BBC One/ITV1 scheduling today

Are BBC1 and ITV1 struggling for stuff to fill the schedules today?

Wallace and Gromit on BBC1 followed by Outtake TV, meanwhile on ITV1 the film Babe followed by The Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas film.

Not that I'm complaining, but it almost feels like its Christmas! I guess this is just an early(?)* half term treat for the kids though...

* - Not being at school any more and not having kids of my own, I'm not sure whether half term is this week or next.

Why has it taken them so long to get to the final episode of Don't Scare the Hare? Or was it not on for a few weeks, or is it a repeat?

Last in series according to Digiguide.

Huh. Has it really only been 8 weeks since it started?

It was axed ages ago with three or four episodes to go and they've been burning off those last few episodes over the last few weeks in the afternoon because it's so dreadful that they don't want people to be aware of its continued existence.

Of course if the BBC still had the money to spend on sports rights, BBC One may well have been filled this afternoon with racing from Newbury and Aintree, Anglo-Welsh Cup rugby union, and maybe even European Track Cycling. They could have even included some football scores and called the whole thing Grandstand.

Genuine question: does BBC Grandstand no longer exist?

Not since January 2007 I'm afraid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/grandstand/4941734.stm

A travesty in my opinion!

Of course even though the brand might be missed by some, there was little point in it in the last few years and BBC Sport is better off without it; more individual, less generalized sport shows.

But that's exactly the point . . . these days there aren't more sport shows of any variety, there are less. Three out of the last four Saturday afternoons have been largely sport-free on BBC One (with the exception of Football Focus/Final Score and an F1 qualifying replay).

The travesty is more about the BBC's dwindling commitment to sport, rather than its branding.

SKY and etc have managed to up the game for sport fans, and the bbc have failed to pay which is a shame but that the way things are.

Well I believe the BBC should invest more in original programming than it should in sport, even if that means letting sport go to pay channels. Sky have provided a better service for sports fans than the BBC in my opinion, and I prefer knowing that the BBC is spending money on delivering great drama and comedy, factual and arts programming that I and other people will enjoy.

As well as that, it gives the BBC One schedule more space for programming. I'm not saying all sport should be banished from the BBC, however I dislike Saturday afternoons where the schedule consists of all sport.