Quote:BBC4 is at risk as the corporation scrambles to plug a £1.5 billion funding gap after the licence fee was frozen for two years.

Several BBC sources have said that the highbrow channel, which shows arts programmes and foreign dramas and was once home to comedy shows including The Thick Of It and Detectorists, cannot survive another round of cuts.

BBC4 has been under threat for years but instead of closing the channel and risking an audience backlash, the BBC has repositioned it as an archive service. Nearly 90 per cent of its schedule comprises repeats. “In a world where you’ve got to make tough choices, it has started to stick out like a sore thumb,” one BBC insider said. Another said: “I’m not sure how it will survive.”

Rex post_id=64962 time= user_id=1774 Wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc4-could-be-scrapped-to-save-cash-after-freezing-of-licence-fee-7pn7qwzjq

Quote:BBC4 is at risk as the corporation scrambles to plug a £1.5 billion funding gap after the licence fee was frozen for two years.

Several BBC sources have said that the highbrow channel, which shows arts programmes and foreign dramas and was once home to comedy shows including The Thick Of It and Detectorists, cannot survive another round of cuts.

BBC4 has been under threat for years but instead of closing the channel and risking an audience backlash, the BBC has repositioned it as an archive service. Nearly 90 per cent of its schedule comprises repeats. “In a world where you’ve got to make tough choices, it has started to stick out like a sore thumb,” one BBC insider said. Another said: “I’m not sure how it will survive.”

It would be a shame to see BBC Four go but it's been completely neutered with a lower budget, the fact that its original programmes have all gone to BBC Two, and BBC Three taking back overflow programming that Four used to air

thomalex post_id=64966 time= user_id=1745 Wrote:Given BBC Four is now mainly archive content how much is it really costing to run?

BBCMeridian post_id=64964 time= user_id=2083 Wrote:

Rex post_id=64962 time= user_id=1774 Wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc4-could-be-scrapped-to-save-cash-after-freezing-of-licence-fee-7pn7qwzjq

Quote:BBC4 is at risk as the corporation scrambles to plug a £1.5 billion funding gap after the licence fee was frozen for two years.

Several BBC sources have said that the highbrow channel, which shows arts programmes and foreign dramas and was once home to comedy shows including The Thick Of It and Detectorists, cannot survive another round of cuts.

BBC4 has been under threat for years but instead of closing the channel and risking an audience backlash, the BBC has repositioned it as an archive service. Nearly 90 per cent of its schedule comprises repeats. “In a world where you’ve got to make tough choices, it has started to stick out like a sore thumb,” one BBC insider said. Another said: “I’m not sure how it will survive.”

It would be a shame to see BBC Four go but it's been completely neutered with a lower budget, the fact that its original programmes have all gone to BBC Two, and BBC Three taking back overflow programming that Four used to air

Nothing's been confirmed at the moment so I wouldn't worry quite yet, although if it turns out to be the case it will anger a lot of viewers around the country, there are loads of other ways that the BBC can make savings, by axing programmes such as The One Show, The Apprentice and Strictly Come Dancing and bring back back the most important flagship programmes such as Watchdog and Crimewatch which were wrongly axed and shouldn't have been instead of channels which viewers are most passionate about.

Or here's another thought, Close the IPlayer, we already have BritBox so there literally is no point of the corporation to carry on running it's Iplayer service.

XIII post_id=64970 time= user_id=894 Wrote:

BBCMeridian post_id=64964 time= user_id=2083 Wrote:

Rex post_id=64962 time= user_id=1774 Wrote:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc4-could-be-scrapped-to-save-cash-after-freezing-of-licence-fee-7pn7qwzjq



It would be a shame to see BBC Four go but it's been completely neutered with a lower budget, the fact that its original programmes have all gone to BBC Two, and BBC Three taking back overflow programming that Four used to air

Nothing's been confirmed at the moment so I wouldn't worry quite yet, although if it turns out to be the case it will anger a lot of viewers around the country, there are loads of other ways that the BBC can make savings, by axing programmes such as The One Show, The Apprentice and Strictly Come Dancing and bring back back the most important flagship programmes such as Watchdog and Crimewatch which were wrongly axed and shouldn't have been instead of channels which viewers are most passionate about.

Or here's another thought, Close the IPlayer, we already have BritBox so there literally is no point of the corporation to carry on running it's Iplayer service.

You must be on another planet if you think the BBC will axe Strictly or The Apprentice.

JK1985 post_id=64967 time= user_id=1347 Wrote:It was originally named "the place to think". Now in 2022, that is long gone, and it is now wall to wall repeats. It simply does not serve a real purpose anymore.

BBCMeridian post_id=64974 time= user_id=2083 Wrote:

XIII post_id=64970 time= user_id=894 Wrote:

BBCMeridian post_id=64964 time= user_id=2083 Wrote:Nothing's been confirmed at the moment so I wouldn't worry quite yet, although if it turns out to be the case it will anger a lot of viewers around the country, there are loads of other ways that the BBC can make savings, by axing programmes such as The One Show, The Apprentice and Strictly Come Dancing and bring back back the most important flagship programmes such as Watchdog and Crimewatch which were wrongly axed and shouldn't have been instead of channels which viewers are most passionate about.

Or here's another thought, Close the IPlayer, we already have BritBox so there literally is no point of the corporation to carry on running it's Iplayer service.

You must be on another planet if you think the BBC will axe Strictly or The Apprentice.

Well the corporation can't just keep axing channels to save money as it doesn't actually save much money, they can find other ways of savings by axing programmes.

JetixFann450 post_id=64980 time= user_id=1047 Wrote:I'm being quite optimistic about the whole ordeal, I get the reasons to axe BBC Four, as it has since reshifted into a repeats channel but there's a lot of stuff on the BBC worth repeating that it arguably doesn't matter, they could easily rely on acquired foriegn content and their own archives for at least a few years running, but I do wonder if a "BBC Extra" channel would essentially allow BBC to still run a 4th channel, albeit for extra coverage if say, most other channels aren't able to.