BBC Four look to extend hours

The controller of BBC Four is in talks to extend BBC Four's broadcast hours.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1694637,00.html?gusrc=rss

I think it's about time. The BBC have been left behind slightly with itv launching it's family of channels. I've always thought the reason BBC Three and Four only broadcast from 7pm is due to Freeview's capacity but now, with new compression technology being used on Crown Castle's mux's, it's now possible for BBC Three, Four, CBBC and Cbeebies to broadcast alongside each other.

I can see BBC Four's daytime schedule being filled with documentary repeats. This'll be a return to the glory days of BBC Knowledge, a channel I miss. At the time, BBC Knowledge was the UK's only free-to-air documentary channel and even now, I don;t understand why they ditched the concept.

If this come to broadcast, i.e. not folding, it would be a very welcome addition and I'd certainly agree with the BBC Knowledge sentiments, It would be brilliant to see a return. Hopefully they'd have a reshuffle of there programming...I'm seeing an "worldly" alternative to the 6 o'clock news and lots more docs (even if they are repeats...)

Fingers crossed.

It won't happen until they have more space - CBeebies is a far more wanted service than BBC4.

I just hope BBC3 don't want to do the same - they can't even fill the 7-9pm slot with anything decent.

Any chance of BBC3 starting earlier aswell, well can't they use BBC3 to repeat those old tv shows that never been repeated????
Instead of rerunning Little Britain* and 2 pints of larger for the 10 thousand and twelfth time



*Not that I don't like LB but showning it twice is quite enough

So true.

As for The BBC are meant to be on a commitment to cut down the vast numbers of repeats. Something I notice every night on BBC3 that isn't happening.

Although there is the good mischeif series on 3 at the mo, that's the only *have decent* thing there. Seriously needs a rethink.

A parallel discussion on this subject is also running on Digital Spy :

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=335085&page=1&pp=25

BBC Four has great potential at the moment because its unique and I think there would be demand for it outside of 7pm-4am. I'm all in favour of it extending its hours if it can find room to do so on the Freeview platform.

BBC Three, on the other hand, doesn't really seem to offer much in the way of anything unique at the moment. Tittybangbang is crap, Little Britain is aired ad nauseum as is Two Pints, the parenting programmes were repeated to all infinity and they're back again, Trauma's going round on a loop again and we can go on. I do hope BBC Three doesn't apply for extended hours because God only knows what its going to fill the tme up with since it relies purely on material that isn't suitable for broadcast before the watershed.

On the pulse - To quote the lunchtime news.

Yes, BBC Four does have great protential and I really hope they use it, it would be a waste to allow it to simply continue it's current structure.

But yes, BBC Three, where is it going? Over than a serious "discussion" with the board of governors. Stuart Rose as very keen on BBC 3 having more time but to be honest I'd choose 4 any day (the current line up, tonight, for example on BBC 3 is more than enough proof).

Re: TittyBangBang, who the hell commissioned this? It looks like a half arsed attempt at comedy with someone to fickle to say thats shlte. Really, should never have left the editing suite.

As for 2 Pints, where's Micheal Grade? Seriously, the BBC is NOT meant to be showing repeats, remember that one, Mickey?