BBC1 Appreciation falls to an all time low.

BBC chairman Michael Grade has ordered a review of flagship TV channel BBC1 after viewers' appreciation levels fell to an all-time low.

More details from Media Guardian or BBC News

Axing of loads of "decent" shows and more and more of crap, downmarket drama like this 55 Degrees North rubbish.
And I just knew i would find this in there somewhere:



Knew that would come into it.

But I agree that BBC Two is by far the best BBC TV Channel in operation today.

it's quite good actually. except the dodgy bit last week when they took the guy in the wrong door at the courts.

BBC1 primetime is awful - and has been for a while. The only things I seem to watch now on the BBC are "events" such as Wimbledon.

As criticised as BBC3 was at launch, it provides a fairly varied schedule on a small budget - with many programmes getting critical acclaim (although many do get slated!).

My primetime schedule would be as simple as follows (starting by axing EastEnders!)

7-8pm: Regional programmes / Current Affairs / Consumer
Shows like Inside Out, Real Story, Watchdog and Holiday, plus primetime slots for Question Time, with Football Focus on Friday.

8-9pm: Family Drama / Comedy / Entertainment
Long running series (16-24) episodes every weeknight, including Holby City and My Family, plus a wealth of new drama and comedy. Also some entertainment shows such as A Question of Sport and new quiz shows.

9-10pm: Drama / Comedy / Documentaries
As above, but more mature programming, plus documentary strands at least once a week. One off "Shops and Robbers" style shows should go in favour of strands. Also, Panorama would move to a 30-min slot on Monday nights (8.30pm or 9.30pm), with occassional 1 hour specials.

I agree, I'm enjoying 55 Degrees myself.

I think the huge drop in the AI is purely down to the demise of the minstrels, personally.

Maybe the solution is to schedule "The Mobility-Challenged Coloured Peoples Hour" for Wednesday at 9 pm, because, after all, you have to be lily white to watch and enjoy everything else on BBC.

More seriously, it's a curiousity how public broadcasters fail to strike a balance between "mass appeal" and "special interests". I mean, on the one hand, you could have some sort of "Black History Month" series of specials on BBC1, or some special programming about India, but that's almost a token gesture.

It would be nice, for a change, to have reports such as these explain, in plain and understandable language, how exactly the BBC is failing to provide for ethnic minorities (especially when you've got services like the BBC Asian Radio Network, etc.).

Why are blacks and asians the "special" people? The BBC is more concerned about what they think, than those of us who have the misfortune to be white.

B*llocks.

Why is every attampt that's made to have a bit more on-screen / on-air acknowledgement of the fact that there are black / Asian / gay / disabled / whatever people, always met with this knee-jerk reaction that the poor old everyday white/straight etc man (and it usually is a man) is being left out in the cold.

A very large proportion of British TV is commisioned, written by, produced by and features white people. Yes, it can be accessed almost universally by most, if not all, of the viewing audience, but that doesn't mean it's not within the BBC's public service remit to make sure that other less-represented sectors of society are seen in relevant and appropriate ways - ways that can still, on the whole, be accessed by most, if not all of the viewing audience. (I'm presuming that nobody here would have refused to watch The Cosby Show in its heyday because all the main characters were black?)

Because it's usually true. How about a radio station called BBC White Network? Or at least a spin-off to Radio 1 dedicated to white music? It wouldn't happen because it wouldn't win the BBC any brownie points. I'd say that ethnic minorities are more than catered for on BBC One - one of the main newsreaders is Asian, another is black; there are numerous black and Asian characters in Eastenders; in fact pretty much all dramas have black and Asian characters... so what more exactly needs to be done to cater for ethnic minorities? Have an Urdu Zone? A news programme about black people only? I'm sure you don't see this much commitment to catering for the needs of white people on TV in Asia or Africa.

But isn't that a contradiction? If people didn't refuse to watch The Cosby Show because all the characters were black, why would anyone refuse to watch a programme in which all the characters are white? Sure, involve a range of people from different backgrounds and races in productions, but actively seeking to cater for minorities' needs usually ends up smacking of political correctness and ultimately brings with it greater divisions between different social groups... which to be honest, noone wants at all.

I am going to agree with Phil on this one.

BBC Radio 1 seems to play nothing but black music anyway, and then what do they do, they set up BBC 1Xtra, dedicated to black music. We also have BBC Asian Network. I know it sounds stupid, but it does seem as if the white people who enjoy NORMAL music, seem to be left in the dark by the BBC.

I completely agree with the comments expressed latterly.

Except this tosh:

Well i don't know about the other times of the day, but whenever i turn on Radio 1 in the morning on my way to work, and on the way home, all they play is rap and r'n'b. Only once in a blue moon do you get the occasional pop track or dance track!