Drama to be eradicated from Radio 3

[vinteuil]

The King on Xmas Day!

... I suspect the world is divided into those for whom listening to HMQ or HMK on christmas day is 'a thing', and those for whom it is not.

In seventy two years I have never knowingly listened to the monarch on 25 December....

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[LMcD]

... I suspect the world is divided into those for whom listening to HMQ or HMK on christmas day is 'a thing', and those for whom it is not.

In seventy two years I have never knowingly listened to the monarch on 25 December....

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They're both much more enjoyable than PMQs.

[smittims]

Yes, one of my sons spent Xmas dinner with his future in-laws and was shocked. 'What! You don't have the (then) Queen ? ' he berated them. They do it now.

I've found the King's messages less predictable and more moving than the Queen's. I know he's speaking to everyone but I do feel he's speaking to me. I gave Xmas a miss this year, no tree, no turkey etc. but I always find five minutes for my King. I like to hear what he has to say.

[Serial_Apologist]

Yes, one of my sons spent Xmas dinner with his future in-laws and was shocked. 'What! You don't have the (then) Queen ? ' he berated them. They do it now.

I've found the King's messages less predictable and more moving than the Queen's. I know he's speaking to everyone but I do feel he's speaking to me. I gave Xmas a miss this year, no tree, no turkey etc. but I always find five minutes for my King. I like to hear what he has to say.

He's supposed to be everyone's king!

[vinteuil]

I always find five minutes for my King. I like to hear what he has to say.

... why? (genuine question)

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[Sir Velo]

Yes, one of my sons spent Xmas dinner with his future in-laws and was shocked. 'What! You don't have the (then) Queen ? ' he berated them.

I trust they replied that they saw it for what it was: an establishment trick to keep us in all our place by engendering a fake sense of mutual identification?

[Andrew Slater]

I'm glad Radio 4 is still broadcast on Long Wave,as I have a good LW radio use for Woman's Hour and The King on Xmas Day!

But don't hold your breath: it's likely to disappear later this year. I can't find the announcement at the moment, but I think the Droitwich transmitter and its counterparts are due to be taken out of service on 30th June 2025.

[french frank]

I gave Xmas a miss this year, no tree, no turkey etc. but I always find five minutes for my King. I like to hear what he has to say.

I was commenting on the idea that BBC broadcasts can "Unite the Nation", and I would accept the view that there are certain one-off occasions which interest enough of the nation to qualify, given that I would challenge anyone to come up with an occasion which could 100% unite the nation (other than the Last Night of the Proms, Glastonbury or a Cup Final ). Royal occasions might come close given that the minority, whatever percentage, is free to sigh and ignore it completely. My point was not that royal occasions really do unite the nation but that a BBC self-congratulatory notion of uniting the nation is pure fantasy.

[LMcD]

... why? (genuine question)

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Possibly in the hope that any fierce anti-Royalists on the premises might storm out in disgust into the kitchen and start the washing-up?

[french frank]

Yes, one of my sons spent Xmas dinner with his future in-laws and was shocked. 'What! You don't have the (then) Queen ? ' he berated them. They do it now.

I'm always rather shocked when Christmas is abbreviated to Xmas ...

[Pulcinella]

I'm always rather shocked when Christmas is abbreviated to Xmas ...

This might help!

https://www.vox.com/2014/12/14/7374401/jesus-xmas-christmas

[kernelbogey]

An interesting take on the funding of the BBC from the ever-trenchant Simon Jenkins in the Guardian - here proposing a subscription model for funding. (Not directly about Drama on 3 obviously, but we are hearing that it's all down to money.)

[french frank]

This might help!

https://www.vox.com/2014/12/14/7374401/jesus-xmas-christmas

Yes, I knew the origin But it only "literally" [sic] means Christ when several of the letters have been removed for a 'popularized shorthand'. I don't feel as strongly about it as other people apparently do or how they feel about people not observing the ritual of watching the sovereign's Christmas day speech on their television sets or listening on their wirelesses.

That aside, I'm now engaged in drawing up the key bullet points for a letter to go to Messrs Jackson and Davie re the ending of regular full-length drama broadcasts which can no longer be afforded out of BBC's miserly £4bn budget.

[hmvman]

"The broadcaster cites financial pressures and claims, rightly, that listeners turn to Radio 3 for classical music...."

This sentence resonated again this morning when this listener turned to R3 at 08.50 to hear... The Magnificent Seven main theme.

[Hitch]

A point of interest re. Doctor Who, one of the BBC's most lucrative properties: the Beeb has a long-standing and ongoing licensing deal with Big Finish Productions that has resulted in many hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of full-cast audio dramas. All are available via download and CD, though production of the latter is fading away due to production and storage costs. Some of the audios are available for as little as £3, but the majority are considerably more expensive.

There is an audience for audio drama, albeit commercial and not the usual R3 fare; so much so that the BBC makes money from it. Perhaps R3 should think about "refreshing" its audio dramas instead of abolishing them.