‘Cannibalism!’ Parents in meltdown after warnings Netflix-style BBC could mean ‘bye-bye’ for kids TV channel
The prospect of a popular BBC children’s TV channel being axed in the event of the public service broadcaster moving to a Netflix-style subscription service, has provoked anguish amongst parents online.
BBC Chairman Sir David Clementi has warned that replacing the licence fee with a new ‘paywall,’ may seal the fate of children’s TV output such as CBeebies, the channel responsible for some hugely popular kids’ programs such as Teletubbies.
Also on rt.com BBC blasted for another gaffe after confusing two black female MPs, while Evening Standard adds THIRD woman to race stormClementi suggested that, along with regional programming and large-scale national events, such as “royal weddings or jubilees, or Olympic successes,” parents may need to start thinking of other ways to entertain their kids.
[The BBC] would be very unlikely to continue the level of properly curated programs for children, or indeed the brilliant Bitesize education services that have helped so many teenagers.
The prospect of the channel’s demise had many parents howling in dismay on social media, seemingly petrified that such a life-saving distraction could be in jeopardy. One person tweeted: “Hands off CBeebies!! It’s the only way I get anything done.”
British satirical website the Daily Mash ran with the headline: “If you touch CBeebies we will destroy you, parents warn government.”
I speak on behalf of all parents with smalls; hands off CBeebies!! It’s the only way I get anything done. pic.twitter.com/7l5dPWMcwT
— Amy Keen (@amymkeen) February 12, 2020
Others on Twitter joked that a Teletubbies world set in 2023 will now see the characters “bricked up in their dome and left to their fate”, forcing them to resort to “cannibalism.” Another blamed Brexit for “killing CBeebies.”
The year is 2023. The licence fee is abolished. With CBeebies gone, the Teletubbies have been bricked up in their dome and left to their fate. Cannibalism - inevitably - ensues... pic.twitter.com/5d4zcz6ZaZ
— Gpoptosis (@Gpoptosis) February 12, 2020
wow brexit is now killing cbeebies tf pic.twitter.com/eiG1dGYyvR
— jaimie (@ChowJaimie) February 12, 2020
The public broadcaster is entering some uncertain times in light of its director general Tony Hall announcing in January that he’ll be stepping down in the summer. Most recently, a BBC executive was forced to return £12,000 in appearance money amid the broadcaster’s 450 job cuts, and questions have been raised about the sustainability of its publicly-funded model.
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