BBC concedes 61% of its output now consists of repeats
The BBC has admitted that the share of its total airtime given over to repeats of old material has ballooned over the past five years to 61% as the number of channels on offer mushroom and programming budgets dwindle.
Repeats now account for a third of all content on the flagship BBC1 channel whilst on BBC2 over half of all programmes aired has been broadcast previously.
The figures are even starker for digital channels BBC3 and BBC4 where original programming now accounts for just 15.8% and 21.2% of total output.
A BBC spokesman said: “A spokesman said: ‘Repeats are scheduled to reach different audiences and are rarely shown in the same slot. On BBC1, for example, over 91 per cent of programmes in prime time are new.
“Audiences value having several opportunities to catch something they may have missed.”