Episode 8 Points of View

Good afternoon and welcome to Points Of View,

THE place to have your say on what you have been watching on the BBC.

And we start with BBC News's coverage of the terrorist

attack in London.

Tonight at 10, a horrifying attack on a London street as a man is

killed in a suspected terrorist incident.

It has led to criticism of how news programmes chose to air

disturbing footage from the scene, shortly after the murder.

The problem is that the attacker wanted to be filmed

so he could get his message across,

so should the BBC have said simply,

"No, we are not running the footage"? In the end, of course,

it did run, and this is how the news bosses explained their decision.

Staying with current affairs

and Monday evening's Hillsborough - How They Buried The Truth.

The programme explored officialdom's handling of the disaster

which cost 96 Liverpool fans their lives.

You are the eyes of the world.

You have got to show this to everybody.

The Panorama special, which included previously unseen

footage has been judged an investigation worthy of praise.

Panorama striking exactly the right chord, then,

with its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster.

Now, let's move away from current affairs to the world of

entertainment.

What about the music fest that is the annual Eurovision Song Contest?

OK, so let me give you the facts first of all.

Every year, the BBC pays money into a central pot at

the European Broadcasting Union.

In return, they get broadcasting rights to many different

European programmes, from sport to international news

and, of course, to the Song Contest, which is where the questions start.

In the face of allegations of tactical voting,

is the corporation really committed to continuing to help fund

what is a great Euro, well, let's politely call it a sing-off?

Our colleagues in the Entertainment Department are keen to point us

to viewing figures for the shows which peaked at an impressive

9.3 million - clearly a lot of people still enjoying it.

But, for some, it wasn't

just the lack of support for the UK entry that got on the nerves.

GRAHAM NORTON: Emilie de Forest just texting friends.

"Busy right now, just won the Eurovision,

"call you back in a minute.

"#donereallywell."

Graham Norton carrying on the Eurovision tradition, started by his

fellow Irishman, of gleeful cynicism,

but did he go too far this year?

Ooh, that's going to hurt. So did Graham Norton ruin the show?

Back to the powers that be in Entertainment.

So, that would be a no from them, then.

Graham Norton is the right man for the job.

Now, from striking a balance with our European cousins,

to confusion a lot closer to home.

You know what, I'll tell you one thing about that Jacob, yeah.

He has good timing, you know that?

What are you talking about?

EastEnders Dexter, played by Khali Best - down with the youth,

but not going down so well with others.

Are the comments fair? We asked the EastEnders chiefs.

Perhaps an alternative, non-street version of Dexter could be

put on the Red Button service, or maybe not,

because actually many of you have been telling us

that changes to the Red Button mean the options

available on the interactive service have been greatly reduced.

To find out what's happening to the service,

we put some of your questions to the man in charge.

'The race is just moments away, now if you would like to press the Red Button...'

'Press the Red Button.'

Press the Red Button on your handset now.

The BBC took the decision last year to reduce

the number of broadcast streams that power Red Button from five to one,

and these are the streams used to broadcast video across Red Button.

The reason for that was really around the cost of these broadcast

streams, and it also had to be done within

the context of £36 million worth of savings that were required.

With only one broadcast stream, we're having to make very

tough choices about what appears in that broadcast stream.

'Ricky leads by six frames to three. If you want to watch that match,

'that's available via the BBC sport website.'

First of all,

we should say that there was plenty of snooker coverage

both on Red Button and on broadcast, but it's certainly

true to say that there was less than this time last year.

We are looking now at our audience moving more and more to online,

so we feel we can begin to offer more events online,

hopefully without leaving too many people without access to

sports or events they really want to see.

It's certainly very interesting to get this kind of feedback

and to see the functionality which people find useful,

often removing things from documentaries, as well

as adding them back in, or adding things.

Unfortunately, the roots of this issue

lie in the reduction of broadcast streams from five to one,

and, unfortunately this kind of service is having to make

way for things that are watched by more people and used by more folk.

Coverage continues in a moment on the Red Button.

We're also exploring new forms of Red Button service through

connected Red Button - instead of using these broadcast

technologies, it uses the internet to send information across to

people who own smart TVs, as that makes it much more

flexible and much more cost-effective as well.

It certainly doesn't mark a move away from Red Button

or our commitment to it.

20 million people press Red Button on the BBC each month,

we're working very hard to make sure that the right kind of content

is available, from Formula One through to concerts by Rod Stewart,

showing the very best of what we've got to offer for Red Button services.

So, changes coming to how the BBC's interactive service works.

In the meantime, it seems the battle for what is given

priority on the Red Button will always be a contentious one.

How's Molly?

Some of you watching the start of the new series of Case Histories

last Sunday could certainly have done with some added information.

In a complex plot, private investigator Jackson Brodie

meets a woman haunted by a crime committed 35 years ago.

It's hard to keep up with you.

Luckily for Rosemary

and some of the others who were equally confused by the drama based

on a Kate Atkinson novel,

help was on hand from fellow message-boarders.

Hilarious to read how the layered plotlines were explained here.

And from labyrinthine plots to the amazing story of the First World War

labyrinth uncovered in BBC Four's The Somme: Secret Tunnel Wars.

We're the first people down here in 95, 97 years.

They need to know we're here

and they need to know that we know they are still here.

The lost underground battlefield near Picardy in France was

constructed largely by British troops.

Over 120 died in the tunnels,

attempting to undermine the nearby German lines.

And while we're on a roll,

BBC Two's new series Ice Age Giants started on Sunday night.

In it, Professor Alice Roberts pieces together the new

evidence of the great beasts of the Ice Age.

Come with me back to the Ice Age.

A world ruled by giants.

Mammoth in ambition,

this series looks to be one that will not disappoint.

And from the giants of the Ice Age to a very modern giant of the BBC.

Next week we will have a special programme

where we put your questions

and comments to the new Director of TV, Danny Cohen.

Thanks to all of you who have been in touch

and helped by recording questions for him, and, remember,

if you've got something to say

about any programme you have been watching, do get in contact.

You can do so in a number of different ways.

By post...

By phone - the number is charged as a local rate call from any landline.

Or join the special thread on our message board.

And finally there is e-mail.

Another change to our slot next

week as we are on at the earlier time of 2.40.

Till then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd