Plans to axe BBC Two daytime gaining momentum

Proposals to axe BBC Two’s daytime schedules and to simulcast with the BBC News Channel are gaining ground, according to reports.

Media Guardian reports the proposals are “gaining traction” amongst BBC executives. The proposal is just one of several being considered by the BBC to save money in the light of the licence fee freeze and additional responsibilities such as BBC World Service and the Welsh language channel S4C. Other proposals included scaling back the amount the BBC spends on covering sporting events such as Wimbledon and axing children’s programming from BBC One.

It seems though that the proposal to axe BBC Two’s daytime schedules – which includes programmes such as Flog It – is gaining some ground. The BBC’s overall daytime output has previously been criticised for not offering viewers choice and concentrating on too limited a genre – such as antique programmes. However, critics argue that simulcasting BBC Two with the News Channel during the day would be pointless as by the time digital switchover ends next year the majority of households would have access to the channel anyway.

However, no decisions have yet been taken on how to cut costs at the BBC with the proposals still being discussed. Even if the BBC does decide to press ahead with the idea of cutting back BBC Two’s daytime output there’s still a chance it could be subjected to a high profile campaign ala 6 Music.