Worrying news given John Whittingdale's views on BBC.......

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-wars-ITV.html

Please ... no responses from people who think "Daily Fail" is the wittiest comment they've ever heard!

Complete idiocy from the culture secretary (no surprise). Aren't the Tories all about competition or does not apply to the BBC?

Get ready for the future Strictly Slot 2am Monday Morning on BBC4

Exactly!

And when this "anti-BBC" drive was initiated, Whittingdale seemed very pro Strictly.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33584893 and

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...n-whittingdale

Other papers - on the left - now reporting this....

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/b...ancing-7871890

Jeez.... the future of TV looks bleak if this comes to pass!

Surely one of these online petitions is called for!!!

I searched for a petition online and found it here - I doubt it'll make an impact but not much else can be done.

OK - I've just started a petition on change.org

(Yes, I know that there are more serious issues in the world!!!!)

https://www.change.org/p/john-whitti...t_created=true

I think if you cut & paste that link it will take you there... it needs 5 people to sign it before it actually appears on the site!

C'mon !!!

You can definitely access the petition if you go via my Twitter account...

@ScarlottiUK

I'd be happier if the individual BBC channels didn't keep competing with each other. The best programmes on BBC1, 2 an 4, always go out at 9.00pm. What's the sense in that?

The cheek of Whittingdale trying to tell the BBC when to put on it's programmes . The Conservatives may criticise the BBC but it's none of their business to get involved with programming .

So anytime a successful BBC programme clashes with a programme from a commercial channel it must be changed in favour of the commercial outfit . What utter nonsense .

What does he want the BBC to show at that time then?

Pointless Celebrities followed by Casualty. Count me out

yep ridiculous

Strictly is a family show and should occupy the prime time TV slot that is convenient for all, not some late night or late afternoon weekend slot. Screening it in the week would pitch it against the ITV soaps. So there doesn't really seem to be a more suitable slot in my view.

Where would ITV's Saturday night competition come from?

I can't see Strictly being moved from a Saturday although it could be aired earlier (from 6 as it sometimes is) and become a shorter show I suppose. 'Do your shopping early'.

I have mixed feelings about the license fee for many reasons but my favourite entertainment shows are Strictly and Bake Off and I'd be sorry to see either affected by the Government's BBC Charter.

From the Guardian:

BBC source said: “The BBC doesn’t aggressively schedule, but we do show programmes at the times people want to watch them.

“Research has shown that an element of competition drives up quality across the industry and the public would be deeply concerned if the BBC’s ability to show programmes such as Strictly, Doctor Who, and Sherlock at the times convenient to them were taken away. It would be odd to make it harder for people to find and watch the programmes they have already paid for.”


http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...mes?CMP=twt_gu


BIB. Well. Quite.

The Government wants the BBC to do it's job with one hand tied behind it's back. It's like the NHS - undermine it at every opportunity and, in time, it will cease to be fit for purpose and 'need' to be privatised.

Simon Cowell must be paying JW. Simply RIDICULOUS!!!!

Apparently, the Government has denied that any such things will be in the White Paper. This was also reported on BBC Breakfast this morning.

I don't see Rupert Murdoch complaining about the BBC taking viewers off SKY.

But then Murdoch was involved in LWT / ITV many years ago - so he actualy knows what he is doing

Current ITV executives just believe their programmes are the best as they have paid Cowell or some ex BBC presenters a fortune.

Are the BBC supposed to stop showing Breakfast because it has over double the ratings of GMB ??

If ITV want to start getting decent ratings again, then they need to start making decent programmes again. Even if the Beeb Strictly stuck on at 3am on a Sunday morning and showed the test card instead, it wouldn't stop the terminal decline of the X Factor.

Simon Cowell is just a spoiled narcissist whos too used to getting his own way, and is surrounded by too many Yes people who don't have the guts to stand up to him.

The best programs are too good for the kids. It's probably the watershed.

What is considered to be "best" is of course highly subjective.

Reminds me of the right wing government in the Netherlands that wants a ban on entertainment programmes - not a public task in their opinion - on the three public channels. They had to water down the proposal a bit because they don't have a majority in the First Chamber (similar to the House of Lords), but they keep trying to muzzle the public broadcasters. Their ultimate goal is to get rid of the public channels and I think they will succeed.
Lucky for you the BBC seems in a better position to fight these attacks than the fractioned Dutch Public Broadcasting System.

BBC and ITV used to work together over the shows to avoid clashes in the past - why can't they revert to the old cooperation ??? seems sensible for BBC to go slightly earlier and ITV slightly later (15 mins each) and the problem would be solved

It was probably easier to co-operate when there were just two main channels. Nowadays both BBC and ITV have to schedule across a number of their own channels. Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky, etc, would all complain if BBC1 deliberately scheduled to help ITV or any one other broadcaster.

Don't worry folks, this story was just a load of scaremongering rubbish as I guessed .
Any Government cannot interfere with the scheduling of programmes on the BBC or any other tv station .


However a Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson rejected the reports, saying: “The Government will be setting out its plan on the BBC Charter in a White Paper in May.

]"The Secretary of State has made it clear on a number of occasions that the government cannot, and indeed should not, determine either the content or scheduling of programmes

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk...ved-prime-time

Absolutely, having SCD on at the same time as Xfactor has nothing to do with the decline of it's ratings . Viewers are just bored of Cowell and all his fakeness .
I've tried to watch these talent shows but Cowell and his lackeys of so called judges make it impossible .