General Observations by mediawatch-uk on
the BBC's revised proposals
W |
e are pleased that the Secretary of State's response to
the BBC's plans for new digital services, funded from the Licence Fee, included
rejection of the initial proposals for BBC Three. This has caused the BBC to look again at their plans for this
channel and to present a more detailed scheme.
We
note that the target group for BBC Three is the 25 - 34 year olds and we wonder
why this group should be favoured for such preferential treatment given that
the number of older people, who have been paying the Licence Fee for longer, is
the largest growing age group. We
wonder if there could be an underlying agenda to establish 'brand loyalty' that
will secure the BBC's funding in the future.
We note that ITV2 is targeted at 16 - 34 year olds.
It
is also relevant to ask how many people are in this age group and what their
current viewing habits are. How much of
their leisure time is taken up with TV viewing and what are their favourite
channels and whether they would change to BBC Three.
We
note that the BBC intends to expend a relatively high proportion of its annual
budget - available from Licence Fee funding paid by everyone - on new
programming for BBC Three. This will
surely mean less money available to fund new programming on BBC 1 and BBC 2
unless there is a big increase in the Licence Fee or money is found from
elsewhere.
Or is it the intention, in the short
term, to repeat BBC Three programming on BBC 1 and BBC 2? It is stated, presumably to attract praise
from the Government, that the BBC intends to use BBC Three to "drive
digital take up", an objective which falls in with Government policy
aims. Is this a ploy to find favour
when it comes to the next round of Licence Fee negotiations?
In the past we have been critical of the BBC and the ITV
companies for failing to commission programmes about the application of digital
technology to communications and the benefits this brings. However, as time passes, and analogue switch
off comes closer many people feel, justifiably, that they are being forced to
go digital. The general lack of clear
explanation with regard to cost, installation, hardware and subscriptions
leaves people feeling confused and aggrieved.
It is long overdue that all the implications are properly discussed and
openly debated in a way that will really help people to grasp the complexities
and make informed choices.
It is not
good enough for the Government to simply approve the BBC's plans, however good
they may be, without insisting on a proper public information campaign and
proper accountability. We are aware of
the Government's "Digital Action Plan" but so far this has had little
attention paid to it.
We
would suggest that the Chairman and Director General of the BBC, the Chairman
of the ITC and the Chief Executive of SKY TV, the Secretary of State and the
Minister of State form a sort of 'Question Time' panel hosted by, say,
Baroness Howe of Idlicote. The
programme should have a studio audience drawn from the public and be open to
all by telephone and e-mail. We believe
also that every licence-fee-payer should receive an information leaflet from
the BBC explaining what is in prospect and how Licence Fee money is likely to
be apportioned in the future.
We
note that the Secretary of State has asked the BBC and ITV companies to promote
digital television and in recent weeks there have been trails for programmes on
the BBC and ITV analogue channels.
Rather than providing information these promotions are made in such a
way that suggest there is a real disadvantage in not switching to digital but
without alluding to the additional cost implications.
We
note that BSKYB has now withdrawn its free digital decoder offer meaning that
'digital take up' will become significantly more expensive and a much less
attractive proposition unless there is a new offer coming from the BBC or from
the Independent TV sector or from the Government.
Digital
decoders would be a one-off cost that could easily be paid for out of the
proceeds from the sale of the analogue frequencies. In September 1999 these were reported to be worth an estimated £6
- £8 billion to the telecommunications industry. If the electronics industry could produce a 'no frills' plug in
digital decoder for around £100 we estimate that it would cost around £1.5
billion to provide all analogue TV households with free equipment.
Since
switching to digital is advocated by the European Commission and is UK
Government policy, we can see no good reason why the additional costs should be
borne by households which, so far, have not been sufficiently impressed by the
marketing campaigns or the extended choice that multi-channel television
provides. We note also that Britain's
largest multi-channel cable TV company, NTL, is doing so badly that it is
reported to be considering a £1 billion cash injection to stave off bankruptcy!
We believe that the offer of free digital
decoders is the only way to overcome the inertia of those who have not
voluntarily switched to digital.
The proposals for BBC Three assume
too much and there is not enough detail about the surveys carried out in
support of the channel. It would be
helpful to know what questions were asked and how large or representative was
the sample surveyed.
The
proposals come at a time when advertising revenue for Commercial television is
said to be in crisis. We do not believe
that this will be a permanent problem and that the economic conditions will
improve. It is, therefore,
inappropriate to use the advantage of guaranteed and increasing licence fee
revenue as a reason for the BBC to gloat and still less a reason for the
Secretary of State to give the go-ahead without answers to the many questions
that arise from the BBC's proposals.
We
welcome plans to promote new talent but can see no good reason why this should
be limited just to BBC Three. Nor
should the creation of new shows be limited to BBC Three.
On
balance the revised proposals set out by the BBC are more detailed than the
previous exposition. There are clearly
aspirations that indicate good and upward progress in broadcasting but more
explanation is needed as to the overall impact on the existing BBC TV channels
and on the competition from the commercial sector.
mediawatch-uk welcomes the extension of choice in
television viewing that digital technology brings but there are many other
factors to be taken into account.
John
Beyer (left)
said: “Traditionally, we have expressed concern about taste and decency issues
in programming and we believe that the BBC should be accountable on this matter
too. The proposals for BBC Three make
no reference to their Royal Charter requirements or their Producers Guidelines.
Promises and undertakings in this
respect should form part of the proposal for BBC Three that is presently
lacking. In the public interest the
Secretary of State should seek assurances and undertakings from the BBC in this
regard.”
11 January 2002
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