You're comparing a show that's been on for two episodes to a show with a 50 year legacy.
They will never get rid of the TOTP Xmas Special anytime soon as it's designed to be a family show hence it's time slot before The Queen. The music might be current music, but it's still attracts the whole family viewing it to know what the latest music trends are.
SLFN is a show specifically for the age range it's designated for. If the BBC put that on before The Queen then they can kiss goodbye to its ratings and also for The Queen and the main Christmas movie.
I don't really understand the audience distinction you're making between SLFN and TOTP.
The musical content of the Xmas day show would surely have been the same whichever flag it had flown under: i.e. the biggest names the BBC could manage to book, performing their biggest chart hits of 2017. The age range of the viewers who'd enjoy those performances would be the same in either scenario.
As for the TOTP "legacy", it now exists in name only; the graphics and shoestring set used in recent years hardly emulate the feel of the original show (whatever period your personal TOTP heyday might be).
So the only real argument for keeping TOTP is its familiar name appearing in the listings as a ratings puller, which then feeds back into the argument of why launch the SLFN brand in the first place instead of bringing back weekly TOTP?
I just think the BBC should go one way or the other - I don't mind which way - rather than being dithery. If you're going to launch a new brand, just chance your arm on it and throw everything at making it work, or don't launch it at all.
And wouldn't it be stupid calling it "Sounds Like Friday Night" when the Xmas day show would be neither on a Friday, or at night? Sounds like Monday Afternoon?
Something like "Sounds Like: Best of 2017" or "Sounds Like 2017" would communicate the show's content at-a-glance in the
EPG/listings while staying "on brand".
Last edited by rdobbie on 8 November 2017 2:56am