The Big Soap Head to Head

BR

Brekkie 3 March 2005 10:14pm

Nick Harvey posted:

But don't worry and never mind, as Auntie Tessa has told Auntie Beeb that they haven't got to worry about ratings any more.

Interesting comment that. Someone bought it up on Digital Spy as well and they take it to mean that no matter how low EastEnders ratings go, the BBC shouldn't axe it.

However - from my point of view the BBC should not be making decisions about a programmes future on ratings - but on quality. Therefore the justification of the BBC not axing EastEnders because it's BBC1 highest rating programme no longer applies. If EastEnders is judged on quality - how can it avoid the axeman!

NH

Nick Harvey Founding member 3 March 2005 10:24pm

The impression I got from reading the proposals is that it ONLY doesn't matter how low the ratings go provided Auntie Beeb is being truly educational and teaching old fogeys how to read and write.

I was just rather surprised at how quickly that ethos filtered down to the EastEnders management.

Did somebody have sight of something in advance, one wonders?

GE

gerryuk 4 March 2005 4:54pm

Seems to me that Emmerdale has come a long way, if i remember itv company's like Thames Television and Southern wernt to keen to show this programme in prime time never mind six nights a week.

TV

tvarksouthwest 5 March 2005 12:38am

Andrew posted:

"It's par for the course when we go head-to-head. We had to do an hour-long episode because Comic Relief on Friday means we'll miss an episode then. But Emmerdale had a massive story-line, whereas we just had regular episodes," she said.

Surely it wouldn't hurt to lose one episode for a good cause? A perfect example of the ratings-chasing the government wants to clamp down on.

BR

Brekkie 5 March 2005 12:41pm

tvarksouthwest posted:

Andrew posted:

"It's par for the course when we go head-to-head. We had to do an hour-long episode because Comic Relief on Friday means we'll miss an episode then. But Emmerdale had a massive story-line, whereas we just had regular episodes," she said.

Surely it wouldn't hurt to lose one episode for a good cause? A perfect example of the ratings-chasing the government wants to clamp down on.

Couldn't agree more. I've always said soaps should be dropped rather than rescheduled when events pre-empt them. It was ridiculous during Euro 2004 with the main soaps (EastEnders especially) just fitted randomly into the schedule to accomodate their four episodes.

And during the Olympics you had to change channels about five times in one night just so EastEnders could be accomodated into the schedule.

(March 2005)