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Sixty Minutes: a self-inflicted disaster

Posted on 15th March 2022 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 15th March 2022 Filed under Opinion

1984 was one of the hardest years in the BBC’s history. A succession of flops on BBC One together with corporate controversies played straight into the hands of ideologically driven critics.

Ratings on BBC One were worryingly low but to be fair the problem might have been better described as a lack of hits rather than a succession of flops.

A balanced public service channel will always take risks – some of these will not succeed – and there were plenty of acclaimed and successful shows that year.

But one programme was both a genuine flop and caused a corporate controversy. The disaster of Sixty Minutes is still astounding to revisit.

On paper, it should have been straightforward. The early evening news and current affairs package had gradually grown in length over the years.

VIDEO: pre-launch trail for Sixty Minutes. Voiceover: Patrick Lunt. Presenters: Desmond WIlcox, Nick Ross, Sally Magnusson and Beverley Anderson. TX DATE: 26th October 1983. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

In 1969, the evening news was just 10 minutes long, the regional programmes lasted for 20 minutes and Nationwide appeared three nights a week. By 1983, the package regularly lasted 1 hour 15 minutes.

It was not unusual to see unnecessary repetition on the national news, the regional news and Nationwide.

Sixty Minutes should have simply brought the three elements together into a sharper, slicker package. Yet it failed miserably.

VIDEO: a trail for the first edition of Look North in the Sixty Minutes era. Presenter: Brian Baines. TX DATE: 27th October 1983. COPYRIGHT: BBC.
VIDEO: excerpts from the first edition of Sixty Minutes. Announcer: Tim Nichols. Presenters: Desmond WIlcox, Moira Stuart, Nick Ross, Judith Stamper, Sally Magnusson, Beverley Anderson and Sarah Kennedy. TX DATE: 27th October 1983. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

Was it the unpopular signature tune – modified after barely two months? Was it the replacement of popular Nationwide presenters?

Was it about individual decisions? Like cutting the full weather forecast or shortening the length of the news significantly,

Was it about imposing the generic national look on the regional programmes?

It’s hard to say just which of these factors – or others – made the programme such a turkey. The question is why things got to that stage.

Pilots and audience research would usually help prevent fiascos of that magnitude – especially on programmes of corporate significance.

The programme was criticised for triviality – yet Nationwide was looked down upon by some for its lighter items. The news was seen as too short – but that problem could have been spotted a mile off.

Undoubtedly part of the blame lay in the fact that network TV news at Television Centre and current affairs at Lime Grove were rival empires forced to work together.

The other problem with Sixty Minutes was that its predetermined length meant that BBC One’s evening schedule always had to begin at 6.40pm. Nationwide could be something of a buffer.

All too often that 6.40pm slot simply had to be filled by a cartoon until the first substantial programme of the evening got underway.  In most ITV regions at the same time, Crossroads was drawing in the viewers who were then staying tuned for the rest of the evening.

The faults – big and small – with Sixty Minutes were so great that there is almost a management text book to be written in how the disaster happened. Nine months later, the inevitable axe fell.

VIDEO: excerpts from the final edition of Sixty Minutes. Apologies for the rough VHS edit during the closing song. Announcer: Brian Baines. Presenters: Sarah Kennedy, Jan Leeming and Nick Ross. TX DATE: 27th July 1984. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

The new Six o’Clock News quickly gathered its deserved reputation – no doubt helped a little by the simple fact that Sue Lawley was once again a welcome teatime visitor in many homes.

Creative risks and changes to established patterns do not always succeed. The disaster of Sixty Minutes was much more serious than the troubles caused by a succession of unfunny comedies. Arguably it even risked greater damage to the BBC’s reputation than the debacle of Eldorado in 1992.

An organisation which prides itself on its news and current affairs output managed to undermine its reputation through a self-inflicted disaster. And in the process, the disaster added to the ratings woes of its flagship channel.

The BBC has faced many self-inflicted fiascos over the years – some are storms in teacups. But this one still reads like an academic exercise in finding out how it was possible to get so many things so badly wrong.

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FEATURE IMAGE:

PICTURED: Desmond Wilcox in a pre-launch trail for Sixty Minutes. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

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Tags: BBC, BBC Look North (Yrks), BBC News, BBC One, Beverley Anderson, Brian Baines, Desmond Wilcox, Jan Leeming, Judith Stamper, Moira Stuart, Nick Ross, Patrick Lunt, Sally Magnusson, Sarah Kennedy, Sixty Minutes

Dates for the Diary

21st January 2023: BBC Look North (Hull) moves to temporary studio to allow for studio upgrade.

24th January: the first stage of the BBC’s transition to HD-only broadcasting on satellite begins.

- BBC One South HD launches.
- BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC Two Northern Ireland go HD-only.
- BBC One Nightlight will appear on channel 101 on older, SD-only satellite receivers in South England and Northern Ireland. This is an SD-only version of BBC One, with no local programming.
- BBC News SD, CBBC SD and BBC Three SD will migrate to 12422H..

February 2023: new set for BBC Midlands Today goes live.

13th February 2023: Sky Kids launches.

Q1 2023: BBC Chameleon branding introduced on air for BBC Weather, CBBC and CBeebies.

April 2023: BBC News Channel and BBC World News merge.

November/December 2023: World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23).

Q1 2024: SD versions of BBC channels close on satellite.

2024: BBC Four and CBBC go online-only.

2024: BBC Radio 4 Extra goes online-only.

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