What I wrote at Lib Dem Voice

May 01, 2007

Why, dude?

Look, I’ve stated many times that I’m no fan of the BBC licence fee. But I still have huge respect for Auntie’s programming output. Yet, in the name of all that’s good and true, can anyone provide me with a justification for this, as reported in Media Guardian:
... fans of Neighbours have started an online petition in a bid to keep the soap on the BBC. Nearly 4,000 people have already signed the petition since it was set up on April 25. It calls on Fremantle to "accept the BBC's offer to continue showing Neighbours", with several signatories saying they will stop watching it if it moves to ITV or Five.
A free-to-view show moves from one channel to another channel and remains free-to-view. And the problem those 4,000 folks have is what, precisely…?

3 comments:

Ryan said...

I'm guessing adverts, and don't you remember when Home and Away went to five? It disappeared from our screens for about a year!

Although I have no problem with it going to ITV, and would prefer that BBC didn't pay over the top prices to keep it.

Anonymous said...

Not only are adverts a problem, a lot of us still don't get Five. Yep, there are actually those of us who cannot get Five on analogue, cannot get digital, and cannot get Sky.
(No, I haven't signed a petition and don't care very much, just noting that it's not necessarily going to have no impact on who can view it if it moves)

Liberal Polemic said...

Anonymous,

Take it from one who can get FIVE. You are missing nothing!

Personally, I think that the BBC should be forbidden from bidding for anything for which a commercial provider is prepared to pay.

The only justification for public access broadcasting is a (misguided, as it happens) belief that the public will benefit from a form of broadcasting that the market will not provide.

Neighbours fails that test on two counts!