BBC Two
- 2. BBC Two BBC Two was the third television channel in the UK and second BBC channel hence the name. It was also the first European channel to broadcast regularly in colour. The channel was launched in 1964. The channel was meant to start broadcasting at 7:20pm 20th April. Yet the launch night didn’t go very well with Television Centre suffering a power cut. It meant that the launch was postponed to the following morning with the first programme shown on the channel being Play House at 11am. The launch programming was then shown that night and began with a candle sarcastically blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy referencing the power cut. It was launched to deliver content that isn’t so mainstream, high brow shows and ambitious programming. The channel has always focused on the arts, film, comedy, documentaries and current affairs. It was created to fulfil the BBC needs to provide minority interest entertainment, community and educational programmes. The channel also delivers education content such as BBC Schools, BBC Bite size and Open University programming. BBC Two is owned and ran by the BBC which is a PSB. BBC is funded by public money collected by the TV License. This money is given to the BBC to provide broadcasting for the public benefit, without having any commercial concerns. BBC has a public service remit which is detailed in the Queen’s charter.
- 3. How is it funded? The British Broadcastings Corporation is funded through the British TV licensing that is set by the queens charter. The TV licensing fee can vary between whether you have a black and white TV or a colour television. The TV licensing pays for everything the BBC do. This includes making the TV and radio shows and operating channels and radio station locally and nationally. It also pays for the global expansion of their websites that now exceed 240 bbc.co.uk URL’s. The fee is £139.50 for full colour broadcasting and £47 for black and white transmission. This works out between 15p and 38p each day depending on your transmission type. The fee with go up in 2012 due to the inflation and will cost £151.50. This is less than the BBC had hoped for so is cutting back on spending. For example EastEnders is having its budget cut by 2.5% each year over the next 3 years. Images taken from Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bbc
- 4. Modern Day BBC Two Recently BBC Two has been criticised for becoming more mainstream to win the ratings battle. Even shows such as Top Gear which began as a specialist car programme has become mainstream and is now the most popular programme on the BBC Two. BBC has also been criticised for taking successful BBC Two shows and putting them on BBC One. More complaints have been received from BBC Four showing programming that used to be shown on BBC TWO. This has led to BBC Four programming getting repeated late at night on BBC Two. Also with the license fee being less than BBC would of liked they have announced more cross programming between the two channels. BBC Two will be the first terrestrial channel in the UK to be completely switched off and go digital.
- 5. Is it a worldwide company? BBC Two is owned by BBC which stands for British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC is the world’s largest broadcasting corporation. It is funded by the TV license fee which totals £4 billion. It also employs 28,500 people around the world. The BBC is a worldwide company. The commercial part of the company which trades worldwide is called BBC Worldwide. BBC Worldwide helps to fund the BBC. BBC Worldwide owns many different assets. They distribute BBC programmes to international buyers, help get funding for partnership programming, own and run foreign and domestic TV channels (such as UKTV channels in the UK and BBC America in United States). They also publish books, magazines, DVD and High Definition Media releases, spoken word and music audio CDs, videogames, library footage and exhibitions. They have also started to expand into other areas, recently they bought Lonely Planet the largest publisher of travel guides. Last year it made a profit of £111.1 million which is put back into the BBC to make public service programmes. BBC Worldwide is where the BBC hopes to make up some of the money they need to continue running the same service currently in the future not receiving the bigger raise in they funding over the next four years.
- 6. Vertically Integrated BBC The BBC is a vertically integrated company. Vertically integrated companies are a group that all produce different product and services but share a common owner. They all combine for a common need. BBC Online Distribution DVD Books CD’S International TV Channels Interactive TV Games Weather Sport Movies News Extra Video BBC Vision Childrens NHU News Sport Commissioning In House Production
- 7. Technology Currently BBC broadcasts BBC Two on Satellite, Cable, Free view (digital TV), terrestrial (analogue). The BBC is always advancing as they are the industry leader. The BBC were the first British PSB to launch a HD channel and all future programming will be filmed in HD by 2010. A selection of programmes on BBC Two are currently produced in HD which are shown on BBC HD which is available on satellite and cable. Recently BBC launched BBC iPlayer their viewing on demand platform. This is being expanded to lots of platforms such as Virgin Media, Nintendo Wii and the iPhone. It is also currently available online on all Windows, Linux and Mac computers. This is also going to be launched globally in the next year by BBC Worldwide to create more revenue. Most BBC programmes are available to watch on iPlayer depending on the rights. BBC also actively uses red button interactivity. This interactivity is a modern teletext which is available on digital TV which is available on Satellite, Cable and Free view. This allows things like extra information on programmes, games and extra video feeds.
- 8. Top Gear was first shown in 1979 on BB2 and originally a programme about cars that aimed to advise and inform the public about cars. The shows target audience has changed much over the years it has been shown. Jeremy Clarkson was not originally the main presenter for the show but in the early nineties his presenting career really kicked off. Clarkson was a journalist and knows what it takes to make entertainment. Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman started to develop new ideas into the show and pitched the new format to the BBC in the late nineties. In 2002 a new series was shot and the programme was shot at Dunsford Park in Surrey. After consideration new presenters James May and Richard Hammond were brought into the show. With new presenters and new format top gear was set for change and ever since has become one of the most watched shows on television. The change in Top Gear format drifted away from the old BBC2 format. The original target audience for BBC2 had previously always been those in social grades registrar A, B. aged 30-70. The new Top Gear was one of the first programmes on the channel to appeal to a wider audience. Including social grades registrar C, D and E. Since 2002 the channel has seen a lot of change with more programmes being aimed at these audiences. The current target audience for BBC2 is A, B Aged 16-35 Male primarily, Female Emulators/achievers and belongers This is a mainstream programme. Old Top Gear New Top Gear
- 9. Coast is an educational program which is all about Ireland’s and the UK’S coastlines such as the islands of Scotland or coastal towns and cities like Liverpool, Aberdeen, Dublin and Dover. But this program doesn’t just show the coastal views, it tells the viewers about the social history about the area they are in, and the natural history. This would be good because it could help people who are either studying Geography or Geology or just have a keen interest in this subject. This TV series was created by a collaboration between BBC 2 and Open University. The target audience for ‘Coast’ is more towards the 30+, it would be aimed towards all races, sexes and religions as it doesn’t contain anything that would cause controversy to anyone. But would also be part of an Open University program in which people could be educated from. This would class the program under the BBC’S knowledge genre. This genre is common on BBC 2 nowadays as they have a pact with Open University to create educational programmes for people to watch at peak time. Coast was one the first to feature at this time of day. Others such as GCSE programmes are normally broadcasted in the around 3am to 6am in the morning. Open University announced in 2004 that it would move its late night programmes, for a more prime time co-productions, which is modelled on Coast. BBC 2 also carried BBC 1’s schools programmes back in 1983 when BBC 1 cancelled them. Episode of Coast
- 10. The Culture Show is a weekly magazine show broadcast on BBC Two. Which covers all the latest news in the arts world. Topics include film, music, art, fashion and the performing arts. Covering nearly everything BBC Two was initially set up for. It is currently presented by Lauren Laverne along with other regular/guest reporters and presenters. It was launched in 2004 and is normally aired on Saturday nights. The programme is a return to the programming BBC Two used to broadcast. Yet making Lauren Laverne the host is still trying to get a younger audience as she also presents programmes which are watched by a younger audience like the NME awards and Transmission with T Mobile. Target Audience Gender – Both Age Primary 24-50 Secondary 16-24 Race – All Social Grade Primary A and B Secondary C Psychographics Socially Conscious Achievers Belongers Alternative Culture Show Banksy