What's happened to BBC2's schedule?

Fogmatic

Lately, what they actually broadcast doesn't seem to bear much resemblence to the programmes listed (identically in both the Radio Times & the Guardian Guide). Anyone else having the same thing/have any idea what's going on?

Richard Logue

A big improvement to their daytime schedule would be to broadcast long periods of Test Card F and music interspersed with random Trade Test Colour Films and Service Information for the Television Trade bulletins...

mike65

Happy to report I don't watch afternoon telly! What's gone missing?

Fogmatic

You're probably right, Richard. But it's annoying when I've timed a break for the odd thing in the paper that looks interesting, only to get get something like Keeping Up Appearances instead.

Fogmatic

More than 1 programme, Mike, every day for at least the last week. For instance, from 3.15 to 4.00 the papers list Rewind the 60s, but it's Animal Park that's broadcast (and listed online).

Keeping Up Appearances was perhaps not the best example (it had some great character acting). But there's only so many times most sitcoms will stand repeating!

batistuta9

What BBC 2 are the listings in the paper for & which one are you viewing?

you live in donegal and possible get two BBC 2's now
BBC 2 HD - this is a new channel that you would get if you've the right TV, it's not regionalized
BBC 2 NI - regionalised for northern ireland

Richard

Fogmatic wrote: »

More than 1 programme, Mike, every day for at least the last week. For instance, from 3.15 to 4.00 the papers list Rewind the 60s, but it's Animal Park that's broadcast (and listed online).

Keeping Up Appearances was perhaps not the best example (it had some great character acting). But there's only so many times most sitcoms will stand repeating!

A quick search shows that some episodes had Jimmy Tarbuck in them. Maybe they aren't showing them due to his recent arrest.

Fogmatic

It's BBC NI, batistu (out TV's not HD). The paper listings I use are also regionalised; when bought in this country, the Radio Times is the Northern. Ireland edition, & the Guide in the Guardian has listings for the Republic, N.I, & Scotland only. Both papers list the Arts Show for instance, which is based in the North, and not the Culture Show which is based in London (or at least England).
We used to be able to watch The Culture Show when it was analogue, but the BBC channels seem to have gone more parochial with digitisation (but that's another story, another beef!).

That's a point, Richard - I hadn't thought of that. But it's been happening with a wide variety of programmes (it's just that I can't remember them all). Also at least one channel (can't remember which) seemed to be taken by surprise by the Queen opening Parliament, and abandoned the listed (on paper) programme for it.

Maybe it's all just human error (by whoever hands out the BBC's advance listings to the press, for instance). Or perhaps, judging from some of the spelling, a lack of human editing.

galtee boy

The Daily Express on a Saturday, here in ROI, has a TV guide in it which is an England guide, with NI, Scotland and Wales , shown as regional variations. It's excellent for ITV, as so many programmes on UTV get pushed around to make way for NI political programmes in particular. This of course is only useful if you can get away from the NI channels altogether and the English variants via Freesat or even fta satellite.

batistuta9

Fogmatic wrote: »

It's BBC NI, batistu (out TV's not HD). The paper listings I use are also regionalised; when bought in this country, the Radio Times is the Northern. Ireland edition, & the Guide in the Guardian has listings for the Republic, N.I, & Scotland only. Both papers list the Arts Show for instance, which is based in the North, and not the Culture Show which is based in London (or at least England).
We used to be able to watch The Culture Show when it was analogue, but the BBC channels seem to have gone more parochial with digitisation (but that's another story, another beef!).

That's a point, Richard - I hadn't thought of that. But it's been happening with a wide variety of programmes (it's just that I can't remember them all). Also at least one channel (can't remember which) seemed to be taken by surprise by the Queen opening Parliament, and abandoned the listed (on paper) programme for it.

Maybe it's all just human error (by whoever hands out the BBC's advance listings to the press, for instance). Or perhaps, judging from some of the spelling, a lack of human editing.

that's the only thing i could think of, like you say maybe it's just an error then.

are both the paper guides the same
what does the EPG list, you should probably use that as a better guide of what's going to be on

Fogmatic

Thanks galtee boy! I hadn't spotted that about the Express (might start buying it now).
It's Freesat we're using. I hadn't realised it could help circumvent the regionality (perhaps that's because there are channels we still haven't got round to trying).
I'm sure the Arts Show on UTV is good at what it does, but I want to know about world-class exhibitions etc, wherever, rather than what's going on in a small population. The presentation of The Culture Show was cringingly posey, but at least it was a window on the wider world!

batista; yes, both paper guides say the same thing.
Not sure what EPG is, but if that's the Programme guide via the telly, it is listing programmes correctly. But seeing what's on today that way seems a bit of a business, compared to scanning a page of a paper we buy anyway. (We only have the telly on for things we've chosen to watch, and it's even more so in this open-plan place).

I expect people are thinking 'Just use the online guides'. I do have a laptop (and my husband a tablet, though he's only just getting to grips with it); but we don't have them on, or in the most convenient place, all the time. And signals in our area make a smartphone a pipe dream (we could only use their smartness for running up data roaming charges when visiting London etc).

Thank you all for your help. I know it's a trivial problem - I just don't like to beaten by mysteries!