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BBC Four to become archive channel (p15)

Arts content moves to BBC2, BBC3 budget doubled (May 2020)

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PA
paul_hadley
Speaking of what to do with the spare bandwidth if this did indeed happen - time to resurrect the BBC1+1 idea perhaps? A cheap solution!
IS
Inspector Sands
I just hope they don't extend Cbeebies past 7pm, got to get the little blighters to bed sometime
MI
TheMike
Speaking of what to do with the spare bandwidth if this did indeed happen - time to resurrect the BBC1+1 idea perhaps? A cheap solution!

The commercial broadcasters killed that proposal off last time, and would no doubt do the same if it was back on the table.

I personally don't think CBBC and CBeebies are even safe longer term as linear channels, especially not CBBC. But the BBC won't make a move until someone else like Disney makes the move.
MI
TheMike
BBC FOUR has a current budget of £54m, so I'm not sure how it can be 'losing £125m'. It's not as though it survives from advertising revenue.

I don't see a problem with it becoming on-line only, the same as BBC THREE, as that is the way the linear channels are heading.

£54million is the figure you get when you Google 'BBC Four budget', but the source data is old. The most recent BBC Annual Report confirmed a budget of £44million, up from £38million a year earlier, which explains why there has not been that much new content on the channel.
TE
Technologist
Theoretically speaking, if Freeview went HD-only, how much of a difference would it make to the quantity of channels?

A sort of “how long is a piece of string” question ..
But roughly the two Arqiva muxes each with 16 channels would nit quite fit in three muxes
And as I pointed out the existing three PSB muxes can fit in two ....
so can SDN take its channels HD ... probably not.....
and who can afford the PSB mux costs ??? UKTV and orDiscovery perhaps
So the answer is NO.
But not by much....... but probably needs more than +1s removing
and there are vast commercial issues on pricing etc .....
And which mux which channel goes in as much if what we have now is a accident of history.
As Vaizey plan did not happen we will never know ...
after all that just mandated the PSBs to emit HD only and said nothing about the comm muxes ..
Of course in SD AVC the two Arqiva muxes could go in one T2 mux and at 704/720 * 576 static resolution.
Edit you can get more than 7 HD in 40Mbit now ..... but may be not 10 HD although imperatives n someone would ! The issues is more channels means a higher chance if two demanding the 15 Mbit/ channel currently set
Last edited by Technologist on 14 May 2020 7:59pm - 3 times in total
MI
TheMike
Theoretically speaking, if Freeview went HD-only, how much of a difference would it make to the quantity of channels?

In an HD only scenario, up to 7 HD channels per 40.2Mbps mux* x 6 national multiplexes, so 42 channels.


*BBC-B carries 6 HD channels, 1 SD channel and still has space. http://digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?live=9&mux=BBCB-PSB3&liste=1&lang=en
TE
Technologist
Speaking of what to do with the spare bandwidth if this did indeed happen - time to resurrect the BBC1+1 idea perhaps? A cheap solution!

But OFCOM did not allow BBC 1+1 because the MIA showed that itv revenues would be damaged ...
NJ
Neil Jones Founding member
It's not just Timeshift that makes BBC4 a great channel. Its its "nicheness" of programming (arts, science, history) makes it what it is in my opinion sadly a rare example of PSB.

Sky Arts is equally as good but in a totally different vein. If BBC 4 did disappear then I feel would give Sky Arts free rein in that kind of programming.


Sky Arts focuses more on the actual "posh" areas of the sector, whereas BBC Four is more, I don't want to say "common" as that isn't the right verb, but more "mainstream". While Arts does show quite a lot of live performances and archive Queen concerts, Four straddles a wider range of themes.

A lot of the BBC Four schedule at the moment is airing repeats from the back catalogue, which if the main two networks did a lot of they'd get a bunch of complaints about. I would go so far as to argue that BBC Two wouldn't go anywhere near buying the 1987 episodes of Joy of Painting that Four are airing for example, although I suppose it's relatively cheap to obtain...
SJ
sjhoward
RR posted:
If BBC One showed Newsnight after The News at Ten and then the regional news, it would have two and a half hours of continuous news. That is not suitable for what should be a generalist multi-genre channel appealing to the widest range of viewers.


I'm sorry, I don't follow: how would a 35min News at Ten, a 15min local bulletin and 40min Newsnight provide two and a half hours of continuous news?

All told, it would be considerably shorter than the original Victoria Derbyshire show alone, which was commissioned for a generalist multi-genre channel appealing to the widest range of viewers.
RR
RR
RR posted:
If BBC One showed Newsnight after The News at Ten and then the regional news, it would have two and a half hours of continuous news. That is not suitable for what should be a generalist multi-genre channel appealing to the widest range of viewers.


I'm sorry, I don't follow: how would a 35min News at Ten, a 15min local bulletin and 40min Newsnight provide two and a half hours of continuous news?

My miscount Very Happy - an hour and a half of course.
OM
Omnipresent
I don't agree with this.

The BBC has already lost spare terrestrial capacity for events like Glastonbury due to the closure of BBC3 which, as many warned at the time, is now clearly a huge strategic error.

Like the closure of BBC3, which was dressed up as the BBC taking the lead, this is being done as a reaction from a position of weakness because of the Government progressively turning the screw on the BBC, not from a position of confidence and strength when the BBC was able to lead technological change in broadcasting. Yes, streaming has widespread adoption, but it is still nowhere near as resilient and universal as free to air broadcast.

If the closure of BBC3 and BBC4 meant a return to the BBC2 of the 1990s, I would accept their closure, but it won't.
NL
Ne1L C
It's not just Timeshift that makes BBC4 a great channel. Its its "nicheness" of programming (arts, science, history) makes it what it is in my opinion sadly a rare example of PSB.

Sky Arts is equally as good but in a totally different vein. If BBC 4 did disappear then I feel would give Sky Arts free rein in that kind of programming.


Sky Arts focuses more on the actual "posh" areas of the sector, whereas BBC Four is more, I don't want to say "common" as that isn't the right verb, but more "mainstream". While Arts does show quite a lot of live performances and archive Queen concerts, Four straddles a wider range of themes.

A lot of the BBC Four schedule at the moment is airing repeats from the back catalogue, which if the main two networks did a lot of they'd get a bunch of complaints about. I would go so far as to argue that BBC Two wouldn't go anywhere near buying the 1987 episodes of Joy of Painting that Four are airing for example, although I suppose it's relatively cheap to obtain...


"Arts" is a word given to misrepresentation. Yes it means opera, performance and painting but is also means jazz, acting and ceramics. Both BBC 4 and Sky Arts between them cover the huge range of arts superbly and if BBC4 were to be abolished then it would mean that knowledge and appreciation of arts on television would be restricted not just a smaller section of society but also to a concentrated range of arts. Having a free to air channel that has arts coverage does in my opinion represent PSB obligations of the highest order.

On a side note I remember Bob Ross on "Discovery Home And Leisure" (I feel so old).

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