BLUE PETER CANCELLED SHOCKER

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

or not... but that's how a LOT of people are reading it... maybe they need reading lessons.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...ens-shows-bbc1

Blue Peter is to be dropped from BBC1 as part of wide-ranging shakeup that will see all the BBC's children's programmes moved from its flagship channel after more than 60 years.

The corporation will move all children's programming to digital channels CBBC and CBeebies, as part of wide-ranging plans to cut hundreds of millions of pounds from its budget by 2017 and rejig its output for the post-analogue broadcasting era.
Blue Peter is currently presented by Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood, and airs on BBC1 on Friday afternoons, as well as CBBC. Last Friday, Blue Peter attracted 300,000 viewers and a 3% audience share, and struggles to win viewers who tune into programming aimed at adults.
On Wednesday, the BBC Trust gave the green light to director general Mark Thompson's Delivering Quality First proposals, including the children's programming switch. The DQF cuts will also see fewer entertainment shows, more repeats and reduced programming budgets for BBC3 and BBC4.
The BBC Trust said that viewing of children's programming on BBC1 and BBC2 was low and had fallen significantly over recent years.
As a result, following the completion of digital switchover later this year all children's shows will transfer to CBBC and CBeebies, which the BBC Trust said would affect a very low number of children viewers. Following switchover, CBBC and CBeebies will be available to all UK households.
The BBC Trust said that the level of investment in children's programming would be maintained, meaning that the proportion of the licence fee spent on children's output would actually increase.
"Children's output remains a cornerstone of the BBC's public service offering and one of the BBC's foremost editorial priorities," said the BBC Trust.
A BBC Trust spokeswoman added: "Children's programmes are absolutely fundamental to the BBC and that is why we have protected investment in them in the light of cuts elsewhere.
"Only a very small percentage of children still solely watch these programmes on BBC1 and BBC2 alone, so moving them to digital channels is merely following current viewing patterns and reflects the fact that CBeebies and CBBC will be universally available from the end of this year. We have asked the executive to ensure the changes are prominently publicised well in advance."
Digital switchover is due to be completed in the autumn, when analogue broadcasting ends in the final two regions to go through the process, Northern Ireland and Tyne Tees.
The BBC began broadcasting kids' programming on its TV service before the second world war, with the For the Children strand.
For the Children returned to the BBC's then only TV channel after the war in 1946 as a weekly strand and subsequently kids' programmes became an established featured of BBC1's weekday afternoon schedule, with Blue Peter launching in 1958.
BBC2 also broadcast children's programmes from its launch in 1964, with one of its earliest shows being pre-school format Play School, which transferred to BBC1 in 1983 and ran until 1988.
BBC1's weekday afternoon children's programming was rebranded Children's BBC – later shortened to CBBC – in September 1985, with Phillip Schofield presenting from the tiny "broom cupboard" continuity announcer's studio. Other occupants of the "broom cupboard" over the years included Andi Peters, Zoe Ball, Gordon the Gopher and Edd the Duck.
BBC1 and BBC2

On other changes to BBC1 and BBC2, the BBC Trust said the two main channels would be largely protected from making significant cuts to the scope of their peak time content and output, with changes targeting less valued parts of the schedule.
BBC1 would see a small reduction in peak-time entertainment shows and the number of repeats aired in peak time would rise.
"Under this plan they will remain below 10% which we believe is an acceptable level," said the BBC Trust.
In addition, BBC1 would stop broadcasting mid-morning and 3pm news summaries and see a small reduction in the number of new programmes broadcast after the 10pm news.
BBC2 would make slightly fewer entertainment, panel and chat shows and would continue to show international news and current affairs at lunchtime and repeats of factual programmes from the corporation's archive and some live sport.
BBC3 and BBC4

The BBC Trust said that BBC3 and BBC4 would remain valuable but would suffer budget cuts and would support the flagship channels with more co-ordinated commissioning and scheduling.
BBC3 would reduce drama, music and entertainment programming and focus on appealing to younger audiences.

BBC4 would cut investment in UK original drama and some specialist factual output, the funding for which would move to BBC2, and take a clearer lead role in arts and cultural output.
The BBC is also cutting back its sports right budget by 15%, with the BBC Trust noting that a good deal of this target had already been achieved through its shared broadcast deal with BSkyB for Formula One.
The BBC Trust has given guidance on how the sport rights budget should be spent telling the corporation to prioritise events that have the "greatest national resonance" and provide airtime for minority sports.

Seems to me the CBBC move isn't a bad one at all, but I wonder what it will be replaced with, more Bargain Hunt clones and minor variations, Columbo/Quincy repeats? Whenever I visit family or friends with kids who are watching Kids TV, it's usually on the specialist kids channel on Freeview or Sky etc anyways, BBC or not.

Also interesting there about BBC3 reducing Drama, Music and Entertainment... "and focus on appealing to younger audiences" don't remember seeing that much music outside of Festival coverage, but some of the Drama they have like Being Human and The Fades has been great. Sadly this seems to mean we'll end up with more Crapumentaries like My Penis And I or that Young, Dumb... stuff, because of course Drama, Music and Entertainment don't appeal to Younger Audiences... ever.

[Viv]

I can't follow this. Simply can't, you know.

[DC]

blue peter is being moved to the cbbc channel by the looks of it. which may not be so bad, because most people have at least freeview these days.

[R94N]

I imagine Blue Peter is quite an expensive show to make, but then again it has so much heritage and history behind it it would be difficult for them to cancel it entirely if the need came.

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

I imagine Blue Peter is quite an expensive show to make, but then again it has so much heritage and history behind it it would be difficult for them to cancel it entirely if the need came.

They're already cut it back as far as they can, to 1 show a week...

[cxx666]

The main surprise is they still continue to make this program. Ok so its got a lot of history for the BBC but lets be honest, how many kids are even remotely interested in the history of a tv program?

I can't remember where I saw this before but it summed it up perfectly. The problem with Blue Peter is it is education disguised as fun. I didnt have much time for it as a child simply because I thought it was very twee and I wanted something which was purely entertaining or fun.

[Viv]

I think i may have been around when 'blue peter' began. Not sure. I always thought it was twee then. Actually, i think i liked shep the dog best then. Think there was a dog called shep anyway?!

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

I think i may have been around when 'blue peter' began. Not sure.

You probably thought it was a Smurf spinoff...

[R94N]

The main surprise is they still continue to make this program. Ok so its got a lot of history for the BBC but lets be honest, how many kids are even remotely interested in the history of a tv program?

Yeah I bet most CBBC viewers have no idea that Blue Peter is such a long-running programme.

I can't remember where I saw this before but it summed it up perfectly. The problem with Blue Peter is it is education disguised as fun. I didnt have much time for it as a child simply because I thought it was very twee and I wanted something which was purely entertaining or fun.

I always used to like it when I was younger.

[Viv]

Learned from radio two today that all the dogs off the show used to get buried in the blue peter garden.