The should we scrap BBC3 & BBC4 thread

Hello forumers,

So, given the near universal distaste for the BBC's plan to dispose of 6music and the Asian Network there have been many people suggesting that the two other channels should be disposed of.

Given that they were invented to replace the cheapo Choice and Knowledge but still remain with shrot hours and many repeats, and given that BBC4 has removed arts from 1 & 2 and 3 is full of crap and stuff that would have been on 2 when I was a kid, is it actually a good idea to get shot of them, put the good stuff on 1 & 2 and make use of a bandwidth for something else.

Or do 3&4 actually provide a good service? Does 4 allow the BBC to come up with stuff even more highbrow that a populist channel like 2 would allow, does 3 allow it to engage with younger licence fee payers away from the "dumbing down" moaners at the Mail & Express who regard anything not in black and white as an appaling waste of money.

Discuss.
Preferably with examples and actual argument rather than rabid foaming. This isn't Digital Spy.

(and if anyone lectures me on it being BBC One, not BBC1 I'll send Rob del Monte round to talk a bout interrobangs)

xx

I used to love BBC3 and, do you know, I can't for the life of me recall why.

Probably the late and wonderful Christopher Price.

Anything they have which is decent is repeated to death - and if its very good its promoted off the channel leaving all the turgid low-brow stuff to stew in its own crapulence.

I do love BBC4. Its one channel where I genuinely discover unexpected treasure - whether a documentary or arts programme or even a repeat of some little-seen TV classic.

I would dump 3 over 4 - but I wouldn't have said that 3 or 4 years ago probably.

To me, BBC Three tests the ground for shows the Beeb aren't sure on, as shows like Torchwood and Gavin & Stacey have all came up from Three, and ended on BBC One. I suppose it can be full of real life stories as well, which mix better with the younger generation. And I do like Three's branding, quite a bit actually. As for BBC Four, I've never seen much use in it. It has in my mind always been home to documentaries about the past, and so I don't think it's got much reason in staying, and it seems to appeal more to the older generation, whom most of lack the Digital receiver to watch it.

VERDICT: BBC Three should stay, and BBC Four should go.

Also, here are some lovely images:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/images/bank/programmes_tv/bbcthree_winter2008/300bbcthree_logo.jpg BBC Three, a lovely logo.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/competition/images/bbc_four_logo.gif BBC Four, duller to me.

BBC Three accounts for the 'next generation', and the BBC has the obligation to entertain, inform and educate. I imagine BBC Three is the most important digital strand for the bosses, seeing as its popularity has grown and its being used more and more to test new programmes which then move onto BBC One.

I disagree that BBC Three should be axed, however I'd happily see BBC Four go - its just another BBC Two.

At the moment I'd say Two seems to be a bit of a mish mash of Three and Four - it's definitely still in the midst of an identity crisis. You could probably merge either one of them with Two and create two better channels for it.

I'd probably say the best option would be to merge Two with Four, making one channel of high quality documentary, drama and comedy (rather than two, which seems to be what Mark Thompson's proposal is suggesting) - basically bring it back to what Two used to be. All of BBC Two's more populist stuff like Top Gear could move over to One (which most of it seems to do anyway) with the youth stuff (ie BBC Switch's content) going over to a 24hr BBC Three.

I do think that Three does some good stuff still, but it does seem to be churning out some utter rubbish in the form of Hotter than my Daughter/Snog Marry Avoid etc. Get rid of that and concentrate on what it does well - cutting edge comedy, drama and factual aimed at a younger audience.

So...

BBC One - High profile entertainment, factual, drama, comedy for everyone
BBC Two - High quality/more intellectual drama, documentary, comedy
BBC Three - Quality drama, documentary, comedy aimed at 16 - 34 audience

They would each have clearer remits which are easier to stick to. As long as BBC Two bucks up its ideas and absorbs all of Four's best programming (which would not be difficult to do), I don't think many would miss Four.

Both have a place in a wide ranging PSB context.

If I had to drop one it'd be BBC Three, based on the E4 providing the demographic with content argument. Material such as Being Human would fit onto BBC Four easily. The 18-30 'comedies' would be diffcult to displace.

BBC Four does have some gems of thought provoking science and arts programming that wouldn't fit into BBC Two now.

A re-invention of Choice / Knowledge in all but name could be on the cards via the 'back door' which I would regret, especially with the iPlayer now providing access to recently transmitted material.

(As I've mentioned several times on DS) I would love Choice and Knowledge to come back, in their original forms that is. Choice's original programming like Liquid News, Backstage and Diners (okay so LN and Diners came after the 2000 revamp but it could still work with the original format). It didn't just appeal to the youth audience and it was a good channel to see those shows on 1 & 2 you might have missed, although iPlayer takes up this now.

Knowledge had a lot of great original programming too, even if it was cheap. The Kit and Science Fix were definitely favourites of mine and were very interesting while still giving that "fresh and breezy" approach to education that the later version of BBC Knowledge lacked in my opinion.

I think BBC2 is becoming the redundant channel. All the high-brow stuff has been moved to BBC4 whilst all the youth-oriented programming has been moved to 3. Popular BBC2 shows get moved over to BBC1 I.e. Dragon's Den and Masterchef, leaving BBC2 in a bit of a weird place.

Firstly I don't think there is any justification to extend the hours on any BBC channel - BBC3 and BBC4 barely have the content for before 9pm, never mind before 7pm, whilst though CBBC could probably work 7-9pm, the slot isn't available for it (on Freeview at least) and it would be detrimental to other BBC services, and also just because there might be an audience after 7pm, doesn't mean that the BBC should be providing kids programming after 7pm.

Getting back to the issue at hand and basically it's a no from me. Although BBC2, BBC3 and BBC4 could easily be merged into two channels, it doesn't mean they should and I think the BBC4 audience especially would lose out if it were merged with BBC2 - and it's really only in the last couple of years BBC4 has really become something more than just a niche channel.

In addition even if the channels were closed the broadcasting space would still be there - and I think it's better value for money for the BBC to use that space rather than let it go unused (though an extra interactive stream back on Freeview is desperately required), and the money saved be pillaged by other areas of the BBC, rather than refunded to licence fee payers.


BBC Parliament on the other hand - I know there are two very clear views on this and whether what the BBC should be doing is more important than what the licence fee payer actually want to watch, but I just think a full time channel isn't the best use of the capacity BBC have, both for the BBC and for parliament itself, and I think the BBC could cover parliament better in other ways.

Just a note: Switch is being axed, so we don't need to find a place for it to go.

I know, but I disagree with it being axed. As Joshua says above, the BBC shouldn't ignore any demographic. Teens have a right to ad-free content just as much as the rest of us do. (even if they do smell)

Neither BBC Three or BBC Four should be scrapped. They are both good channels that have reasonable audiences. However the one BBC service that seems to get an awful lot of money, but few listeners is BBC Radio 3. In my opinion its budget should be cut heavily or scrapped all together, as there is Classic FM which can provide the same service. Where as with 6music and Asian Network, there are not commercial alternatives, mainly because they wouldn't be profitable.