Way off topic -- BBC radio and TV in the UK

[janstett]

It is well established that US car shows suck, big time. There is nothing close to Top Gear here, and 5th Gear is better than anything we have.

However, the Top Gear crew's stint on BBC radio in S8 E02 got me thinking... What exactly is the UK media like? It sounds like 9 out of 10 outlets are owned by the BBC. Over here our big networks are ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. Once you go to satellite or cable, there are dozens of smaller networks (many owned by the giant media companies behind the networks). Over there, it sounds like it's BBC, BBC, BBC, and BBC. The BBC is most analogous to our PBS (Public Broadcasting System) and NPR (National Public Radio) but they are such a tiny representation in the US market. Sure, in the UK there are things like Sky (Fox) and Channel 5 which runs Fifth Gear, but it sounds like the BBC is by far dominant over everything else.

Further, the crew were broadcasting to 250,000 people. 250,000 people? That's all? I would say the worst rated DJ in New York broadcasts to more people.

Anyway, commercial radio over here does suck (variety suffers as stations tend to copycat each other and you end up with 5 rap station that sound the same or 5 rock stations that sound the same), and commercials run rampant. However, it does sound like it's better than the situation in the UK. There are scores of popular hosts and personalities.

And that's ignoring satellite radio by XM and Sirius -- commercial free music coast to coast with unimaginable variety and dozens of other channels covering all sorts of material from comedy to talk radio to NPR. I think people's heads would explode in the UK if they had XM or Sirius.

[scotth_uk]

The station that they were at is a small regional station. It's not one of the national stations, and is in a low population area.

The BBC run the show here, funded by the government. A quick look on their website shows just how many stations they actually run.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/

There are quite a few commercial stations around the place, but in all honesty BBC have the best of everything and typically pull in the biggest listener numbers.

Some rating information here:

http://www.rajar.co.uk/QuarterlySumm...35/q1_2006.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pre...io_index.shtml

[Kebab gud]

Originally Posted by janstett

I think people's heads would explode in the UK if they had XM or Sirius.

uhhm .. why?
oh and they have ...
in europe there are more Digital radio stations then in the US .. and more companyes that provide them ..
but no one cares..


Funny fact about the BBC: the BBC was instrumental in the fight against the nazis during WWII..

[Evo7]

The problem with radio over here though is sometimes the presenters talk too long. So if you are doing a short Journey chances are that you won't hear any music at all . Happens to me quite a bit.

[teeb]

Originally Posted by janstett

It is well established that US car shows suck, big time. There is nothing close to Top Gear here, and 5th Gear is better than anything we have.

However, the Top Gear crew's stint on BBC radio in S8 E02 got me thinking... What exactly is the UK media like? It sounds like 9 out of 10 outlets are owned by the BBC. Over here our big networks are ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. Once you go to satellite or cable, there are dozens of smaller networks (many owned by the giant media companies behind the networks). Over there, it sounds like it's BBC, BBC, BBC, and BBC. The BBC is most analogous to our PBS (Public Broadcasting System) and NPR (National Public Radio) but they are such a tiny representation in the US market. Sure, in the UK there are things like Sky (Fox) and Channel 5 which runs Fifth Gear, but it sounds like the BBC is by far dominant over everything else.

On your standard UK TV, you've for five channels - BBCs 1 & 2, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. The BBC ones are the big pullers, catering for pretty much everyone. ITV tends to go with period dramas for old people and reality TV. Channel 4 does interesting documentaries and Big Brother, and Channel 5 does Nazis and porn. I oversimplify, but that's the gist of it.

On the radio, there are loads of national BBC Radio stations - 9 the last time I counted, but bear in mind there are other independant stations - Virgin Radio broadcasts to the whole of the UK, as does Classic FM, for example. The problem is, since the 9 BBC stations each have their own 'twist' it's likely there's already something catered for you. Locally it's the same, BBC Scotland up here covers Scotland, and it's at this smaller level the smaller independent radio stations win over Auntie Beeb.

Further, the crew were broadcasting to 250,000 people. 250,000 people? That's all? I would say the worst rated DJ in New York broadcasts to more people.

250,000 for the Southern Counties I reckon is a good count - quarter of a million isn't exactly a small number of people! And bear in mind they're up against all the national stations as well as the local ones.

Anyway, commercial radio over here does suck (variety suffers as stations tend to copycat each other and you end up with 5 rap station that sound the same or 5 rock stations that sound the same), and commercials run rampant. However, it does sound like it's better than the situation in the UK. There are scores of popular hosts and personalities.

Yep, there are Big Names like Terry Wogan or Chris Moyles [*shudder*], and most stations play a nice mix of everything - they don't tend to have a huge shovel of one genre at once. Also, on the BBC stations, no adverts every 15 minutes, which is a huge boon.

[ArosaMike]

teeb pretty much summed it up. If you buy a digital terrestrial set top box (digital TV through a normal arial), you get a whole host more channels for free inlcuding:

*BBC 3 BBC Comedy programs earlier than on BBC1 or 2
*BBC 4 Documentries and serious programs
*ITV1
*ITV2 - all three show pretty much the same stuff.....which I never watch
*ITV3
*Sky 3 - Trash
*E4 (basically Channel 4 2) very like C4, but more US hit shows shown earlier and gernally has a 'hip' image
*More4 (Channel 4 3) Lots of documentaries and serious programs
*A couple of music channels
*A few religious channels
*Other crap I can't remember

Radio is much much better her than the US IMO. There are 5 main national channels:

*BBC Radio 1 - Aimed at teens to 30s so general popular music and chat. They also have the 'offical' chart (Top 40) which is calculated on record sales not radio play like the states. It now also takes into account sales on the major download sites like iTunes and Napster as well as in highstreet stores.
*BBC Radio 2 - Slightly older audience than BBC R1, but similar at times. A lot of aging R1 DJs migrate here
*BBC Radio 3 - Generally classical and documentaries
*BBC Radio 4 - News, current affairs, radio plays (The Archers being the biggest) kids story times etc. No music at all on R4
*Classic FM - Independent and, as the name suggests, classical music. Very similar in production to the BBC channels.

Then there are other national radio stations like Virgin and Galaxy, but these all have commercials in. Some are OK.

There are also all the BBC local radio stations which are a bit like a downmarket Radio 2 and vary in quality depending on the area.

There is also a huge chain of local stations like BRMB (Birmingham), Red Dragon (Cardiff) and Leicester Sound (Leicester!) which are all owned by one company and generally pretty similar most of the time (they share a few common shows). They also have the Pepsi Chart which is an alternative to the BBCs 'official' Top 40.

The shows are good, well produced and have a good mix of music. I tend to feel some of the DJs on Radio 1 can be a bit pretentious an full of themselves as they carry a lot of weight in the music industry here and basiacally make and break artists.

[teeb]

Originally Posted by ArosaMike

*BBC Radio 4 - News, current affairs, radio plays (The Archers being the biggest) kids story times etc. No music at all on R4

Also a lot of audio comedy, mostly live [of sorts]. "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" is world-class comedy, at least to British people. Probably won't make much sense to anyone else.

[janstett]

Thanks everybody for the insightful replies. I must admit I'm becoming somewhat of an Anglophile and enjoy learning more about the fertile ground from which so much of my favorite programming has sprung.