Talk:BBC Prime

'Consequently, many people in mainland Europe, bought viewing cards to receive BBC One and Two from the UK, which prompted GBC in Gibraltar to end terrestrial retransmission of BBC Prime in 1999. This has continued even after the BBC switched to broadcasting unencrypted on a satellite with a much weaker signal, as many people in Spain already had large satellite dishes.'

I don't understand this. More details please.


 * Well, I don't know much about it, so I won't edit the article, but I think what is meant is that viewers frustrated with the content of BBC Prime opted to pay to receive (by encypted satellite, I presume, hence the need to but a "viewing card") BBC1 and 2. The second sentence is a bit ambiguous - did the people in Spain with large satellite dishes continue to buy "viewing cards" to view these unencrypted transmissions? Or does it just mean "they carried on watching", because even though they were on the fringes of the "footprint" (as the linked paragraph puts it) their large dishes could pick it up? I guess the second, but "This has continued" is very vague, and the reference to Spain far more specific than the previous sentence's "people in mainland Europe". - IMSoP 19:19, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Advertisements
The following sentence can only be partially correct:

"As it also carries advertisements, it is not available in the United Kingdom, as under the terms of the BBC's Charter, its domestic services cannot show advertising."

I can vouch for the fact that it is not correct to say that BBC Prime "carries advertisements": I've watched it daily since it was launched, and I have never seen a single ad. However, I can't say that it does not carry advertisements in other BBC Prime regions.

The sentence would be more acurate if it either listed the Zones where it carries advertisements, or if it was rephrased to something along the lines of:

"As it may carry advertisements in some regions, it is not available in the United Kingdom, as under the terms of the BBC's Charter, its domestic services cannot show advertising."

If nobody expresses disagreement within the space of a few days, I will edit the article. MIP | Talk 14:21, 10 August 2006 (UTC)


 * As there were no rebuttals to my suggestion, I will now make the proposed edit. MIP | Talk 11:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

About BBC Learning
It has been removed from programming in the European Zone. From the BBC Prime website FAQ:

''Why has BBC LEARNING ended? BBC Prime is changing its programming strategy and concentrating on drama, comedy and lifestyle with the intention of improving the relevance and appeal of the channel to the widest audience. Education is still important to the BBC and it may be that in the future there will be a dedicated channel for educational content.''

Does anyone know whether it still runs in other regions? In a few days, and if nobody opposes, I will edit the article to reflect this change. MIP | Talk 00:41, 31 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Have edited the article, according to my comment above. MIP | Talk 11:26, 5 September 2006 (UTC)


 * It should be called BBC Repeat, repeat and repeat, because that's all it does. andreasegde 19:11, 8 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The only thing I can remember about BBC Learning is that it had Mark Steel's Lectures on it. As I don't think it merits an article, I shall remove the red link. Rothorpe 23:20, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

BBC repeat
I am waiting for the change, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe they will repeat the change? andreasegde 02:33, 14 January 2007 (UTC)


 * What do you mean? Wikiwoohoo 19:51, 26 January 2007 (UTC)


 * BBC Prime is not really the BBC, it is just a money-making exercise in repeating things for money. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, and repeat. "And now - something new" NOT! --andreasegde (talk) 23:01, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Merge
...And talking of repeats, I can't see any difference between BBC Prime and BBC Entertainment except for the name. Perhaps the articles too should be merged under the new name. (A similar case, perhaps, to BBC World > BBC World News.) Rothorpe (talk) 19:28, 29 November 2009 (UTC)