June 2004
Submission to the
3WE
Third World & Environment
Broadcasting Project
Review of BBC digital
TV channels www.ePolitix.com/forum/3WE
19 Akeman St, Combe
Witney, Oxon OX29 8NZ
Tel: 077 865 42615
dredding@ntlworld.com
International content and the relationship between mainstream and
digital channels
Summary of conclusions and recommendations
In this submission 3WE sets out what it believes is unique empirical evidence of the interrelationship
of the BBC digital channels, Three and Four, with the mainstream terrestrial channels One and Two,
with regard to a single defined aspect of ‘the purposes of public service television’, namely non-news
programming on ‘matters of international significance or interest’.
This evidence shows that the BBC has not upheld one of the terms of the original consent for the
establishment of Three and Four, namely that they should not have a detrimental impact on the range
of programmes provided by the two mainstream terrestrial channels. The ‘personal guarantee’ of the
Secretary of State that mainstream provision would not be undermined has not been effected.
The evidence shows that BBC Four has become the new home of international documentary
programming, both in series and in one-offs. At the same time, BBC Two has significantly reduced its
factual international programming – and in particular its factual programming on developing countries
– to their lowest levels in 14 years of 3WE’s monitoring.
This is the case even though BBC Two benefited from the transfer of substantial number of
programmes from BBC Four. These programmes were all shown in off peak slots, and
disproportionately fulfilled BBC Two’s need for ‘serious factual’ programmes on international issues;
while its own commissioned programmes, shown mainly in peak time, had a narrower range and depth
of content.
With regard to BBC One, no factual international programmes were transferred there from Three or
Four, and so there has, at minimum, been no positive impact of the digital channels on One. There is
some evidence that there may have been a mild negative impact, as the factual international
programming on One narrowed in range and lightened in tone compared to previous years.
We further found that the factual international programming provided by BBC Three was very limited,
and its developing country factual programming insignificant.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
As a result of these conclusions 3WE makes the following recommendations to the review of BBC
digital TV channels:
• that the review should seek further empirical information from the BBC with regard to
the impact, or otherwise, of the digital channels upon the terrestrial ones; and in the
meantime should not accept the BBC’s general statement that there has been no such
impact
• that the review considers to what extent, as the digital channels approach universal
availability, it would be appropriate to create a direct and explicit link between the BBC
digital channels and the ‘purposes of public service television’ set out in the
Communications Act 2003, including the requirement for non-news programming on
‘matters of international significance or interest’
• that BBC Three be discontinued, with its budget redirected to BBC Four, or that it be
given a further probationary period, under a new set of conditions, in which the BBC
would need to prove its public service value. Any such new set of conditions would need
to include a responsibility to inform and educate its target audience with serious factual
programming on the wider world
• that BBC Four should become part of the ‘core services’ of the BBC under a renewed
Charter and Agreement
• that BBC Four should be given a purpose, guaranteed for the ten years of the next
Charter, that includes a specific responsibility to widen the range and depth of
programming on ‘matters of international significance or interest’ available on UK free
to air TV
• that the review should consider, as a related matter, the future relationships between the
terrestrial and digital channels, and the measures required to ensure that One and Two
provide a significant and substantial range and depth of programming on #matters of
international significance or interest’
About 3WE
1. 3WE is a coalition of international charities campaigning for high quality television coverage
of ‘matters of international significance or interest’. Its members include: ActionAid,
Amnesty International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International
Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan International, RSPB, Save
the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK,
VSO, and the World Association for Christian Communication. 3WE’s parent charity is the
International Broadcasting Trust, charity number 326150.
2. Since its founding in 1989, 3WE has run a monitoring research project examining the
quantity and range of non-news-and-current-affairs factual programming on international
issues generally, and developing countries particularly, on the terrestrial public service TV
channels.
3. 3WE has contributed to every major broadcasting policy consultation since the government
first began looking at regulating converged communications in 1997. 3WE was instrumental
in persuading the government to amend the Communications Bill so that a requirement for
public service television to cover ‘matters of international significance or interest’ was
included in the final Act [Section 264(6)(f)].
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
About this submission
4. This submission deals specifically with BBC Three and BBC Four, and with the question of
whether they have met the terms of the consents given by the Secretary of State. It also offers
observations on the future of the two channels.
5. The submission is empirically based on the results of new research. The research was funded
by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and commissioned by 3WE from the University of
Westminster, where it was independently managed to academic standards by Professor Steven
Barnett and Caroline Dover of the Communications and Media Research Institute.
About the research
6. The research on which this submission is based will be published shortly as ‘The World on
the Box’. It will form the seventh in the series of 3WE research looking at the way the public
service TV channels cover international issues, outside news and current affairs. Each ahs
used the same methodology in order to provide a longitudinal view of trends over time (see
Appendix 1 for the methodology in full).
7. The last research report, ‘Losing Reality’, covered the year from September 2000 to August
2001 inclusive. Hence it ran almost exactly to the point at which consent for BBC Three and
Four was given. The new research looks at the calendar year 2003, and for the first time
includes full data on the factual international output of the BBC digital channels Three and
Four. By examining this data in comparison to the performance of the two mainstream
channels, BBC One and Two, and the trends in their factual international coverage over time,
we are able to draw implications and conclusions about the impact, or lack of it, of the digital
channels upon mainstream output.
8. For 2003, the researchers counted every single non-news factual programme that was filmed
wholly or mainly outside the British Isles (UK and Ireland), on both the terrestrial and digital
BBC TV channels. Repeats, omnibuses and archive programmes were excluded, as were
dedicated educational programmes such as the Learning Zone, and artistic performances that
showed only performance and did not put the artistic content into a social or cultural context.
9. Within the figures for overall factual international programming, the researchers identified the
quantities of factual programming filmed wholly or mainly in developing countries.
Developing countries are home to the majority of the world’s people, as well as the majority
of the world’s biodiversity, and therefore the question of the degree to which television
channels are covering developing countries forms a useful litmus test of their commitment to
‘informing, educating and entertaining’ UK citizens about the wider world.
The big issue: have the new digital channels undermined the amount or
range of provision on the terrestrial channels?
10. 3WE’s principal concern is that UK citizens should have access to a wide range and depth of
information on the wider world, through the medium they most use, and through channels
which are universally available.
11. Hence 3WE’s main concern with regard to BBC Three and Four has been whether they would
undermine the amount, range and depth of factual international programming, and specifically
of developing country factual programming, available through BBC One and Two.
12. This question in turn has implications for the provision of such programming across public
service television as a whole, since the BBC is explicitly seen, within the new framework
created by the Communications Act 2003, as the broadcaster that must most comprehensively
fulfil the ‘purposes of public service television’, and set standards for others. One of those
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
purposes, as noted, is to provide general programming on ‘matters of international
significance or interest’.
13. At the time that consent was given to BBC Four, 3WE wrote to the Secretary of State
welcoming her public statement of ‘the clearest guarantee’ that these new services would ‘not
reduce [the BBC’s] range on offer on its main services’. This was a specific requirement
within the terms of consent for both Three and Four.
14. We asked both the Secretary of State and the then chair of BBC governors Gavyn Davies how
this guarantee would be safeguarded: in other words, how the impact of the new channels
would be measured and assessed. We received only general replies to these enquiries. Mr
Davies promised that it would be part of the responsibility of the (then) new monitoring unit
working to the governors to track and measure the impact of the new channels.
15. We note that the BBC’s submission to the reviews does not include empirical evidence as to
the impact of the digital channels upon the terrestrial ones. Rather it contains the following
general statement:
“Impact on BBC One and Two: Rather than having an adverse effect on the
flagship BBC channels, the new services have provided new talent and programmes to BBC
One and Two…. The period since the launch of BBC Three and Four has seen an increase in
the volume of arts hours and spend on BBC One and Two, and an increase in reach to 25-34
year olds. Zones or branded output for all the new channels exist on BBC One or Two,
extending audience access to our digital programming investment and so increasing its value.
During seasons (e.g. Hitting Home, Obesity) we have coordinated programming to add depth
and a range of perspectives, and on-screen menus have been employed to provide simple
guidance to what is on all the channels.”
17. 3WE recommends that the independent review of the digital TV channels should seek
further empirical information from the BBC with regard to the impact, or otherwise, of
the digital channels upon the terrestrial ones.
18. 3WE’s evidence does suggest an impact, in particular of BBC Four on BBC Three.
The research results: summary
19. ‘The World on the Box: changing trends in international factual coverage on British
terrestrial television’ demonstrates that, in the conclusion of the researchers, there has been
‘an underlying trend of continued decline’ in the levels of both factual international
programming generally, and developing country factual programming specifically, on the
main five public service TV channels between 1989-90 and 2003 (the period of 3WE’s
research).
20. The pattern of this decline is common to all the channels, including BBC One and Two.
21. The decline on BBC One and Two has not been reversed since the addition of the digital
channels Three and Four – even though significant numbers of programmes have been
transferred from the digital to the mainstream channels.
22. In the case of developing country factual programming, the research shows that BBC Four
has made itself the new home of developing country factual programming. This programming
is all in theory available to BBC Two, and some proportion ahs been transferred – all of into
off-peak slots on BBC Two. However, in spite of this transfer of programmes, BBC Two’s
hours of factual programming on developing countries continued to fall in 2003, reaching the
lowest level in the 14 years of 3WE’s monitoring.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
23. BBC Four programmes have not been transferred to BBC One. Like BBC Two, BBC One’s
hours of factual programming on developing countries continued to fall in 2003, reaching the
lowest level in the 14 years of 3WE’s monitoring.
24. BBC One has benefited from the transfer of programmes from BBC Three, However, BBC
Three has provided an extremely limited amount of factual international programming, and
almost no developing country factual programming, to its target audience.
The research results: in detail
25. On the terrestrial public service channels 1-41, factual international programming fell by 40%
between 1989-90 and 2003.
26. When counting the contribution of Five since 1996-97, factual international programming on
all terrestrial public service channels fell by 25% between 1989-90 and 2003.
27. On the terrestrial public service channels 1-4, developing country factual programming fell by
57% over the same period.
28. Counting in Five’s contribution, the fall in developing country factual programming was still
a marked 49%.
29. Within this ‘underlying trend of continued decline’, there was an unusual peak in 2000-01,
when factual international programming appeared to recover to 1989-90 levels, and
developing country factual programming seemed to recover to the level of 1996-97 (a
previous mini-peak among the underlying decline). Our previous research report, ‘Losing
Reality’, reported the reasons for this in detail (see www.ibt.org.uk/3WE for the full report).
These high points in 1989-90 were due to the rise of three programme formats that were
popular at the time: ‘reality TV’ series, many of which were filmed overseas (‘Survivor’,
‘Shipwrecked’, etc); other types of travel challenge; and ‘docu-soap’ programmes about
British people living abroad. A common feature of these formats was that ehy put British
people in the foreground, albeit in exotic locations. When examining the programmes by issue
category, it was found that there had been a continued decline in the numbers of ‘harder’,
more serious factual international programmes.
30. ‘The World on the Box’, examining 2003, found that these formats had subsided markedly,
although they did not disappear. Their reduction contributed, but did not wholly explain, the
significant falls in factual international programming, and developing country factual
programming, seen in 2003.
31. This pattern means it is important to see the 2003 figures in the context of the whole
longitudinal data, and not just in comparison to the year 2000-1, even though this might
appear to give the most direct comparison of pre- to post-BBC digital.
32. Charts 1 and 2 show the pattern of output of factual international programming from 1989-90,
including the addition of BBC Three and Four:
1
The channels which have existed throughout our monitoring period.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
Chart 1: total factual international programme hours, 1989-90 to 2003
Chart 2: same expressed as bar chart
33. Note: within these figures, as in all the figures quoted in this submission, programmes
transferred from a BBC digital to a BBC terrestrial channel are counted once only, as
terrestrial output, since the principal focus of the research is on what is available universally
through terrestrial public service TV.
34. The charts show that the overall levels of factual international programming in 2003 were
roughly consistent with the levels during the 1990s (whether comparing output on channels 1-
4 only, or making a five-channel comparison since 1996-97).
35. Our focus here, however, is on the performance of BBC One and Two. Chart 3 shows
individual channel performance over the last five years:
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
Chart 3: channel by channel factual international output from 1998-2003
36. Despite benefiting in 2003 from the transfer of BBC Four programmes, BBC Two’s level of
factual international programmes fell continuously and significantly from 1998-99 to 2003:
from 222.5 hours to 178.4 hours. Its 2003 figure was by some margin its lowest in 14 years of
monitoring (the previous lowest was 212.3 in 1993-94).
37. BBC One fell back on 2000-01 but maintained a level consistent, at around 100 hours, with
1998-99, and before that with 1996-97.
38. The research breaks down these overall totals by ‘issue category’. Overall, around 12% of the
factual international programmes on the terrestrial channels dealt with ‘harder’, more serious
factual international topics such as conflict, disaster, politics, development, environment and
human rights.
39. There is evidence that, while keeping up its level of hours, BBC One has ‘lightened’ the
content and reduced the range of its factual international programmes. For example, it
broadcast only one programme on development, environment and human rights in 2003,
compared to 16 in 2000-01; and only one programme dealing with conflict and disaster
compared to 6 in 2000-01.
40. Against these trends, we can now examine the impact or otherwise of BBC Three and Four on
the figures. BBC Three and Four broadcast 131.6 hours of additional factual international
programmes in 2003 (that is, not counting the programmes transferred to terrestrial channels).
All of the BBC Four factual international programmes that were transferred went to BBC
Two in off-peak slots. In general, BBC Three factual international programmes were limited
in number and were not transferred to the terrestrial channels.
41. Our figures suggest that in 2003 there was no benefit to BBC1 in this area of public service
programming, from the presence of the two new digital channels. If anything, the policy of
transferring BBR Four programmes in this area to BBC Two only has had a mild negative
impact on BBC One, in allowing it to lighten the content and narrow the range of its output.
42. On BBC Two, the programmes transferred from BBC Four were disproportionately drawn
from the ‘harder’, more serious programme issues categories. For example, of the 42 hours of
‘harder’ category factual international programmes broadcast by BBC Four in 2003, 13.5
hours was repeated on BBC Two. Similarly, of 37 international history programmes aired on
BBC Four, 12 were transferred to BBC Two.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
43. On the face of it, the transfer of these serious factual international programmes would appear
to benefit terrestrial viewers. However, they have not halted or affected the long term decline
in BBC2 provision of factual international programmes, which in fact accelerated in the
period since 2000-01. And within the overall totals, as noted earlier, the proportions of
‘harder’ content have continued to fall.
44. BBC Two’s own commissioned factual international output in 2003 was dominated by series
in the categories of wildlife (eight episodes of Natural World; six of Australia Wild Down
Under; and the series Bill Oddie Goes Wild); docu-soap (Get a New Life, Living the Dream);
and US culture (Stand UP USA, Lost Highway on US comedy and country music
respectively). Most of these series – unlike the BBC Four transfers – were broadcast in peak
time. As a caveat to this overall schema, though, we note that BBC Two did specially
commission a new 7-part series on Fighting the War (British involvement in Iraq) and a
notable amount of its own history programmes (America Beyond the Colourline, Rebels and
Redcoats, Rise and Fall).
45. This evidence suggests that while the transfer of serious factual international programmes
from BBC Four has created some apparent benefits to BBC Two viewers, perversely is has
allowed BBC Two in its own commissioning and scheduling policy to accelerate its previously
established trends of reducing its factual international output, and within that reducing the
range of harder, more serious topics covered.
46. These trends become even more evident when examining developing country factual
programming within the overall international content of the channels.
47. Chart 4 shows the long term decline in developing country factual programming from 1989-
90 to 2003:
Chart 4: developing country factual programme hours from 1989-90 to 2003
48. The overall total of 197.3 hours of developing country factual programmes on the terrestrial
channels is the lowest recorded in the 14 years of monitoring.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
49. Moreover, within this figure, each of the five terrestrial channels without exception recorded
its own lowest output of such programming during the research period. This includes BBC
One and BBC Two.
50. Only by counting in the output of the two BBC digital channels would the overall total of
developing country factual programming, at 258.2 hours, become similar to the general level
during the 1990s. Indeed, adding the BBC digital output to the BBC terrestrial output in 2003
would give a ‘total BBC developing country factual output’ significantly above that of 2000-
01. Although the picture is more complex and nuanced, this clearly tends to support the view
that the BBC digital channels have acted as a ‘digital dumping ground’ for programmes
previously found on mainstream TV – breaking the terms of the original consent.
51. In the case of BBC Three, such a theory is not supported by the evidence, at least in this
specific area of programming. BBC Three broadcast only four hours of developing country
factual programmes in 2003. If anything, it set out to under-expose its target audience to such
issues.
52. In the case of BBC Four, however, this view finds stronger support from the evidence. BBC
Four altogether broadcast 72.65 hours of developing country factual programming in 2003.
Of this, 12.75 hours was transferred to BBC Two. These transferred programmes were all
broadcast off peak.
53. The range of countries covered in BBC Four’s developing country factual programmes was
impressively varied, including: Zimbabwe, Yemen, Ecuador, Madagascar, North Korea, Iraq,
Iran, Syria, Sri Lanka, Borneo, China, Afghanistan, Algeria, Congo, India, Pakistan, Egypt,
South Africa, Nepal, Vietnam, Venezuela, Laos, Chile, Indonesia, Botswana, Bolivia, Kenya,
Jamaica and Ethiopia.
54. BBC Two drew on this variation to add to its own range of coverage, for example by
repeating the travelogue series Holidays in the Axis of Evil and Holidays in the Danger Zone.
Within its own factual international programme commissions, only the Natural World wildlife
series and a travel challenge called SAS Jungle: Are You Tough Enough? and set in Borneo
ranged into developing countries; although Horiazon occasionally touched on them, as did a
short series on Buddhism.
55. The geographical and subject range available on BBC Four (but not through BBC Two’s own
commissioning) is, in large part, due to the Storyville strand of international documentaries.
This is a strand that originally belonged on BBC Two, but was transferred to BBC Four on its
establishment, and given a much longer programme run. Again, this would appear to be fair
evidence for the view that BBC Four now contains programming that was originally found on
BBC Two.
The BBC programme policies for TV channels One to Four
56. The BBC statements of programme policy for each channel for 2004-05 indicate that the
Corporation is seeking to address some of the deficits in its factual international
programming. For the first time, and in accordance with the new version of the BBC’s
‘purposes’ which will form its manifesto for Charter renewal, each channel is required to state
explicitly what role it will have in bringing international content to its target audience.
57. The policy for BBC Three would seem to have changed significantly. In 2003 our evidence
shows that factual international programming for its target audience was extremely limited,
and developing country factual programming close to non-existent at just four hours (plus
three current affairs programmes in the Third Degree strand). The policy statement for 2004-
05 states that BBC Three’s remit now includes ‘news, current affairs, education… and
coverage of international issues’. Furthermore, ‘In current affairs the Third Degree strand will
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
tackle topical subjects including the global legacy of the international leaders of the 2980s…’,
and ‘BBC Three will showcase a series of documentaries on conflict hotspots around the
world’.
58. BBC Four is described explicitly as an internationalist channel, which gives global context to
citizenship via its 8pm news, its current affairs series, and the Storyville strand.
59. If the negative effect of the new channels on the terrestrial channels is to be reversed, then the
programme policies for One and Two are even more important. One, like Three, is described
as primarily a UK channel, but also as playing ‘a significant role as a platform where the BBC
can help make sense of global events and bring the best of the world’s creative culture to UK
audiences’.
60. BBC Two’s statement, like that of Four, is explicitly internationalist. In current affairs, ‘It is
also our ambition to enhance our international coverage, and This World will bring major
stories from around the world to our audiences. Outside the strand, we will maintain a broad
agenda across international affairs with one-offs and shorter series’. More generally, ‘BBC
Two aims to reflect the increasing importance of international affairs to UK audiences, while
also offering some of the best of the world’s creative culture…In addition to This World, we
will further cover significant issues facing the world today in series such as World Wedding,
which will view social, religious and health issues around the world through the prism of
young couples living in different cultural environments. There will also be specials such as
One Day of War, a 90-minute programme tracking conflicts in 16 different countries and all
filmed on one day.’
The future use of Three and Four
61. The reach of the digital channels will increase over time and into the digital-only
environment. The Freeview service has grown rapidly and is predicted by Ofcom to be the
major source of continued household conversion to digital multi-channel TV2. BSkyB has
recently announced that it will also seek to target new converters with a free digital satellite
service, carrying the BBC digital channels, capable of reaching homes that are not within
Freeview’s transmissions. In a relatively short time, therefore, BBC Three and Four will
approach universal availability. In this context we recommend that the review considers to
what extent it would be appropriate to create a direct and explicit link between the BBC
digital channels and the ‘purposes of public service television’ set out in the
Communications Act 2003, including the requirement for non-news programming on
‘matters of international significance or interest’.
62. In its submission to the public consultation on BBC Charter review3, 3WE argued that BBC
channels or services that do not add public service value should be discontinued, and either
replaced by new offerings, or their budgets diverted to services that do offer such value.
However, where services can clearly demonstrate that they do offer such value, they should
become part of the ‘core services’ permitted under the Charter and Agreement, and cease
being ‘ancillary services’ conditional on the periodic consent of the Secretary of State.
63. In 3WE’s view, and speaking only with regard to factual international programming, we
believe that there is at this stage no case for BBC Three to become a ‘core service’ of the
BBC4. Accordingly, we recommend either that BBC Three be discontinued, with its
budget redirected to BBC Four, or that it be given a further probationary period, under
a new set of conditions, in which the BBC would need to prove its public service value.
2
See the first report of Ofcom’s strategic review of public service television.
3
See the submission at www.ibt.org.uk/3WE or at www.bbccharterreview.org.uk
4
We recognise that there may be other grounds, outside our area of interest and competence, for
considering that the channel does provide public service value.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
Any such new set of conditions would need to include a responsibility to inform and
educate its target audience with serious factual programming on the wider world.
64. Again speaking only with regard to factual international programming, 3WE believes that our
evidence shows that BBC Four is adding significant quantity, range and depth to the factual
international programming available to UK citizens through free-to-air television.
Accordingly we recommend that BBC Four should become part of the ‘core services’ of
the BBC under a renewed Charter and Agreement.
65. Channel Four has within the terms of its licence an explicit responsibility to cover ‘global and
international issues’. We consider that something similar would be appropriate to codify BBC
Four’s role. While we welcome the explicit recognition of BBC Four’s internationalist
content within the current statement of programme policy, we are aware that this is an annual
policy only, and subject to change in future years with the agreement of the governors. In our
submission to the Charter review consultation, we argued that such arrangements do not offer
a guarantee to UK citizens that the main public service broadcaster which they own and fund
will reliably and consistently provide the highest quality of service to citizens. We argued that
under the renewed Charter and Agreement, each ‘core service’ should have a statutory
purpose of its own. We therefore recommend to the review that BBC Four should be
given a purpose, guaranteed for the ten years of the next Charter, that includes a
specific responsibility to widen the range and depth of programming on ‘matters of
international significance or interest’ available on UK free to air TV.
The future use of One and Two
66. These measures would help to ensure that in themselves the BBC digital TV channels are run
with a tighter sense of public service purpose and value. However, they would not mitigate
the net negative effects of the new channels on the programming available on One and Two.
3WE therefore invites the review to consider, as a related matter, reflecting on the
relationships between the terrestrial and digital channels, when it reports to the Secretary of
State.
67. If the new channels, and BBC Four in particular, are not to become a ‘digital dumping
ground’ for serious programming previously found on terrestrial TV, then the purposes,
remits and commissioning policies of the two terrestrial channels must themselves change. As
indicated in the notes on the new statements of programme policy above, there is some cause
to believe these changes are beginning. However, further guarantees are necessary.
68. While we recognise the logic of BBC One being primarily a UK channel, we also believe it
should be taking positive, proactive steps to break down the increasingly artificial distinction
between ‘UK’ and ‘international’ subject matter. In a world where every aspect of our lives is
increasingly affected by international and global events and processes, these distinctions will
become obstacles to high quality information and education for UK citizens. 3WE would
therefore wish to see that, particularly in its ‘landmark’ and ‘event-related’ programming –
that is, those new initiatives which show the most creative and innovative approaches to
adding public service value – BBC One should seek to include a reasonable and significant
number of international and global themes.
69. With regard to BBC Two, 3WE notes that since the transfer of the Storyville strand from Two
to Four, BBC Two has not had a single non-news-and-current-affairs programme strand
capable of informing UK citizens about the lives and concerns of the majority of the world’s
people. We do not believe it is adequate to address the growing deficit in its factual
international and developing country factual programming by picking up a few additional
hours from BBC Four and slotting them into off-peak times. We believe BBC2 itself should
have a purpose and a remit which require it to make a distinctive contribution to programming
on ‘matters of international significance or interest’ for mainstream audiences.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
Appendix 1: Factual Programming Methodology (extracted from The World on The Box,
publication pending)
This report is based on comprehensive original research. The same methodology has been followed
since 1989-90, to allow for comparisons with previous years and the identification of trends over time.
Data
Included within the survey is all new factual programming:
• broadcast on BBC1, BBC2 (including programmes originally screened on BBC3 and BBC4),
ITV1, Channel Four and Five, and on BBC3 and BBC4 (excluding programmes repeated on
BBC2)
• between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2003
• where a significant proportion of programme time was devoted to footage filmed outside the
British Isles
The data for 2003 was then compared with data from the earlier reports published by 3WE, covering
the following periods: 1989-90, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1996-97, 1998-99 and 2000-01.
Programme hours
Most sections of this report use ‘programme hours’ as the main indicators. Where a programme met
the criteria described in this methodology, the entire time of the programme was counted. For
programmes broadcast on commercial channels, 10% of programme time was deducted to allow for
commercial breaks and trailers.
Definitions
Throughout the research report the following definitions apply:
‘Factual international programming’
All non-news-and-current-affairs factual programming filmed outside the British Isles (the
UK and Ireland)
‘Developing country factual programming’
Non-news-and-current-affairs factual programming filmed in developing countries
‘Developing countries’
As categorised by the United Nations Development Programme, the pre-eminent world
development organisation, in its most annual Human Development Report.
NB: Palestine is categorised as a developing country, and where programmes dealt equally
with ‘Israel and Palestine’ or Israel and the Occupied Territories’ we counted them within the
developing country category.
NB: Programmes where the exact location was impossible to determine (such as generic
ocean wildlife or generic disastrous weather programmes) were counted as ‘international’ but
not ‘developing country’.
Inclusions/exclusions
All non-news factual programming was listed and analysed. Open University, school programmes, the
Learning Zone, and repeats and ‘omnibus’ collations were not counted.
Programmes consisting solely or mainly of archive material were excluded. However, the genre of
programmes collating clips of real life footage from other countries, such as CCTV or police video,
was counted.
Arts and culture programming was included, but programmes featuring celebrity subjects, where the
culture of their home country was not examined, were excluded. Music shows recorded overseas but
consisting of performance only were not included. Those which blended musical performance with
other material on the culture or society of the country concerned were included.
Sources
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.
The data was collected from publicly available listings sources such as the Radio Times, but was then
subject to rigorous cross-checking with the broadcasters, who have co-operated closely with the
researcher in order to verify: the genres of programmes, the numbers of programmes in certain series,
the location of filming, and the proportion of the programmes which was filmed overseas. Current
affairs information was also checked to verify that listed subject matter was broadcast, since these
programmes can be subject to late change.
Peak time
As in previous 3WE research, this research differentiates between programmes shown at Peak and
Non-Peak time slots. Peak-time was classified as between 6:30pm and 10:30pm since this is when
audiences are substantially larger than at other times of the day. A programme is counted as peak
when the majority of the programme minutes fall into peak time. Where the programme minutes fell
exactly half out- and half in- prime time, we gave the benefit of the doubt and counted that programme
as ‘Peak.’ We maintain these peak-time definitions for consistency with previous research, although
we acknowledges that some channels such as C4 and BBC2 now consider time slots up to midnight as
attracting significant audiences.
The Issue categories
Programmes were categorised into the following broad issue bands:
• Conflict and Disaster (C&D): comprising international and civil war, global security, terrorism,
crime and civil unrest within the past ten years, and both historical and contemporary natural and
man-made catastrophes.
• Politics (Pol): comprising elections and political change, political economics, and political analysis
within the past 10 years.
• Development, Environment and Human Rights (DEH) issues.
• Religions, Cultures and Arts (RCA), including anthropology.
• History (Hist): factual programmes telling stories which took place over ten years ago (in order to
distinguish the ‘History’ category from ‘Conflict and Disaster,’ in the case of war documentaries).
This category also comprised archaeology, and included standard documentaries made up of
archival footage and ‘talking head’ interviews, if the historical subject matter was placed outside
the British Isles.
• Wildlife (WL) and natural history: simply put, these are shows mainly about animals. Purely
reconstituted footage of animals was distinguished from animal programmes examining their
environmental and human contexts, which would fall into the ‘DEH’ category.
• Travel (Trav): all variations on the travel/adventure/holiday programme – including reality game
shows with observational footage of overseas locations (such as ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of
Here!’, ITV 2003)
• Miscellaneous (Misc): comprising science, medicine, health, and lightweight human interest topics
In the 2000-01 survey the category of ‘Crime and Police’ was added, as the rise in acquired US crime
investigation programmes as well as use of international CCTV and police video compilations would
otherwise have distorted the figures for ‘Conflict and Disaster’. This category remained significant in
the 2003 survey.
3WE promotes sustained and imaginative coverage of global affairs on UK television. Its Board of Management consists of ACTIONAID, Amnesty
International, CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Comic Relief, ITDG, International Broadcasting Trust, One World Broadcasting Trust, OXFAM, Plan
International, RSPB, Save the Children, Sightsavers International, Skillshare International, UNA-UK, UNICEF-UK, VSO ,WDM, and the World
Association for Christian Communication.