5,000 signatures reached
To: BBC Scotland
Keep Beechgrove Garden On Air
We want BBC Scotland to reconsider the prolonged gap the programme is being taken off air for. We would also like it returned to BBC2 to maintain it's viewer numbers.
Why is this important?
A show which has celebrated 40 years of popularity and still attracts viewers worldwide should not be removed from our screens during the peak season for gardeners. Their announced gap of almost 2 months is completely unacceptable!
During these worrying times of environmental crises a programme encouraging gardening, growing, respect for nature, and teaching people to 'grow their own' is needed more than ever.
The claims by BBC Scotland that investment will be going into social media is entirely pointless. None of us pay our licence fees for social media.
Return this much loved institution to it's rightful place on BBC2 (where viewers can find it) and, most importantly, ensure it's broadcast every week during late Spring and through Summer.
Edited to add:
Thanks to all of you who signed the petition Keep Beechgrove Garden On Air and sent emails of complaint.
I submitted the petition to a number of people at BBC Scotland and it found it's way to Tony Neilany the BBC Scotland Channel Manager. His response is below. Make of this what you will. I still completely disagree that it was reasonable to take it off air at this time. However they do seem to be very aware now of the strength of feeling. Whether they truly take this on board will not really be known until we see what happens next year!
Edited to add 2: There's been a surge in signatures since the premature last epsiode in the series on 5/0/19. Please do keep signing, I'll email it in again with an update once the numbers signing drops again.
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“Thank you for taking the time to get in touch and for passing on the ‘Keep Beechgrove on Air’ petition.
We have been reading all viewers’ comments very carefully, as we appreciate just how important Beechgrove is to so many of our audience and the attached petition serves to underline this further. It is a real testament to the dedicated production team and presenters that people feel so passionately about this long-running BBC Scotland series.
I want to reassure you that BBC Scotland values Beechgrove highly and has worked closely with the production team to decide upon the most effective broadcast pattern possible, against the backdrop of available resources. This change is not designed to benefit any other particular genre of programming, but rather to ensure a range of content across the schedule. It was felt that June/July would be the best time for a slightly longer break, given the importance of the start of the season at Easter and all that needs to be done in the garden from late July through to September.
This year the series has benefited from a slightly new style which aims to give viewers an even deeper understanding of all that takes place in the garden. We have used licence fee funding, which funds all BBC Public Services in Scotland, to supplement the TV series with additional online and social media content as this has proved popular in past years. Beechgrove's presenters can also be found offering advice on BBC Radio Scotland’s Grow It. By providing content across all of these platforms, we hope to engage new and existing gardeners in all that the Beechgrove team has to offer, both in broadcast schedules and on-demand.
BBC Scotland has a fixed budget within which it must operate whilst ensuring it reaches as broad an audience and reflects as many interests as possible. BBC Scotland remains committed to Beechgrove and I can confirm that it will return on Thursday 25 July at 8pm on the BBC Scotland channel. I can also confirm it will return in 2020 for a new series. BBC Scotland’s on-air continuity announcers will continue to promote the programme and explain that it is available on the new BBC Scotland channel.
We thank everyone that has been in touch to offer their feedback, including each person who has signed the attached petition. BBC Scotland and the Beechgrove production team will continue to do all we can to serve gardeners all over the country.”
We hope this helpful and thanks again for getting in touch.
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During these worrying times of environmental crises a programme encouraging gardening, growing, respect for nature, and teaching people to 'grow their own' is needed more than ever.
The claims by BBC Scotland that investment will be going into social media is entirely pointless. None of us pay our licence fees for social media.
Return this much loved institution to it's rightful place on BBC2 (where viewers can find it) and, most importantly, ensure it's broadcast every week during late Spring and through Summer.
Edited to add:
Thanks to all of you who signed the petition Keep Beechgrove Garden On Air and sent emails of complaint.
I submitted the petition to a number of people at BBC Scotland and it found it's way to Tony Neilany the BBC Scotland Channel Manager. His response is below. Make of this what you will. I still completely disagree that it was reasonable to take it off air at this time. However they do seem to be very aware now of the strength of feeling. Whether they truly take this on board will not really be known until we see what happens next year!
Edited to add 2: There's been a surge in signatures since the premature last epsiode in the series on 5/0/19. Please do keep signing, I'll email it in again with an update once the numbers signing drops again.
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“Thank you for taking the time to get in touch and for passing on the ‘Keep Beechgrove on Air’ petition.
We have been reading all viewers’ comments very carefully, as we appreciate just how important Beechgrove is to so many of our audience and the attached petition serves to underline this further. It is a real testament to the dedicated production team and presenters that people feel so passionately about this long-running BBC Scotland series.
I want to reassure you that BBC Scotland values Beechgrove highly and has worked closely with the production team to decide upon the most effective broadcast pattern possible, against the backdrop of available resources. This change is not designed to benefit any other particular genre of programming, but rather to ensure a range of content across the schedule. It was felt that June/July would be the best time for a slightly longer break, given the importance of the start of the season at Easter and all that needs to be done in the garden from late July through to September.
This year the series has benefited from a slightly new style which aims to give viewers an even deeper understanding of all that takes place in the garden. We have used licence fee funding, which funds all BBC Public Services in Scotland, to supplement the TV series with additional online and social media content as this has proved popular in past years. Beechgrove's presenters can also be found offering advice on BBC Radio Scotland’s Grow It. By providing content across all of these platforms, we hope to engage new and existing gardeners in all that the Beechgrove team has to offer, both in broadcast schedules and on-demand.
BBC Scotland has a fixed budget within which it must operate whilst ensuring it reaches as broad an audience and reflects as many interests as possible. BBC Scotland remains committed to Beechgrove and I can confirm that it will return on Thursday 25 July at 8pm on the BBC Scotland channel. I can also confirm it will return in 2020 for a new series. BBC Scotland’s on-air continuity announcers will continue to promote the programme and explain that it is available on the new BBC Scotland channel.
We thank everyone that has been in touch to offer their feedback, including each person who has signed the attached petition. BBC Scotland and the Beechgrove production team will continue to do all we can to serve gardeners all over the country.”
We hope this helpful and thanks again for getting in touch.
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