BBC Four & CBBC to close

[tellyblues]

I find it funny when people say that the BBC should just operate 2 or 3 services on television instead of multiple. The reality is though that the BBC is meant to cater for everyone. To axe and merge channels like CBeebies is to axe choice. You can't just cram everything onto BBC One and/or BBC Two, because you obviously still need channels like BBC Three and BBC Four to overspill sports and arts coverage.

Tell that to the viewers whose favourite programmes were replaced by cooking shows and whatever else, or the 12-16 year-olds who have largely been ignored for over a decade. It's all very well having dedicated channels but not everyone has the luxury to be in a household with multiple screens and before different ages got a relatively fair share of content via the main BBC channels whereas now older viewers are overrepresented.

Your point about overspill perhaps reflects the regard the BBC have for BBC3 and 4 in that they are merely useful channels to have around and that content which is not aimed at their respective target audiences can boost viewing figures and appear to show that these channels are working when in reality they are plagued with the same lack of enthusiasm that originally saw the downfall of programming aimed at younger viewers.