I tend to agree. Watchdog skipping a week won't do it any harm. It's a show you can happily dip in and out of. I hardly think it's diehard fans will be up in arms.

I'll say this again about what I think the BBC should schedule:

Why doesn't the BBC stick to weekdays mainly and show their high profile stuff on M to F?
Doctor Who being shown at 8pm and Ashes to Ashes at 9pm on Monday would do very well.

Holby City at 8pm and Casualty at 9pm on Tuesdays.

Waterloo Road at 8pm and Masterchef (or Watchdog) at 9pm on Wednesday.

QI at 8pm, Life of Riley at 8:30pm, HIGNFY at 9pm and Outnumbered at 9:30pm on Thursday.

Outtake TV 8pm, Question of Sport 8:30pm, Traffic Cops (or Watchdog) 9pm on Friday.

Saturdays could be Wipeout at 7pm, Rainbow at 8pm, Live at the Apollo at 9:15pm.

Sundays can stay as Countryfile at 7pm, Antiques Roadshow at 8pm, Over the Rainbow at 9pm.

News at 6 to 7pm like usual but for all 7 days and Eastenders on at 7:30pm on M,T,T,F - don't give a damn about Corrie.

I personally can't see what the BBC gains from showing high profile programming on a weekend. It alienates viewers like me who won't start watching TV till 7/8pm and is out on a weekend, despite me being a DW fan.

The above schedule looks more appealing for me.

Yes, they are. This thread has been making me really these last few days. Get off their backs, moaners!



They might as well, we're coming into summer. According to too many people on this thread the BBC should only screen repeats at this time of the year otherwise the programmes miss out on megagiant ratings.

I assume ITV got a big boost.



Is it episode 18/18?
Why are they launching Outake Tv this week and then dropping it next week.

They won't show Dr Who 8-9pm. It's core audience is 8-12 year olds and that's too late.

18/18 is showing on the 16th. I was expecting Outtake TV to resume on the 23rd. Maybe they're keeping it for Saturdays at 5.30pm, in the summer.

Perhaps to take advantage of the absence of the 8.30 Corrie .


Edit: Oh, you've realised. Stop changing your post whilst I'm trying to reply to it.

I guess the new QI episodes have been rating well on Fridays, so that makes it tempting to show repeats. Although, I don't think there are many QI episodes they haven't already shown three times.

Ah! Good spot, Iain!

Thanks

I suppose they wanted something more mainstream in that slot with Corrie gone for the week.

Most QI programmes* are worth watching one hundered times.



*not last Friday's obviously. Please don't invite Johnny Vegas on again.

Why is BBC's own website saying QI for that slot?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s3bmr

Outtake TV episode 1/6 is on the 9th, QI compilation on 16th, QI repeat on 23rd.

Last of the Summer Wine has been delayed from April until late July/early August.

I think we can all agree Mr Dixon and the BBC scheduling team are hardly the most compotent people in the business but it has become a little tedious bashing every piece of scheduling.

Maybe we need an anti-BSI thread?

Huge week for Australian TV next week.

Seven's got all new Australia's Got Talent, The Zoo and launches its much promoted co-production with HBO, The Pacific.

Nine's got Underbelly: The Golden Mile and the much anticipated return of Hey Hey, It's Saturday.

Ten meanwhile have the series finale of The Biggest Loser: Couples ahead of MasterChef Australia's return the following week.

Its been recommissioned for 2 more years. [2x16]


Frank Skinners new BBC2 show Opinionated launches on the 23rd at 10pm

I guess Over the Rainbow and the like are dictated as much by West End schedules as BBC schedules.

Both for the next few weeks and the autumn the BBC is simply over scheduled on Saturday nights - and as I've hinted before the solution IMO is simple - move Casualty.

Now BBC seem to be moving their comedy to Thursdays, I'm sure it would thrive in a Friday 9pm slot (Euromillions at 9.50pm) rather than airing anytime from 8.10pm-9.30pm on a Saturday.


Scheduling with no regard for ITV, the Spring would run something like:

5.40pm Total Wipeout
6.40pm Doctor Who
7.25pm Over the Rainbow
8.40pm Lottery
9.30pm Live at the Apollo etc. (or Over the Rainbow results)
10.00pm BBC News
10.20pm Match of the Day
11.30pm Football League Show

Even without Casualty it's still over scheduled - to be fair it's role on a Saturday night is pretty much as a sacrificial lamb to the big ITV shows.

My post about Last of the Summer Wine's delay makes me think Over The Rainbow results fared a lot worse than the BBC expected on Sunday. I can't see any other reason why it's lost the 8.15pm slot before it's even been shown in it!

BGT at 8pm eases the strain on the BBC a little. Mind you, they're still clearly stuck between minimising the overlap and starting Doctor Who late enough.

The 6.15pm start on Sunday is an idiotic idea to be quite honest. They saw how it crashed and burned there last Sunday - why do it again?! They'd be best giving it a Countryfile lead-in (and at the same time avoiding the CF - Survival clash).

I do agree regarding the BSI overkill in general, though. Until today I'd been defending them!

Must be a first to be axed from a slot before it has even started!

Maybe I'm putting two and two together and getting five, but until Easter Monday, OTR was down for 8.15pm on Sunday 18th.

...and ITV now have 3 games that will rate badly...

And even more than that if this is some kind of omen for what's to come in the summer.

..........for the first time in seven years seemingly. Not their year.