New BBC Digital Service Application
General Observations 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.
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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