We were both invited to the club as his guests and didn't expect to be attacked for what amounted to looking at the famous man who had invited us there.Yesterday, Jeremy Hartley, China White's head of operations, said that Avalon had been due to issue the club with a list of 150 invited guests."At 6 o'clock on the evening of the party they issued us with a list of 400 guests, which caused huge problems for us," said Hartley. "We did our best to accommodate those guests."Anyway, Mr Hefner, next time you're in town you'll understand if we have another engagement on the night.. This time last year, things looked pretty bad for BBC 2. We knew there was a thundering on-screen funding gap between us and Channel 4 Based on most current estimates, it's a staggering £100m. The proposed creation of BBCs 3 and 4 was on the cards, ITV and BBC 1 were battling it out in peak time, and multichannel was growing faster than anyone expected. One internal projection of the BBC's future suggested that BBC 2 as we know it today wouldn't be around in five years' time This time last year, things looked pretty bad for BBC 2. We knew there was a thundering on-screen funding gap between us and Channel 4 Based on most current estimates, it's a staggering £100m.
The proposed creation of BBCs 3 and 4 was on the cards, ITV and BBC 1 were battling it out in peak time, and multichannel was growing faster than anyone expected. One internal projection of the BBC's future suggested that BBC 2 as we know it today wouldn't be around in five years' time. Actually, it's those factors that have given us the space to make some fundamental changes. To recognise and be proud of our place in the multichannel world, rethink our schedule, change our tone of voice and think hard about our target audience. All of which seems to be working.Certainly, we're now watched by more people than 20 years ago. We can't rest on our laurels, but, fingers crossed, touch wood, we are enjoying a pretty OK period: we are the only terrestrial channel to gain share this year. That's against a background of an 18 per cent increase in multichannel.
From the start of 2001 and our new strategy alone, BBC 2 has clearly outpaced C4 we're currently averaging an 11.3 per cent share, compared with 9.9 per cent on C4.It's important to look at the programmes that have delivered this. History of Britain (3.5 million), Perfect Strangers (three million), Louis Theroux (four million average), Jamie Oliver (four million average), Congo (4.3 million average) and single documentaries such as Challenger (3.9 million). That's alongside other titles that aren't up there in exactly the same numbers but I'm thrilled to have. Things such as Paul Whitehouse's brilliant Happiness, with its kung-fu nurse bear, Art That Shook The World, and the wonderful Walk On By.In short, BBC 2 is a success story. We've pulled off a rare trick in TV: we've proved that it's possible to make great, quality programmes and get audiences This is a good story in its own right.
