MA
Maaixuew
SW
I wish people wouldn't suggest Don't Scare The Hare is some massive lurch downmarket. BBC1 has always shown family entertainment and some of it has been even worse than Don't Scare The Hare, massively populist without being particularly popular. I would point you in the direction of...
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Full_Swing
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Caught_in_the_Act
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Monkey_Business_%281%29
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Anything_Goes
They've always done shows like that and always will. Don't Scare The Hare was a fatally flawed format and executed incredibly badly but it was made to high standards and wasn't commissioned for totally cyncial reasons as some of the above were. I think it's ludicrous to suggest a crap piece of light entertainment will do for the Beeb these days when there have been poor programmes in every single era.
I do think the days of the licence fee are numbered, especially when the public perceives the BBC squanders its cash on trash like Don't Scare The Hare - and the BBC doesn't help itself in this respect.
I wish people wouldn't suggest Don't Scare The Hare is some massive lurch downmarket. BBC1 has always shown family entertainment and some of it has been even worse than Don't Scare The Hare, massively populist without being particularly popular. I would point you in the direction of...
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Full_Swing
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Caught_in_the_Act
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Monkey_Business_%281%29
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Anything_Goes
They've always done shows like that and always will. Don't Scare The Hare was a fatally flawed format and executed incredibly badly but it was made to high standards and wasn't commissioned for totally cyncial reasons as some of the above were. I think it's ludicrous to suggest a crap piece of light entertainment will do for the Beeb these days when there have been poor programmes in every single era.
WW
I was wondering if there's any chance the UK could opt for the Continental European model of having the BBC supplement its license fee income by carrying
limited advertising
(i.e., much less than the commercial channels, but enough to tap a new source of revenue) on some of its services? Granted, France has moved away from this set-up recently by banning all advertising on the France Televisions channels, but this combined license fee / advertising system is still how most EBU member broadcasters operate (from, say, RTE in Ireland to ARD and ZDF in Germany).
IS
The BBC has always had populist programming. It's a very simple concept - popular programmes to bring in the audience to the non populist stuff.
What happens outside of school time though? Cbeebies is one of the BBC's biggest success stories of recent years mainly because it provides a safe haven for toddlers.
Eventually yes, the 'tune to BBC1 on 101/1 for your regional programmes' pisses off enough people now.
But that's where it comes from in the first place, it's an archive service of Radio 4. Although there's a good argument for a few more repeats on Radio 4, ditching new (and normally topical) content for old episodes of The Navy Lark isn't one
Incidently I think it's the cheapest national radio station the BBC have, and at one point was the main reason that people bought DAB
So after decades of phasing out comedy on Radio 2, you reckon they should bring it back? 4 Extra on the local stations overnight is quite a good idea, but 5 Live is a better choice
If anything it is the sort of programmes being made - pampering towards the populist (aka ITV)
The BBC has always had populist programming. It's a very simple concept - popular programmes to bring in the audience to the non populist stuff.
Quote:
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!!!
What happens outside of school time though? Cbeebies is one of the BBC's biggest success stories of recent years mainly because it provides a safe haven for toddlers.
Quote:
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?
Eventually yes, the 'tune to BBC1 on 101/1 for your regional programmes' pisses off enough people now.
Quote:
and do we honestly need Radio 4 Extra as that programming could be easily put on the Radio 4
But that's where it comes from in the first place, it's an archive service of Radio 4. Although there's a good argument for a few more repeats on Radio 4, ditching new (and normally topical) content for old episodes of The Navy Lark isn't one
Incidently I think it's the cheapest national radio station the BBC have, and at one point was the main reason that people bought DAB
Quote:
or even "networked" at certain times of the day on the local radio stations and possibly even Radio 2, through the night!
So after decades of phasing out comedy on Radio 2, you reckon they should bring it back? 4 Extra on the local stations overnight is quite a good idea, but 5 Live is a better choice
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 6 May 2014 2:14pm
SW
How does that work during the school holidays, then? Presumably you swap around the Cbeebies and CBBC shows, which would confuse everyone and annoy parents and kids who have the shows in their routines. In addition, the highest rated hour on Cbeebies is the 6-7pm hour, where kids are out of school so would expect CBBC programmes.
They need to stop showing endless repeats, but Cbeebies should be endless repeats forever.
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!!!
How does that work during the school holidays, then? Presumably you swap around the Cbeebies and CBBC shows, which would confuse everyone and annoy parents and kids who have the shows in their routines. In addition, the highest rated hour on Cbeebies is the 6-7pm hour, where kids are out of school so would expect CBBC programmes.
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.
They need to stop showing endless repeats, but Cbeebies should be endless repeats forever.
IS
Why? There's more than 3 genres of 'contemporary music'. Commercial radio certainly seems to be able to come up with more than 3 formats. It would be madness for the BBC to put RnB, Indie and chart on the same station when there's Capital, Kiss, XFM, Planet Rock, Absolute, Heart, Kerrang etc.
Not that I'd necessarily call 6 Music a contemporary music station but that's open for definition
Having 3 contemporary music stations is definitely overkill!!!
Why? There's more than 3 genres of 'contemporary music'. Commercial radio certainly seems to be able to come up with more than 3 formats. It would be madness for the BBC to put RnB, Indie and chart on the same station when there's Capital, Kiss, XFM, Planet Rock, Absolute, Heart, Kerrang etc.
Not that I'd necessarily call 6 Music a contemporary music station but that's open for definition
IS
Cbeebies is the one channel that can get away with endless repeats, it's audience actually likes them
They need to stop showing endless repeats, but Cbeebies should be endless repeats forever.
Cbeebies is the one channel that can get away with endless repeats, it's audience actually likes them
TH
Rather than abandoning the license fee, you could tweak it or replace it with something similar. One problem with the current TV license is that it is highly regressive, you have to pay the same amount whether you are rich or poor. A more proportional system would be more fair. As the license becomes less connected to owning an actual TV set, I also think it should at least be considered if the license could be collected by the HMRC and funnelled directly to the BBC without passing the Exchequer.
Many of the arguments for the supposed independence of the license fee were proven wrong by the last settlement that imposed cuts on par with some that have been made for broadcasters more directly funded by the state. The calls for overhauling the BBC's governing structure whenever it is at the centre of a journalistic scandal are also a threat to its independence.
ABC differs from the BBC in that it is a more niche broadcaster and thus weaker and less popular. If the BBC was a one-channel niche broadcaster in a world with three ITVs, it would be under more threat. But there is definitely more stability and less political influence in funding that is decided six years at a time and not by the annual budget.
Many of the arguments for the supposed independence of the license fee were proven wrong by the last settlement that imposed cuts on par with some that have been made for broadcasters more directly funded by the state. The calls for overhauling the BBC's governing structure whenever it is at the centre of a journalistic scandal are also a threat to its independence.
ABC differs from the BBC in that it is a more niche broadcaster and thus weaker and less popular. If the BBC was a one-channel niche broadcaster in a world with three ITVs, it would be under more threat. But there is definitely more stability and less political influence in funding that is decided six years at a time and not by the annual budget.
TH
For that to become a reality, there has to be a political will to do it. There is none at present and the entire TV industry has various selfish reasons to keep BBC ad-free.
For the BBC, programmes that aren't interrupted or influenced by advertising are one if its USPs. Even limited advertising would have to be noticed by viewers and could undermine the license fee funding.
For the commercial broadcasters, they would loose a large chunk of their ad revenue. I you put adverts on the BBC it would dramatically increase the supply of ad space, while the increase in demand would be negligible.
Politicians would also agree. Conservatives are generally sympathetic to the arguments from commercial broadcasters, while socialists don't want the BBC to be influenced by commercial considerations.
Where adverts exist on publicly funded broadcasters in Europe, it is usually a remnant from the monopoly days. As it is built into the system, it is hard to abolish, but there is probably not a great movement to increase the amount of advertising on public broadcasters.
I was wondering if there's any chance the UK could opt for the Continental European model of having the BBC supplement its license fee income by carrying
limited advertising
(i.e., much less than the commercial channels, but enough to tap a new source of revenue) on some of its services? Granted, France has moved away from this set-up recently by banning all advertising on the France Televisions channels, but this combined license fee / advertising system is still how most EBU member broadcasters operate (from, say, RTE in Ireland to ARD and ZDF in Germany).
For that to become a reality, there has to be a political will to do it. There is none at present and the entire TV industry has various selfish reasons to keep BBC ad-free.
For the BBC, programmes that aren't interrupted or influenced by advertising are one if its USPs. Even limited advertising would have to be noticed by viewers and could undermine the license fee funding.
For the commercial broadcasters, they would loose a large chunk of their ad revenue. I you put adverts on the BBC it would dramatically increase the supply of ad space, while the increase in demand would be negligible.
Politicians would also agree. Conservatives are generally sympathetic to the arguments from commercial broadcasters, while socialists don't want the BBC to be influenced by commercial considerations.
Where adverts exist on publicly funded broadcasters in Europe, it is usually a remnant from the monopoly days. As it is built into the system, it is hard to abolish, but there is probably not a great movement to increase the amount of advertising on public broadcasters.
MA
Maaixuew
BREAKING NEWS: Lord Patten to stand down from the BBC on health grounds after major heart surgery, says corporation.
TR
One possible way forward would either be a universal tax (£3 a month added to electricity bills in every household/property?), as it is in some other countries. Or having a proportion of all tax being given to "the Arts" and a restructured "BBC" being responsible for divying up that part of the total amount between radio, film, television, arts, etc. But then the BBC would be in the pocket of the government.
What else can you do though? Charge it per household via the council tax, and exempt houses are also exempt from licence fee?
There's a very vocal group of people who say "I don't want the BBC's propaganda. Why should I pay for it?" - Can you continue to ignore those voices because they're a small minority, or do they have a point?
Those same people may say "I don't drive, why should I pay for roads?" and "I don't use the NHS, why must I pay for it?" and the answer is always "everyone pays for the greater good" - but can you really still use that argument when talking about telly ?
I think whatever happens, the BBC will be much, much smaller in 5 years.
What else can you do though? Charge it per household via the council tax, and exempt houses are also exempt from licence fee?
There's a very vocal group of people who say "I don't want the BBC's propaganda. Why should I pay for it?" - Can you continue to ignore those voices because they're a small minority, or do they have a point?
Those same people may say "I don't drive, why should I pay for roads?" and "I don't use the NHS, why must I pay for it?" and the answer is always "everyone pays for the greater good" - but can you really still use that argument when talking about telly ?
I think whatever happens, the BBC will be much, much smaller in 5 years.