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CBBC and BBC Four to move online

Started by Fambo Number Mive, May 26, 2022, 04:00:47 PM

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Fambo Number Mive

I suppose most people who have a television also have some kind of device that access the internet, but I do wonder what this will mean for poorer families who may have a cheap television but no access to the internet.

Whilst 100 new jobs will be created for online news services for Bradford, Sunderland, Wolverhampton and Peterborough, news services in Oxford and Cambridge will merge with wider regional news programmes.

The plans could mean up to 1000 job losses at the BBC, and £200m of cuts.

More here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61591674

bgmnts


Sebastian Cobb

They've been trying to get rid of BBC Four for ages but enough of the public just about complain so they agree to marginalise it with a view to killing it off at some point in the future. They did it with BBC Three as a cost-saving measure, unsurprisingly lost viewers (to other vod services) and then shat-it and tried to bring it back. I suspect these days it's less about the the platform (vod or linear tv) and more that the amount of budget allocated to programming is lowered for "web only" channels.

I think in the case of TV some of this might be because the Com 7 Freeview mux is going away to be reallocated for 5g mobile and that hosts the HD versions of BBC Four and CBeebies. That still leaves the SD slot and HD slots on Satellite/Cable but the necessary re-jig probably gives them an excuse to bin it off.

I thought the BBC had committed BBC Four to a mostly archive channel already so was quite surprised to see that Tina Edwards (Worldwide FM dj amongst other things) recently had a Jazz documentary on there.

Shit move either way, Sky Arts arrived as a free-to-air channel not long after lockdowns started and did better than expected.

Folding global and national news into a single channel will almost certainly result in further dumbing down of their news output not exactly sure who stands to lose the most there, but given the BBC are basically just reporting what the gov tells them I suppose folding it into a load of little-Englander tub-thumping could be what idiots want to see nationally and as an advertisement for Britain on "the world stage".

Norton Canes

Good to see everything finally turning properly to shit now the government have had a couple of years to really dig in.

JamesTC

BBC Four makes sense if you are desperate enough to need to cut a channel. It is mostly archive now anyway so that remit is mostly served by BBC iPlayer anyway. The channel has essentially been in a managed decline for years to get it to this point.

But CBBC moving online is incredibly short-sighted. BBC Three moving online was a complete misjudgement of viewing habits, and it meant an entire generation was missed out of BBC television. They have reversed that change and have now done the same to the age group directly below. Hopefully at least two or three hours of BBC Two (2pm to 5pm perhaps) can be spared for CBBC programming.

Glebe

Fuck's sake. iPlayer not available in Ireland. Could use a VPN but whatever it's still a shit decision, BBC4 has some really great docos and such.

purlieu

The thing about BBC Four is that it's nice to just pop on and see what's on. During lockdown my parents could no longer go to the pub on Friday nights, so we'd all stop in with a couple of bottles of beer and watch the music documentaries. Saw some stuff I would never have thought about watching otherwise. If it was on iPlayer, there's far, far less chance that we'd ever have watched any of it, because the psychology of it is totally different. "Oh this is on, let's give it a go" vs "keep scrolling through iPlayer until we find something we especially want to watch"

Fambo Number Mive

The BBC is very good at shooting itself in the foot over and over isn't it?

Uncle TechTip

I saw the viewing figures for CBBC a few months ago and they were pitiful, top shows getting 10,000. Ten times as many "watching" cbeebies, I think.

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Do young people even watch BBC Three, or television altogether?

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on May 26, 2022, 07:22:46 PMDo young people even watch BBC Three, or television altogether?

Probably not. Part of the problem with them consigning BBC Three to online-only was that it suffered other cuts as well I think, but also iPlayer was very much still a "catch up" service for linear tv so everything was still built around the notion of channels so catching up on a channel that didn't really exist anymore didn't really make sense versus things like Netflix.

Although I wouldn't hold much hope in the BBC making sane decisions in the transition from linear + catchup services to digital-first, look at what they replaced iPlayer radio with!

George White

ALready emailed Tim Davie to complain, also pointing out that canning BBC4 to digital means Irish and European viewers are denied it.

JamesTC

It was that idea of young people not watching conventional TV that meant BBC Three was lost. It was a decision made on supposition rather than analysis.

Viewership of young adults dropped considerably once BBC Three left. Hence the scramble now to bring it back and try to win back that lost generation. I fear the same for CBBC.

What I am mainly afraid of is that the BBC is fostering a future of people who do not believe the BBC cares about them as a viewer. The BBC should cater to all.

Norton Canes

Quote from: Fambo Number Mive on May 26, 2022, 07:01:47 PMThe BBC is very good at shooting itself in the foot over and over isn't it?

Whereas the Government prefers a shot to the head

phantom_power

Quote from: Fambo Number Mive on May 26, 2022, 07:01:47 PMThe BBC is very good at shooting itself in the foot over and over isn't it?

It doesn't seem to have a fucking clue what makes it special

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Quote from: JamesTC on May 26, 2022, 07:54:24 PMViewership of young adults dropped considerably once BBC Three left. Hence the scramble now to bring it back and try to win back that lost generation. I fear the same for CBBC.

With the loss of BBC Four they'll be losing the viewership of the bald middle aged man. Honestly, BBC Four and Radio 4 Extra are the only things worth paying the license fee for anymore, yet they persist with BBC fucking Three.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: JamesTC on May 26, 2022, 07:54:24 PMIt was that idea of young people not watching conventional TV that meant BBC Three was lost. It was a decision made on supposition rather than analysis.

Viewership of young adults dropped considerably once BBC Three left. Hence the scramble now to bring it back and try to win back that lost generation. I fear the same for CBBC.

What I am mainly afraid of is that the BBC is fostering a future of people who do not believe the BBC cares about them as a viewer. The BBC should cater to all.

It's become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy based on core demographics I think and the declining birth rates after boomers. All of the 'big five' channels have average viewer ages over 60 plus and even 'youth' (ostensibly 16-34) channels like E4 were reporting average ages into their 40's when BBC Three got dunted. Whilst you're right that the BBC should attempt to cater for all, when it's under attack it typically tries to defend itself by aggressive competition with the other majors resulting in the very services it should be protecting the most getting sidelined.

This trend of marginalisation along with the news reporting makes it increasingly difficult to defend it, all that's left for me these days is the radio really.

gilbertharding

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on May 26, 2022, 08:37:48 PMWith the loss of BBC Four they'll be losing the viewership of the bald middle aged man.

Exactly. I might not be fashionable, but I've got money.

Quote from: phantom_power on May 26, 2022, 08:06:39 PMIt doesn't seem to have a fucking clue what makes it special

Of course they do. This is managed decline. They know that by removing and diminishing everything that makes it great, it'll decline to a point where nobody will care when the sell-off comes.

ajsmith2

The ongoing, slo motion car crash and no ones doing anything to stop it death of a thousand cuts of the BBC really depresses me, in particular the way the way BBC News feel they've had to adopt a craven deference to the Tory government to survive: of course what that means is they please nobody and have no ones trust: right wingers will of course never be satisfied and continue to fart out the #defundthebbc mantra, and by fearfully covering for them they lose the trust of everyone else, so the left join the chorus. It pees me off when I see folk on the left laying into the BBC, even when they have good reason to on a micro level, cos in the bigger picture I feel they're just being played into achieving the right's endgame.

JohnnyCouncil

CEEBEEBIES and more recently CBBC have been staples in our house since we've had children.

CEEBEEBIES especially was a great alternative to the other preschool channels churning out episode after episode of paw patrol etc... instead producing a mix of engaging programmes without 10 minutes of adverts ever 30. I guess this channel isn't being touched for now due to the absolute outrage of shattered parents.

More recently CBBC is what our eldest watches (6) and it's brilliant, Newsround is still the best news to deliver reports that are clear and free of the bile of the modern age. I guess Horrible Histories is the reason it's being shunted online for daring to find humour in, and willing to ridicule our tired little island. Despite watching the excellent Dodger via iplayer, we probably wouldn't have heard/taken the chance had it not been on TV.

imitationleather

Can just watch the endless supply of AI-generated plotless bilge on YouTube Kids instead.

Magnum Valentino

Yeah those compilations of scenes from Hey Duggee are absolutely maddening in the way they're edited. Never occurred to me that was being automated before, as no sane human could make those choices.

Replies From View

I haven't watched any normal scheduled television for ages but I assume Edd the Duck and Neighbours are still in full operation from 3pm - 6pm every single day?

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: ajsmith2 on May 27, 2022, 12:41:16 PMIt pees me off when I see folk on the left laying into the BBC, even when they have good reason to on a micro level, cos in the bigger picture I feel they're just being played into achieving the right's endgame.

Yeah but the alternative is basically tantamount to paying to be in an abusive relationship. I haven't cancelled my licence yet but I barely watch it and feel like I'm getting mugged off by enabling it.

Replies From View

If anyone can offer a more impactful way to punish the BBC for becoming a government mouthpiece then I'm all ears.

If they'd learn to respond to petitions then they'd be able to save themselves the nuisance of becoming completely fucked.  Alas they'd rather not listen to plebs.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Replies From View on May 27, 2022, 03:57:32 PMIf they'd learn to respond to petitions then they'd be able to save themselves the nuisance of becoming completely fucked.  Alas they'd rather not listen to plebs.

I think the problem is that some of the people at the top aren't all that bothered about it being privatised in fact they're probably selected because of it.

Although I think the tories find it useful to keep it around so long as it's compliant, of course they're not going to give a shit about arts programming being removed any more than they are going to give a shit about museums being closed on Sundays when the plebs are most likely to have a day off.

ajsmith2

I'm willing to disregard how terminally and tragically compromised BBC News has become for the principle (and often the practice) of the rest of it. It's a baby/bathwater situation. I do think if you're on the left and you're righteously repeating #defundthebbc solely cos of their shite and cowardly news service you've been played for a fool into parroting a right wing thinking point. Sorry that's just a restatement of what I said above I know. Also not 100 per cent relevant to the topic. I just want somewhere to dump these thoughts.

Sebastian Cobb

It's more that it's combined with them taking away stuff with the other hand. I used to be an ardent defender of them based on the other content they made but that's getting gutted too and I think once you get out of the habit of paying attention to linear tv schedules it's a lot easier to be indifferent to middling shows... it's not just the BBC I've found myself watching less of, the other channels are getting less of a look-in too because there's a world of niche new and older shows just floating around for the watching on the internet a few clicks away.

The most exciting thing I saw on iPlayer recently was the French series Missions, I downloaded series 2 because it looked like BBC Four weren't going to pick it up, and now they have s2 and 3, I'm happy to pay for things like that but at the same time would I feel bad for torrenting a show that the beeb had just bought off a foreign broadcaster and wouldn't be available otherwise? Would I fuck. Same with series like Norah From Queens, Dave etc. I think they're great and I'm glad the BBC is platforming them, but them not doing so wouldn't really stop me seeing them.

Replies From View

Well I'm not righteously repeating #defundthebbc, I'm saying make the BBC less shit.  Sorry:  # make the BBC less shit.  Apologies if I did it wrong.

It's a fait accompli one way or the other anyway.  There's nothing you or I can do to stop this engineered decline and inevitable privatisation.  And I get around the frustration that engenders by training myself to no longer care.