30-01-2023, 04:45 PM
(30-01-2023, 03:39 PM)DTV Wrote:Yes, that was my point. If the US and UK elections happen concurrently, from a commercial perspective, the US election should take priority for the international side of the channel. But then that won't please the people who think that the UK BBC News Channel should be a channel with "British news for a British audience", who would expect it to cover rolling events of the UK General Election.(30-01-2023, 03:00 PM)all new phil Wrote: By recognising that it doesn’t have to be all things to all men? I think it’s pretty understandable for a British channel to prioritise UK elections. Plenty of international channels to cover the US election in depth.It might be a British-based channel, but fundamentally it's an international, commercial channel whose profitability is dependent on its relevance to international audiences. It should not, on the international feed, prioritise UK elections beyond what would be appropriate. It would be absurd during South Asia evening peak to pull away from covering a story about e.g., a train crash in India to deliver live coverage of the Lib Dem manifesto launch or some campaign stop speech. From a commercial perspective, it'd make most sense to cover the US election over a UK election - the US is one of the channel's most profitable markets (and a growing one at that) and is an event of greater international interest anyway.
Of course, I expect that during a general election campaign, that is when we'll see greater levels of the UK opt outs from the channel. Plus, the more profitable the channel ultimately is, the more money can be reinvested into the domestic news operation (such as these kinds of opt outs).
That's what I meant by implying that during 2024 it will be difficult for the new channel to please everyone, as it's expected to be a big political year in the UK and the US.