Deja-Vu for TV Audiences with Xmas Repeats

[Teddy Bear]

In the vast number of TV channels available to us today, the majority of what is being shown at any given time are repeats. Repeats from 10, 20, 30, even 40 years ago.
The reason they do this for the most part is because so little of what is being made today has interest for most viewers. Lacking quality and creativity, companies need to regurgitate shows from times where they knew how to produce those that the audience wanted.

The fact that Christmas time is when media companies know that families will be home together and many spending hours watching TV, it is then that one would expect them to produce whatever they have to entertain. The fact that so little new programmes have been produced to fill this gap, and even what has is questionable, it only serves to highlight the vacuum inherent in this industry, and despite the salaries BBC executives award themselves, the results of their 'labours' falls way short.

Here's how the BBC try to woo us with their new material:
A BBC spokesman added: ‘The BBC invests more in television at Christmas than any other UK broadcaster. Well over 90% of programmes in peak time on BBC1 will be brand new, including Roald Dah’s Esio Trot, Harry Hill’s Professor Branestawm and the final two episodes of Miranda, plus specials from Doctor Who, Call the Midwife, Mrs Brown’s Boys and Still Open All Hours.

Pretty much sums up their ignorance!

Here we go again... Christmas of TV repeats: Two thirds of programmes on major channels over festive period will be re-runs

• 63 per cent of programmes on major channels will be repeats
• Vintage hits will include Dad's Army and Morecambe and Wise
• Broadcasters will show combined total of 670 hours of repeats
• BBC1 and BBC2 will broadcast 315 re-runs over two week period
• BBC claims it invests more in Christmas TV than other broadcasters
  

By Sam Creighton for the Daily Mail

Christmas television has become as important to the modern festive season as roast turkey and gift giving.

But audiences this year will be left with a distinct feeling of déjà vu, with nearly two-thirds of programmes on the country’s major channels being repeats, believed to be the highest total ever.

Across BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4, 63 percent of programmes during the two week period from December 20 and January 2 will have been seen before, including vintage hits such as Dad’s Army, The Vicar of Dibley and Morecambe & Wise. This is up from a reported 47.5 percent for the same period last year.

The broadcasters will show a combined total of 670 hours, or nearly four weeks’ worth, of repeats in the fortnight between December 20 and January 2, even recycling episodes of game shows such as Pointless

But it was the BBC which found itself facing particular criticism yesterday after it emerged 62 percent of the festive output on BBC1 and BBC2 will be repeats. Campaigners claimed people do not pay the licence fee to watch programmes ‘for the umpteenth time’ and said the corporation must deliver better value for money.

The 315 repeats broadcast by BBC1 and BBC2 in the two-week period total 331 hours of reused content and include Only Fools and Horses, Eastenders, Blackadder and even repeats of game shows such as Pointless.

The worst offender was again BBC2 - with 74 percent of programmes being repeats, a figure equivalent to last year - prompting accusations the corporation is failing licence fee payers by not providing enough new shows. On Saturday, December 20, Christmas University Challenge and Rik Mayall Lord of Misrule are the only original shows in the channel’s 21 hour schedule.

Last night, a spokesman for The TaxPayer’s Alliance said: ‘“Viewers will be left wondering why the cost of a TV Licence is not coming down when they are being subjected to more and more repeats. Amusing as it is, Licence fee payers will question why it costs £145 a year to watch Dad’s Army for the umpteenth time - if they wanted to watch it on endless repeat, they could buy the DVDs. The BBC has to focus on delivering better value for money or sympathy for the TV tax will continue to wane.’

Excluding news bulletins, between Saturday December 20 and Friday January 2, 62 per cent of the corporation’s output will be repeats, up from just under sixty percent last year, with 315 of the 511 scheduled shows having been seen before by audiences.

Among the tried and tested family favourites will be The Two Ronnies, Mrs Brown’s Boys, and old episodes of Antiques Road Trip and Flog It!

These figures compare to 57 percent for ITV and 72 percent for Channel 4, where viewers will be able to almost daily re-watch comedies such as The Simpsons and Fraiser.

Broadcasters are also delving into the back catalogue for films keep families entertained, with the likes of Sister Act, Calendar Girls and The Eagle Has Landed filling the BBC schedules, with only 18 of the 112 films set to air on BBC1 and BBC2 having not appeared on the channels before.

Despite mounting concerns they are failing to provide enough new programming over the festive period, the broadcasters said they had ensured peak-time viewing hours were dominated by new shows.

A BBC spokesman added: ‘The BBC invests more in television at Christmas than any other UK broadcaster. Well over 90% of programmes in peak time on BBC1 will be brand new, including Roald Dah’s Esio Trot, Harry Hill’s Professor Branestawm and the final two episodes of Miranda, plus specials from Doctor Who, Call the Midwife, Mrs Brown’s Boys and Still Open All Hours. There are some carefully chosen repeats in the mix including family favourites and much loved treats from previous years including Royle Family and Vicar of Dibley.’

[Teddy Bear]

Once again, Danny Cohen tries to defend the BBC from criticisms, this time about the number of repeats destined to be shown over Christmas.

Notice some of the adjectives Cohen uses to make us believe that whatever the BBC does have to offer has us all waiting with baited breath.
"Prime Time Jewels..."
"Amazing Talent..."

Fact is, if they really had these qualities, it wouldn't be necessary for somebody like Cohen to have to tell us this. He'd simply shrug off the criticisms knowing the public would ignore them themselves.

But like all output from the BBC, they believe if they tell us what to believe, it will be true.

BBC director lashes out at "lazy" journalism after Christmas schedules criticised
Danny Cohen accuses newspapers of shoddy work after stories reveal an increase in Christmas repeats

By Victoria Ward

The BBC's director of television lost his temper on Twitter, ranting about "poor" and "shoddy" journalism after stories were published criticising the number of repeats in the Christmas television schedules.

Danny Cohen engaged in a bitter exchange of words with Mark Jefferies, the Daily Mirror's showbusiness editor, after a front page report said 63 per cent of BBC television over the festive period had been seen before.

The paper, along with many others, disclosed that during the two week festive period from December 20 until January 2, 729 of the 1,154 programmes aired on the main four channels will be repeats.

Shortly after the story was published online, Mr Cohen took to Twitter to bemoan newspapers for "rolling out their annual story", insisting that there was "extraordinary talent" on the BBC this December.

His response appears to form part of a new approach by the BBC which has begun robustly defending itself against newpaper criticism.

Mr Jefferies agreed that there was great talent on offer but retorted that there was an "extraordinary level of repeats", particularly on Christmas Eve when four films are shown again.

Clearly rattled, Mr Cohen claimed that family movies were different and said the real story was the "amazing talent" on display on the BBC that week.
He accused the reporter of "cynical, shoddy journalism".

In an attempt to draw a line under the spat, Mr Jefferies said the pair would have to agree to disagree and pointed out that other newspapers had run similar stories.

But Mr Cohen was not ready to let the issue rest and went on to accuse him of being "lazy". He said the newspaper had ignored all the "prime-time jewels"

He immediately retweeted a string of comments by other users who leapt to his defence and praised the BBC.

When Mr Jefferies suggested that the problem may have arisen because the licence fee had not been increased, Mr Cohen accused him of being "disingenuous".

He said the reporter had not written the story to support the BBC and the licence fee, going on to describe it as "poor journalism".
Mr Jefferies pointed out that the tabloid's readers were less concerned about BBC funding and just wanted something new to watch on television on Christmas Eve.

Mr Jefferies said he was always happy to debate but that he did not appreciate being called "lazy" when the fact was that the number of BBC repeats had increased on last year.

In a final reposte, Mr Cohen acknowledged that it was not pleasant to be criticised, adding: "BBC gets it every day".
The director's response suggested that the stories had hit a nerve.

Just hours earlier, he had given a speech in which he appealed to the corporation's critics to stop pointing out its failings and be a "little less of the critical friend".

In a "direct and open plea" to journalists, politicians, rivals and industry experts at a preview of the BBC's Christmas line-up in London, he said: "It would be crazy to damage, undermine or deflate what we have."

His appeal came hot on the heels of a string of negative stories about the BBC, with reports revealing that 91 executives were being paid more than David Cameron's £142,500 annual salary.

Even the Guardian, hitherto one of the BBC's most ardent newspaper supporters, criticised the BBC's expansion into Australia and said it was overstepping its public remit.

It has been suggested that executives are concerned about a cut in funding when its royal charter is renewed in two years.

This week, the BBC hit back at the Sun, which accused the broadcaster of wasting licence-payers' money, cronyism and left-wing bias.
In an unusual move, the BBC press office published two Sun editorials and took them apart, line by line, countering each of the newspaper's points.
The BBC declined to comment.

[Teddy Bear]

The BBC appeal for sympathy:

Speaking at a preview of the BBC’s festive line-up, Mr Cohen called for opponents of the BBC to tone down their criticism.

‘Perhaps this is time for a little less of the critical friend and a bit more of the friend,’ he said.

‘It would be crazy to damage, undermine or deflate what we have done.’

I just have to think about the way they have no morals and ethics in the way they demonize any and all in pursuit of their agenda and if I had my foot on their throat I would just press harder. I also don't recall any 'friend' that they demonstrated when they were going after Murdoch and the News of the World.

They just don't like it up 'em.

Stop having a go at us! BBC chief's whinge at critics as Christmas TV repeats and huge salaries are savaged

• Senior executive Danny Cohen lashed out in response to storm of criticism
• Director of television, who earns £327,800, had Twitter spat with reporter
• Journalist had asked why 62% of festive output would be old shows
• Mr Cohen said: 'It would be crazy to damage or deflate what we've done'

By Alasdair Glennie for the Daily Mail

The BBC launched an astonishing attack on its critics yesterday, accusing them of being crazy, lazy, cynical and shoddy.

A senior executive lashed out at those who dared to criticise the corporation’s huge salaries or to point out that the Christmas TV schedule was stuffed with repeats.

Danny Cohen, who earns £327,800 as director of television, had an unseemly Twitter spat with a reporter who questioned why 62 per cent of the festive output on BBC1 and BBC2 will be old shows.

At the same time, the BBC’s communications department attacked The Sun after it questioned executive salaries and whether licence fee payers are getting value for money.

Speaking at a preview of the BBC’s festive line-up, Mr Cohen called for opponents of the BBC to tone down their criticism.

‘Perhaps this is time for a little less of the critical friend and a bit more of the friend,’ he said.

‘It would be crazy to damage, undermine or deflate what we have done.’

Mr Cohen accepted that the BBC ‘doesn’t get everything right’ and should be held to account. However, he raised eyebrows with his assertion that the BBC should be treated like a ‘company’.

‘We must avoid undermining this success story, this growth of the UK creative industries, this reputational dividend for UK plc,’ he said.

‘The BBC is a great British company, not a Government department. We need it to flourish and continue to be the spark that lights a thousand creative fires.’

Mr Cohen’s tone became angrier when he took to Twitter after the event and attacked individual journalists for criticising the BBC.

TWITTER WAR OVER SALARIES

The Corporation is waging war with its critics on social media – tweeting a line-by-line refutation of two scathing editorials published in a newspaper.

The editorials were critical of executive salaries, but as part of its aggressive new PR strategy the corporation’s communications department attempted to debunk the claims.

Challenging The Sun’s assertion that ‘nothing has changed’ at the top, it said the number of senior managers and the associated pay bill had been driven down by ‘over a third’.

However, it neglected to address the fact that the number of managers in the tier below, where the average wage is now £77,308, has risen from 638 to 729.

It responded to questions over whether it was worth the licence fee by saying: ‘At just £2.80 a week per household the BBC provides excellent value for money.’

A string of newspapers, including the Daily Mail, held the corporation to account for filling much of its Christmas schedule with old shows.

But Mr Cohen dismissed the reports as ‘poor journalism’ and ‘standard, lazy, annually repeated newspaper stories about the BBC’. He added: ‘The real story is the amazing talent on the BBC that week. Cynical, shoddy journalism.’

However, despite the strength of his language, Mr Cohen was unable to dispute the fact that Christmas repeats have soared in recent years.

BBC2 is the worst offender, with repeats accounting for 74 per cent of its programming. Overall, the number of repeats shown across BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 is believed to be the highest ever for the Christmas period.

The disclosure prompted MPs to ask Commons leader William Hague for a parliamentary debate on whether the BBC was meeting its public obligations.

Conservative backbencher Alec Shelbrooke said: ‘Could we please have a debate on the BBC getting back to its remit and charter on public broadcasting instead of lazily repeating more often than a hearty Christmas dinner?’

Mr Hague refused the request but added: ‘I’m sure – well, I hope – they will be listening to what you say in the BBC.’