BBC4 to be cut by end of the year

[jayne lee wilson]

The BBC has become a feeble organisation.
It's desperate to be liked at any cost.
It's devoid of ideas.
It's never wrong.
Many all of its so-called 'developments' in recent years have been copycat versions of other channels: News 24 (Sky), Breakfast TV (ITV), today's Radio 3 (CFM).

Boom and bust isn't sustainable. The BBC had just one TV channel - then two. Along came two children's channels, and News 24. There was one radio station, then two more. Then the BBC took over pirate radio to create Radio 1, and a whole plethora of local stations cropped up, later with commercial competition. All this inflated the costs for the BBC.

It couldn't go on for ever. Now we reap the lack of foresight.

The BBC is still alive!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000j4bl/charlie-brookers-antiviral-wipe

...brilliant show - ask yourself - who else would have done this?

Couldn't live without BBC News (24), Newsnight (consistently acute & hard-hitting & with space for humour).. or the BBC News website .... you need an alternative to Sky (far less attractive website), and as for other news websites....

[LMcD]

The BBC is still alive!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000j4bl/charlie-brookers-antiviral-wipe

...brilliant show - ask yourself - who else would have done this?

Couldn't live without BBC News (24), Newsnight (consistently acute & hard-hitting & with space for humour).. or the BBC News website .... you need an alternative to Sky (far less attractive website), and as for other news websites....

France 24 is still the best for non-parochial news updates.

[Serial_Apologist]

It is odd that 'a public broadcater' should be so driven (a) by viewing/listening figures and (b) by currying favour with 'the young'.
The Young are free-agents, surfing the net at will (and good for them), so I don't see why a and b above should somehow be linked in the the BBC's obsessive corporate mind.

It's so the BBC can educate the young into listening to the sorts of things they listen to in the first place. Or... something.

[gurnemanz]

The BBC has become a feeble organisation.
It's desperate to be liked at any cost.
It's devoid of ideas.
It's never wrong.
Many all of its so-called 'developments' in recent years have been copycat versions of other channels: News 24 (Sky), Breakfast TV (ITV), today's Radio 3 (CFM).

Boom and bust isn't sustainable. The BBC had just one TV channel - then two. Along came two children's channels, and News 24. There was one radio station, then two more. Then the BBC took over pirate radio to create Radio 1, and a whole plethora of local stations cropped up, later with commercial competition. All this inflated the costs for the BBC.

It couldn't go on for ever. Now we reap the lack of foresight.

I like a good grumble but don't think I could be quite that negative. I might have said "feeble" about them when I was a teenager in the 60s and the BBC played almost none of the music I liked. I listened to the pirates: Radio London and Radio Caroline + of course Radio Luxembourg. By the time they created Radio 1 from the pirates in 1967 I was 18. I went "square" and had little further use for that style of station. The only time I listened to Radio 1 was for John Peel ... Radio 3 shut down at 11pm, anyway. I got into classical music and became a Radio 3 listener and have been ever since. Radio 3, whatever its shortcomings, offers a lot more now in terms of technical quality (wasn't it on medium wave?) than it did in the early days and quantity (not 24/7 and with sports commentary, Open University and other stuff interrupting along the way). Nowadays at least 90% of my radio is still BBC and most of the rest is foreign internet stations.

Also, most of my scheduled TV watching is BBC. If they are feeble so must I be. I acknowledge the dross but still find enough quality.

Re "It's never wrong" - a dangerous generalisation. Off the top of my head: They admitted they were wrong about Radio 6. They abandoned their idea a few years ago of starting the evening concert at 7pm. Must be many more instances.... They brought back Dr Who (last time I watched it, it was in black and white).

[muzzer]

Aside of it having stopped making original programmes I cannot see why BBC4 can’t survive by broadcasting back catalogue. There’s enough of it fgs. This is such a poor move in what it says about the Beeb as a public service broadcaster.

[Nick Armstrong]

Also, most of my scheduled TV watching is BBC. If they are feeble so must I be. I acknowledge the dross but still find enough quality.

Yes that sums it up for me too. Some fine new dramas on Netflix & (to a lesser extent) Amazon provide the remainder (with the odd C4 “Walter Presents” series, and HBO titles I can get them via other people)

[MrGongGong]

The BBC has become a feeble organisation.
It's desperate to be liked at any cost.
It's devoid of ideas.
It's never wrong.
Many all of its so-called 'developments' in recent years have been copycat versions of other channels: News 24 (Sky), Breakfast TV (ITV), today's Radio 3 (CFM).

Boom and bust isn't sustainable. The BBC had just one TV channel - then two. Along came two children's channels, and News 24. There was one radio station, then two more. Then the BBC took over pirate radio to create Radio 1, and a whole plethora of local stations cropped up, later with commercial competition. All this inflated the costs for the BBC.

It couldn't go on for ever. Now we reap the lack of foresight.

and another thing
why doesn't beer taste like it used to ?

(thank god it doesn't.... Higsons FFS )

[Nick Armstrong]

“No plans to close BBC Four at the moment” ....


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52719883

[alywin]

I was surprised and shocked to see this - especially since I hadn't heard anything about it previously. Even if they don't have any plans to close it at the moment, worth signing the petition just to indicate how popular it is.

And yes, there is surely plenty of back catalogue they can screen in rotation - heaven knows, they do enough of it already. Where on earth are less-popular operas, music, dance, theatre going to be screened, if not on BBC4? I mean, if they moved them all back to BBC2 I'd be happy, but I don't see that happening.

[cloughie]

Now it looks like BBC3 is possibly to return to terrestrial channels - because young people like it - BBC1 appear to be showingba fair chunk of BBC back catalogue so 4 may become 3 - no doubt to compete with the Netflix audience!

[Count Boso]

Now it looks like BBC3 is possibly to return to terrestrial channels - because young people like it - BBC1 appear to be showingba fair chunk of BBC back catalogue so 4 may become 3 - no doubt to compete with the Netflix audience!

I thought that - the great 'success' of BBC3 has come from showing past BBC hits which weren't originally aimed at younger audiences and the BBC story said the people watching BBC3 weren't all the target age audience.* They seem to be spending so little on BBC4 anyway I can't see that they'd save very much by putting in on online only. Depressing that they think Top of the Pops is only suitable for a culture-focused channel whose arts programming is already run on a shoestring.

*'The BBC now says its research shows there is a potential large linear audience for the channel's programmes, which it says are reaching both young people and the wider audience in "big numbers".' (Well, obviously, if they're not screening exclusively 'young' programmes.)

[ardcarp]

Now it looks like BBC3 is possibly to return to terrestrial channels - because young people like it - BBC1 appear to be showingba fair chunk of BBC back catalogue so 4 may become 3 - no doubt to compete with the Netflix audience!

I shall if when they put BBC3 on air again the 'young people' will stop watching it!

[Bryn]

I shall if when they put BBC3 on air again the 'young people' will stop watching it!

Are they not likely to continue watching it via the iPlayer?

[DracoM]

Used to run an acting group and once asked them what TV they watched - BBC3 was included.
Answer?
'What's BBC3? Never heard of it.............'
Seriously.

[MrGongGong]

Used to run an acting group and once asked them what TV they watched - BBC3 was included.
Answer?
'What's BBC3? Never heard of it.............'
Seriously.

Last year I made some work with a group of youngsters which was featured on a Radio 4 documentary and on Late Junction
when I said this was happening one of the questions was
"what's Radio 4"

BUT they loved LJ and the R4 programme