Which BBC channel would you axe?

mike65

More chat from within the establishment barracades today as John Humphrys sounds off about BBC 3 and 4 being more suitable candidates for closure than paring back news and current affairs even furthur.

Anyway enough of that!

I reckon the beeb has one channel too many something needs doing what I'd do is close one channel and fillet 2, 3 and 4 to improve the the 3 remaining stations.

BBC1 as is, BBC2 to regain its old stature as it takes in the bulk of 4 while ditching the 30 min junky "daytime format" shows and lame yoof comedies. 3 to end its "I hate my hairy lesbian family" type shows and to become a relayer of the best of BBC1 (which it already is in part) and home to vintage repeats (thus clearing all re-runs of Fools & Horses/Dads Army off BBC1/2!) and proper music programmes. Obviously BBC4 to close.

As a big fan of BBC4 I think I'd prefer to see the name bite the dust but the ethos continue on a reborn 2 and the pretty horrid 3 be given a reason to be.

Mike.

byte

If I were to axe any, I'd agree with you and drop BBC Four, and change the purpose of Three.

Lennoxschips

I'd keep BBC 4.

Get rid of most of the stuff on BBC 3.

flogen

I'd axe Three myself, because it has roughly 1,000 terrible shows for every one good one and is trashier than Channel Five on Ofcom's day off.

In fact one of the best comedies produced by the BBC in recent years, The Thick of It, was on BBC4.

I always saw BBC2 as being the "alternative" station to a more formal BBC1 so I think it could take whatever good bits there are of BBC3 into it (and ditch the crap that Mike refers to too)

DMC

BBC 2 has lost direction long before the advent of BBC 4, it needs beefing up and a re-focus on what BBC 4 does now. I can see a lot of BBC 2 in the 1980's on BBC 4, and I would welcome them being shown on 2.

That said, there are still some gems of programmes on BBC 2, such as Top Gear, Coast, Great British Journeys to name but three.

The BBC frown upon showing too many repeats now... UKTV Gold can do all the repeats of OFAH, Dad's Army etc. If there are to be repeats, let them be choice cuts from the archives.

Humphrys is right when he says why sacrifice the flagship programmes that are important to the listeners as well as the BBC in order to shore up new services. Thats not to say that programmes such as Today or Newsnight require trimming or their budgets to be watched, but to make sure that day in, day out, quality broadcasts are made. Its mistakes like that that got them into the trouble with Hutton.

Mossy Monk

BBC One Northern Ireland, but seriously I would drop BBC3 or BBC4 and put the content of that onto BBC3 so it would be one 24 hour channel instead of 2 evening only channels. I would do the same with their children channels too.

West Briton

Which channel should be scrapped?

None.

This is only playing Murdoch, the Skybots and the BBC haters game.

Sky Three should be scrapped if anything must go.

mike65

The beeb does'nt have the writ over Sky 3 though!

Anyway this thread is based on the strange news that BBC is somehow short of cash and so is cutting news and curent affairs budgets.

Mike.

DMC

West Briton wrote:

This is only playing Murdoch, the Skybots and the BBC haters game.

The strange thing is, its not the Skybots or BBC haters who are advocating this... its BBC stalwarts like Paxo and Humphrys.

JohnC.

I've seen this same discussion last week on a UK based board and the consensus there is to axe Three. Hardly anything good has come out of it and what does can easily be put on BBC 2.

Ulsterman 1690

Id close BBC3.

Any actually worthwhile programming they do gets repeated to death on both BBC3 and BBC1 :rolleyes:

I would keep the childrens channels since I think its more important than ever that Children have access to quality programming without advertisers peddling their crap at them

What about closing Radio 1 as well

marclt

Ulsterman 1690 wrote:

Id close BBC3.

Any actually worthwhile programming they do gets repeated to death on both BBC3 and BBC1 :rolleyes:

I would keep the childrens channels since I think its more important than ever that Children have access to quality programming without advertisers pddling their crap at them

What about closing Radio 1 as well

But if they did shut BBC Three, what would they call BBC Four? Its all a numbers game...

ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV
Channel 4, E4, More 4, FilmFour
Five, Five US, Five Life and talks of a childrens channel.

I can't see them ditching any of the tv channels soon, because despite what some people think of content, they would probably prefer not to give up what is quite a well known brand name. It must cost a fraction of a mainstream channel to run. BBC Choice was always better IMO.

Let's be honest, the BBC is staffed like no other broadcast organisation around, perhaps there could be savings in the regions or radio instead?

Pat Gleeson

BBC 4 IMO is one of the better channels.

Better than anything on ITV 1-4, UKTV etc. etc.

I'd expand BBC 4, not cut it.

mike65

Radio needs beefing up, its increadibly cheap compared to telly. Bigger ratings too in terms of watched/listened to hours.

Don't get me wrong BBC4 is great but Auntie could do alot of rationalising which would actually improve things.

Todays media guardian

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2007/09/bbc_funding_debate_why_bbc2_bb.html

Mike.

Ulsterman 1690

If you count the number of hours of programming (excluding repeats) broadcast on BBC1, 2, 3 and 4 youd find ther is barely enough to justifty having a third channel nevermind a fourth.

Unfortunately over the last ten years BBC television output has been focussed on quantity rather than quality. (The same could be said about the DAB services)

icdg

I wouldn't like to see either go. For me, the problem with BBC Three is that it seems to rely far too much on Two Pints of Lagar and a Packet of Crisps (and now its identikit clone Grownups), it seems to be on the channel literaly every time I tune into it!

BBC Four has had some very interesting - and very niche - programmes. If I had to close either it would be Four, on the grounds that its programming would transfer accross to BBC Two far more than Three's might (although the aforementioned Two Pints began as a BBC Two programme!).

Elmo

I think they should think about axing EastEnders, Casulty, Holby City, Holby Blue, Doctors and start back to making some dramas.