Every parent with a pre-school child will be putting up barricades and chucking AnywayUpCup molotov cocktails.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/07/tony-hall-bbc-cuts-bbc4

I know the Tories want the BBC ground down to the World Service + a bit of bought in programming but, for me, it’s one of the institutions that makes me proud to be British and I can’t believe that it’s senior management are doing deals like this.

any self respecting 2yo spends its day pawing an ipad.

Odd that they should claim it is some of the most popular and loved services that will suffer the cuts, almost as if they were pedalling propaganda.

Not Mister Tummmmmmmmble!!!

Odd that they should claim it is some of the most popular and loved services that will suffer the cuts, almost as if they were pedalling propaganda.

Especially when he said:

“It is too early to be specific about the service changes that we will need to make”

They’re trying the 6 Music ploy again.

How do you think Mumsnet, which as we all know is the most powerful organisation in the country, going to react to this? Dave will be under a terrifying Bodum-bedecked, Waitrose-fuelled siege in no time.

All very clever

Typical tactic – casually mention popular channels – CBBC and BBC Four – as under threat to try to fuel public outrage against the cutbacks.

They’ll go nuclear soon and have CBeebies facing the axe.

I’m more concerned about the death of XFM London TBH. Which is confirmed 🙁

And I can’t see a huge earner like CBBC being axed.

Justin finally got scooped up in the scandal?

My kids get dawn til dusk cbbc for the half of the week that they’re at their mother’s..
They really don’t seem to miss it all when they’re at mine for the other half of the week..
If I really need to use the screen as a babysitter there is a lifetime of on demand content available online, and it can be tailored to suit..

Justin’s made more than enough to retire on now

My kids get dawn til dusk cbbc for the half of the week that they’re at their mother’s. They really don’t seem to miss it all when they’re at mine for the other half of the week

Too busy making Primark trainers to miss the telly?

They’re out tarmacking this week

Actually apart from a bit of heavy handed propaganda about the services which may suffer, his overview about the changing dynamics of media consumption is quite realistic.

Broadcast television is dying, although it is a slow death, the world is changing how it wants to view media and this is a very difficult time for the BBC in facing that as well as the attack of the tories. IMO they jumped on the wrong bandwagon over the past ten years by expanding the number of channels to compete with satellite and cable, and they have been wrongfooted by a quick move to the changes brought about by internet content. People are being more selective now, picking and choosing what they watch much more rather than just sitting down in front of a channel and letting it “dictate” their evening. They aren’t the only ones, to be caught out, but I think the expansion they pursued has affected them more, and has left them with far too much filler material that no one is interested in.

Difficult times for the BBC, I hope they get it right, but getting it wrong could be the end of them. IMO the first thing they need to do is sort out the iplayer front end, come up with something a bit more intuitive to find content that isn’t just based on what was broadcast this week.

Oh Jesus. Hyperventilating. Cool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark poolCool deep dark pool.

Where can you buy chloroform these days?

What will Philip & Gordon do now? 😥

CBBC on pretty much constantly in the background when our two were little. Both started school quite bright, articulate, socialised well etc.

Some of their friends who spent their formative years in front of cartoon channels and music channels…..less so.

That isn’t meant to sound as smug as it reads, but other (smug) parents have said the same. Needs to be saved.

About 15 years ago my wife taught some twins in reception who had American accents.

She asked their mother when they’d moved to the UK from the US.

Turned out she ran a business from home and had used Disney channel as 9-5 childcare for the first 4 years of their lives.

She was less embarrassed than she probably should have been…

Typical tactic – casually mention popular channels – CBBC and BBC Four – as under threat to try to fuel public outrage against the cutbacks.

Exactly how I read it. If CBBC goes, we’ll have zero use for the beeb.

why should she be embarrassed?

I’m sure between all the business shit the kids still had their mother at home for the first 4 years of their life, 4 years of breakfast/lunch/tea, 4 years of mum putting them to bed

tv doesn’t feed/dress them/wash them etc etc

I get all my natural history from The Octonauts – much more fun than watching Attenborough. Won’t miss work shy Postman Pat, mind.

Won’t miss work shy Postman Pat, mind.

http://hurrahforgin.com/2013/11/21/an-open-letter-to-postman-pat/

Sounds like a good idea to me. Can I add radio1 extra, radio4 extra and the asian network to the list of channels we dont need.

CBBC is not CBeebies

Can I add … radio4 extra … to the list of channels we dont need.

*goes postal*

If I really need to use the screen as a babysitter there is a lifetime of on demand content available online, and it can be tailored to suit..

Missed the point slightly there – if you need 10 minutes, then CBBC / CBeebies provide age appropriate content without having to spend 5 minutes looking it up or replaying the same old thing from favourites. On Demand will always be biased toward the selectors preference or prejudice if you want to be extreme.. being exposed to appropriate material that your parents might not have picked could be very important for development, much like reading a range of books.

If the BBC pulled its finger out and made its content globally available with an appropriate payment system they’d be absolutely rolling in it.

Equally whining about people accessing iPlayer via VPNs etc is pointless when they could have linked an iPlayer login to the license fee and stopped that in its tracks: people living abroad can pay a licence fee and get BBC content; and if I’m outside the UK I can watch British telly without needing to faff around with a VPN.

It’s bloody insane that you can pay nothing and access pretty much all the BBC content in the UK via iPlayer provided you don’t watch it live. And they wonder where the money’s going?

And don’t get me started on the waste of money that is Strictly Come Get Me Out Of Here On Ice etc.

I’d pay my licence fee just for BBC Radio.

if they touch either childrens channel there will be a baying mob

I don’t want to live in a world with no Horrible Histories in it! And my kids certainly won’t!

excellent point brassneck – another aspect of the schedule is that it’s very smart with timing appropriate to daytime little person routines

cbeebies starts at 6am
get ready get set go in the morning
a story at 12:30 (so they can have a lunchtime sleep afterwards)
In the Night Garden is a very clever bit of content specifically designed to have repeating patterns that encourage wind-down
bedtime story
cbeebies closes at 7pm – go to bed

AND NO ADVERTS AT ANY POINT

frankly the production values of the channel are a damn sight smarter than most

not really suprising as old Dave and Murdoch have probably thrashed out a deal to reduce investment in the BBC. TBH SKy have other problems with BT et al but I think they still bear a grudge ( check out the approach of destruction of their previous rivals).
Seeing that they want us to spend more money and tat, where better to inpregnate the minds of the next generation 🙂 than on childrens channels with an equal mix of programmes and adverts.

Its amazing that the bbc have more radio channels than tv channels which is also covered by the License fee. I think those that dont have a tv license still love their radio 4 and radio 2.

Where can you buy chloroform these days?

My mate let me try chloroform once. It made me really sleepy and gave me a REALLY sore arse.

😆

I get all my natural history from The Octonauts – much more fun than watching Attenborough. Won’t miss work shy Postman Pat, mind.

He knocks, rings, then puts the letters through the door anyway. That’s just **** obnoxious.

Agreed on Octonauts though – daughter knows much more about sea life than I do.

He knocks, rings

Our deaf postman always did that.

He never knew if the door bell had worked…

So axe this but keep rubbish like Eastenders on – not very public-service oriented I think.

So they can broadcast to North Korea http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bbc-director-tony-hall-plans-to-start-broadcasting-radio-in-north-korea-for-the-first-time-10489153.html

Yet the UK licence fee paying population lose ever more, might as well send all our tv sets to the immigrant camps at calais and be done with.

So axe this but keep rubbish like Eastenders on – not very public-service oriented I think.

I was in Europe last week, and had BBC Entertainment on the cable telly over there. The cream of BBC content beamed abroad included Eastenders and Doctors, surely two of the most pitiful long-running series in viewing history, alongside Last of the Summer Wine, The Weakest Link and the Omid Djalilli Show.

The lack of original content is staggering, even Casualty/Holby City are still hanging grimly on.

Anything that gets parents to actually spend time with their kids rather than dump them in front of the TV to suckle at the teat of consumerism has to be a good thing.
Plus if it gets Justin Fletcher aka Mr eff’ing Tumble off the TV then I’ll vote FOR CBeeBees to be chopped. TWUNT.

Anything that gets parents to actually spend time with their kids rather than dump them in front of the TV to suckle at the teat of consumerism has to be a good thing.

Have you ever watched CBBC? Stuff like Horrible Histories is absolutely brilliant! Its very educational. As is a lot of the output. Including drama that treats kids like they’ve got something between their ears. Its high quality stuff

Then have a look at the alternative. Its bloody awful! Its mainly thinly veiled adverts interspersed with actual adverts.

The kind of people who use the telly as a childminder will probably plonk the kids in front of the latter. I find my kids have certain programmes on CBBC they regard as unmissable, but the majority of the time they’re out and about doing stuff

BBC4 is what BBC2 used to be. As long as the quality content is maintained one channel could be cut without any pain.