BBC Three getting axed Page 8

Quote: BoomBoomBoom @ 20th March 2014, 1:14 PM GMT

According to BBC folks at the Salford Comedy Festival, chances are that BBC Three moving online is going to result in commissioning less 6 x 30 minute sitcom series, but more short-form stuff. Which is theoretically
good news for newer writers and performers, because Jack Whitehall probably isn't getting out of bed for what a ten-minute iPlayer video pays.

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But what happens to the newer writers and performers when they have cut their teeth on short-form online content? They're going to find it hard to graduate to 30 minute sitcom because there won't be the slots. It isn't good news for rising talent however it is spun. Fewer slots means less risk taking and less opportunity for new talent.

Quote: Badge @ 21st March 2014, 4:51 PM GMT

But what happens to the newer writers and performers when they have cut their teeth on short-form online content? They're going to find it hard to graduate to 30 minute sitcom because there won't be the slots.

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The world is changing, we don't live in an age where everybody is bound to TV schedules (especially in the BBC Three demo) and it's silly to be beholden to the way entertainment was consumed thirty years ago. The very notion of "the slots" means less and less, and means practically nothing when it comes to an on-demand live channel. The issue is not "the slots" -- it is how much money is alloted for content. And that's a double-edged sword for those of us trying to break in, but it's certainly a harder blow to established talent who are used to a certain payscale.

Perhaps rather than thinking of short-form online content as teeth-cutting and a stepping stone, we should be thinking about how to make money from it. The BBC embracing it and paying for it is a pretty big step in that direction.

It isn't good news for rising talent however it is spun. Fewer slots means less risk taking and less opportunity for new talent.

This move actually means more risk taking. The very concept of the move is a risk, as is the move away from traditional 6 x 30 min commissioning. Rather than chucking a million quid or so at Tiger Aspect for a series with a popular stand-up or hit writing team, they might be more likely to give several lots of a few grand to YouTubers and newbies for 6 x 5 min webisodes etc. The move democratises BBC Comedy more, and that creates smaller opportunities but more of them. There will be more half-full (or half-empty, if one's bent on pessimism) glasses on the table, and now it might be possible to pick one up and drink even without an Oxbridge connection or million-selling live DVD.

Or it might not. Maybe it will just be Jack Whitehall and Lee Nelson doing the same for less money, or no more comedy feeds and the like. Regardless, stamping our feet and screaming that everything has to stay the same forever will do us no good. Especially for those of us who aren't currently famous and raking in five or six figures from the license payer anyway.

Like I said, no matter how you spin it. Less money into programming, content, etc, is not good for rising talent in my opinion. If you have a smaller plate you tend to fill it with things you know you already like rather than risk trying new things and going hungry.

I hope you're right and this is a positive move towards innovation but I suspect it is not motivated by such motives and is driven almost exclusively by the desire to cut costs. The rest is spin.

Quote: Badge @ 25th March 2014, 5:25 PM GMT

I hope you're right and this is a positive move towards innovation but I suspect it is not motivated by such motives and is driven almost exclusively by the desire to cut costs. The rest is spin.

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They've been pretty open that that's exactly the motive. All the rest is how they've, as you say, spinning it and trying to use the change to some kind of experimental advantage.

Despite all the media talk about the move to on-demand, internet programming, different formats, etc, I see absolutely no sign of traditional linear television declining in popularity or coming to an end.