3 ms·
It isn’t just comedies - there used to be a plethora of interesting documentaries produced by the beeb, to the extent that for a while they had a channel (BBC 4
by madaxe_again 1y ago
It isn’t just comedies - there used to be a plethora of interesting documentaries produced by the beeb, to the extent that for a while they had a channel (BBC 4) pretty much dedicated to them. I used to be able to find something interesting on there any day of the week, and likewise, iPlayer held a great catalogue of content. BBC 4 was slated to be axed a few years ago, first thing on the chopping block. They seem to be stuck in decision paralysis, which is absolutely emblematic of what faces them.
While the BBC still produce documentaries, the quality has declined over the last decade or so, and when Attenborough dies they will be fresh out of ideas, as right now it’s just… Attenborough, and licensed human interest pieces.
I just can’t see it being a thing in 10, 20 years, as they surmise - I would wager they will whittle away until all that remains is BBC News, which will run on a shoestring, even more than it does now.
- polar 1y ago> BBC 4 was axed a few years ago No it was not. BBC Four is still going strong. It's great.
- madaxe_again 1y agoOk, fine, they decided to axe broadcast services and move it to be online only - but this discussion is about broadcast TV. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61591674 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61591674
- polar 1y agoThey haven't moved it online. Find a TV and switch it on - BBC Four is still there, for now at least! https://ukfree.tv/channels/all/Freeview https://ukfree.tv/channels/all/Freeview
- rgblambda 1y agoI've noticed this a lot with anti-BBC folks. They have some ideological issue with it but that isn't a popular position so they go for more niche arguments like "The entire historical catalogue isn't fully available to watch on demand" or "They axed BBC <insert number> from broadcast". Arguments they don't actually care about. It's just a way to snipe at the BBC. As you've pointed out, if someone loves being able to watch BBC Four on broadcast TV, they're not going to be complaining about it's non existent axing.
- madaxe_again 1y agoI’m very pro BBC - but they reached their apogee in the early 2000s and have been in a state of steady decline since.
- badgersnake 1y agoYet you know nothing about it.
- UncleSlacky 1y agoThe problem is that BBC Four now only shows archive material (with occasional exceptions as "overflow capacity" from sports events etc.) whereas they used to commission their own documentaries.
- badgersnake 1y agoBasically none of this is true.