[Former Member 406]

This is clearly a very polarising thing.

I'm very much in the camp of being fine with what the proposed new end-product news channel for UK will be. I appreciate that it's a rubbish situation for staff who will lose their jobs, but the real-terms reduction to the Beeb's income stream due to the licence fee price freeze sadly means something's got to give.

As other's have already said, in this era of on-demand news via outlets such as the website and the app, how much value does a dedicated 24-hour rolling linear news channel for UK audiences really have?

It is my understanding that *all* rolling news channels, for as long as such things have existed, have generally had pitifully low viewership compared to most other type of linear television channels. Please correct me if that's not so.

I appreciate that if you happen to be part of the fairly niche "news junkie" audience that makes significant use of the BBC's (and/or any other) news channel(s), then the proposed NC changes are a big deal. But, realistically, what proportion of the total audience/population/licence-fee-payers consume the NC to any significant extent (or even at all)? Genuine question.

[Moz]

If they have to close one channel I think it should be BBC World News. Us making news for the rest of the world but not for ourselves is just insane.

I thought that BBC WN was self-funding through its commercial activities, so in essence in the UK we're getting a 'free service' as we don't get the adverts.

Free things are usually rubbish.

There will still be the domestic 1/6/10 and breaking stories, so have probably got the best result under the circumstances.

Yay. That’s progress. Back to the 1980s!

[Deejay]

Today is a good example of the lead stories they’ll have to choose between in future. A-Level results or Ukraine. (Although at 9am, the plan is the uk stream will be taking Nicky Campbell’s radio 5 live phone in.)

[ALV]

Today is a good example of the lead stories they’ll have to choose between in future. A-Level results or Ukraine. (Although at 9am, the plan is the uk stream will be taking Nicky Campbell’s radio 5 live phone in.)

I watched the 5AM NC/WN simulcast this morning and there's only one 2-min package on the A-Level results at the "B-Block" (after the quarter heads)... While on the 9AM hour the story is all over the place. The 5AM hour this morning is a good reference point on what the channel will be for the UK audience when the NC/WN merge in the future.

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I think one of the points that has been oversighted in this thread is the "logistical purpose" of the NC.

As emphasized by Martine Croxall on her Twitter a lot of times, the NC has a far greater purpose than just providing UK news to viewers 24/7... The channel serves as a content driver across other BBC News platforms. The content used on NC such as the packages, interviews are often re-used in other platforms such as the national bulletins, Newsnight, regional news, the BBC News App etc...

The NC is far greater than just a channel, it is an on-the-hour domestic newsgathering workflow system that serves as one of the major content source for the entire BBC News division. What I think Martine Croxall is trying to imply is that merging NC and WN will basically demolish the domestic newsgathering system, and will make other platforms lose a major source of domestic news content and may result in an increase of production cost for these platforms and give a harder time for staff to maintain these platforms...

For example, some skeleton regional newsroom might now have to employ extra staff to produce a regional bulletin because they no longer can reuse some packages from the NC.

If my interpretation is flawed, anyone is welcome to correct me and I will be humbled to learn~

[harshy]

It’s a difficult one isn’t it, I am guessing the bbc have done their research and maybe from that research it has shown them sadly that many people now consume these services on the app or the website and not necessarily the channel and the channel itself I presume isn’t making any money and the commercial bbc world news does?

We’ve seen what a merged news service may look like and it doesn't benefit either news channel or world news, as the agenda changes and world viewers they just lost their well known branded output like a few days when they decided to do an Afghan one year on special and it reverted to default bbc news.

[Keith]

I suspect that at the very least the proposed evening and overnight changes where both channels already simulcast will go ahead. Particularly using their Washington and Singapore studios has potential cost savings, if it allows them to pay those staff for working normal daytime hours. I gather from a previous thread on TVLF that there are additional costs involved with staff working overnight hours, so no longer using a UK studio overnight would presumably reduce some costs.

As to how much UK opt-outs during the daytime can be retained that might depend a bit on the new government. After all they have the ability to set/change the licence fee for the next few years, as well as decide what if anything replaces it after that.

[Apples]

Today is a good example of the lead stories they’ll have to choose between in future. A-Level results or Ukraine. (Although at 9am, the plan is the uk stream will be taking Nicky Campbell’s radio 5 live phone in.)

I watched the 5AM NC/WN simulcast this morning and there's only one 2-min package on the A-Level results at the "B-Block" (after the quarter heads)... While on the 9AM hour the story is all over the place. The 5AM hour this morning is a good reference point on what the channel will be for the UK audience when the NC/WN merge in the future.

---

I think one of the points that has been oversighted in this thread is the "logistical purpose" of the NC.

As emphasized by Martine Croxall on her Twitter a lot of times, the NC has a far greater purpose than just providing UK news to viewers 24/7... The channel serves as a content driver across other BBC News platforms. The content used on NC such as the packages, interviews are often re-used in other platforms such as the national bulletins, Newsnight, regional news, the BBC News App etc...

The NC is far greater than just a channel, it is an on-the-hour domestic newsgathering workflow system that serves as one of the major content source for the entire BBC News division. What I think Martine Croxall is trying to imply is that merging NC and WN will basically demolish the domestic newsgathering system, and will make other platforms lose a major source of domestic news content and may result in an increase of production cost for these platforms and give a harder time for staff to maintain these platforms...

For example, some skeleton regional newsroom might now have to employ extra staff to produce a regional bulletin because they no longer can reuse some packages from the NC.

If my interpretation is flawed, anyone is welcome to correct me and I will be humbled to learn~

My initial reaction to the proposed 'merger' (maybe this is not the right word considering how the unified channel will apparently function?) was one of horror and disbelief that something so ridiculous was being proposed (plus dismay at the funding decisions that had lead to the BBC even considering such a move) but, having sat back and thought about how I personally consume BBC news, I quickly realised that I am one of those who relies more on the app and website throughout the day and then watch the 6 and/or 10 for a digest. Do I ever use the News Channel? Yes, very occasionally for major breaking stories. Would I miss it if it wasn't there in its current form? Being honest, probably not, particularly if there is still going to be some provision for covering significant UK focussed stories. However, I completely agree with ALV in that the news channel currently serves as the newsgathering driver for the 1, the app and website. It is the impact on this workflow and how that is managed going forward that is going to be crucial to maintaining the BBC's value to UK viewers.

[itsrobert]

How is this merger going to work in terms of breaking rolling news coverage on BBC1? Since the advent of News 24, the standard approach has been to take their coverage. If a significant UK news story breaks (e.g. a rail crash, some domestic political story etc) that has limited relevance to the global audience, how will that be handled? They mention UK breaking news opt outs from a "tiny studio" but is that seriously going to be sufficient for BBC1 audiences? How will they accommodate studio guests etc? Or are we going back to a time pre-1999/2000 when BBC1 news reports and rolling coverage (limited as that was before Diana's death) are the responsibility of the National team? Will it be handled like ITN does and they will put the main BBC1 on duty newsreader on air with the rolling coverage/news report?

I do understand why people are suggesting that going back to network bulletins without a dedicated rolling news channel is perfectly fine, but I would like to know how many of them have actually lived in a pre-rolling news world. It wasn't great - you had to wait for the next bulletin, end of. In those days we had Ceefax/Teletext which I suppose is akin to the online/app presence but sometimes it's nice to actually see a news story unfold before your eyes on the TV. We have all very much become accustomed to that in the past 25 years. 

Moreover, I can't say the current scheduled BBC1 bulletins are ideally timed for most working people. With commuting as bad as it is nowadays, 6pm is optimistic to be at home in time to sit down and watch a news bulletin. By 10pm I'm not really wanting doom and gloom just before bed at 10.30. I'm in unwinding mode by then. My optimum TV news time is somewhere between about 7pm and 9.30pm which is why news channels have been so useful for me at least. Thankfully Sky News still exists which is where my TV news consumption is about to move lock, stock and barrel. I'll keep the BBC News app but that's about it. I only really use that to see the headlines and alert me to breaking news, which I would usually follow up on the TV anyway.

[all new phil]

Thankfully Sky News still exists which is where my TV news consumption is about to move lock, stock and barrel.

Well I mean here is another point that people are overlooking. If you want to watch rolling news, other outlets have you covered. Why does the BBC need to provide something that other broadcasters provide just as well?

[The_IT_Technician]

Does the BBC need a 24h rolling news channel, for its UK audiences, as news is available in many forms, platforms and services across the BBC.

Would it be worth spending the money they have and with the closure of the news channel, by improving its news coverage for the nations and regions across the various platforms.

if there is a need for a 24h news related UK channel, look at adopting and developing BBC radio 4 or 5 live as a TV channel on a full time basis, (radio on TV, similar to bloomberg, GBNews and talk TV radio) with a mixture of world programming throughout the evenings and weekends.

Rather than the current proposal, with limited UK news provision if the rumours are true. That way there is content to cater for the domestic BBC audience.

In reality, news content provision doesn't need a 24h rolling news channel, given there are many ways of accessing news these days, even across the BBC.