03-04-2023, 12:14 PM
(03-04-2023, 10:30 AM)CCFG Wrote: BARB data from February indicates that Three only gets a 0.17% average share, just 0.01% higher than CBBC's 0.16%. In contrast, Four gets a 0.74% average share. CBeebies comes out on top, with a 1.08% average share.Those are definitely poor figures for Three, and if that £80m content fund is correct, then BBC Three could well end up taking the title of BBC service with highest cost per user hour from CBBC. Certainly not a great position for it to be in at this time.
What I'm trying to get out is, if they are going by "Plans to stop broadcasting smaller linear channels", which is what the original press release said, then I think, in the long term, it could be Three & CBBC for the chop.
Personally, I think you could make a case for dropping all of Three, Four and CBBC as linear channels and using the 'spare' space from CBeebies as a BBC Extra channel for sport/live music, with a mix of archive and/or iPlayer highlights otherwise. As I said the other day, when taking into account cuts, reductions in content and changing viewer habits, it'd be better to consolidate and have two stronger main linear channels, than a handful of more fragmented channels that are mainly repeat-based. There is enough space for the content still produced by those channels to be given linear broadcasts, while gaining the savings from reduced distribution, infrastructure and support costs.