Proposed restructuring at BBC

Apogee

Merging BBC World News/News while moving CBBC, BBC Four online

https://twitter.com/scottygb/status/1529818733295783936

Tom Mann Centuria

Their rationale for moving CBBC being kids watch much more content online. The same BBC who brought back BBC Three with their target audience being teenagers and young adults who famously, er watch much more content online, and moving BBC Four online who's target demographic would be much more likely to watch traditional television channels.

Makes complete sense :pac:

petronius

BBC Four - has some excellent programming, some great documentaries, and music programmes - it would be a shame if it is to go! Hard to imagine since only this year they have relaunched BBC Three.

BBC Radio 4 LW would also be a big loss, often it is the next sound I get in the morning after I switch off the alarm or my clock radio, got with stamps from petrol back in the......

While there must be some rationalization available, bbc world and news yes you can see that, if kids are moving online should it not be the kids programming which is cut from broadcasting.

AJB39

At least BBC Radio 4 is now available on the BBC Sounds app plus it’s available to Virgin Media subscribers via their TV boxes and on Sky via other channels I think.

Alun

I too find the decision to return BBC Three to broadcast, but put BBC Four online the exact opposite of what would make sense to me.

RoTelly

I don't really understand why they didn't consider other options.

For example: -

On satellite and in Scotland moving all Scottish Parliamentary coverage to BBC Alba, with any live proceedings taking precedent after 7.

This would free up time on BBC Parliament allowing for it to share time with BBC 4, with any live proceedings taking precedent after 7.

Allow programming from CBBC to appear across BBC 1, 2 and a fully CBBC service sharing with BBC Scotland in Scotland and on Satellite. (perhaps add BBC Scotland to Freeview in the rest of the UK).

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119121736#Comment_119121736

It does.

I am certain that at least 50% of the credit for BBC Three’s return to TV can be put at the door of Normal People and the massive reaction it got and BBC execs realising that nobody was identifying it with the BBC Three brand because they were watching on BBC One or the iPlayer.

As for BBC Four it has been suffering death by a thousand cuts for years really, this is the logical outcome of that process. I’m not convinced these cuts actually will happen though, by saying that they’re not going to happen for at least three years they are giving plenty of time for future different management to reverse or quietly forget about them.

TAFKAlawhec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119123693#Comment_119123693

BBC Alba is only available on Freeview (DVB-T) in Scotland after 7pm - the main BBC FM radio stations make way for it during its broadcasting time to give some additional bitrate on the BBC-A Mux in Soctland. So putting Scottish Parliamentary coverage on BBC Alba before 7pm wouldn't work.

Regarding BBC 3 & 4, I think the big problem with BBC 3 was that it was originally cut from having a linear channel too early, then during the various Covid-related lockdowns, the viewership of many linear channels went up which included the BBC 3 slot on BBC 1 showcasing its programmes, suggesting to BBC controllers that a relaunched BBC 3 linear channel had a good chance of working. The problem was that when BBC 3 originally went online-only, its general target audience adjusted accordingly (if they already hadn't) while many others that watched the channel for the likes of Family Guy & American Dad migrated to ITV2 to watch them instead. Therefore when BBC 3 went back to having a linear channel, the audience that the channel originally had & built up before it went online only had largely moved on from "appointment-to-view". The end result is that the impression now given to the BBC, aside from noticing any other trends in the media landscape, is that unless it has a real reason for being there is no credible reason to launch a new linear TV channel at this point forward. Younger age groups i.e. children & young adults, consume media nowadays on demand from streaming services whereas older age groups (35+) still have some level of affinity towards linear TV channels but this will still get eroded over time. +1 channels are becoming increasingly redundant - and some have already closed - in an age where catching up on missed programmes is now easier than ever before. What worked 20 years ago or even just 10 years ago is much less relevant now.

That takes me on to BBC 4 - it's long had its original raison d'etre gradually eroded for various reasons and has been morphing into becoming a channel displaying BBC archival material while trying to keep up some pretense of cultural, scientific & "highbrow" programming and to be honest these days offering a archival service via On-demand than a linear service is the preferred method for (dare say) the majority of people, so the case of BBC 4 existing as a linear channel becomes diminished and is one of the more justifiable cuts to make. The same goes for BBC Radio 4 extra, whose programming largely consists of archival BBC radio material, which can be easily accessed on BBC Sounds.

The same audience profiling on how media is consumed is also a decent justification to close CBBC's linear outlet. The teens & older primary school children don't really sit down to watch programmes any more, it's not like when I was their age and between 3.45-5.35pm on BBC1 & ITV was what you got. There's still some value left however in pre-school & early primary school years linear programming so CBeebies as a linear channel can justifiably be kept for the time being.

Re: BBC Radio 4 LW - its closure will come sooner than later, it's largely kept going at present thanks to UK electoral operators using the LW transmitters to control certain electrical meters for time switching (they're gradually being replaced my "smart" meters, but the roll out has been held up even before the pandemic). The broadcasts of the shipping forecasts is barely relevant to actual shipping these days, while "Today in Parliament" could be easily shifted to R5L. BBC local radio in England is mostly off MW now except in a few locations where FM & DAB coverage is an issue (or were until recently), BBC Radio Ulster is now off MW, BBC Radio Wales MW is now down to a single mid-powered TX serving parts of South Wales - only BBC Radio Scotland has been largely untouched so far with two high-powered TXs still in place. That just leaves BBC Radio 5 Live, with suggestions that it'll close on MW by the end of 2027 which seems a realistic date. I reckon we'll see the BBC R4LW MW fillers and some of the lower powered BBC R5L TXs close down before they eventually pull the plug completely on 198kHz and the main R5L MW network.

Altogether, its a plan for the BBC that realises that among the general cost savings it needs to make, it has to adapt to a changing media landscape. While some elements of this is (ignoring the licence fee charge for now) a significant departure from the purpose of free at-the-point-of-reception broadcasting, they've little choice to pursue it - especially because if they didn't, then down the line the BBC's main detractors currently in existence would have even more ammunition to throw at it.

iffandonlyif

It’s a few years since BBC Four broadcast original material. And the archival stuff it now broadcasts rarely excites me - back-to-back Top of the Pops, and the like. So I find it hard to regret this latest announcement. The real damage was in neutering the channel several years ago without the promised improvement in the quality of BBC Two.

When I was younger I would scroll through the upcoming RTE programmes and rarely find something of interest; BBC, by contrast, would have two or three programmes a night that I would be excited to watch. I now have that RTE experience with BBC. There is never anything I want to watch. When small-state Tories decry the BBC, I struggle to point out what makes it worthwhile, beside the excellent radio stations.

dublinman1990

Did anyone see the new look BBC News at Ten tonight?

The new studio looks absolutely amazing. I saw the tour of it on The One Show earlier on BBC One. Huw Edwards had confirmed to Mrs. Alex Jones that everything that you see in it is real. None of it is fake.

Also the BBC weather forecast is now integrated into the Ten instead of being separated from it.

EDIT:

Here's a pic of the new studio if you missed it.