BBC Daytime hoping for budget boost

BBC Daytime bosses are hoping for a budget boost to produce more original and diverse programming following criticism of its schedules by the BBC Trust.

 

According to Broadcast the BBC are planning to boost its daytime budget to produce more original and diverse programming following criticism of the schedules by the BBC Trust. A report by the Trust criticised the schedules for BBC One and BBC Two in the daytime for failing to meet audience expectations and for failing to offer diverse programming. The corporation was accused of over-reliance of particular formats/genre such as property programmes and “antique/collectable” programmes such as Cash in the Attic. Now bosses are hoping for a £5million, possibly even £10million, boost to its budget to respond to the criticisms.

 

In the past 18 months the BBC has boosted its drama output in its daytime schedules following years of underinvestment on the area preferring instead to rely on Doctors and Neighbours to offer audiences drama (and repeats of Murder She Wrote/Diagnosis Murder). Following the departure of Neighbours to Five and the failure of successor series Out of the Blue to find an audience (rather hard when its shunted to BBC Two after just two weeks and then dropped at a moments notice for this, that and anything) the BBC has produced more dramas for daytime audiences. The past year has seen Missing, Moving On and Land Girls all of which were re-commissioned by the BBC while later this year new drama The Indian Doctor will debut.

 

The bid to boost the budget for daytime programmes is being backed by Jana Bennett according to Broadcast and could result in up to 35 hours of more drama, or even comedy, in the daytimes schedules of both BBC One and Two. However, its likely that any budget boost for the daytime schedules would require more current affairs programmes alongside dramas and any comedies – which at present there are none in the daytime schedules.