In fairness there is no real need for BBC Three. All its new programmes could go on either BBC One or Two (as they end up anyway) and the repeats could be scheduled elsewhere. And I suppose the children's channels could be merged into one or alternatively use the BBCi function which seems to be terribly wasted.
As a member of BBC Three's target demograph I must say I probably watch it more than BBC One (apart from news and sport). Yes, there are too many repeats of the same shows but it also allows them to show programmes that otherwise would not have been made as they were deemed too risky.
There are some thought provoking documentaries on Three about modern culture and diversity, albeit ruined by their ridiculous titles - F**k off, I'm an Attention Grabbing Title etc. Last Man Standing was a fantastic show, surely destined for an outing on One or Two or big-budget second series, various hit comedies started life on Three and many less successful or cult shows have their home there that otherwise wouldn't have seen the light of day.
I don't understand how the Beeb can moan about budget cuts when you consider the salaries of the likes of Jonathan Ross, Terry Wogan, Chris Moyles or, even worse, the spineless board members.
I don't understand how the Beeb can moan about budget cuts when you consider the salaries of the likes of Jonathan Ross, Terry Wogan, Chris Moyles or, even worse, the spineless board members.
Admittedly that would be the easiest solution to cost cutting by simply reducing their salaries to something more realistic (similar to what should be done with footballers etc.)
gilsta posted:
As a member of BBC Three's target demograph I must say I probably watch it more than BBC One (apart from news and sport). Yes, there are too many repeats of the same shows but it also allows them to show programmes that otherwise would not have been made as they were deemed too risky.
There are some thought provoking documentaries on Three about modern culture and diversity, albeit ruined by their ridiculous titles - F**k off, I'm an Attention Grabbing Title etc. Last Man Standing was a fantastic show, surely destined for an outing on One or Two or big-budget second series, various hit comedies started life on Three and many less successful or cult shows have their home there that otherwise wouldn't have seen the light of day.
Although some are risky ventures that you wouldn't normally expect on either BBC One or Two but the fact that they end up on those channels surely shows the fact that they could have been there all along. Besides, as you say yourself, quite a lot of the big name BBC Three shows are poached by BBC One and BBC Two so I think that if needed, BBC Three could go with no significant loss of programming.
Is it not possible for the BBC to (a) close BBC3, and merge the two children's channels, and (b) sell the Freeview slot to a third party (or even, perish the thought, hand its bandwidth over to improving the picture quality on the remaining channels)?
One very cheap solution might be close BBC3 and replace it with the BBC Entertainment channel coming to Europe in the coming months. Would save a fair few pennies.
There is no real need for BBC3 and BBC4. Why not merge them into one channel showing the best of each channel?
Initially you may think this would be daft. Two Pints followed by a serious documentary, but hasn't BBC2 had this sort of schedule for years?
There's no need for BBC3 and BBC4 at all. All of the programmes can be, and often are, shown on the terrestrial channels- there'd just be a lot fewer repeats. It's not going to happen, though, since the reason why BBC3 and BBC4 were started was to give the BBC a visible new presence for adult viewers on digital tv, which the BBC is bound by its charter to promote.
The best thing to do would be to end the showing of programmes on BBC1, 2, 3 and 4 earlier. It's actually an opportunity to refocus attention on individual programmes and move away from the present pervading sense of programmes being made just to fill the schedules rather than because they are worthwhile.
