Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
Why make this so personal, Chris? It was a perfectly sensible proposal but as usual you find all these spurious reasons to rubbish it and then insist that your answer is final.
You still haven't explained why the smaller digital channels can afford to repeat prime time shows through the night but the Beeb, with more resources than anyone else cannot. But let's not let the obvious spoil the wrecking ball arguments that you tend to put forward to avoid anyone actually daring to contemplate change.
The best argument I have heard so far for the simulcast on BBC1 is that you can watch BBC Parliament in HD.
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Because I never said it was unaffordable - I simply pointed out that there was a cost that most people don't appreciate (repeat fees) whereas simulcasting current affairs content does not have that cost. The cost issue is nothing to do with breaking the bank. It's simply a matter of priorities. They choose not to spend money on repeating entertainment shows overnight in order to have more money for content at times of day when viewing figures will be higher. If the decision was cost neutral, and they thought they would serve more viewers, and they thought it would pass a public service value test, then they might decide to repeat their entertainment content overnight. But they haven't done that.
Your problem, as always, is that you find it hard to process the fact that different businesses, just like different people, have different priorities. Just because 5USA's business priority means funds are available to run repeats of its entertainment content overnight, it does not follow that the BBC's priorities are the same and their business decisions will be similar. Just because 5USA's business model aligns with your idea of what a broadcaster should be doing overnight, it does not follow that all of them must.
Final thought, I don't know what it's like on Freeview but Freesat carries a national variant of bbc2 in HD, so anyone watching BBC parliament at 4am on bbc2, on satellite at least, will be able to see it in HD.