OCR GCSE Media Studies B322 TV Comedy

1. How do these idents differ from
BBC1’s and Channel 4’s?

2. What is significant about BBC3?

3. Contrast
The question requires you to contrast the types of
programmes, their broadcasters and audiences.
So you must have knowledge of two types of at
least 2 broadcasters (TV institutions).
Therefore the comedies you will study must come
from two differently funded channels:
• one from a publicly funded & regulated channel
= either BBC1 or Channel 4
• and one more diverse and commercially funded
e.g. E4 or BBC3.

7. PSB
• Public Service Broadcasting =
• Broadcasting Service owned by the Public
and publicly funded

8. Public Service Broadcasting
 Public service broadcasters generally
transmit programming that aims to
improve society by informing viewers
 Public service broadcasters also strive
to entertain their viewers

9. Once upon a time...
• Once upon a time all TV & Radio was British
operated by the BBC
• TV & Radio informed people
• The BBC’s Mission statement is to inform,
educate and entertain

10. BBC
• The British Broadcasting Company was founded in 1927
and is headquartered in Westminster.
• It’s the largest broadcaster in the world and has a huge
workforce
• BBC’s duty is to provide unbiased public service
broadcasting in the UK
• BBC’s work is funded by the yearly television licence
payment which is charged to all British households with any
television recording equipment

11. Funding – BBC
BBC
 75% of the BBC’s funding comes from the licence
fee (currently set at £147 or £49.50 for a B&W
TV)
 The remaining income comes from commercial
activities such as:
• Worldwide sales of its programmes
• Publications such as Radio Times, Top Gear Magazine,
Good Food Magazine, etc

12. Isthelicensefeeworthit?

13. BBC One
BBC1 is the BBC's 'flagship' channel.
• It is aimed at a mainstream audience
• 44% of BBC Television's budget is spent on
programming for BBC1.
• "BBC One’s remit is to be the BBC’s most popular
mixed-genre television service across the UK,
offering a wide range of high quality programmes.
It should be the BBC’s primary outlet for major UK
and international events and it should reflect the
whole of the UK in its output. A very high
proportion of its programmes should be original
productions." - BBC Remit

14. BBC One stats
Provides 2,508 annual hours of news and weather
• 1,880 hours of factual and learning,
• 1,036 hours of drama,
• 672 hours of children's,
• 670 hours of sport,
• 654 hours of film,
• 433 hours of entertainment,
• 159 hours of current affairs,
• 92 hours of religion
• 82 hours of music and arts.
Source: BBC Annual Report & Accounts

15. Perspective:
• Road Tax = approx £160 per year
• Council Tax = £1484 per year

16. Isthelicensefeeworthit?

17. CHANNEL 4
 Channel 4 was set up in 1982 after a
government report argued that
television was not meeting the needs of
a diverse society
 Channel 4 thus has a legal duty to:
• Inform, educate and entertain
• Appeal to tastes not catered for by ITV
• Encourage diversity and originality
• Be distinctive
 Channel 4 is thus both commercial and

18. Funding – Channel 4
Channel 4 is a commercially funded, but a
publicly owned channel. Unlike the BBC it funds
itself purely through advertising and programme
sponsorships.

19. Channel 4 Ethos
Ethos: the guiding beliefs/ideals/values
• BBC = To enrich people's lives with
programmes and services that inform,
educate and entertain
• Channel 4 = To be ‘innovative, experimental
and distinctive.’

20. E4 Brand/Style/Ethos
• “Beautifully random, joyously daft and
generally not taking things too seriously”
• “E4 is the entertainment destination for a
cutting edge young audience”
• “Eccentric and witty”
• “E4 is here to entertain”

21. OFCOM
Enforced rules of PSB on these channels:
• Make quality
• Have proportion of British TV
• Reflect diversity in Britain
• Mix of genres e.g. news
• No repeated showings of the same
programmes

22. Summary of funding and rules
• BBC is owned by the
public (funded by TV Licence)
• C4 was created by an Act of Parliament so
is also publically owned (used to receive a
partial share of the licence fee but it’s now funded by
solely advertisers and programme sponsors)
• PSB rules apply to these channels –
regulated by OFCOM

23. Commercial Television
 The aim of commercial stations (ITV,
Channel 4, C5 and Sky) is to provide popular
shows that attract an audience -therefore
leading to higher prices when advertising is
sold
 For this reason, the ideals of public
broadcasting are often incompatible with
commercial goals

24. Commercial Funding
 All commercial terrestrial stations (ITV, C5)
are funded by advertising and sponsorships
 Commercial satellite station such as Sky are
funded through advertising and subscriptions
charges

25. Statements – Agree or disagree?
• "The BBC should pay for itself through
advertising rather than through taxes“
• "More than half the public think the television
licence fee should be scrapped”
• "Plans to decriminalise refusals to pay the fee"
• "Socially unjust that so many are fined and
indeed go to prison for not paying the licence
fee"

26. Controversy
• ITV, Channel 4 & BBC are all competing to be the most
popular TV channel nowadays and because they are all
PSB's, ITV and C4 argue that it is unfair that the BBC gets
funded by the public, meaning that they don't have as
much pressure as they do, worrying about funding and this
is why they want PSB to stop funding the BBC.
"The BBC should pay for itself through advertising rather than
through taxes"
• More than half the public think the television licence fee
should be scrapped and the BBC forced to find new ways to
fund itself, according to a poll published in July in 2014. The
main reason that the public want this change to happen
has been discussed in the next argument.

27. Controversy continued
"More than half the public think the television licence fee
should be scrapped"
• Another argument that is similar to this is that not
everyone watches BBC on TV, but they are still forced
to pay the licence fee otherwise they could get a jail
sentence. So some of the public feel 'hard done by' as
they have to pay £145.50 for something that they don't
use and this is a lot of money for a low income
household.
"Plans to decriminalise refusals to pay the fee"
"Socially unjust that so many are fined and indeed go to
prison for not paying the licence fee"