BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger (/showthread.php?tid=103)

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Radio_man - 13-02-2023

(13-02-2023, 05:22 PM)Stuart Wrote:  If you starve a service of funds and kick it in the head for long enough, it will die naturally. Perhaps the end result will just be a BBC international news channel, with domestic input only on BBC One.

I wouldn't say there's any "perhaps" about it - come 1st April that's what will happen. Any UK-only content on the new channel will just be simulcasts of programmes that are already going out on other BBC channels. So there will be no original, UK-only content being produced specifically for the UK stream of BBC News.
The exception to this is when there's breaking news of interest just to UK audiences, apparently a journalist will set up in a cupboard studio somewhere in NBH to bring it to us. 

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - i.h - 13-02-2023

(12-02-2023, 11:50 AM)chaose Wrote:  

(12-02-2023, 08:25 AM)Charles Wrote:  It's a longshot, but I wish they would change the streaming policy with the new channel to make it more accessible. In the US, BBC World News requires a cable subscription and is not available on YouTube like Sky News, Al Jazeera, and many others.

I may be wrong here, but I think this might be part of the original distribution deals with cable giants like Comcast and Verizon. US cable deals used to be quite exclusive, certainly in the past. I don’t know when the contracts were signed exactly, but there’s a good chance there’s a stipulation forbidding the BBC from offering the signal OTT in the US.

while it's not always on and perhaps that makes all the difference, isn't BBC World News sometimes used by PBS stations when they need filler content

https://www.pbs.org/sponsorship/shows/bbc-world-news/ 

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Radio_man - 13-02-2023

(13-02-2023, 05:36 PM)News76 Wrote:  And the whole thing will not end well at all.

Meaning what? It doesn't matter how many viewers the UK news channel loses now - it's not going to be saved. World News is all that matters to the BBC now as it generates the revenue. 

We are 'lucky' that World News will be broadcast in the UK. The BBC could easily have just applied to close the UK News Channel completely and not broadcast a linear TV news channel in the UK.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Scratch_Perry - 14-02-2023

(13-02-2023, 05:22 PM)Stuart Wrote:  

(13-02-2023, 04:27 PM)Radio_man Wrote:  Regarding 'The Papers', I always wondered why Christian Fraser or whoever is presenting 'The Context' couldn't stay on to do it for the NC - just axing it altogether when it was clearly a popular part of the NC evening schedule was very short sighted, and now the NC's competitors are benefiting as a result.

It's sad for the viewers, but more so for the staff involved. All the changes must create a very disturbing and distruptive working environment.

As for the paper review, the likes of Andrew Pierce and Kevin Maguire seem to rock up anywhere to do it as a duo, and can't cost that much as a DTL pairing, although they turn up together in the studio on GMB in the mornings for probably the price of a taxi and a breakfast.

These days, you're lucky to even get a quick glance of the front pages for 20 seconds at the end of Newsnight.

If you starve a service of funds and kick it in the head for long enough, it will die naturally. Perhaps the end result will just be a BBC international news channel, with domestic input only on BBC One.

Andrew Pierce no longer appears on Sky's Press Preview programme due to him hosting a programme on GB News.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Brekkie - 14-02-2023

It would be interesting to know what the budget is for the "new" UK version of the news channel - especially as 20 years ago ITV were said to be delivering their news channel for a fraction of what BBC News 24 cost at the time, and managing live UK news from early morning till late night, plus updates overnight, at that time. Given where the BBC News Channel is heading you have to assume their new budget specifically for the news channel is even less than that - and if not perhaps questions need to be asked about whether rather than BBC World being the profitable service keeping a UK operation afloat are funds actually being funnelled into propping up BBC World.


I can't help but think taking the approach of starting up a streaming news service from scratch, with the simulcast of existing BBC1/2 news shows as the backbone, and then selected BBC World content, could achieve a much better final product. I'd actually rather they'd have keep the smart TV apps going and ditch the news channel if it's going to be such a watered down affair - on demand stories and headlines, plus the odd pop-up live stream when required, could be much more of a service than a TV channel seemingly filled with content not aimed at a UK TV audience. Add in regional headlines too, even if just the last TV bulletin, but made somewhat easier to find, and you've got a service doing what no linear channel is offering.


One other thing I think is worth raising is the daytime hourly updates were all axed with the justification that content was now covered on the news channel for those that want it - and since then any on demand visualised headline service, as seen on the BBC News Multiscreen and then on the app - has been axed too. Perhaps an argument for them to return too - after all radio never lost their hourly bulletins due to the existence of BBC 5 Live, and on demand audio bulletins via a smart speaker have been added too.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Kojak - 14-02-2023

(14-02-2023, 05:51 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  It would be interesting to know what the budget is for the "new" UK version of the news channel - especially as 20 years ago ITV were said to be delivering their news channel for a fraction of what BBC News 24 cost at the time, and managing live UK news from early morning till late night, plus updates overnight, at that time.

Close to zero, I'd imagine. Given that it won't really be a channel at all - just a few opt-outs from World, which even then will be just simulcasts of existing output - I'd be really surprised if there were any sort of substantive budget. Of course there will be others here who know much more than I do.

Good call on the hourly bulletins - if ITV can do it on their website, surely the BBC can too. They could even use the studio and presenter on-duty for the planned UK-only breaking news service, if that is actually going to be a thing.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Radio_man - 14-02-2023

(14-02-2023, 06:08 PM)Kojak Wrote:  

(14-02-2023, 05:51 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  It would be interesting to know what the budget is for the "new" UK version of the news channel - especially as 20 years ago ITV were said to be delivering their news channel for a fraction of what BBC News 24 cost at the time, and managing live UK news from early morning till late night, plus updates overnight, at that time.

Close to zero, I'd imagine. Given that it won't really be a channel at all - just a few opt-outs from World, which even then will be just simulcasts of existing output - I'd be really surprised if there were any sort of substantive budget. Of course there will be others here who know much more than I do.

Good call on the hourly bulletins - if ITV can do it on their website, surely the BBC can too. They could even use the studio and presenter on-duty for the planned UK-only breaking news service, if that is actually going to be a thing.

I'd agree, the UK version is essentially just the World version but with simulcasts of the BBC 1 weekday bulletins, Breakfast, and supposedly Nicky Campbell's 5 Live phone-in show (which I really hope is dropped as an idea). I can't see how any extra budget is needed for that.
There may be a very small budget available for the supposed UK-only breaking news service.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - DTV - 14-02-2023

(14-02-2023, 05:51 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  It would be interesting to know what the budget is for the "new" UK version of the news channel - especially as 20 years ago ITV were said to be delivering their news channel for a fraction of what BBC News 24 cost at the time, and managing live UK news from early morning till late night, plus updates overnight, at that time. Given where the BBC News Channel is heading you have to assume their new budget specifically for the news channel is even less than that - and if not perhaps questions need to be asked about whether rather than BBC World being the profitable service keeping a UK operation afloat are funds actually being funnelled into propping up BBC World.

Well the budget will be listed in next year's Annual Report, so we'll have to wait until then to be certain. But it's hard to tell what of the BBC News channel's ~£60m budget is actually channel related, as a substantial chunk of the budget is the channel's 'fair share' of newsgathering costs. The average BBC English region TV news operation costs about £6m and I'd suspect that the cost of the News channel's presenters and studio production teams alone are in that region, if not slightly higher.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - bbctvtechop - 14-02-2023

(14-02-2023, 05:51 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  I can't help but think taking the approach of starting up a streaming news service from scratch, with the simulcast of existing BBC1/2 news shows as the backbone, and then selected BBC World content, could achieve a much better final product.  I'd actually rather they'd have keep the smart TV apps going and ditch the news channel if it's going to be such a watered down affair - on demand stories and headlines, plus the odd pop-up live stream when required, could be much more of a service than a TV channel seemingly filled with content not aimed at a UK TV audience.  Add in regional headlines too, even if just the last TV bulletin, but made somewhat easier to find, and you've got a service doing what no linear channel is offering.

I was involved in developing a similar service for the BBC World Service a number of years ago. It was a jukebox/playlist of English-language news packages which had been automatically translated, checked for accuracy by a producer and corrected as necessary, then a synthetic voice over added in 3 languages. The user could choose from the 4 languages (English, Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin) which immediately changed the audio language mid-video. The order of the videos was set by us but could be changed and when the user reached the end of the current playlist, it would go back to the beginning of the playlist and loop, unless the order had changed since they started watching in which case it would start at the beginning of the new playlist.

There was also the ability to flash up a "there is breaking news, click here to watch" in the 4 languages which, when clicked, discarded the playlist and took the user to a live stream with pictures (eg from Reuters) and a language producer commentating from a microphone on their desk explaining the story. A single tech op would be switching the pictures for all 4 language streams (ie, one picture feed with up to 4 audio feeds). The user could leave the breaking news mode any time and return to the jukebox/playlist.

It didn't go anywhere beyond an internal pilot for a variety of technological reasons (it was a little bit ahead of its time) but I still believe the concept is sound and it would have been a good service for the News website and (now) as a potential News Channel replacement.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - NickyBoy - 14-02-2023

(13-02-2023, 06:12 PM)Radio_man Wrote:  

(13-02-2023, 05:36 PM)News76 Wrote:  And the whole thing will not end well at all.

Meaning what? It doesn't matter how many viewers the UK news channel loses now - it's not going to be saved. World News is all that matters to the BBC now as it generates the revenue. 

We are 'lucky' that World News will be broadcast in the UK. The BBC could easily have just applied to close the UK News Channel completely and not broadcast a linear TV news channel in the UK.

From my point of view they would have been better doing that, considering what they are doing with the channel anyway. I doubt I'll be heading to the channel for any UK based breaking news story in the future, I'll head to Sky or online for updates.

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