TiVo Community Forums Archives - Explain BBC idents to an American!

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

Explain BBC idents to an American!
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: farleyruskz

Hello all,

After seeing this thread yesterday, I did a Google search on BBC idents and found a number of sites dedicated to the history of these things. I'm trying to figure out exactly what they are (or, more accurately, how they are used)? From what I can gather, they're shown on the BBC networks in between television programs. Here in the US, the only things shown between television programs are commercials, either for consumer products/services or for other programming on the particular network you are watching.

So are there no commercials on the BBC networks? If that's the case, I can understand the point of these idents; to transition from one program to the next. My curiosity has been peaked and I figured this would be a good place to seek enlightenment on the subject.

Thanks! :)

Posted by: iankb

BBC don't show any commercials, except for their own programs. They also don't show permanent DOG's (Digital Onscreen Graphics) that identify the channel, so the channel idents that they show in the breaks are the only reminders you get as to which channel you are watching.

Posted by: digital_S

The BBC is a non commercial channel, and they play their idents at the beginning of each program.
They occasionally change the animations, for different seasons, or events; eg, Christmas.

The idents:
BBC1
BBC2
BBC3
BBC4

Posted by: cwaring

WOW! Nice find. I think it's rather nice to be able to see them in full for a change :)

Posted by: farleyruskz

Okay, that makes sense to me. I was assuming that the BBC channels in the UK were similar to the big three networks in the US (CBS, NBC, ABC), which are funded by commercials, commercials, and more commercials.

Thanks!

Posted by: MarkE19

No we just have the privilege of paying the BBC about Ł110 (currently around $220) per year out of our actual pockets to be allowed to watch TV, even if we don’t watch any BBC channels :rolleyes:

Mark.

Posted by: digital_S

quote:
Originally posted by MarkE19
No we just have the privilege of paying the BBC about Ł110

I get what you mean, but we don't pay the BBC!

We pay for a TV licence, and that enables us to recieve channels through our aerial!

Posted by: MarkE19

quote:
Originally posted by digital_S
I get what you mean, but we don't pay the BBC!

We pay for a TV licence, and that enables us to recieve channels through our aerial!

And where does the money from the licence fee go?

Posted by: guydewdney

and what if you have no aerial? and no TV? only a monitor? and all tv capable stuff is run off batteries? (UPS)?

i hate the idea that I HAVE to pay the BBC for channels I never watch. i already pay mur***h far too much per month for re-cylcled american shows.

do I still have to pay? I have no TV!

Posted by: sanderton

If you have a tuner (analogue or digital) capable of receiving broadcast TV signals then you have to pay. If you have no signal source, or disable the tuner, you don't have to pay. Power source doesn't come into it, nor does a display - you have to have a licence for a VCR if it can tune to a broadcast signal.

Posted by: sanderton

quote:
Originally posted by MarkE19
even if we don’t watch any BBC channels :rolleyes:

I've yet to meet one of these remarkable people who watch TV without ever watching anything from BBC 1 or BBC 2, listen to any BBC national or local radio station, tune in to BBC 3, 4, News 24 or the children's channels, nor watch any of the licence fee funded or part-funded material which forms much of the content of UK Gold, UG2, Discovery, UK History, Living, DHL and many other satellite and cable channels.

They can't be just watching Sky Sports as they would surely tune in to the football and rugby on the BBC. And if they are movie buffs watching the movie channels, do they really pass up on the ad-free classic films shown on BBC 1 and BBC 2?

All I can think is that their TV diet consists entirely of ITV 1 and Sky One. In which case they should probably be refused a TV licence for their own protection. :)

Posted by: JonMace

quote:
Originally posted by sanderton
I've yet to meet one of these remarkable people who watch TV without ever watching anything from BBC 1 or BBC 2, listen to any BBC national or local radio station, tune in to BBC 3, 4, News 24 or the children's channels, nor watch any of the licence fee funded or part-funded material which forms much of the content of UK Gold, UG2, Discovery, UK History, Living, DHL and many other satellite and cable channels.

They can't be just watching Sky Sports as they would surely tune in to the football and rugby on the BBC. And if they are movie buffs watching the movie channels, do they really pass up on the ad-free classic films shown on BBC 1 and BBC 2?

All I can think is that their TV diet consists entirely of ITV 1 and Sky One. In which case they should probably be refused a TV licence for their own protection. :)

Well you have now I watch Sky 1, SciFi Channel, Sky Movies (there are no ads in the film and they normally get films before BBC) Halmark, discovery Channels, C4 and E4.

Posted by: cwaring

quote:
Originally posted by sanderton
... part-funded material which forms much of the content of UK Gold, UG2, Discovery, UK History, Living, DHL and many other satellite and cable channels.

Just to be pedantic for a moment :)

None of the money from licence fee is spent on any digital TV channels outside of BBC3 and BBC4. The "UKTV" channels (Gold, G3, History, etc) are funded through the commercial arm of the BBC.

Also, it should be noted that any profits from their commercial ventures (inlcuding the channels mentioned as well as DVD and video sales, etc) are used to 'top up' the money brought in by the licence fee.

Posted by: sanderton

And you really never watch any BBC output at all? Ever? Are the BBC channels deselected as Channels I Receive on your TiVo?

I find it odd that if you like the output of Discovery, C4 and E4 that there's NOTHING on BBC 2 or BBC 3 that you'd want to watch.

I'll admit to being an avid BBC watcher; a quick check through teh SPs on my two TiVo reveals:

BBC2 120
BBC1 35
BBC4 17
CBEEB 11
BBC3 9
BBCR4FM 5
BBCR2 2
BBCR7 2
Total BBC 201

UKHRZ 7
UKHSTY 5
UKSTY 2
UKGLD 1
UKBRID 1
UKG2 1
Total BBC JV channels 17

C4 73
ITV1 15
FIVE 10
SKYONE 9
DHL 7
DISCOV 7
HISTY 5
E4 4
DCI 3
TRAVEL 2
ADVONE 2
SKYSP1 2
SKY1MIX 2
ITV2 1
PARCOM2 1
FXUK 1
NATGEO 1
SKYSP2 1
SKYSP3 1
SKYSPX 1

Total Non-BBC 148

Posted by: sanderton

quote:
Originally posted by cwaring
None of the money from licence fee is spent on any digital TV channels outside of BBC3 and BBC4. The "UKTV" channels (Gold, G3, History, etc) are funded through the commercial arm of the BBC.

The content of those channels was funded by the licence fee payer; their subs revenues are in effect "funded" by the value of the IP created from the license fee. Red Dwarf was not made with UK Gold's money; UK Gold is funded by people paying to watch what the license fee paid for!

And if your going to be pedantic, :) BBC Worldwide pays a lot of money to the BBC - Ł132m in license fees for the content it sells on - but its profits (Ł32m) are its own.

Posted by: cwaring

quote:
Originally posted by sanderton

The content of those channels was funded by the licence fee payer
I didn't say they weren't, 'cos of course they (mostly) are :)

I was saying that none of the money the BBC receive from the LF is used to fund the running of those channels.

their subs revenues are in effect "funded" by the value of the IP created from the license fee.
Sorry, I didn't understand that bit :eek:

UK Gold is funded by people paying to watch what the license fee paid for!
...and the money that the BBC receives (off itself and Flextech, I suppose) is added to the money raised by the LF to fund the making of even more programmes.

And if your going to be pedantic, :) BBC Worldwide pays a lot of money to the BBC - Ł132m in license fees for the content it sells on - but its profits (Ł32m) are its own.
Okay. I sit corrected :)

Posted by: sanderton

quote:
Originally posted by cwaring
I was saying that none of the money the BBC receive from the LF is used to fund the running of those channels.

No cash from the licence fee goes to UK Gold, but the programmes UK Gold etc show cost money to make, and that was paid out of the licence fee.

UKtv makes money from programmes created and paid for by the licence fee, and would not exist if those programmes had not been paid for by the licence fee.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all, and there is some extra cash going to the BBC for the arrangement, but the UKtv channels are funded, albeit indirectly, by the licence fee.

Posted by: JonMace

I thought that UK Gold etc had to pay the BBC for the programs the same as the yanks do, I may be reading your post wrong but that would mean by your logic our licence fees are subsidsing the yanks?

Posted by: cwaring

quote:
Originally posted by JonMace
I thought that UK Gold etc had to pay the BBC for the programs the same as the yanks do

Yes, I belive they do. This money is then ploughed back into new programming. Which, however badly explained, was my point :)

Posted by: sanderton

quote:
Originally posted by JonMace
I thought that UK Gold etc had to pay the BBC for the programs the same as the yanks do, I may be reading your post wrong but that would mean by your logic our licence fees are subsidsing the yanks?

Depends on how you define "subsidising". If you meant they don't have to pay the full cost of creating an hour's programming by buying in an hour of licence fee funded programming from the UK then yes, I suppose they are subsidised by the license fee payer. It's a mutually beficial arrangement though, and the word "subsidised" suggests otherwise.

Put another way, I guess the total number of broadcast hours of the UKtv channels is roughly equivalent to the BBC channels. Yet BBC Worldwide contributes just Ł5 per license fee payer back to the BBC, and much of that comes from DVDs, merchandising and magazines not UKtv. So UKtv gets its programming WAY below cost.

Posted by: mrtickle

quote:
Originally posted by sanderton
If you have a tuner (analogue or digital) capable of receiving broadcast TV signals then you have to pay. If you have no signal source, or disable the tuner, you don't have to pay. Power source doesn't come into it, nor does a display - you have to have a licence for a VCR if it can tune to a broadcast signal.

To clarify. It's a common misconception that if it's capable then you need a licence; or you have to physically rip out tuners etc if you never watch broadcasts but want to use the TV for a games console. It is only what you use it for that counts. As you say, having no signal source (remove aerial cable) is sufficient. The TV licence people used to admit this on their web site! See the excellent TV licensing mini-FAQ here: http://www.jifvik.org/tv/ HTH