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When major events impact broadcasting

Posted on 3rd April 2020 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 23rd March 2021 Filed under Opinion

There have not been many occasions when extraordinary events or national crises have had a fundamental effect on broadcasting. Normally the impact of a news story is limited to specific schedule changes to allow for extended coverage or to remove individual programmes considered inappropriate.

In the early days of broadcasting the General Strike had a profound impact on the development of the BBC. Although there were questions over the fledgling organisation’s impartiality, the then British Broadcasting Company managed to avoid a government takeover, helping to establish its independence from the state.

The outbreak of World War II led to the sudden suspension of TV and the previous radio networks. The Home Service and later the Forces Programme took their place.

In 1945, peacetime broadcasting built on this pattern – the Home Service is what became Radio 4 and the Forces Programme evolved into the Light Programme and Radio 2.

There have only been two other occasions when major national crises have fundamentally hit broadcasting. In 1947, a fuel crisis led to the shutdown of TV, and radio being closed for part of the day. The power cuts of 1972 caused minor changes – the most notable being that Play School was briefly shown on BBC One at lunchtime to keep BBC Two shut all day.

The Three Day Week of 1974 had a more serious impact – mandated 10.30pm closedowns had a severe impact on the schedule and ITV ad revenues. However things soon got back to normal.

In ITV’s case, the biggest catastrophes were the result of major industrial action in 1968 and 1979.

In 1968, an emergency national service was briefly established during the dispute. In 1979, it took a few days for normal local services (and in some cases continuity) to be re-established once the dispute was over.

While some freelancer announcers never returned, fundamentally the lasting impact was more subtle. How did this strike  influence Mrs Thatcher’s views on union policy and broadcasting? Discuss.

News events have occasionally provided a handy cover for changes to unsuccessful programmes. In 1991, the BBC’s unsuccessful morning schedule Daytime UK was removed during the Gulf War and was overhauled in its absence.

Broadcasters have made many schedule changes as a result of the severe restrictions on life currently imposed. There is no suggestion of any of the crisis being used as a cover for changes that might normally have been controversial – such as the temporary suspension of UTV continuity.

But it will be interesting to see if some emergency arrangements actually end up becoming established even if that is not the current intention.

Much will inevitably depend on how long this crisis lasts.

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Tags: BBC, BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, ITV plc, UTV

Dates for the Diary

30th January: BBC Reporting Scotland moves to a temporary set. The programme will move back to a refurbished Studio C in the summer.

30th/31st January: BBC One East HD and BBC One East Midlands HD launch on satellite.

6th/7th February: BBC One West Midlands HD, BBC One East Yorkshire/Lincolnshire HD and BBC Alba HD launch on satellite. BBC One/Two Wales SD services close on satellite.

13th/14th February: BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD, BBC One London HD and BBC RB1 HD launch on satellite.

20th/21st February: BBC One North East and Cumbria HD, BBC One North West HD, BBC One Yorkshire HD and BBC Parliament HD launch on satellite. BBC One Scotland SD and BBC Scotland SD services close on satellite.

22nd/23rd February: BBC One South East HD launches on satellite.

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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