TV
Agreed on all points. What made Peter ideal for the job is that he came in from outside the BBC and had a genuine belief in the channel; sometimes you need an "outsider"'s perspective to shake things up. And it worked. Had BBC1 been named Channel Of The Year at any other point in its history? No. Peter knew how to achieve the right mix of entertainment and more serious programming. There were a few faux pas (normal daytime programming on New Year's Day, Saturday CBBC to BBC2) but no-one is entirely perfect.
One wonders if Peter's position would have been more tenable had he not come from outside the BBC. The name Greg Dyke springs to mind for similar reasons. But I have to admire his nobility in falling on his sword for the sake of the channel.
Sadly, rebranding one's channel does seem to be used as a way of showing you've "arrived" these days - and for BBC1 we have to go back to the days of Michael Jackson (1996-97) to find a BBC1 controller who did not give the channel a new look. Michael was also the last BBC2 controller not to rebrand that channel, but looking back it would seem that in those days permission to do so might have been needed from a higher authority than the channel controllers themselves.
With BBC1 knowing how deeply unpopular its previous look was, not to mention having commissioned special typography for the channel - you do have to wonder what'll happen now.
Asa posted:
For the first time I'm actually feeling a bit disappointed about a channel controller stepping down and I've never cared in the past to be honest! He seemed to have his head screwed on, came across as genuinely wanting the best for the channel and keen to publicly make himself accountable on several issues during his tenure. Blameless? Certainly not, but I think he should have been allowed to ride the storm.
Agreed on all points. What made Peter ideal for the job is that he came in from outside the BBC and had a genuine belief in the channel; sometimes you need an "outsider"'s perspective to shake things up. And it worked. Had BBC1 been named Channel Of The Year at any other point in its history? No. Peter knew how to achieve the right mix of entertainment and more serious programming. There were a few faux pas (normal daytime programming on New Year's Day, Saturday CBBC to BBC2) but no-one is entirely perfect.
One wonders if Peter's position would have been more tenable had he not come from outside the BBC. The name Greg Dyke springs to mind for similar reasons. But I have to admire his nobility in falling on his sword for the sake of the channel.
Quote:
How long before we see the next channel controller instigating a "review of the channel's branding to see whether it is still relevant"?!
Sadly, rebranding one's channel does seem to be used as a way of showing you've "arrived" these days - and for BBC1 we have to go back to the days of Michael Jackson (1996-97) to find a BBC1 controller who did not give the channel a new look. Michael was also the last BBC2 controller not to rebrand that channel, but looking back it would seem that in those days permission to do so might have been needed from a higher authority than the channel controllers themselves.
With BBC1 knowing how deeply unpopular its previous look was, not to mention having commissioned special typography for the channel - you do have to wonder what'll happen now.
