'The custodian of the BBC archives': the future of BBC Four as an archive channel

Brennan, M. (2022) 'The custodian of the BBC archives': the future of BBC Four as an archive channel. Critical Studies in Television, 17(2), pp. 201-207. (doi: 10.1177/17496020221078507)

Abstract

In its Annual Plan for 2021/22, the BBC announced that it would cease to make new content for BBC Four, instead relying on repeats and archive programmes to fill the channel’s schedule. The decision might seem to be a pragmatic response to the corporation’s financial constraints, but will it really lead to the channel becoming ‘the home of the most distinctive content from across the BBC’s archive’ as the broadcaster claims? This article explores the potential risks to cultural memory of recycling archival material on BBC Four with no new content to add to the mix.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: BRENNAN, Mhairi
• Authors: Brennan, M.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts
• Journal Name: Critical Studies in Television
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 1749-6020
• ISSN (Online): 1749-6039
• Published Online: 21 April 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Author
• First Published: First published in Critical Studies in Television 17(2): 201-207
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License