General : BBC3 to become online only

[denphone]

Originally Posted by harry_hitch

Hope so. I, personally, find the channel offers very little entertainment value for me. Would much rather the BBC spent the potential savings else where.

BBC3 is not for me as l prefer BBC2 and BBC4 but it does get decent figures for some of its programming.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...ers-family-guy

---------- Post added at 11:37 ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 ----------

Originally Posted by Taf

I wish they would fill BBC1 and 2 with decent programming instead of spreading it over 4 channels, cull the news and parliament channel, and perhaps have a dedicated sports/news channel so they don't keep on screwing with the main channels' scheduling.

l do agree with your point on its sports content Taf as they should not be putting Rugby and some other sports on BBC1 at prime time in my humble opinion unless its the Olympics as there are many people who have no interest in most sports at all.

I watch BBC 3&4.I find the programming that the BBC doesn't show on other channels much more interesting than most of that on BBC1 and BBC 2.If they got rid of them then they will be breaking their remit to offer choice across the board.

The best way to save money is to have less chiefs and employ minions on a lower rate of pay and no golden handshakes if they crap things up. I note with interest that some are jumping ship to other channels.

[alwaysabear]

Originally Posted by denphone

They should get rid of the dreadful BBC Parliament channel where we constantly see politicians behaving like children when they should be behaving like responsible adults but alas sadly that's too much to ask.

They are what they are Den a bunch of Public School boys who still think they are in the debating chamber at school.

[chris9991]

Will those who cannot or will not get fast enough broadband, get a discount on their licence fee?

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by chris9991

Will those who cannot or will not get fast enough broadband, get a discount on their licence fee?

That's the best point on the thread , many rural areas still have BB speeds that struggle with basic internet tasks let alone streaming TV , many older people don't want or have the know how to be connecting additional devices to watch this content , and who wants to sit at the computer to watch shows.

If they need to save money, they should stop broadcasting CBBC on weekdays when their entire audience is supposed to be at school.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

That's the best point on the thread , many rural areas still have BB speeds that struggle with basic internet tasks let alone streaming TV , many older people don't want or have the know how to be connecting additional devices to watch this content , and who wants to sit at the computer to watch shows.

Alas, I do believe that this is the way we are going. Linear channels are not the future for TV. I don't see how this is a problem, though, provided that the Broadband/On Demand access issue is resolved.

As far as older people are concerned, I would be amazed if they were perturbed about the loss of BBC 3, given that this is a young person's channel and carries little material that would interest them.

Once everyone has access to on demand I can see all the BBC channels migrating to this method of broadcasting if it is cheaper. The commercial channels will be slower to go across because at present the advertising revenue is too lucrative to lose. However, this will change with time, in my opinion.

[vincerooney]

No idea why they're going to kill BBC 3 when at least its an original channel. Majority of BBC 4 programming can go to BBC 2 which has always been alternative tv shows. BBC2/4 are too similar in that sense.

BBC also spends money on two childrens tv channels which i see no point in. CBBC is aimed at school children. So start that at 3.30. CBEEBIES for toddlers can run on CBBC channel whilst the kids are in school.

Two channels axed straight away and money saved

Linear TV will be with us for decades yet. Too many people have too much money invested in transmitter towers, satellites and all the rest. Plus, the sort of Internet speeds required to properely replace a 1080HD picture are still a distant dream for whole swathes of the country.

Don't forget, only about half the households in the UK have any sort of TV subscription. For a huge number of people, the TV is still something you turn on and tune in according to a relatively limited schedule.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Chris

Linear TV will be with us for decades yet. Too many people have too much money invested in transmitter towers, satellites and all the rest. Plus, the sort of Internet speeds required to properely replace a 1080HD picture are still a distant dream for whole swathes of the country.

Don't forget, only about half the households in the UK have any sort of TV subscription. For a huge number of people, the TV is still something you turn on and tune in according to a relatively limited schedule.

Possibly we will still have linear TV in decades to come, although I wouldn't bet on that. However, if BT manage to complete their super-fast broadband project within the next few years, this will change everything.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

I watch BBC 3&4.I find the programming that the BBC doesn't show on other channels much more interesting than most of that on BBC1 and BBC 2.If they got rid of them then they will be breaking their remit to offer choice across the board.

The best way to save money is to have less chiefs and employ minions on a lower rate of pay and no golden handshakes if they crap things up. I note with interest that some are jumping ship to other channels.

Yes l see these two have deserted the ship.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/b...id-not-3203696

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/j...ryfile-3201407

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Possibly we will still have linear TV in decades to come, although I wouldn't bet on that. However, if BT manage to complete their super-fast broadband project within the next few years, this will change everything.

You mean the fibre network there now delivering linear TV channels over via multicast.

[ocav]

Originally Posted by Stuart

One major cost will be carriage. I shouldn't think for a second that Sky, Virgin and the companies that transmit Freeview carry the BBC's channels (beyond 1 and 2 which I believe they are required to carry) for free.

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So would I welcome a cull of the crap channels. The problem is that introducing a small channel that serves maybe 5-600,000 viewers will not adversely affect the market. Introduce a channel that with it's more popular broadcasts can count nearly half the country as viewers, and that impact will be significant.

Wrong there Stuart, all the BBC Channels are must carriage.

However they don't pay any fees anymore, Sky dropped them last week and Virgin have never charged the BBC.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Possibly we will still have linear TV in decades to come, although I wouldn't bet on that. However, if BT manage to complete their super-fast broadband project within the next few years, this will change everything.

Yes, well, we shall see about that. There's no sign of anything happening around here, not even any plans for the subsidised roll out which would be essential to bring super fast broadband to areas such as where I live.

The thing you need to remember is, we have regulated broadcasting with public service channels that are obliged to provide a universal service. If BT gets to 95% of the population and refuses to go further because it costs them too much, the government won't pay or the technical challenges are too great, then that leaves 5% that by law must still be served. Linear broadcast by terrestrial transmitter or by satellite would have to continue for that reason alone.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by ocav

Wrong there Stuart, all the BBC Channels are must carriage.

However they don't pay any fees anymore, Sky dropped them last week and Virgin have never charged the BBC.

The BBC were also gifted capacity on Freeview.