Robin Sutherland
I watched a BBC4 programme during April 2105 called "The Fight For Saturday Night" introduced by Michael Grade. It was a fascinating tale of the ratings battle between BBC and ITV. It had many familiar faces and odd bits of archive film and clips.
There was one clip from “The Generation Game” at TVT with Jim Moir and a group with ped mounted EMI 2001 in action. Is that Derek Martin?
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Derek Martin
I cannot tell a lie, it was me! With my friend Anthea (!), Di (I think) from makeup and another make up lady I can’t remember and a very beardy sound man whose name I have forgotten.
Janis Goldring
In the second shot with Derek Martin, to his right is Peter Goldring looking a bit scruffy in a striped shirt and flared jeans, both doing Gen Game!
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Robin Sutherland, Chris Wickham
Any ideas who the cameraman on the Mole is? Could it be Ron Peverall?
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David Beer
Yes, if it was the “Generation Game” in the 1970s then it would be Ron Peverall and if the shot was a bit wider you would see me tracking the Mole and Graham Reed swinging.
Robin Sutherland
Also included in “The Fight for Saturday Night” was a clip from the “Match … “ or “Snatch Of The Day” story when ITV (Michael Grade) nicked the contract. Amazed to see a clip of the late Selwyn Cox shoving an EMI 2001 back into its locker in the side of the camera van.
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Also shot of leather clad Alec Weeks in his prime, probably about to tear a strip off Bill Platts [liaison] and Ron Suckling [graphics].
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Albert Barber
It is interesting to note that the whole of Saturday Night was pure innocent entertainment with much ingenuity. However it was never art and the struggle for the ratings was perhaps more interesting.
The phrase “chewing gum for the eyeballs on the running shoe of the history of TV” comes to mind.
Pat Heigham
I’ve never really understood the perceived ‘Ratings contest’. The Corporation is suppose to be a non-profit organisation (but still sells programmes to overseas broadcasters). Thus there should be no particular interest in attracting viewers, unlike the ITV companies who rely on income from the advertisers – therefore the latter need viewers to see their commercials and try and sell them something. So does the BBC just want to sod them up?
Bernie Newnham
This was something much discussed when I was in promotions, but the answer is simple – if you go too far upmarket and lose viewers people ask why they should pay the licence fee. They ask that anyway, but you need to keep the balance between bread and circuses and highbrow arts (or whatever) – as seen in the programme from when LWT started.
Bill Jenkin
Bernie has hit the nail on the head. The Beeb is in a no-win situation. If the programmes prove popular they shouldn’t be competing with the commercial sector – and if no one watches, why should everyone have to pay the licence fee?
Shows like "Strictly" should presumably be developed by the BBC but the second they prove at all popular immediately stop transmitting them to allow Rupert Murdoch to make money out of them or more likely f*ck them up.
