The BBC

[Spoonz Red E]

I think the point is more that they often seek to change stuff that works in order to attract a younger audience that just isn't there.

I accept though that there *is* stuff for fogeys of indeterminate age, but I worry about the variety on offer. For example, I have just opened up the guide on my TV to see what BBC1 and BBC2 have on offer tonight. Bearing in mind we're now in the "autumn" season of programming where usually they used to bring out the big guns. On offer tonight:

BBC1: 7pm, the execrable "One Show". 7:30, "Garden Rescue", which appears to be a by-the-numbers thing of people going in and doing up gardens. 8:00, "The Repair Shop", which appears to be a by-the-numbers thing of people doing up stuff. 9:00, "Ambulance", a by-the-numbers fly-on-the-wall programme looking at ambulance staff. All of these are arguably fit for daytime TV, not taking up the entire primetime schedule.

BBC2: 7pm, "Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain", a documentary about places that were bombed in WW2. Potentially decent, first aired 2017. 8:00, "Mary Berry's Simple Comforts", OK if you like watching old people cooking. 8:30, "Nadiya Bakes", OK if you like watching younger people cooking. 9:00, "Murder Case", finally a documentary that is also new.

Where is the comedy? (And by comedy, I don't just mean a panel show) Where are the dramas? Even a by-the-numbers show about a detective (brilliant but with a flaw in their personality, obvs) would add some variety.

Where's the huge amount of funding that has been progressively pared away from the BBC budget?
The budget that has to cover all their services.
(It's useful having Gary Lineker as a straw man).

If you really can't find drama and comedy on the BBC, not just on tonight's schedule but on i-player, I'm not sure how hard you're looking.

 

[DB9]

Tastes differ.

It's interesting that the 3 ITV dramas you mention are all detective shows.
It's very rarely ITV do a 'drama' series that isn't.

All Creatures Great & Small may well be a good series on Channel 5.
It's been done before.
Very well.
90 episodes.
By the BBC.

For me, most of Channel 5's output is terrible.

I've enjoyed loads of comedy, documentaries, arts, music on the Beeb in the last few years.

Have I discovered a secret BBC that only I know about?

I just don't recognise the picture that's being painted here.

Detective dramas are in, thats why i mentioned them, They are still very good programmes, Tastes do differ but for me there is very little on the BBC that makes me think im really looking forward to that. C5 is in the most awful but ACGAS was offered to the BBC but rejected because it was deemed too "Old fashion" and not for the audience they're looking to attract. The series back in the day was good and watched by an audience only today's programme makers could ever dream of but i do not want to watch constant repeats of old TV shows, There are plenty of channels that do that already. Also BBCiplayer is a catch up service with box sets of old programmes, New commissioned shows are whats needed that ALL the family can watch and shows for post watershed.

 

[LOG]

What was the new Top Gear like? I lasted about 10 minutes before turning over thinking it was just more of the same boring, bantz-based rubbish.

 

[DB9]

What was the new Top Gear like? I lasted about 10 minutes before turning over thinking it was just more of the same boring, bantz-based rubbish.

I quite like it, No focal point when it comes to the presenting team, It's been recorded with Covid-19 restrictions which might effect it but I've always enjoyed the programme and will continue to watch it.

 

[Spoonz Red E]

Also BBCiplayer is a catch up service with box sets of old programmes,

It's much more than that.
It's constantly updated with current programmes and a lot of them are now kept for a year.
They can be watched anytime (a bit like that there YouTube for the youngsters )
I watch most of my stuff on catch-up channels (ITV and Channel 4 included).

New commissioned shows are whats needed that ALL the family can watch and shows for post watershed.

See previous post re budget cutting.

The BBC does commission new shows.
It has family shows too and shows for post watershed.
Some of the shows so successful that they are poached by other channels who can pay higher salaries.

It also has a fantastic range of Radio Channels & the BBC Sounds archive.

All from the one budget.

Other channels have proven over the years that they aren't interested in matching the full range of the BBC.
Once the BBC is broken up we'll lose so much across the spectrum.

Witness the lowest common denominator radio being produced by the commercial channels who are tearing up their local commitments.
Look at how many cable channels are just re-runs of old BBC programmes or cheaply bought bulk American TV.

 

[DB9]

It's much more than that.
It's constantly updated with current programmes and a lot of them are now kept for a year.
They can be watched anytime (a bit like that there YouTube for the youngsters )
I watch most of my stuff on catch-up channels (ITV and Channel 4 included).


See previous post re budget cutting.

The BBC does commission new shows.
It has family shows too and shows for post watershed.
Some of the shows so successful that they are poached by other channels who can pay higher salaries.

It also has a fantastic range of Radio Channels & the BBC Sounds archive.

All from the one budget.

Other channels have proven over the years that they aren't interested in matching the full range of the BBC.
Once the BBC is broken up we'll lose so much across the spectrum.

Witness the lowest common denominator radio being produced by the commercial channels who are tearing up their local commitments.
Look at how many cable channels are just re-runs of old BBC programmes or cheaply bought bulk American TV.

With your obvious enthusiasm for the Corporation Spoonz, I think you should of gone for DG job before that other bloke got it, You have in a few postings made a decent case for the BBC and it's programme output than others I have seen on the box itself. Perhaps it needs someone like yourself to guide them and even voice concerns others have.

 

[Rosencrantz]

If BBC had brought back ACGAS they would have had a lot of people moaning that it was old hat and showed a lack of imagination. They couldn't win on that one, there would have been moaning either way.

Detective shows have been popular since the dawn of TV, not just now. The most popular detective show around at the moment is probably Line of Duty, on the BBC. A new series of Peaky Blinders is on the way but filming was delayed by you know what which I would think has delayed a lot of new programming for all TV and streaming services.

When it comes to comedy, Sky and UKTV (owned by BBC Studios) are doing new and good things, but still the BBC introduces more new comedy talent across their channels and radio platforms. What was the last really good ITV comedy?

There has always been an argument about what a public service broadcaster should do for as long as I remember. That will soon be a dead debate if the BBC is reduced much more. But it goes back to the Lord Reith mantra to inform, educate and entertain. The BBC still do that for a lot of people.

 

[Jason H]

Where's the huge amount of funding that has been progressively pared away from the BBC budget?
The budget that has to cover all their services.
(It's useful having Gary Lineker as a straw man).

If you really can't find drama and comedy on the BBC, not just on tonight's schedule but on i-player, I'm not sure how hard you're looking.

Don't get me wrong, as I've stated on here I'm firmly still in the "Yay" camp re: the BBC, despite misgivings in certain areas. I looked at tonight's guide on the BBC's two main entertainment channels and found nothing to stir the blood, BBC1 especially displaying a worrying lack of variety in their scheduling.

I accept that the BBC's resources become ever more finite (I initially blame a proliferation of management more than I do the crisp vendor), especially as the number of licence fee payers has gone into freefall. As a result I think there needs to be a root and branch reform of the BBC's output, where one should question the viability of certain services and/or determine whether the BBC is engaged in an area that is better served by commercial entities.

Things I would look at:

TV: Is there scope for merging BBC2 and BBC4 into one primarily "information" entity? A channel that focuses on documentaries, music, quizzes (not game shows), dramas etc.
Likewise examine whether there is a need for both BBC1 and BBC3 - a single "entertainment" entity that shows comedy, game shows, variety shows etc., as well as possibly a daytime format where cheap by-the-numbers home/garden/etc. shows are aired.

Radio: Controversially, I'd question the need for Radio 1 and Radio 2, as these are primarily mainstream stations that are easily served by the commercial sector. There is, however, scope to retain Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio 5 (and Sports Extra), 6 Music (catering to a more niche music market that arguably isn't "commercial"), plus the local stations and the more niche stations (Asian Network etc.).

 

[tavyred]

Like most people I view the BBC as a vital part of our cultural life and it would be a disaster if it somehow imploded due to its ongoing identity crisis. Its obsession with identity and race as practiced by the Labour Party was roundly rejected by the electorate 10 months ago and it smacks of a bitter rear guard action by its left leaning managers to go in heavy with a woke agenda as a way getting back at a Government it despises.

 

[Billy The Fish]

Have a word with yourself Jase. The Repair Shop is the best thing on TV at the moment.

Surely the ultimate in feel-good television.

However I'd like to see a follow up show "When the Repair Shop goes Wrong". The blanket is lifted and the astonished customer blurts "You ******** , wtf have you done to Granddad's much loved Boer War clockwork teddy ?". Or the camera pans to the skip out the back full of botched repairs.

I reckon there's mileage in this.