BBC Reveal Only 39% Of Content Is Original
The BBC have confirmed that even they are not immune to TV’s ’endless repeat syndrome’, recently admitting that over half of their schedule contains repeated programming, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Flagship channel BBC One alone screened 2,736 shows as ’rerun’ between April 2010 and March 2011, at a rate said to be 1.7% higher than 5 years previously (2005-06).
Meanwhile, percentage rates for the period was at a level of 61% (repeated programming) on average for all channels, with BBC Two registering 49.8%. Whilst digital terrestrial spin-off channels BBC Three and BBC Four clocked in with much higher repeat rates of 84.2% and 79%, respectively.
Matthew Elliott, a representative of pressure group TaxPayers’ Alliance, stated his belief that the level of repeats is unacceptable to its viewers, who are forced to pay a licence fee annually in exchange for legally watching TV (with most of this money going to fund the BBC).
Elliot said of what he feels the BBC’s situation is in the wake of the figures being released: “Viewers will feel cheated that they are getting endless repeats in return for their licence fee each year. Auntie should scrap BBC Three if there aren’t enough new programmes. Bosses need to focus on delivering high-quality and unique programming.”
The remaining percentages on the figures mentioned above is obviously the amount of original programming being broadcast, and while a corporation average of 39% across the four main channels might not read well for the public broadcaster, it can be argued that the low figures do not tell the whole story.
It is likely that these figures do include shows being repeated in less viewer-friendly hours (such as the middle of the day (work hours) and early morning), while the BBC themselves claim that due to the public licence fee, they have had to prioritize the creation of primetime content on the broadcaster’s TV channels, and that offering repeats of such programming gives users a greater chance of seeing episodes that they may have missed at a convenient time, even with the availability of the online and on-demand BBC iPlayer.
They also believe that with a large number of hours to fill on their four main channels, the application of ’bigger’ events and shows in primetime gives licence fee payers the best possible value-for-money. A BBC spokesman said of their scheduling process: “Repeats are scheduled to reach different audiences and are rarely shown in the same slot. On BBC One, for example, over 91% of programmes in primetime are new. Audiences value having several opportunities to catch something they may have missed.”
While the BBC’s figure of 61% certainly makes them a lot less guilty of ‘endless repeats’ than other networks, is their current average ratio of original programming acceptable for a public service broadcaster?
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