"Arts" is a word given to misrepresentation. Yes it means opera, performance and painting but is also means jazz, acting and ceramics. Both BBC 4 and Sky Arts between them cover the huge range of arts superbly and if BBC4 were to be abolished then it would mean that knowledge and appreciation of arts on television would be restricted not just a smaller section of society but also to a concentrated range of arts. Having a free to air channel that has arts coverage does in my opinion represent PSB obligations of the highest order.
Sky Arts appears to have gone free to air and they want to plonk it on Freeview too by the end of the year. The concern may be that if this move attracts larger audiences for Arts then there may be little incentive to have a channel that effectively competes with it for no apparent reason other than to wheel out archive documentaries.
Mind you that being said, Artsworld (as it was originally) only survived because Sky opened their wallet.
"Cardinal", Canadian drama previously shown on BBC Four, has just been trailed for BBC Two, for its final season. Is international drama finding a new home on BBC Two?
Well not the first time a series has begun on BBC4 and finished on BBC2, but of course now BBC1/2 are having to ration what content they have got so it's promotion is likely pandemic related rather than connected to closing the station, especially with it being the shows final season and to be honest not a show that has had much buzz.
Problem with BBC4 is it hasn’t had the cultural impact of BBC3. I could list off loads of BBC3 shows from over the years, I can pretty much think of just Only Connect from BBC4. It doesn’t feel like the ‘home’ of anything.
Problem with BBC4 is it hasn’t had the cultural impact of BBC3. I could list off loads of BBC3 shows from over the years, I can pretty much think of just Only Connect from BBC4. It doesn’t feel like the ‘home’ of anything.
I would include 'QI' on the list as it started off on BBC4
Problem with BBC4 is it hasn’t had the cultural impact of BBC3. I could list off loads of BBC3 shows from over the years, I can pretty much think of just Only Connect from BBC4. It doesn’t feel like the ‘home’ of anything.
I would include 'QI' on the list as it started off on BBC4
I'd be sad to see it go but if it means a return of BBC3 to linear then I'm all for it. The BBC's losing young viewers in droves, the BBC3 move online has generally been seen as unsuccessful and it's less value for the license fee payer if they're struggling to find the content. A whole channel of programmes existing on a page within iPlayer isn't good enough and contrary to common opinion linear TV has got many years left in it.
I think changing BBC2's remit somewhat to absorb BBC4 content makes sense and wouldn't feel out of place if done right. While BBC2 has been a success in recent years they've increasingly been relying on very low rated American imports in primetime, I assume due to budget constraints. They could potentially use these slots to house BBC4 content, much of which has been rating higher than the imports.
Ultimately I think integrating BBC4 into BBC2 would be a lot more successful than their attempt to give BBC3 some sort of linear presence with the clunky Monday to Wednesday late night BBC1 block that's being watched by far more older viewers than young.
As much as I've liked some of the stuff in BBC Four, recently I've rarely found anything I want to watch on it. I look at the listings in the evenings and there's just nothing new or interesting any more.
It'll be sad to see it go, I'll miss the extra choice like I did when BBC Three closed but I'll soon get over it
If BBC 3 were to return as a linear TV channel, would now be the time for them to make it a proper all day channel like it's rivals, or would it stay as a 7pm-3am channel? With the content they have access to there surely could be a case made for BBC 3 to be showing classic and archive content during the day and then new, more youth orientated content in the evenings?
If BBC 3 were to return as a linear TV channel, would now be the time for them to make it a proper all day channel like it's rivals, or would it stay as a 7pm-3am channel? With the content they have access to there surely could be a case made for BBC 3 to be showing classic and archive content during the day and then new, more youth orientated content in the evenings?
It should definitely remain evening only, no point in stretching a limited budget out further and the 7-9pm block never rated especially well when the channel was around. The ratings for its rivals are low until primetime anyway. There's no all day slot available anyway.
To be fair though, making BBC Three a 24/7 channel is the same argument in the UK as it is in the US with the case of "Why don't you make Adult Swim a seperate channel from Cartoon Network?" because there's probably no way to fill an entire day of programming on a channel if your main demographic is a teen/young adult audience without dumbing down the output before 7pm-9pm. Adult Swim does already have a 24/7 channel in Canada, however most of it's output during the day is either films that don't suit the network's output or pre-watershed Fox content.
I know BBC have had talks before of extending BBC Three to start at 3pm for more pre-watershed programming and I'd love to see the BBC attempt this, but where are they going to get the transponder space to launch this venture? Let alone, what will they cut in order to spend the money on another channel space?
"Arts" is a word given to misrepresentation. Yes it means opera, performance and painting but is also means jazz, acting and ceramics. Both BBC 4 and Sky Arts between them cover the huge range of arts superbly and if BBC4 were to be abolished then it would mean that knowledge and appreciation of arts on television would be restricted not just a smaller section of society but also to a concentrated range of arts. Having a free to air channel that has arts coverage does in my opinion represent PSB obligations of the highest order.
Sky Arts appears to have gone free to air and they want to plonk it on Freeview too by the end of the year. The concern may be that if this move attracts larger audiences for Arts then there may be little incentive to have a channel that effectively competes with it for no apparent reason other than to wheel out archive documentaries.
Mind you that being said, Artsworld (as it was originally) only survived because Sky opened their wallet.
Whilst it's great to hear that Sky Arts is going FTA and may come to Freeview, I would be wary of this leading to any long-term BBC policy on the genres of programming that they provide.
This is simply because Sky's business models and strategies may change in the future, and Sky Arts may be taken back behind the pay-wall at a time that suits Sky (or, indeed, may close entirely at some stage - who knows). It is dangerous for the BBC to withdraw from arts programming just because Sky Arts are currently bulking up their output on FTA.
Should there be good BBC Arts and BBC Music programming shown on BBC Two, then I will gladly shut up about this - I'm not speaking out in favour of keeping BBC Four per se. But, as I expressed yesterday, I have deep concerns that the genre of programming that BBC Four excelled in (yes, once the domain of BBC Two, but sadly not in the recent past) remaining if the channel closes.