BBC Trust

There was a consensus that the BBC’s Natural History programming was ‘fantastic’ and ‘wonderful’. Making reference to Frozen Planet, one couple said “I don’t think we missed one of those programmes in that series.”

Other documentary programmes had also made an impact, with The Story of Wales being considered “brilliant”, and documentaries such as Made in India, and Prof Brian Cox’s documentaries on science also being widely appreciated.

Comedy was also an important genre with audience members appreciating programmes that were ‘cleverly put together’ and featured ‘subtle humour’. Cuckoo and The Thick of It were specifically mentioned as being in this vein. Those present said that BBC One to BBC Four were all appreciated for different reasons. The BBC was felt to be at its weakest by some participants when it was trying to emulate or compete against  ITV or Sky e.g. X Factor: The Voice. One participant also cited the example of Upstairs Downstairs, But n general, it was felt that the BBC’s drama provision was “done really well”.  Serial dramas were widely appreciated.

BBC Four’s programming on various aspects of art were appreciated but some felt that programmes did not show enough detail or discuss matters in adequate depth, with one participant describing her perception of these programmes as “Ego centric presenters stand in front of the pictures, so you can’t see anything” and too much “time wasted on insignificant details”. 

Turning to children’s programmes, Horrible Histories was a popular choice as was Deadly 60 with some of the adults present saying that they still enjoyed watching them since they were so interesting.

For younger children Timmy Time and Shawn the Sheep were fantastic as was Pingu. Some participants raised their concerns at the presentation of “dark supernatural themes” during children’s programmes which they considered insidious.

Several participants made the point that they felt that there was an increasing blurring between what was appropriate for adults and for children.  One participant also expressed the view that she thought the volume of children’s programmes was too loud.

Radio 3 was the station of choice for some participants, and described as “totally superb- no criticisms” with its academic rigour and scholarship valued highly. 

Radio 4 and 4 Extra was also enjoyed by several participants with  Radio 5 Live being the station of choice for others “it’s on 24 hours a day in our house which has two teenage boys” – with the station’s debates, and programmes presented by Nicky Campbell and Peter Alan enjoyed.

Other participants praised Radio 2, with Jeremy Vine being praised in particular.  5 Live was particularly great for driving.  No reception problems were reported with either of those stations. However, DAB radios brought up from the south, didn’t work in the area. Reception was poor generally with travelling necessitating constant tinkering with the radio.

Ffermio on Radio Cymru was a favourite for others and Radio Cymru’s schedule on Saturday mornings was considered strong. ”Ar y Marc– even the dog gets excited” was the comment from one participant.  Recent scheduling changes had not been generally welcomed however.

Some members of the group listened to the radio by means of their televisions, so as to be able to access radio stations like 6 Music. They said that listening via TV provided a better choice of radio stations.

Participants used the BBC’s online services for a range of things, including checking the news, sports and the weather.

BBC News was exceptionally good for most participants and BBC News 24 was the rolling news service of choice, although some participants said that its provision overnight included more variety – “including world news that doesn’t really get reported during the day”. Participants felt that “celebrity stuff” was not a proper subject for BBC News.

Some felt that Wales’ national news was focussed to too great an extent on south and north Wales rather than mid Wales, while others felt that news stories need not be repeated on the national news  if they’ve already been on Network News. It was felt that it was a waste of money to send several reporters to cover one story.  National presenters more competent with local stories than Network news reporters.  A particular gripe was that Network News reporters had failed to pronounce Machynlleth accurately during recent coverage of news from the town. 

Participants felt that some News reporters were more interested in looking tough whilst grilling politician than giving time to news stories that this was “not always a good thing”.

The BBC’s coverage of motorised sport and  F1 in particular was praised and considered far superior to Sky’s provision  – not least because of the absence of adverts.

The BBC’s coverage of the recent Olympic Games was universally considered to have been “brilliant” – “I was glued to the TV”, “I found yourself watching sports I’d never normally watch” being examples of comments received.  However, some disappointment was expressed that  a number of the streams hadn’t been available in the area. 

Participants also said they would like to see more of these sports throughout the year and that it was great to see sports, other than football, covered. It was felt that people could form positive active relationships with sports and sportsmen and women if more time was dedicated to them, but that it was important to capitalise on the legacy of the Olympic games.

Rugby coverage was felt to be very good, especially Scrum V and international rugby games.

When asked if they thought the BBC provided value for money, there was a resounding yes around each table.