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A possible third way. (November 2020)

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RD
Roger Darthwell
I think BBC Scotland will be given more time but if it is unable to provide new programmes that are popular with viewers then it won't be there in 2022.

So if new programmes will not be popular with viewers, do you think it will be closed next year?


Either that or merged with BBC Alba.

Just my opinion but if the programmes that are doing well now, i.e. the likes of Inside The Zoo - which itself is a clone of Inside Central Station and hasn't been as successful - return and/or are replaced with programmes that too are inferior, and the repeats of the later series of Still Game and Rab C Nesbitt don't pull in as many viewers - quite probable as there is a distinct dip in quality - then viewing figures overall will depreciate.

Apart from new series of Guilt and Two Doors Down, I don't see anything on the horizon that stands out to combat this. Again, IMO, the range of programming that can be made for a Scottish audience on a low budget is limited and BBC Scotland have already tried out most of the ideas, with limited success.

Thank you for answering me, and yes I do think that the most obvious solution for the bbc scotland channel IS to close it and merge it with BBC Alba, and reopening BBC Two Scotland of course
Last edited by Roger Darthwell on 13 November 2020 11:32am
IS
Inspector Sands

Thank you for answering me, and yes I do think that the most obvious solution for tye bbc scotland channel IS to close it and merge it with BBC Alba, and reopening BBC Two Scotland of course

How does that solve any of the supposed problems? They'd have to produce content for both BBC Two Scotland and a Scotland/Alba channel

Also remember that Alba isn't solely a BBC channel, it's jointly owned. I can't imagine that the Gaelixlc Media Service would be keen on such a move - the only thing it actually achieves is reducing the amount of Gaelic broadcasting
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 10 November 2020 6:45am
TE
tellyblues
Something will have to give with BBC Alba. MG (the Gaelic Media Service) want more money - their budget is currently £20m - but from 2013/14 to 2018/19 when funding was consistent the channel's weekly reach in Scotland dropped from 17.6% to 10.3% (BBC Scotland gets 18% incidentally). This suggests that the problem is not budget but the programmes themselves. Although that is difficult to prove when viewing figures for BBC Alba aren't published.

If the whole point of the channel is for Gaelic to be given exposure then merge the two channels and combine the audience. The 10 hours a week for original content that MG apparently want for BBC Alba is also do-able on this basis.
Last edited by tellyblues on 10 November 2020 2:16pm
EM
Emily Moore
Something will have to give with BBC Alba. MG (the Gaelic Media Service) want more money - their budget is currently £20m - but from 2013/14 to 2018/19 when funding was consistent the channel's weekly reach in Scotland dropped from 17.6% to 10.3% (BBC Scotland gets 18% incidentally). This suggests that the problem is not budget but the programmes themselves. Although that is difficult to prove when viewing figures for BBC Alba aren't published.

If the whole point of the channel is for Gaelic to be given exposure then merge the two channels and combine the audience. The 10 hours a week for original content that MG apparently want for BBC Alba is also do-able on this basis.


I wonder how much of the BBC Alba reach is Gaelic-speaking and how many people are tuning in solely for the live Scottish football coverage and ignoring the Gaelic commentary?

The last count of Gaelic speakers in Scotland was 1.1% - so there are a lot of people tuning into the channel who can't speak the language. (Pre-recorded programming is subtitled in-vision, but live programming like news and football isn't.)
Alfie Mulcahy and Roger Darthwell gave kudos

16 days later

RD
Roger Darthwell
I am posting this in order to revive this thread https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/nov/25/ofcom-bbc-services-such-as-iplayer-an-afterthought-for-younger-audiences This is yet more evidence from Ofcom that the BBC iPlayer isn't that good at reaching younger audiences - with younger audiences treating it as an "afterthought", 16 to 34 year old demographic only spends 1 hour a day on the iplayer....this finding from Ofcom has been reported a few months after the first rumours came out about BBC Three's possible return as a TV channel
RR
RR
It's not the iPlayer for that hour - it is the BBC as a whole. The largest portion for 16 to 34 year olds is radio followed by live BBC TV on a TV set.

Is that an issue though? If people feel they are getting the content they desire elsewhere what is the worry? The younger generation, children, is even lower, they've moved away from linear TV and use Netflix, Youtube, and Amazon ahead of the iPlayer. One quote from the report is:
Quote:
Less than 20% of 6-12 year-olds watch the CBBC channel on TV each week, and the amount of time spent watching it has also continued to fall, dropping to an average of 4 minutes each day

and these numbers come before the Disney+ service started.
:-(
A former member
Quote:
...16 to 34 year old demographic only spends 1 hour a day on the iPlayer...


Maybe I watch less TV than most, but 7 hours a week (for what is still primarily a catch-up service) should be a positive surely?

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