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"Wow, what a revelation...not!"

BBC3 and BBC4 "poor value": [URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3738584.stm[/URL]

I can actually count on one hand the number of programmes I've actually watched on either of these channels. I don't even think one of them was on BBC4, and I don't like or watch Little Britain. But no an independant investigation reveals what everyone knew all along - it's a big waste of public money, when there's nothing on the main 2 BBC channels anyway.

And we pay for it. Bring on the public access, I say, then the BBC will see.

Digital TV is a retrograde step. Consider: now, if I have four televisions in my home, all connected to one aerial, each TV is independent and can select any channel. With digitial TV, each TV must have a separate digibox, making it like Sky, in order for us to watch different stations at the same time. It is still possible to network our televisions but they will all only display what is on the "master" tv. Compared with the service we enjoyed with analogue, this is a huge backward step.

In a Nazi sort of way. Anyone with an analogue TV will be a Jew.

I wrote a big article on the social implications of the implementation of digital television broadcasting at Uni, before it was announced that analogue television would be switched off - I was bang on. I'm picking my words carefully because analogue AUDIO broadcasting has been on the way out for years.

monkey_man wrote:
> It just seems like a pretty cunning ploy to promote digital
> broadcasting. Oh, did I mention that the BBC own most of the digital
> broadcasting stations around the UK? Ahh, so now we have a bigger
> picture! All they need to do is take the one or two shows that do
> get regular audiences, and transfer them to BBC2. That way the shows
> will get higher viewing figures, and the cost of running 2 extra
> channels will go to other...things...
>
> Makes perfect business sense to me.

But terrestrial tv using analogue transmitters is being phased out. I heard that by 2010 if you want to watch TV, it's going to have to be digital. Promoting digital tv, especially from the BBC, does make perfect business sense. :D

That makes you the awkward exception then.

Curb Your Enthusiasm used to be on BBC3. It should be on BBC2, but it's on E4 for some reason.

Um, I watch BBC3 and 4 quite a lot.

Sorry...

It just seems like a pretty cunning ploy to promote digital broadcasting. Oh, did I mention that the BBC own most of the digital broadcasting stations around the UK? Ahh, so now we have a bigger picture! All they need to do is take the one or two shows that do get regular audiences, and transfer them to BBC2. That way the shows will get higher viewing figures, and the cost of running 2 extra channels will go to other...things...

Makes perfect business sense to me.

monkey_man wrote:
> Pandaemonium wrote:
> I thought they were free channels?
> If so how can they be "poor value" :P
>
> I'm not a freeview or satellite subscriber, so apologies if I
> don't know what I'm talking about
>
> Well the money to fund them comes from TV license fee payers, so if
> they don't provide a certain amount of qualiy shows then I guess that
> makes them poor value. Plus, why would any corporation with any
> business sense continue to broadcast channels that attract hardly any
> viewers?

Getcha. Hmmm, I remember that when Channel 4 first broadcast it was poor. Sky was appalling in it's early months. Rerun after rerun and nothing else. Huge amounts of advertising (more so than now) too.

Channel 5 is still pretty poor.

I guess it's all about finding a niche for the channels.

Pandaemonium wrote:
> I thought they were free channels?
> If so how can they be "poor value" :P
>
> I'm not a freeview or satellite subscriber, so apologies if I
> don't know what I'm talking about

Well the money to fund them comes from TV license fee payers, so if they don't provide a certain amount of qualiy shows then I guess that makes them poor value. Plus, why would any corporation with any business sense continue to broadcast channels that attract hardly any viewers?

I dont even have a working tv at the moment but the only thing i've liked from those two was Re:Covered, can't think of anything else worth bothering with.

I thought they were free channels?
If so how can they be "poor value" :P

I'm not a freeview or satellite subscriber, so apologies if I don't know what I'm talking about