Should the UK drop the BBC and opt with ITV instead?

[ESCConor]

I am interested especially given the huge gap between the BBC and ITV.

The poor results in recent years has certainly got me questioning the future around the BBCs involvement in selecting the UK entry.

I believe its time for change and for the BBC to give the rights to ITV.

For Me, ITV are a much better broadcaster in terms of quality, You have Simon Cowell on ITV and in the past he said “I would love to take the reins of Eurovision”. So maybe something could happen

You also have a much wider range of programmes to choose the entry for Eurovision like the X-Factor, The Voice and Britain's Got Talent to choose from. I would personally love to see the X-Factor being used to select the entry given its popularity, It starts in August/September and Ends in December which is ideal.

I think also ITV would do a heck of a lot more promotion of the song than the BBC and given Simon Cowell I think the UK would do much better in terms of promotion.

ITV are already members of the EBU so there would be no problems in that area.

I think ITV would do a much better job than the BBC.

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

I don't like this idea. The BBC is our national broadcaster and it is paid for by the British people, so I think the BBC should be the ones to broadcast the important and national events and I would include Eurovision in that (it is the world's biggest non-sporting event and the United Kingdom is a competitor, also it is one of the most-watched television broadcasts in the United Kingdom each year).

Eurovision on the BBC is also a tradition, it is what we know! It has been on what would become BBC One from pretty much its creation, well 1957 anyway

Also from a viewers perspective, Eurovision on the BBC means we get to see the entire Contest, whereas Eurovision on ITV would mean that we have ad-breaks what, about 10 times or something during the show? During the World Cup, I always prefer the ad-free matches to the ones with them in.

I like ITV, and I watch BBC and ITV about equally, but I would prefer the BBC as the national broadcaster to have the events, and ITV to keep doing what it does best - drama!

 

[Preuss]

What happens with Graham Norton then? Guy is hilarious

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

What happens with Graham Norton then? Guy is hilarious

I guess if it went to ITV he would be replaced with an ITV presenter, my reckoning is it would go to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. They are ITV's most popular presenters, they joke around a lot (which is kinda seen as a requirement for the UK commentary) and they both seem to like Eurovision - they had Surie on their show twice this year, Mans has also been on it in the past. Tbf they would probably be very good at it.

 

[EDC0708]

A joint entry would be interesting, with BBC showing the Final and the Semi Final the UK Vote in, and ITV showing the other semi final, with both working together on a selection format? ITV would definitely get the rights if BBC if withdraw.

 

[Sammy]

I think there‘s a misunderstanding underlying the question of this thread. The UK is not the one who decides which TV station is choosing the entry for the ESC. It‘s the BBC‘s membeship in the EBU that matters here. I’mnot sure about it (correct me, if I’m wrong), but I think I read somewhere that if two channels of one country are members of the EBU, then it‘s even the EBU who decides which of them is allowed to take part in the contets.

 

[Ezio]

The best thing about BBC at Eurovision is Graham Norton. The worst thing is everything else. They seem not to only take the competition not seriously, but also seem to have utter contempt for it. The incarnation of this contempt was Terry Wogan's commentary. I think that BBC is the broadcaster that despises block voting and neighbour voting the most, not only for the fact that it exists, but also for the country and diaspora that engages in it, which they don't like. Therefore they are punishing "us" with their crappy songs, because everyone knows that UK could do much better.

ITV would approach Eurovision more open-minded and could turn around the streak of poor results and the lack of attitude, like France did with their new HoD from 2016 to 2018.

 

[Alaska49]

is this even an option? my answer is a resounding YES PLEASE but is it even possible?

 

[RainyWoods]

My personal preference would be for QVC to take control of selecting our Eurovision entries.

 

[lavieenrose]

My personal preference would be for QVC to take control of selecting our Eurovision entries.

Whoa, iconic.

Enjoy your national final x

 

[RainyWoods]

[MENTION=14007]lavieenrose[/MENTION] selecting which necklace will represent us at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, as I've already just gone and cancelled the BBC. The selection though actually is going to be hosted by my QVC favourite, the enchantingly unforgettable Tova.