Save our BBC!
Posted by: Kevin-W on 26 February 2010
Read
this If this story - which, let us not forget, emanates from a Murdoch paper, but which feels like the kind of panicked move Mark Thompson/BBC Trust would make - has any truth in it, then we have a national scandal on our hands.
The closure of 6 Music sticks in my craw particularly, as it represents the best of the BBC. It plays some really interesting music (on shows like Cocker, Garvey, Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone, Don Letts, the Funk & Soul Show etc) that you won't hear anywhere else and certainly not on the feeble format radio emanating from the commercial sector.
I think this is the other scandalous element - the commercial broadcasters (radio and TV) along with their friends in other media have been whingeing for years about the "unfair competition" posed by the BBC. The problem they have is that in their pursuit of mammon and the quick buck, they've forgotten about the viewers and listeners. The BBC is too good. So, rather than the commercial sector getting off its arse
and improve itself, the BBC must be sacrificed.
If the Beeb should be closing anything, it's the godawful "yoof" channel BBC3, home to some of the most dreadful comedies of recent years.
Mark Thompson is fast becoming one of the worst DGs in BBC history.
Not only is he vastly overpaid, and hugely disrespectful of hard-pressed licence payers with his crass expense claims, but he is utterly craven towards bullying politicians who aren't even in power yet.
The BBC is the only truly world-class brand this country has, and is by far our most important cultural institution. It deserves a better man than Thompson at the helm.
I'm absolutely fuming!
Posted on: 27 February 2010 by Kevin-W
No further comment needed...
Posted on: 28 February 2010 by Bananahead
I don't live in the UK but have full access to BBC content.
I would happily pay the license fee if it was possible to do so.
Posted on: 28 February 2010 by Guido Fawkes
Posted on: 01 March 2010 by Steve2701
I suppose we could always pay Mr Murdoch £70 per month to sort it out and still pump 30 minutes of unwanted adds into the house every hour?
The beeb has made outstanding TV over the years - and when compared with most other outputs is real VFM - but how this is going to stack up in the next few years will be 'interesting'
One thing is certain - If I see that 'Go Compare' advert or anything of its ilk I will not be happy.
Posted on: 01 March 2010 by gone
We were watching Dimbleybimbley's Seven Ages last night, and we agreed that the idea of it being interrupted by adverts would be unthinkable. I even get fed up watching programmes which are obviously made for the US market, where there are frequent 'summaries', to allow for future advert breaks.
The Go Compare advert was nearly responsible for a broken plasma the other night
Posted on: 01 March 2010 by Officer DBL
Therein lies the benefit of Sky HD - well at least the ability to record up to 80 hours of programmes. We record most of the stuff we watch and are able to fast forward the ads.
I know precisely how you feel about the Go Compare advert!
Posted on: 01 March 2010 by gone
We also timeshift a lot of stuff on PVR, but the fundamental presence of adverts ruins the flow of longer programmes. I can FFWD too, but then having to watch a summary of what I was told a few minutes ago makes me mad.
Posted on: 02 March 2010 by OscillateWildly
quote:
Originally posted by graham55:
I shall be meeting Mark Thompson at a College Reunion next month. Anyone have anything that they'd like me to pass on?
Why is the smell of old fart wafting through the BBC?
Cheers,
OW
Posted on: 02 March 2010 by BigH47
quote:
I even get fed up watching programmes which are obviously made for the US market, where there are frequent 'summaries', to allow for future advert breaks.
This really pisses me off,are the Americans really that fucking stupid that they can't remember what happened 3 minutes ago? If its for those who joined late tough shit, set an alarm.
EOR
As a couple of previous posters said , PVR can skip the ads and these "recaps".
Posted on: 02 March 2010 by JamieL_v2
In defence of Americans, they do produce some of the finest television dramas in the world, especially HBO.
While we are discussing the value and future of the BBC, I wonder what people think of the current status of ITV.
In the last couple of years they have cut news/documentary output and stopped producing dramas and children's television. Their output is now game shows, soaps and reality TV. There are any number of channels that cater for this on satellite.
Does anyone else feel that with their change of programming that they deserve to have terrestrial broadcast rights? Surely with this type of 'restricted' programming they should be moved to purely satellite and let that space in the ether go to something more deserving.
To be honest with advertising revenue dropping as they are, it is quite possible that what I would consider to be a problem of ITV's output might be solved by administrators in the not too distant future.
Posted on: 04 March 2010 by Christopher_M
Greg Dyke once described the BBC as "over managed and under led" which seems to have the ring of truth about it. I'd certainly like to see them do something about the 382 execs on more than £100k pa. [Sunday Telegraph figs.]
Chris
Posted on: 17 March 2010 by Stuart M
And let's not forget that no mater what goverment is in power the BBC always seems to get thier back up in one way or another.
To me that means it's doing it's job.
The BBC news website is one of the best sources on the web.
Yes the BBC has it's faults and failings but the mess that is 'free' TV is appalling. Just look at the USA total freedom of choice between low quality programs and infomercials or adverts every 5 minutes when anything interesting is on. And yes HBO makes some amazing programs but they are on subscription channels that probaly cost more than the BBC's licence fee per year.
As for comercial programming - why not. Many dramas, comedy have gone on to be sold to other countries and made £££ and this has been ploughed back into the BBC.
Often these programs are are high cost (costume drama, natural history eyc) or entail a high level of risk (Little Britain, reviving Dr Who, QI) that a comercial station would not have attempted. Some may be duds or just rubish but (sometimes after several series) pure gold os created that would never have been made or canned after the first series on a comercial channel.
Yes I have my gripes - why don't they show the OU. I used to stumble on these as a kid and learnt a lot.
Oh I have my gripes, Daytime TV, Reality TV, Makeover programs. Unless original, serious or outstanding don't do them - they can still be comercial (Strictly - not a fave of mine but first done by the BBC would be a pro example, "Car Booty" or "My Life For Sale - I was in that - would be an example of dross.)
To quote "I don't want more choice, I just want nicer things" - Edina Monsoon, Absolutly Fabulous
Posted on: 18 March 2010 by OscillateWildly
Changed my mind, scrap the BBC - Webber's back advertising with 'Over the Rainbow'.
Cheers,
OW
