For most of us, our childhood memories include, somewhere among the playground games and plates of food that look like faces, BBC children's programming. From Crackerjack and Jackanory, both of which spanned almost 30 years, or the '90s The Queen's Nose, to the long running wholesome tradition that is Blue Peter, we have all enjoyed the BBC's children's programming. Now, however, the BBC has opted to move all children's television to channels just for children, CBBC and Cbeebies. The creator of the Teletubbies, Anne Wood, has spoken out against the move, branding it 'cynical'.
"Children's shows have just become fodder, and as a practitioner, I feel very sad about that," she said to BBC News. This "cynical" scheduling is a "completely different attitude to the one that scheduled Magic Roundabout before the 5.40pm news".
The move is a fiscal one, says the BBC. By moving all kids shows to their respective channels they can cut the budget, and limit it to £100m per year between them both. Viewing figures on BBC 1 and 2 have suffered, even before the switch over, but figures for the digital channels haven't failed to continue rising. "There is a certain amount of overlooking of the fact that children's programmes do get a wider audience than people are aware of. Just as children's literature does," she said, arguing that plenty of adults also watch children's TV. "A lot of the reason older people like to watch children's programming is because it is life-enhancing."
Horrible Histories author, on the other hand, doesn't have a problem with the move, and puts it all down to progress. "The fact that children's shows have been on BBC One since the war doesn't mean they should continue, and to hang on to them would be a very backward step."
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