Are these channels a waste of time ?
This is just a personal view, but does anyone watch these channels...BBC3 & 4, History Channel, UKTV Bright Ideas, Bid TV, Price-drop & ITV 3 ? I can honestly say I find them a waste of (much needed) space. The BBC should scrap the two part-time channels & introduce a Quality "full-time" channel. The "bid" channels should go to Top-Up TV - or just have one bidding channel - and ITV 3 should be put in a higher slot & screen better quality British shows. Every time I put it on, I find either LA Law or Chicago Hope. I suppose people will say it is free, but it has to be worth watching, too...and it would be nice to see some home-grown stuff on a British channel. :yawn:
0
Comments
BBC 3 is the best channel there is on Freeview, and History could be better but there's soooooo much worse.
My opinion of course.
PS What do you consider "quality" british tv then ?
If the drop the part time channels for BBC3 + BBC4, what do you suggest they do with CBeebies and CBBC? Run them as a single channel and have Grange Hill on at 3am?
I don't think they would get approval for that. Besides, Three has had a good tweeking recently and, whilst it's still not 100% there yet, it's on it's way. And Four is a very good channel (IMHO).
ITV3 does need to pull it's finger out and get some decent shows to fill up the extra repeat slots it's using for 3 showings of Chicago Hope/LA Law etc each day. However, it has the basis of being a real winner in the next couple of years.
History, well it's ok for a bit of knowledge every now and then. Altho yo udo have to leave it a few weeks after watching it, or you just get the same thing over and over.
Bid TV et al, there is clearly an audience and a market for them. They must be making moeny to stay in business. So whilst it may not be your cup of tea, there must be thousands of suckers out there who are enjoying it.
I do agree on the UKTV channels (I have Sky+, not DTT, but they are the same channels, so for the purposes of this issue).
UK Bright Ideas?!?! Who's bright idea was that? Now were are getting UKTV Gardens, there is virtually nothing on UKTV Drama, UKTV Gold & + 1 + UKTV G2 all show more or less the same thing over and over.
UKTV Style, Style+1 Food, Food+1 could all be the same thing.
So why not reduce the nubmer of multiple channels so you bring the numbers down to say 4 channels with 4 +1's and then yo can have a decent comedy channel, decent lifestyle channel, a decenrt documentary/human interest channel, and another (loosing my train of thought!) and then more channels can be on the range of platforms, giving a better viewing experience to your customers
JC
Nigel.
I have been pretty disappointed by Top Up- bad films on TCM, generally poor stuff on UK Gold- mostly watch E4 actually!
There has to be channels for varying tastes. Just because they don't suit you doesn't mean they don't suit anyone else..
FYI, BBC Three and ITV3 are two of the most popular channels in the UK, that includes those who have all that "extra choice" on Sky and Cable.
BBC Four and UK History aren't my type of channels, but every now and then I see something that is really good so I am glad they are there.
I do like some programmes (especially property shows) on UK Bright Ideas, but you have to remember that Digital Spy doesn't give a balanced view on the likes and dislikes of everyone when it comes to TV. The type of audience who would like UK Bright Ideas, or QVC aren't likely to be surfing this board.
Do what I did I returned my Freeview box back the shops are demanded my money back and I warned everyone in the shop what a con it was.
Now I've got sky and its a different world, superb.
It's my own fault really that I fell for it, anything thats free is usually rubbish and freeview was no exception.
can i ask where you buy your oxygen?;)
[sarcasm] ooh yes freeview is such a con coz for a one off payment of a about £40 I can get a load more TV channels but sky's really good as I have to pay them £13.50-40 a month that's such good value I can believe it[/sarcasm]
Obviously Freeview didn't meet your needs, but don't go calling it a con...
I wanted a bit more choice and I've got a bit more choice. Since I got the PVR I cannot think of an occasion when I couldn't find something that I wanted to watch. Mind you, I don't spend half my life in front of the telly, I only watch it for a couple of hours a day.
I think Freeview is great.
UKTVHistory channel has some very good stuff on from time to time, i know my dad watches it a lot on his digibox.
BBC4 is definately a niche channel, i think the Alan Clark diaries and a few music documentaries are the only things i've ever watched on it.
Get rid of Bright Ideas, Parliament, FTN, and those shopping channels first.
Can't say i'm overimpressed with the two music channels either, but i'm sure someone watches them.
Are the schools still on holiday?
ITV 3 is to be congratulated on its output I genuinely feared for this channel, too look at ITV2 as a possible example, if any ITV channel should go it should be ITV2 with repeats of soaps or wall to wall Judge Judy, John Walsh, some old bint in big glasses and American Idol (does that show EVER go off air), all imports BTW. ITV 3 is showing plentry of classic British drama, Morse and Sherlock Holmes to name just two.
UKTV History is probably the QUALITY channel on Freeview, yes they have slipped into lazy scheduling, but most of their output is not popularist drivel and sometimes might make even you think. There should be more arts and documentary channels, but that is just MHO.
Yes the bidding channels are rather annoying, but you say they take up much needed space, well sorry but there are hardly huge numbers of broadcasters queueing up to take their slots any new channels seem to be able to find 'space', in fact space seems to be the least of the problems, with more and more being shoe horned into muxes on an almost monthly basis.
Rather than moaning about the lack of space, which is NOT a problem, the issue of full coverage for all channels is far more important than kicking off channels just cos YOU don't like them.
Can you imagine, those families in the 1960s, pulling down their new UHF aerials because BBC2 didn't have anything on it and bring it back to the shop ranting and calling it a con? That would have been funny. That too was a one-off payment...
Sky TV is a rip-off - plain and simple. It's expensive and a recurring cost. The channels are generally tat too. I admit, however, that the channels on freeview could be better but it is very difficult for FTA broadcasters to purchase/make quality programmes when PAY TV broadcasters have more cash because of subscription AND adverts. The only way this will change is if muppets like the poster above (and the rest of us) stop subscribing. Of course, this will never happen for whatever reason we don't want to...
It's like smoking:- you take it up because its cool and by the time you figure out it isn't, you have decided to persuade yourself you dont want to because.... [add not very valid reason]
IMHO its been the unexpected success of Freeview.
The other channels you mention are all there because they get (or will get) good audiences - I think that companies should analyse what the audience figures are and juggle the stations around - more audience implies a better service after all. Minorities will be catered for as we cannot watch all the channels we prefer at the same time - and a big enough minority will make a channel more worthwhile to a broadcaster than a majority channel that fails to compete.
There is always the commercial realities for UKTV, FTN, Sky and others who really wish to sell their wares available on satellite and cable - I would prefer to have a good (UKTV) channel on TuTV than a bad one like FTN, SkyTravel or BrightIdeas (IMHO) for free.
In many respects with 'free' items - you only get what you pay for! - but of course this only applies to the extra channels that would not be free if it wasn't Freeview. If you want to pay for acres of junk (Sky) then do so but don't expect Freeview to be 'better' however you judge that just because it is free!
Commercial reality means we are stuck with shopping channels and the 'bid' channels - I don't think we can get rid of the shopping channels - but the 'bid' channels will have to be careful that they aren't done for 'false trading' or some other marginal rule of the trading laws. Perhaps the false expectation that the items are 'sold' below retail prices is something that should be addressed.
Its a bit like the summer dress 'Sale' prices that are 50% (of the price sold in one week in mid-winter at the John O'Groats store)
I have often wondered how the 'bidup' prices are decided - and I think there is a dodgy area here - perhaps that why 'bid-up' doesn't very often - if at all!.
The 'price-drop' prices are self setting - once you get enough mugs to pay a price its sold! - but of course there are only that number of 'phonecalls so they don't make so much money.