L5 tv comedy

B322 exam - Section B = TV Comedy

8 lessons

Bad Education - Institution

• BBC 3• Public service broadcaster• Oldest national broadcasting organisation in the

world• Founded under Royal Charter• Funded by licence fee charged to all British

households, companies, organisations that use / receive / record live TV

• Fee is set by the government and used to fund everything the BBC does (radio, TV, online, etc.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BBC_Three_logo.svg


• Remit to:– Bring in younger audiences– High quality broadcasting– Innovative content– New talent– Use a range of digital platforms

• Target audience is 16-34 year olds



• 90% of output produced is from UK• 70% of what’s broadcast is original output• Originally broadcasting 7pm-4am every day• Now online only• Creators of shows like:– Gavin and Stacey– Little Britain– Mighty Boosh

• Known for BAFTA-winning documentaries



• Tiger Aspect Productions / Endemol UK• 3 series• Broke BBC Three’s record for highest-rated first episode

of a comedy– Previously held by Horne & Corden

• Second series premiered on iPlayer a week before TV debut (innovation)

• First episode of 2nd series received 1.5m requests BEFORE it aired on TV

• Commissioned by ABC for US but dropped• Film version made and released in August 2015



• 14th August 2012 – Parents Evening• 990,000 viewers• 2nd most popular comedy in that time slot

across terrestrial channels• Didn’t beat any other comedies – beaten by:– BBC 2 – Rob Brydon Show – 1.44m

• Other competition was:– C4 – Thelma’s Gypsy Girls – 1.51m– BBC 1 – News 4.02m



• Post-watershed – 9pm • Prime Time – when networks

battle over the 18-49 ABC1 audience

• Why do you think BE wants to target ABC1?



• Typically comedy is shown on BBC3 at a range of different times during the day

• BE series 1 on Tuesdays on BBC3 at 10pm• Hammocking – putting a ‘new’ show between

two ‘strong’ shows in the hope viewers will be too lazy to switch over and watch the show anyway

• Popular technique with new shows that haven’t built an audience yet



• BE has always been aired on a Tuesday• BE has always been scheduled for release in Aug/Sep• Why is it a good idea to schedule BE for these days

and these months?• Stripping – broadcasting a programme at the same

time/day – encourages familiarity• Defensive scheduling – where a channel knows that

a programme on a different channel will get more views so schedule a programme of minority appeal at this time



• Targeting specific audiences– School goers about to begin school for the first time– School goers who have been at school and need to ‘ease

in’ to the new term– Rebels – interested in transgressive behaviours of school

students/staff (tips!)– Tuesday is a ‘school night’ so likely target audience will be

in to view– Tuesday is day before ‘hump day’ so need some light

relief and to relax mid-week– Post watershed so older audience (language and adult

themes)



• BE can be viewed on BBC iPlayer BUT only for limited periods of time

• Why hasn’t the BBC made all of BE available, or available for a longer time?– BBC relies on public to fund the service (DVD sales, merch,

etc.) – one of limited ways it can make money– Limiting availability means encouraging excitement around

new series– Limiting availability means viewers likely to believe it’s a

higher quality product– Encourages people to research and explore the series in

more detail through other technologies



QUESTION:How does BE fit in with the ‘brand identity’ of BBC3 and its scheduling? (15 marks)

Remember to include:• Details about BBC3 and WHY you think people watch the channel• HOW BE matches BBC3s aims and responsibilities• Discussion of BBC3 target audience and how it matches BE’s target

audience• BE scheduling details (times, days) and WHY it was scheduled then • Use specific examples to support points (e.g. post watershed for adult

language and themes – demonstrate which ones from the episode)

• 15 minutes


L5 tv comedy

Education

Transcript of L5 tv comedy