport, with many complaining their coverage of the Winter Olympics wasn't as extensive as it should have been. BBC2 also has more flexibility than BBC1 in it's early-evening schedules to accommodate it too.


Has the so called "consultation" opened yet?