Has the BBC had its day?

Not likely to see the likes of this masterpiece again!

Actually, a Perfect Day-esq promo is just what the BBC needs right now.

Provided they can make it look like it's been made for about a tenner - the Daily Mail will only complain about it being a waste of the license fee otherwise.

A subscription based BBC would fundamentally change the BBC. It would effectively turn it into a commercial broadcaster, even if it didn't broadcast any commercials. Dependant on people voluntary subscribing to it, it would have to broadcast far more of the types of programming that drive subscriptions - premium sports programming, Hollywood movies, blockbuster entertainment series. It would have to become more Sky than Sky itself to compete. (This is why incidentally, wherever the calls for a subscription based BBC are coming from, they are not coming from the News Corp/Fox side of the house). Nobody ever subscribed to a premium broadcaster for news, regional or otherwise. There are pay-TV channels that broadcast high arts, drama, and sitcoms, but they are not premium stations and typically come as part of a package, unlike the BBC which to fully replace the licence fee would need to be a standalone premium broadcaster.

It would also effectively abdicate to ITV the role of the UK's "National Broadcaster", the place people turn to on national occasions - general elections, the deaths of public figures, major public events. And I'm not sure ITV is ready, willing, or able to taken on that role.

Or tie Children In Need into it somehow

But they do already do some of these things very well. The election coverage on ITV is just as good (in some aspects better) than the BBC's IMO - in recent years.

If this was the case, then I think ITV would respond to it very well and ITV News for example would be expanded... I'm sure they'd be willing to do it. Ready quite yet, no but if the circumstances changed completely, ITV would fundamentally be changed throughout.

EDIT:
I do agree completely with the rest of your post.

And sorry for going off topic. I think there need to be a complete overhaul in the way that the BBC is run. They need to stop producing crap that nobody watches, things like Don't Scare the Hare should never have made it past the ideas stage. They need to stop showing endless repeats of things - they could move all the good stuff on BBC Four onto BBC Two, replacing all of the rubbish. They could stop producing brand new shows on CBeebies seeing as the audience essentially renews itself in an endless circle. What the hell is the point in CBBC HD, or even more so, CBeebies HD? The kids can't see the blooming difference! So many poor decisions are made, and if the BBC is to continue then they need to get their act together. Some things they do very well, News, regional etc. But others are done appallingly and so much of the license fee is wasted on rubbish.

I suppose it could be argued that this is the reason why the BBC has such a monopoly over the entire sector at the moment, because it refuses to change and is using a tried and tested familiar model. There is no reason why there couldn't be a 'BBC Kids', 'BBC Drama', 'BBC Documentaries' channel, etc. and I think this would prove more popular than their current model at the moment which is 'BBC 1, 2...'

Although, how can any commercial organisation compete with the BBC who arguably, earns a secure keep from the public? A fund that is always going to be there, no matter what. In 2012, the licence fee brought in £3.6bn, which means that there should be a bigger incentive to take risks because there is always going to be that safety net of the licence fee.

i've used this phrase to describe the bbc before and i'll use it again - the bbc are without doubt the best broadcaster on this planet. their programmes have entertained billions of people.

but... i do think they've lost their way a bit. the budgets have been cut in the wrong places and they have sacrificed their integrity in the pursuit of populist, such as by shoving all their thought provoking programming on the graveyard that is bbc 4 (and don't get me wrong, it's a great channel)

i think they'll sort themselves out eventually though.

yes because that's the issue with the BBC isn't it, the naming of the channels.

You've already got what is essentially "BBC Kids" with "CBBC".

BBC 1 and BBC 2 are too well known to be renamed.

BBC Four shows too wide a variety of programmes to be labelled with one genre.

And there's more chance of Noel Edmonds buying the BBC than them launching more genre-centred channels.

If anything it is the sort of programmes being made - pampering towards the populist (aka ITV) and no clear direction for BBC2.

If anything they need to lose BBC4 and put that programming on BBC2 and invest slightly more in BBC3 as the "alternative" general entertainment, rather than just "youth" programming with a start time of 2000 instead of 1900! And dare I say could easily do one children's channel rather than 2, especially as the target audience of CBBC during the daytime are normally at school!!!

So that's basically 1 transponder less and save quite a bit of money - also we don't need +1 channels and do we really need national/regional HD variations from the BBC?

Also with radio do we need Radio 1 Xtra - or could that be easily integrated into Radio 6 Music, and do we honestly need Radio 4 Extra as that programming could be easily put on the Radio 4 or even "networked" at certain times of the day on the local radio stations and possibly even Radio 2, through the night!

Yes, the music genres and audiences of those two stations are practically identical.



Ahem.