Ofcom's Annual BBC Report

Ofcom's annual BBC Report has been released today. For anyone who fancies reading through the link is below.

Main concern is how the BBC continues to lose 16-24's whilst YouTube & Netflix flourish. Taking BBC Three online where you'd presume it would engage with how the younger audience now consume content seems to have failed and it now reaches half of the 16-24's it did when on broadcast TV.

For anyone wanting to read the whole report it's here. I believe there is a news & current affairs report as well.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/173735/second-bbc-annual-report.pdf

I always considered the move to online only a bad one for BBC 3.

Agreed. I do like some of the programming on BBC Four but, with hindsight, it would have made more sense to keep BBC Three running as a linear channel and merge what would remain of the BBC Four budget with BBC Two.

It is no surprise. Closing BBC3 meant it lost its presence in the market and even using the streaming justification the actual amount of content produced has been cut by around 70-80% - they now produce as much in a week as they did on a night they had new programming.

The BBC went for the short term over the long term - axing BBC Four would never have got past the Daily Mail etc without further endangering the next charter renewal. But instead 20-30 years down the line the BBC in a non linear world might be dead (Linear viewing still the main way for the over 50's I believe.)

The BBC did focus on the wrong group. The BBC Four audience is well served (or could be served) by BBC One & Two.

Of the PSB's ITV channels do best at reaching 18-34 year olds but it's a big concern for all PSB's as Netflix & YouTube are so dominant now.

This isn't the case, really - I mentioned this in a post a while back, comparing it to 2006 when the Beeb were swimming in cash.
https://www.tvforum.co.uk/forums/post996150#post-996150

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcthree/2006-02-11
Amount of new programming per day on BBC3
Saturday - none
Sunday - 1 hour 55 minutes
Monday - 1 hour 30 minutes
Tuesday - 1 hour
Wednesday - 1 hour 30 minutes
Thursday - 1 hour 30 minutes
Friday - 30 minutes

Eight hours a week, compared to the three hours or so we get these days. As I mentioned in that post, though, that was an era when there were more programmes on all channels, and there was new programming on daytime BBC2, after midnight and so on. Nowadays that isn't the case and the Beeb's policy is to do fewer, better programmes. So you may be getting fewer programmes in a week, but you're not getting five episodes a week of Headjam made for 50p for the sake of filling slots.

You may also like to compare the amount of new BBC3 output a week compared to Sky One or ITV2, and I don't think BBC3 would come out particularly poorly in that regard.

I'd say 3 hours a week is a very generous estimation of the amount of BBC3 programming released weekly now. I'm admittedly only estimating myself but thought it was close to half of that.


Was interesting to that the report suggests although the BBC is losing the 16-24 audience that C4 and C5 are losing them at a faster rate.

Channel 4 losing the young demo is more of a concern to them although they still do well in the 18-49 demo, Channel 5 I believe are targeting the ABC1s demo which is a more affluent audience

The problem hasn't been BBC3 went online, it's about the lack of content. IF the BBC are losing younger audiences to YouTube & Netflix which both are online, then its clear having a slot on ch4 10? Isn't going to help. Also the BBC3 shouldn't be used as non stop feast of Family guy, American dad, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Don't tell the bride and endless repeats of films. How does that even sever the younger audiences?

It never did, I do believe moving BBC3 online was a good idea, but there clearly has been issues and the corporation needs to promote this service better, do there inform viewers about new shows on all those podcast they do? I also believe there needs be another hour new content a week. while also trying to sort out BBC3 slot on BBC1 during the week.

If (and I assume it does) it includes their portfolio of channels then this will be down to the total collapse in ratings that E4 has experienced the last year. It's done terribly and is surely dragging the portfolio down now.

BBC ought to refine their programming to fit their channels' intended demographic. If younger viewers do have a choice between One, Two and Four, they're going to want to have an idea as to what programmes each of the channels air. At the moment (One and Two especially) are all over the place. Perhaps make BBC One strictly Soaps/Drama/Sport/Entertainment; BBC Two strictly News/Politics/Comedy/GameShows; BBC Four (renaming it wouldn't go amiss) Music/Culture/Documentaries/Classics