How Anne Robinson Has Caused The Decline of British Kids TV

Last year, when the BBC lost the rights to broadcast Australian soap Neighbours, a 25-minute hole appeared in a prime teatime slot, the slot which bridged the gap from children’s programming and adult programming.  Instead of filling this slot with a similar show, or even more children’s programs, it was decided to bring over The Weakest Link from BBC2 to BBC1.

The massively successful quiz show, which first appeared on UK screens in 2000, has become a staple of BBC2′s teatime schedule, and the novelty “celebrity” editions often appear on BBC1, so a move to the primary channel was not surprising.  However, with the average The Weakest Link episode running at 45 minutes, this meant that the schedule would need altering.

To make room, children’s programming was simply brought forward 20 minutes.  On the face of it this does not seem like a major pr0blem, this rescheduling affected programs like Blue Peter and Newsround.  Both of these programs are stalwarts of British children’s television, they both contain original, “healthy” content and they are both aimed at older children.  And herein lies the problem.

Poor Scheduling to Blame

Research has shown that viewing figures for these two shows has dropped by a third, from 300,000 to 200,000.  This has been attributed to the shift in start time – fewer children are in from school when these programs start.  Cynics may say that this could also be due to number of other factors: drop in popularity, strong competition from digital channels, changes in the shows format.  But the fact that these shows have been around for so long suggests that they can weather those storms.

BBC management assures us that these problems are not being ignored.  It is hoped that by the summer a plan will be in lace to address these issues, perhaps by commissioning more “exciting” content or revamping existing shows.  It was also pointed out that since Saturday morning TV has moved to BBC2 ratings have seen similar drops.

One thing that was confirmed though, is that The Weakest Link is going nowhere in the near future – so who is the weakest link now?