BS: Brilliant Beeb...

Subject: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Aug 18 - 09:27 PM

Blimey, all that crap about the spoiled brat Cliff Richard. For the last few days I've been watching the coverage of the European Championships on the telly. I don't even go for athletics and all that stuff normally, but the coverage has been enthralling and exciting and the commentary and expert studio comment has been professional, lively and beautifully paced. Dead good. I'm a convert. My mum thinks that all the girl athletes are performing in just tight knickers, but I can't persuade her that it's all about aerodynamics... At the same time we have the Proms. Is there a better music festival anywhere in the world? Fabulous concerts with the greatest artists and every note available on Radio 3 and the iPlayer, not to speak of some concerts on the telly as well. Bloody brilliant and worth every penny of the very modest licence fee, and no ad breaks either! Viva la Beeb!

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Will Fly
Date: 13 Aug 18 - 05:34 AM

Absolutely!

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: MikeL2
Date: 13 Aug 18 - 09:29 AM

Hi
Steve

I agree with you. I have followed the Euro championships and I too have been impressed by the fantastic coverage. The performances of the athletes has been superb. Last night saw Britain win both the 100 metres relays.....bums on seats job.


Cheerts

Mike

PS also watched Liverpool v West Ham ... hmm....going to have to watch them this year...getting worried already.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Aug 18 - 10:04 AM

and how about them Dart tossers?

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Acorn4
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 03:48 AM

Their online site is also good especially the football.

Just wish they weren't so suspect politically.

BBC News - an oxymoron!

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 04:34 AM

Well they're a damn sight less "suspect" than the Murdoch press and the Mail and the Telegraph and the Express. Many of the elite presenters have spotless Tory credentials, too, the likes of Nick Robinson (ex-Chair of the Young Conservatives) Paxman (outed himself as a Tory and considered standing for Parliament), Andrew Neil (ex-Tory Party researcher and long-time prominent Murdoch sidekick) and Kalil Ahmed (ex-financial editor of both the Daily and Sunday Torygraph). We can only guess about the likes of the Dimblebys and John Humphrys but you can bet they're not exactly SWP members). Anyway, that aside, the Beeb does a damn good job with sport, culture and drama on both radio and telly in m'humble, and I'm happy to stump up what I regard as a very modest licence fee. Pity about all the religion and royal sycophancy though. I bet that isn't what you meant.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: David Carter (UK)
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 06:21 AM

Andrew Neil is indeed extremely suspect. He frequently allows statements from climate change deniers to go unchallenged during interviews, was a cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq, and during his tenure as editor of the Sunday Times allowed that newspaper to advance the idea that AIDS was not cause by HIV but by "lifestyle". This would have resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths in sub-saharan Africa. He also employed David Irving to translate the diaries of Goebbels. And thats even before we get on to his take on conventional politics. He shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the BBC or any broadcast media.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 07:04 AM

I'm always reminded of just how good the BBC is when I see Rugby coverage from other countries/stations.
The BBC just can't be beaten.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: David Carter (UK)
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 08:16 AM

Sure their coverage of what rugby they get is good, but its sad that they don't show England home games, overseas tours by home nations, the Rugby Championship, or Super Rugby.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 09:08 AM

My wife is getting into 7 a side rugby - she enjoys the fast paced exciting format.

There was a late night show from USA on something like ITV4 for 2 or 3 nights recently.

The coverage was shite... just meagre highlights...

Didn't seem to be any full matches anywhere...???

Is it ever on properly on the BBC...???

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 09:30 AM

The Beeb is a Great Thing, almost enough to emigrate for.

In Canada, there ain't no rugby on broadcast television at all. If you don't subscribe to a sport-oriented streaming service, world-class rugby is to be enjoyed only on the rare occasions when one is travelling in Europe, the UK or the Antipodes. When top national sides are touring in North America, it is possible to get tickets and even attend a match if one happens to live in the right places; most people (including us) don't. Only the cricket fans have it worse!

We have one of those Bose receivers that streams Internet radio. I listen to BBC Radio 3 and mourn for the CBC of my far-distant youth, when the FM stereo service (now CBC Radio 2) wasn't all slammin' tunes for the hep generation.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 09:46 AM

You have to remember that the Beeb has to pay dearly for big sporting contracts. We get Premier League highlights, for example, but not full matches, because licence-payers would go doolally if the Beeb paid the billions that Sky and BT pay for the rights of things such as the Premier League, Champions League, test matches and stuff like that. Dunno who buys up the rugby because I haven't the faintest interest in any game played by men with oval balls. I have BT Sport mobile and Sky Sports mobile for my iPhone and iPad (not proper telly - can't afford it) because I'm a football loonie. Together, they cost about two-thirds of the BBC licence fee. I do watch a lot of matches though. Keeps me off Mudcat...

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Aug 18 - 05:04 PM

"I listen to BBC Radio 3"

Me too, muchly. I suppose it's a minority interest, and the Beeb constantly has to "modernise" it in order to compete with the likes of Classic FM. The station has successfully maintained and even enhanced its diversity in recent years. I'm not a fan of the trend towards playing just one movement from major works. That's very "Classic FM" but Radio 3 does play a far greater diversity of music, the sound quality is miles better and there's plenty of live music too.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: MikeL2
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 10:54 AM

Hi Steve

I agree ( although now we don't pay a licence fee.

THE beeb does get the FA Cup matches and cover most of the games.

I have "oval Balls". The beeb covers most of the Rugby League matches but the Rugby Union ones are shared around mainly on Sky/BT.

Beeb has virtually lost golf and it looks like Tennis is going the same way. Pity cos we won't be able to see Cliff Richard singing on a rainy day.

I have By and Sky Go but my son has changed something on sky and at the moment I can't get Sky matches.

I am looking into getting Sky on BT.

Cheers

Mike

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 11:08 AM

I get Sky Sports Moblie for five quid a month. I can watch all the matches, but only on my iPhone. Though that is still very good, with my reading glasses on, as good as the telly, and I wear my bluetooth cordless headphones for brilliant sound. I also get BT Sport Mobile for half-price at the moment, but it'll soon be going up to seven quid a month unless I make a fuss. I can watch those matches on my iPad, which is really good. The subs are my permanent rolling Christmas and birthday presents from Mrs Steve.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 11:44 AM

Foetunately the bi-monthly Sumo Wrestling tournament highlights are free to view
on the Japanese news channel on Sky [and online]
Highlights of the day, ie, the most popular and high ranking wrestlers;
but the bouts shown are complete, not edited...

..minds gone blank, can't remember the channel's name - and too knackered to bother googling again...

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 11:46 AM

I'll add.. if you grew up watching classic era saturday afternoon wrestling on the telly,
you'll undrerstand the appeal...

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 07:03 PM

I thought that was more of a woman thing, tight trunks, lots of grunting, pinning a writhing man down on the floor...

Ok, yer bugger, yes I used to watch it...

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 15 Aug 18 - 07:17 PM

Still is - my mrs is addicted to Sumo since we randomly stumbled on the show one time a couple of years back...

It's one of the few things we both enjoy watching together...

15 day tournaments every 2 months...

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 16 Aug 18 - 06:15 PM

Not everyone shares your view! Whinging Scots!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-45156289

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: KarenH
Date: 17 Aug 18 - 08:50 AM

I watched some tennis on a commercial channel this summer. Dire. Logos breaking over the screen too often, and then commercial breaks destroy the mood.

But regarding folk: this week I found and listened to a programme presented by Martin Carthy about Ewan MacColl's 'Critics Group' with comments by Peggy Seeger and some ex-members and extracts of MacColl's voice.

I hadn't heard his voice before. I expected something Lancashire, and there were odd patches of it, but I was quite surprised that for much of the time he seemed to speak in a rather old-fashioned very middle class educated BBC/Queens' English manner, possibly somewhat deliberately clear because he know it was being recorded. But it came as a surprise to me that he chose that style of English.

If anybody is interested, you'll probably find it by googling 'How Folk Songs Should be Sung' and Martin Carthy.

It has to be said that Carthy wasn't a member of the group; he is working with interview with people who were and tapes made by Charles Parker.

This is the kind of minority interest (sadly) programming which the BBC does so well.

Subject: RE: BS: Brilliant Beeb...
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 17 Aug 18 - 09:23 AM

The Beeb should be recognised and celebrated as the only UK freeview broadcaster
that shows respect for viewers by presenting a diverse range of movies as intended without ad breaks...