BBC Three/Scotland/R4X to close

[EEPhil]

BBC News - BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra broadcast channels to close

BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Radio 4 Extra channels to close

The closurse are announced as the corporation continues to try to save £500m over two years.

www.bbc.co.uk

Not sure where the savings are coming from if some of the programmes will be made and shown online. Radio 4 Extra, really? Cheapest to run. Enter programmes into a playlist on a computer and set it to play. Archive material that supposedly will still be available on BBC Sounds.

 

[Owen Smith]

I also fail to see where the savings are for axing any of these. The space on the multiplexes won't get re-sold, the BBC tried to do that last time when BBC Three was off air for 6 years and there were no takers.

 

[Black Hole]

Bugger.

 

[Owen Smith]

Bugger.

What are you losing? I can't remember the last time I used any of these three channels. I know the BBC is meant to cater to all audiences so just because I don't watch/listen doesn't mean they have no value, but what are we actually losing here? BBC Three is aimed at an age group that probably wouldn't be seen dead watching any linear TV channel, never mind the BBC.

 

[Black Hole]

Radio 4 Extra forms a significant part of my in-car radio listening. How dare you presume, just because you don't use them...

I also find things of interest on BBC THREE from time to time.

 

[RobH1]

Radio 4 Extra forms a significant part of my in-car radio listening.

My daughter's partner has just messaged me bemoaning the fact that his drive home from work and late night falling asleep to has been ruined.

 

[briang]

Radio 4 Extra is a big favourite of mine too. I'm struggling to see any meaningful cost savings in closing it.

 

[trog]

Even if I am a minority I will miss BBC3 and I am well into my 60's. Yes it has a lot of dross but it also airs some good older comedy series with the odd good movie and unlike many other channels it is HD.

 

[Owen Smith]

Radio 4 Extra is a big favourite of mine too. I'm struggling to see any meaningful cost savings in closing it.

I agree that since it's just a channel within a mux, and most of the content is repeats, how can it possibly cost much.

Perhaps this is an exercise in being seen to cut costs, while cutting the things the BBC thinks will be least missed. Note I did not say not missed at all.

 

[Owen Smith]

Radio 4 Extra forms a significant part of my in-car radio listening. How dare you presume, just because you don't use them...

I also find things of interest on BBC THREE from time to time.

Well if you'd said more than just "Bugger" in your first post we could have known that.

 

[EEPhil]

Perhaps this is an exercise in being seen to cut costs, while cutting the things the BBC thinks will be least missed.

I'm not sure how much will be saved. If some/all of the programming is still being made and shown on the iPlayer and R4X programmes will be available in some form on BBC Sounds then production cost savings are minimal. BBC Scotland's space is robbed from various national radio stations IIRC. So the radio stations will go back to full time - no saving. BBC Three timeshares with one of the children's channels - so not likely to be made available to a third party - increased peaktime bitrate on other BBC channels? No saving. Perhaps it's a way of pretending to save whilst pushing the ultimate goal of everything being online only. That worked so well when they last closed BBC Three they re-opened it only to close it. I get the impression that the people making the decisions think we're idiots.

 

[Black Hole]

If some/all of the programming is still being made and shown on the iPlayer and R4X programmes will be available in some form on BBC Sounds then production cost savings are minimal.

R4X is all archive material, so there are no creation costs, and a tiny curation cost. The benefit of R4X over BBC Sounds is I can't operate BBC Sounds from behind the steering wheel!

Well if you'd said more than just "Bugger" in your first post we could have known that.

...or you could have interpreted it as meaningful (rather than random) in the first place. I think it was succinct and sufficient.

 

[EEPhil]

.or you could have interpreted it as meaningful (rather than random) in the first place. I think it was succinct and sufficient.

Given your previous posts on converting radio recordings I naturally assumed "bugger" was aimed at Radio 4 Extra.

R4X is all archive material,

I've never been sure about parts of the "Comedy Club".

Plenty of comments on that BBC news page I referenced in #1. Many think the closing of Radio 4 Extra is the wrong choice and why not close the various R1 channels, R3 Unwind or the Asian Network instead?

 

[EEPhil]

Many think the closing of Radio 4 Extra is the wrong choice and why not close the various R1 channels, R3 Unwind or the Asian Network instead?

My wife plays rain sounds at night to help her sleep so a Humax fan would get lost in that!

The rain sounds on R3 Unwind really get on my nerves.

 

[prpr]

increased peaktime bitrate on other BBC channels?

Hell will freeze first. They'd rather transmit null packets.

it's a way of pretending to save whilst pushing the ultimate goal of everything being online only.

Yes. It's all a ruse, and half-truths (and that's being generous).

I get the impression that the people making the decisions think we're idiots.

Yep, that's how these managers think.

 

[Owen Smith]

Hell will freeze first. They'd rather transmit null packets.

Yes. It's all a ruse, and half-truths (and that's being generous).

Yep, that's how these managers think.

Sadly all very true. How did the BBC get into this terrible state?

 

[trog]

This is just the start, there will be more to come soon.

"Today’s announcement isn’t the end of the cuts, either. The new Director of BBC News, Rachel Jupp, will set out further savings early next year, and other divisions will confirm their plans “in the coming months”.

BBC Three Is Being Killed Off TV For The Second Time | Cord Busters

BBC Three is leaving TV again, along with BBC Scotland, as the BBC cuts £500m. Its shows move to iPlayer and YouTube - but will the BBC Three name survive?

www.cordbusters.co.uk

On a plus note its good to see that they are spending their money wisely

"Freely is getting 12 new channels from UKTV, and eight of them are each built around a single BBC favourite: EastEnders, Top Gear, Casualty, Holby City, Antiques Roadshow and more.
UKTV, the BBC-owned broadcaster behind U&Dave and U&DRAMA, announced the channels today."

Freely Gets 12 New Channels You Can’t Get On Freeview | Cord Busters

Freely is getting 12 new UKTV channels before the end of the year, including dedicated channels for EastEnders, Top Gear, Casualty and Holby City

www.cordbusters.co.uk

Edit ........ Maybe they will profit from the dross but if they do that should be reflected in the cost of the TV licence fee ................"All 12 are what the industry calls FAST channels, short for Free Ad-supported Streaming TV. They work like ordinary TV channels, with a schedule and advert breaks,"

 

[Owen Smith]

"Freely is getting 12 new channels from UKTV, and eight of them are each built around a single BBC favourite: EastEnders, Top Gear, Casualty, Holby City, Antiques Roadshow and more.
UKTV, the BBC-owned broadcaster behind U&Dave and U&DRAMA, announced the channels today."

What a complete and utter waste of time and money. That stuff is available on iPlayer catchup, it doesn't need its own channels.

 

[EEPhil]

If I understand it correctly, UKTV is owned by BBC Studios - the commercial arm of the BBC. No part of the licence fee is (supposed to be) used to operate that company. Some of the profits may be returned to the BBC. If the "complete and utter waste of time and money" (I agree) goes wrong the licence fee payer shouldn't be affected - although it might reduce any payments from BBC Studios to the BBC.

The more cr@p that is put on Freely the less appetising the service looks to me.

Today’s announcement isn’t the end of the cuts, either. The new Director of BBC News, Rachel Jupp, will set out further savings early next year,

How can they cut the news back even further?

 

[prpr]

That stuff is available on iPlayer catchup, it doesn't need its own channels.

It already has its own channels. That stuff is littered throughout the EPG as it is e.g. U&Drama, BBC Three.