Surely it's a question of going back to basics - why does the BBC exist?
It wouldn't be sensible to attempt to draw up a complete ranking list of the most important programme genres but if anything comes first it has to be major national events - whether sporting, political, royal, historical or cultural.
If you asked the BBC, or the politicians (of any main party) who grant the BBC its Charter what the single most important thing that the BBC does then I am sure they would all say major national events.
The only question then is whether the Commonwealth Games is a major national event - and I would say that, when staged in the UK, it clearly is.
So, because of the above, it goes on BBC1.
That's not to say Eastenders isn't an important programme - it certainly is, it's one of the BBC's very most popular programmes. But it isn't why the BBC exists. And so, in this situation, it has to be relegated to BBC2.
There is another, practical, problem. If Eastenders was on BBC1 and the schedule was:
7pm - CG
8pm - EE
8.30pm - CG
10pm - News
The above would be very messy with a live event, very possibly at key moments, being interrupted twice within 30 minutes plus the need for "goodbye" and "welcome" links which would be extremely disruptive and not realistically acceptable.
Intrigued to know from those who say that the Commonwealth Games shouldn't be on BBC One during the evening, what you'd decide to show instead.
It's the end of July, the weather is hot and sunny, the evenings are long. It's all the ingredients of embarrassingly low ratings. The Commonwealth Games are saving BBC1 from that.
So would you fill the schedules up with repeats? New Tricks? Death in Paradise? Traffic Cops? Would you start Tumble tonight and Bake Off on Wednesday, giving them the worst possible chance for success? Would you cancel The One Show's summer break or fill the 7pm slot with daytime repeats?
Would love to hear your suggestions for a better schedule!
Intrigued to know from those who say that the Commonwealth Games shouldn't be on BBC One during the evening, what you'd decide to show instead.
It's the end of July, the weather is hot and sunny, the evenings are long. It's all the ingredients of embarrassingly low ratings. The Commonwealth Games are saving BBC1 from that.
So would you fill the schedules up with repeats? New Tricks? Death in Paradise? Traffic Cops? Would you start Tumble tonight and Bake Off on Wednesday, giving them the worst possible chance for success? Would you cancel The One Show's summer break or fill the 7pm slot with daytime repeats?
Would love to hear your suggestions for a better schedule!
While what you say is generally true it is also true that the BBC1 share yesterday was below last Fridays so its hardly a resounding success either.
well above the average, bbc2 only hits 4 million when its shows 'line of duty.'
when you look at the figure's in a sensible way, see that ee is on 2, the hot weather, it's friday and corrie is only in the 5's, almost hitting 4 isn't that bad and certainly not as bad as some on here would like us to believe!
i personally think aunty is right to show case the games on bbc1 through primetime, it is what the beeb is here for, public service broadcasting, its not all about ratings, its providing something the other channels are not doing. it is only fitting with the games coming from the united kingdom that they are showcased on the most watched channel in the country. i do agree its a shame the figures are not higher for the games.
as for those who think ee should not be shown and taken off until the games are over, i say NO WAY! i also commend ee for showing some excellent episodes and not just using filler material for the summer. for those that have missed this weeks excellent episodes 's, hard cheddar!!!!!!! ;-)
While what you say is generally true it is also true that the BBC1 share yesterday was below last Fridays so its hardly a resounding success either.
Yes, Wednesday and Thursday were up on the previous week, Friday was down. But last Friday had the Celebrity Masterchef final for 90 minutes, which wasn't an option yesterday.
Surely it's a question of going back to basics - why does the BBC exist?
It wouldn't be sensible to attempt to draw up a complete ranking list of the most important programme genres but if anything comes first it has to be major national events - whether sporting, political, royal, historical or cultural.
If you asked the BBC, or the politicians (of any main party) who grant the BBC its Charter what the single most important thing that the BBC does then I am sure they would all say major national events.
The only question then is whether the Commonwealth Games is a major national event - and I would say that, when staged in the UK, it clearly is.
So, because of the above, it goes on BBC1.
That's not to say Eastenders isn't an important programme - it certainly is, it's one of the BBC's very most popular programmes. But it isn't why the BBC exists. And so, in this situation, it has to be relegated to BBC2.
There is another, practical, problem. If Eastenders was on BBC1 and the schedule was:
7pm - CG
8pm - EE
8.30pm - CG
10pm - News
The above would be very messy with a live event, very possibly at key moments, being interrupted twice within 30 minutes plus the need for "goodbye" and "welcome" links which would be extremely disruptive and not realistically acceptable.
Intrigued to know from those who say that the Commonwealth Games shouldn't be on BBC One during the evening, what you'd decide to show instead.
It's the end of July, the weather is hot and sunny, the evenings are long. It's all the ingredients of embarrassingly low ratings. The Commonwealth Games are saving BBC1 from that.
So would you fill the schedules up with repeats? Would you start Tumble tonight and Bake Off on Wednesday? Would you cancel The One Show's summer break?
Would love to hear your suggestions for a better schedule!
I'm certainly not saying they shouldn't be on BBC One in the evenings at all, but EastEnders should have remained in its regular slots on BBC One. When BBC Two is beating BBC One, that's all the evidence you need to see the move to BBC Two was a mistake.
There's no problem with coverage switching from BBC One to BBC Two for EastEnders. It's no different to all the switches for the News and Lottery and F1 highlights. There's no need to delay any of the switches. either. The BBC has decades of experience with switching coverage from one channel to the other. They're already doing it with the games, and they did it with The Open last weekend. They're perfectly capable of getting BBC Two ready 15 or 30 seconds before BBC One moves away.
As for what form the schedule should have taken:
Thursday.
BBC One.
7.00 Games
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Games
10.00 News
BBC Two.
7.00 RHS Flower Show
7.30 Games
8.00 Natural World
9.00 Honourable Woman
10.00 Games
Friday.
BBC One.
7.00 Games
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Games
10.00 News
BBC Two
7.00 Flog It
7.30 RHS Flower Show
8.00 Games
8.30 Gardeners' World
9.00 Documentary
10.00 Games
That's the best way of doing it to work within the confines of the programming they'd budgeted for on those two nights.
As for the BBC's charter, considering plenty of politicians want to stop the BBC bidding for sports rights full stop, I don't think its renewal will be threatened by half an hour of doggy paddle moving to BBC Two.
Some very strong drama there this Autumn both on ITV and BBC and I for one cannot wait. It will be nice to forget this awful Summer full of rpt's and sports.
Most looking forward to BIB.
I haven't seen the trailer yet but I agree, it is refreshing to see such great effort by our two big channels this Autumn. At long last we could be heading for a truly vintage and competitive Autumn. That hasn't happened for a long time.
Intrigued to know from those who say that the Commonwealth Games shouldn't be on BBC One during the evening, what you'd decide to show instead.
It's the end of July, the weather is hot and sunny, the evenings are long. It's all the ingredients of embarrassingly low ratings. The Commonwealth Games are saving BBC1 from that.
So would you fill the schedules up with repeats? New Tricks? Death in Paradise? Traffic Cops? Would you start Tumble tonight and Bake Off on Wednesday, giving them the worst possible chance for success? Would you cancel The One Show's summer break or fill the 7pm slot with daytime repeats?
Would love to hear your suggestions for a better schedule!
BBC1 Mon- Fri
9.am - 1pm Regular Daytime
(Commonwealth Games on BBC2 from 9am - 1.45)
1.45pm - 6pm Commonwealth Games
(BBC2 schedule as is published.)
Mon
7.00pm Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials (New Series)
7.30 Fake Britain or Similar
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Panorama
9.00 The Best of Britain's Bake Off (2 part series highlighting the best bits of the popular baking show)
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
(Commonwealth Games on BBC2 from 6pm - 10.40pm)
Tue
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Holby City
9.00 In the Club
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Wed
7.00 The Great British Summer (New Series)
8.00 Film:
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Thur
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Tiger Around The House (rpt)
9.00 Traffic Cops
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Fri
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 A Question of Sport
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Inspector George Gently (rpt)
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
The BBC exists because the public say so. And also because they pay for it.
Any statement towards the public that "we're doing it this way because we say so" has never been known to convince.
The BBC exists to do the sort of things commercial television can't. Would ITV ditch Emmerdale to show judo, somehow I think not? Would the modern Channel 4 show The Proms, again not commercially viable for them? This is why the BBC exists and judging by the last ten years, it is far more popular than its rivals. Yes they show too many cheap quizzes, antiques and property shows, but this is balanced out by generally excellent coverage of listed sports evens.
7.00pm Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials (New Series)
7.30 Fake Britain or Similar
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Panorama
9.00 The Best of Britain's Bake Off (2 part series highlighting the best bits of the popular baking show)
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
(Commonwealth Games on BBC2 from 6pm - 10.40pm)
Tue
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Holby City
9.00 In the Club
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Wed
7.00 The Great British Summer (New Series)
8.00 Film:
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Thur
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Tiger Around The House (rpt)
9.00 Traffic Cops
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Fri
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 A Question of Sport
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Inspector George Gently (rpt)
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Repeats of Inspector George Gently, a film, Traffic Cops and a British Bake Off best bits show over a UK based Commonwealth Games? Yes, public service broadcasting at its finest!
I'm certainly not saying they shouldn't be on BBC One in the evenings at all, but EastEnders should have remained in its regular slots on BBC One. When BBC Two is beating BBC One, that's all the evidence you need to see the move to BBC Two was a mistake.
There's no problem with coverage switching from BBC One to BBC Two for EastEnders. It's no different to all the switches for the News and Lottery and F1 highlights. There's no need to delay any of the switches. either. The BBC has decades of experience with switching coverage from one channel to the other. They're already doing it with the games, and they did it with The Open last weekend. They're perfectly capable of getting BBC Two ready 15 or 30 seconds before BBC One moves away.
My brother, a sports fan and Commonwealth Games viewer, angrily complained to me that the BBC missed a live event yesterday because they were switching from BBC1 to BBC2 for the news, so that's that argument up the spout.
The News has been kept on BBC1 because there's no English regional facility on BBC2. And because it's the News. News and major sports event on BBC1. Old, tired soap opera on BBC2. Seems fair to me.;-)
The lottery isn't on until after the Games finish for the day and is only on for 10 minutes.
The scheduling of the F1 is bizarre as it pushes the 5,000m final, which was suppose to feature Mo Farah, onto BBC2. The last F1 highlights show was on BBC2 so I don't know why tomorrow's isn't too.
EE fans, the decision has been made and it's only for a week and a half in the middle of a hot, hot summer when it's too hot to watch television anyway. Relax.:)
My brother, a sports fan and Commonwealth Games viewer, angrily complained to me that the BBC missed a live event yesterday because they were switching from BBC1 to BBC2 for the news, so that's that argument up the spout.
Indeed. Jason Kenny was about to go for gold. They gave it the big build-up, then switched to BBC Two for the News at 6. The live action was missed and was shown on delay on BBC Two. I think the news could've been delayed for 5 minutes or so without an issue.
Indeed. Jason Kenny was about to go for gold. They gave it the big build-up, then switched to BBC Two for the News at 6. The live action was missed and was shown on delay on BBC Two. I think the news could've been delayed for 5 minutes or so without an issue.
Oh there would have been an outcry, of that there would have been no doubt. Sport taking precedence over the news?
But that does indeed highlight why splitting over two channels is not an option, and I would have thought that people here would have realised that - after all the BBC have fallen foul of this on a number of occasions before, and have received much criticism for it on DS.
I'm certainly not saying they shouldn't be on BBC One in the evenings at all, but EastEnders should have remained in its regular slots on BBC One. When BBC Two is beating BBC One, that's all the evidence you need to see the move to BBC Two was a mistake.
There's no problem with coverage switching from BBC One to BBC Two for EastEnders. It's no different to all the switches for the News and Lottery and F1 highlights. There's no need to delay any of the switches. either. The BBC has decades of experience with switching coverage from one channel to the other. They're already doing it with the games, and they did it with The Open last weekend. They're perfectly capable of getting BBC Two ready 15 or 30 seconds before BBC One moves away.
As for what form the schedule should have taken:
Thursday.
BBC One.
7.00 Games
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Games
10.00 News
BBC Two.
7.00 RHS Flower Show
7.30 Games
8.00 Natural World
9.00 Honourable Woman
10.00 Games
Friday.
BBC One.
7.00 Games
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Games
10.00 News
BBC Two
7.00 Flog It
7.30 RHS Flower Show
8.00 Games
8.30 Gardeners' World
9.00 Documentary
10.00 Games
That's the best way of doing it to work within the confines of the programming they'd budgeted for on those two nights.
As for the BBC's charter, considering plenty of politicians want to stop the BBC bidding for sports rights full stop, I don't think its renewal will be threatened by half an hour of doggy paddle moving to BBC Two.
The 9am to 1pm block is dragging down BBC One, too. Look at the low share.
But we would have had a 'guess when' scenario where EastEnders would be pushed back or moved on an ad hoc basis depending what was happening with the Games at 7.30pm/8pm - very much like Wimbledon. That would be arguably more harmful that keeping it to it's normal slots but on BBC Two.
Repeats of Inspector George Gently, a film, Traffic Cops and a British Bake Off best bits show over a UK based Commonwealth Games? Yes, public service broadcasting at its finest!
The Games would be shown - on BBC2. At the same time EE, the BBC's flagship soap that is used to highlight, enhance and promote the primetime period is protected whilst at the same time giving BBC2 a boost and offering a varied schedule. So, the PBS argument is invalid. Without a strong EE on BBC1 all year round, the overall schedule can be weakened. EE is not yet in a strong enough position to be shunted over to BBC2. It needs protection.
Oh there would have been an outcry, of that there would have been no doubt. Sport taking precedence over the news?
It would've literally been no more than a 5 minute delay. And because the Commonwealth Games are on after the news, the schedule would've remained intact apart from that. We've seen the news shunted to BBC Two for Tennis so I don't see why we couldn't have had a slight delay.
The Games would be shown - on BBC2. At the same time EE, the BBC's flagship soap that is used to highlight, enhance and promote the primetime period is protected whilst at the same time giving BBC2 a boost and offering a varied schedule. So, the PBS argument is invalid. Without a strong EE on BBC1 all year round, the overall schedule can be weakened. EE is not yet in a strong enough position to be shunted over to BBC2. It needs protection.
But it feels that the sole argument for the Commonwealth Games to be aired on BBC Two is so EastEnders can be on BBC One. People are seemingly happy with a schedule full of cheap factual and repeats just so EastEnders can be on the channel. The whole network does not and should not revolve around EastEnders; it's about the schedule as a whole.
By airing the Games on BBC One, the BBC are allowing BBC Two to go forward with a relatively new look schedule. If the Games had to been on BBC Two I highly doubt BBC One would have promoted a new look schedule at this time of the year.
Though by cutting to the news just now, BBC One has missed out on a Home Nation medal race in the cycling. Oops.
Yes, Wednesday and Thursday were up on the previous week, Friday was down. But last Friday had the Celebrity Masterchef final for 90 minutes, which wasn't an option yesterday.
Ronant, do you have the shares for the main five channels (all-day and peaktime) for yesterday and last Friday please? Ta.
I agree with the opinion that the BBC made the right decision to show blanket coverage of the Games. I don't see why it's such a big deal that EastEnders was moved to BBC Two. It's irrelevant these days as people will catch up on iPlayer or BBC 3 if they missed it and with the weather being as nice as it is, I doubt it would have got many viewers right now if it was shown on BBC One anyway.
It's why I don't get the outrage over soap clashes either. People will watch Emmerdale or EastEnders first and then catch up with the other one later via ITV Player/ BBC iPlayer or by recording it. In this modern age, there should be no anger over soap clashes as the linear TV schedule doesn't dictate our lives anymore.
It would've literally been no more than a 5 minute delay. And because the Commonwealth Games are on after the news, the schedule would've remained intact apart from that. We've seen the news shunted to BBC Two for Tennis so I don't see why we couldn't have had a slight delay.
No, it would have caused an outcry - you only have to look at some of the threads on DS to realise that (where sport & entertainment items should never trump news bulletins). And I bet there would have been complaints to Newswatch on the BBC News channel.
Comments
Excellent post.:)
It's the end of July, the weather is hot and sunny, the evenings are long. It's all the ingredients of embarrassingly low ratings. The Commonwealth Games are saving BBC1 from that.
So would you fill the schedules up with repeats? New Tricks? Death in Paradise? Traffic Cops? Would you start Tumble tonight and Bake Off on Wednesday, giving them the worst possible chance for success? Would you cancel The One Show's summer break or fill the 7pm slot with daytime repeats?
Would love to hear your suggestions for a better schedule!
I didn't quite mean it like that.
The BBC exists because the public say so. And also because they pay for it.
Any statement towards the public that "we're doing it this way because we say so" has never been known to convince.
While what you say is generally true it is also true that the BBC1 share yesterday was below last Fridays so its hardly a resounding success either.
So not great for the other two soaps epecially Corris second episode. And they had the advantage of being on at the right time and place.
Yes, Wednesday and Thursday were up on the previous week, Friday was down. But last Friday had the Celebrity Masterchef final for 90 minutes, which wasn't an option yesterday.
There's no problem with coverage switching from BBC One to BBC Two for EastEnders. It's no different to all the switches for the News and Lottery and F1 highlights. There's no need to delay any of the switches. either. The BBC has decades of experience with switching coverage from one channel to the other. They're already doing it with the games, and they did it with The Open last weekend. They're perfectly capable of getting BBC Two ready 15 or 30 seconds before BBC One moves away.
As for what form the schedule should have taken:
Thursday.
BBC One.
7.00 Games
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Games
10.00 News
BBC Two.
7.00 RHS Flower Show
7.30 Games
8.00 Natural World
9.00 Honourable Woman
10.00 Games
Friday.
BBC One.
7.00 Games
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Games
10.00 News
BBC Two
7.00 Flog It
7.30 RHS Flower Show
8.00 Games
8.30 Gardeners' World
9.00 Documentary
10.00 Games
That's the best way of doing it to work within the confines of the programming they'd budgeted for on those two nights.
As for the BBC's charter, considering plenty of politicians want to stop the BBC bidding for sports rights full stop, I don't think its renewal will be threatened by half an hour of doggy paddle moving to BBC Two.
The 9am to 1pm block is dragging down BBC One, too. Look at the low share.
I haven't seen the trailer yet but I agree, it is refreshing to see such great effort by our two big channels this Autumn. At long last we could be heading for a truly vintage and competitive Autumn. That hasn't happened for a long time.
BBC1 Mon- Fri
9.am - 1pm Regular Daytime
(Commonwealth Games on BBC2 from 9am - 1.45)
1.45pm - 6pm Commonwealth Games
(BBC2 schedule as is published.)
Mon
7.00pm Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials (New Series)
7.30 Fake Britain or Similar
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Panorama
9.00 The Best of Britain's Bake Off (2 part series highlighting the best bits of the popular baking show)
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
(Commonwealth Games on BBC2 from 6pm - 10.40pm)
Tue
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Holby City
9.00 In the Club
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Wed
7.00 The Great British Summer (New Series)
8.00 Film:
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Thur
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Tiger Around The House (rpt)
9.00 Traffic Cops
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
Fri
7.00 Celebrity Mastermind Summer Specials
7.30 A Question of Sport
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Inspector George Gently (rpt)
10.00 BBC News
10.40 Tonight at the Games
The BBC exists to do the sort of things commercial television can't. Would ITV ditch Emmerdale to show judo, somehow I think not? Would the modern Channel 4 show The Proms, again not commercially viable for them? This is why the BBC exists and judging by the last ten years, it is far more popular than its rivals. Yes they show too many cheap quizzes, antiques and property shows, but this is balanced out by generally excellent coverage of listed sports evens.
Repeats of Inspector George Gently, a film, Traffic Cops and a British Bake Off best bits show over a UK based Commonwealth Games? Yes, public service broadcasting at its finest!
My brother, a sports fan and Commonwealth Games viewer, angrily complained to me that the BBC missed a live event yesterday because they were switching from BBC1 to BBC2 for the news, so that's that argument up the spout.
The News has been kept on BBC1 because there's no English regional facility on BBC2. And because it's the News. News and major sports event on BBC1. Old, tired soap opera on BBC2. Seems fair to me.;-)
The lottery isn't on until after the Games finish for the day and is only on for 10 minutes.
The scheduling of the F1 is bizarre as it pushes the 5,000m final, which was suppose to feature Mo Farah, onto BBC2. The last F1 highlights show was on BBC2 so I don't know why tomorrow's isn't too.
EE fans, the decision has been made and it's only for a week and a half in the middle of a hot, hot summer when it's too hot to watch television anyway. Relax.:)
Indeed. Jason Kenny was about to go for gold. They gave it the big build-up, then switched to BBC Two for the News at 6. The live action was missed and was shown on delay on BBC Two. I think the news could've been delayed for 5 minutes or so without an issue.
But that does indeed highlight why splitting over two channels is not an option, and I would have thought that people here would have realised that - after all the BBC have fallen foul of this on a number of occasions before, and have received much criticism for it on DS.
But we would have had a 'guess when' scenario where EastEnders would be pushed back or moved on an ad hoc basis depending what was happening with the Games at 7.30pm/8pm - very much like Wimbledon. That would be arguably more harmful that keeping it to it's normal slots but on BBC Two.
The Games would be shown - on BBC2. At the same time EE, the BBC's flagship soap that is used to highlight, enhance and promote the primetime period is protected whilst at the same time giving BBC2 a boost and offering a varied schedule. So, the PBS argument is invalid. Without a strong EE on BBC1 all year round, the overall schedule can be weakened. EE is not yet in a strong enough position to be shunted over to BBC2. It needs protection.
It would've literally been no more than a 5 minute delay. And because the Commonwealth Games are on after the news, the schedule would've remained intact apart from that. We've seen the news shunted to BBC Two for Tennis so I don't see why we couldn't have had a slight delay.
But it feels that the sole argument for the Commonwealth Games to be aired on BBC Two is so EastEnders can be on BBC One. People are seemingly happy with a schedule full of cheap factual and repeats just so EastEnders can be on the channel. The whole network does not and should not revolve around EastEnders; it's about the schedule as a whole.
By airing the Games on BBC One, the BBC are allowing BBC Two to go forward with a relatively new look schedule. If the Games had to been on BBC Two I highly doubt BBC One would have promoted a new look schedule at this time of the year.
Though by cutting to the news just now, BBC One has missed out on a Home Nation medal race in the cycling. Oops.
Ronant, do you have the shares for the main five channels (all-day and peaktime) for yesterday and last Friday please? Ta.
It's why I don't get the outrage over soap clashes either. People will watch Emmerdale or EastEnders first and then catch up with the other one later via ITV Player/ BBC iPlayer or by recording it. In this modern age, there should be no anger over soap clashes as the linear TV schedule doesn't dictate our lives anymore.