Comments on: Report From London: Scheduling

By: Christine Becker

Christine Becker — Sat, 28 May 2011 08:18:23 +0000

And about the channel demo targeting issue, it is quite strong here, from the terrestrial channels which operate under mandates (BBC3’s remit tells them to target youth audiences, while E4 is Channel 4’s version of the same) to the digital and satellite channels that are trying to carve out competitive space. For instance, the channel called Dave is called Dave because they’re trying to target young men with comedy programming, and they thought the name would connote a funny buddy named Dave (“everyone knows a bloke called Dave” the initial publicity said).

By: Christine Becker

Christine Becker — Sat, 28 May 2011 08:10:22 +0000

I definitely think you’re right, Nora. In fact, my post for tomorrow focuses on the prominence of documentary programming in primetime, which simply doesn’t exist on the US networks. The public service mandate has a lot to do with that, and part of the BBC’s founding ideology involved the idea of not playing down to audiences (as was assumed commercial TV did) but instead providing programming that pushed them up toward greater intellectual heights. There’s inevitably an elitist, patronizing and paternalistic element to that, so it’s not always a great thing in practice. But in the sense that it results in a wide variety of often challenging programming, it has many upsides, especially compared to commercial alternatives.

In one of these posts I hope to also get to the differing decency regulations in each system, explaining what’s behind all the swearing. 🙂

Chris

By: Eleanor Seitz

Eleanor Seitz — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:55:14 +0000

Great post! I will note, that I put my two cents in on In Media Res discussions for the continued relevance of season finales :). Anyway, my gran lives outside London, and when I visit her, I am often addicted to the TV because it is so different, from US television(is foreign to “othering?). The scheduling, the swearing, the 22-minute commercial free Simpsons episodes on BBC. I guess I didn’t pick up that the various BBC channels had different demos, among other programming info in your post – especially re: digital plus one and other channels beyond the four or five that come with basic reception. So please keep your reports coming! It is my somewhat unsophisticated observation that British TV seems to expect more from viewers – such as the ability to tune at different times, or the disposition to handle more shocking or adult themes in the evening, what do you think?

By: Christine Becker

Christine Becker — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:27:36 +0000

Forgot to add: yes, TiVo is a fab invention, but it was first introduced in 1999, thus is outside the “past decade” (meaning previous ten years) designation. 🙂

By: Christine Becker

Christine Becker — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:41:38 +0000

Thanks for the clarification! It is important to recognize how heavily the license fee context affects every aspect of the BBC’s operations.

By: The Chutry Experiment » Sunday Links

The Chutry Experiment » Sunday Links — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:28:55 +0000

[…] is also writing about her media experiences in London. In one of her first reports, she discusses differences between U.S. and British television […]

By: June

June — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:00:46 +0000

You’re right about the gentleman’s agreement not to compete too directly–at least among the big four channels–but it’s not just English niceness. Remember, the BBC is paid for by license fees that everyone with a TV must pay. It’s not a commercial head-to-head ratings war for ad revenue, so the BBC can’t be seen to go for rival channels’ jugulars.

(Surely the best invention is TiVo and other less fabulous DVRs.)