The Lazarus Effect: is BBC3 ‘back for good’?
BBC3 is back on linear and UKTV’s W is set to go free-to-air this Spring. Have rumours of the death of traditional TV been greatly exaggerated?
For some, BBC3 returning as a linear channel may be ill-timed, coming at the time when Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has frozen the BBC licence fee and openly mused on ditching the compulsory charge altogether in the relatively near future.
Of course, being Nadine, she hasn’t come up with any concrete alternatives to the tax, as that would involve two important (but unlikely) steps:
- Managing to master her brief
- Demonstrating the ability to rigorously assess the likely economic effects on UK broadcasting and possible ‘soft power’ reputational damage
Anyway, BBC3 got off to a slow start over the first week of its relaunch, having come back on 1 February with RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (pictured, above) and live football at primetime.
Figures were well down on its final few days on air in 2016 and the original debut back in February 2003, when a first run of EastEnders boosted the fledgling channel.
BBC iPlayer audiences will need to be factored in as well, but it appears to this observer that BBC3’s optional time to make a comeback has passed.
And it will annoy the living bejesus out of older/upmarket viewers if BBC4 gets the chop because of the channel’s return and the Dorries-inflicted budget freeze (cuts in effect) – although losing a dozen or so conspicuously overpaid senior BBC executives may help in that regard.
Of course, if Danny Cohen, the overrated (not least by himself) Salieri-esque former BBC director of television had not foolishly ditched BBC3 prematurely, a relaunch would not be necessary.
Add this strategic error to Cohen’s slew of poor commissioning decisions (Phoo Action, Lindsay Lohan’s Indian Journey, The Wright Way, F… Off I’m a Hairy Woman, ‘patriotic’ quiz I Love My Country, and gormless gameshow Don’t Scare the Hare etc), petulant feuds with talent (Jeremy Clarkson) and drumming up of ill-conceived BBC-supporting celebrity protest letters.
And not least, the commissioning in November 2011 of a Shane Ritchie-fronted revival of Jim I’ll Fix It, which, in Cohen’s words, “will be a great tribute to Jimmy to recreate his famous show as a Christmas treat for audiences.”
Writing in The Guardian last year, writer/broadcaster Mark Lawson commented: “My own view, based on the prevalence of Savile rumours during 30 years working at the BBC, is that senior managers of the relevant periods, if they really never heard anything, should urgently book consultations with an audiologist”.
Inexplicably, the promotional trailer for Ritchie’s Fix It remains on the BBC iPlayer. Maybe the show will be dusted off as part of a boxset with upcoming Savile biopic The Reckoning.
Perhaps not, but with ex-marketer ‘Tigger Tim’ Davie’s BBC, who can tell, bearing in mind the spate of recent self-inflicted editorial lapses, PR blunders and missteps that have occurred on his watch?
Anyway, the shuttering of BBC3 as a broadcast channel was Sky’s gain, as channel controller Zai Bennett promptly upped sticks to pursue an increasingly successful career at the satellite network, casting barely disguised barbs at Cohen’s rash decision on his way out the door.
And, as the late Barry Norman would say, “Why not?” Schadenfreude can be a wonderful thing.
Turning back to linear TV, the decision to make Sky Arts a free-to-air channel in September profited it mightily, with Storyvault’s painting competition franchise Portrait/Landscape/Celebrity Artist of the Year proving particularly popular.
So, there’s still life in the old ‘traditional TV’ dog yet then.
With UKTV’s W moving to free-to-air this Spring, the channel may finally come into its own as the network’s ‘flagship’, a description it was lumbered with when launched as the Orwellian ‘Watch’ back in October 2008.
As readers will remember, the then channel management (in the words of Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson) “spaffed” a ridiculous amount of cash hiring Richard and Judy for the mega-flop weekday show New Position, a title all too typical of the juvenile attempts at humour by UKTV marketing/branding at the time.
Under the more recent and noticeably more able editorial team, the since renamed W has steadily improved ratings, which will undoubtedly increase when the channel becomes freely available to all UK viewers.
Lastly, a couple of questions for Mediatel News readers to ponder.
Will the cost-of-living crisis herald more free TV and FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) launches, and a consequent slowdown/decline in streamer subscriptions?
Or will cash-strapped viewers continue to pay for existing (and additional) services in lieu of more expensive nights out, where even a trip to the local boozer could leave one out of pocket for six months’ worth of a typical streaming subscription?
The latter would be contrary to the hectoring injunctions of entitled toff/presenter Kirsty Allsopp, who, to no-one’s surprise seems unaware of the comparatively modest cost of Netflix and other streamers.
Certainly, in relation to what cancelling a subscription will enable you to purchase/save up for.
Less than Allsopp’s underwhelming ‘Jocelyn King size Duvet Cover Set’, that’s for sure.
£168.00 on Amazon, if anyone’s interested.
Stephen Arnell began his career at the BBC, moving to ITV where he launched and managed digital channels. He continues to consult for streamers and broadcasters on editorial strategy. He currently writes for a variety of publications (including The Spectator, Independent, Guardian, Broadcast etc) on film, TV and cultural issues. He is also a writer/producer (including Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime for Sky Arts) and has just completed his first novel.
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