Rachel_Sandford
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It seems like BBC fears ITV’s Downton Abbey may be too overwhelming for David Jason’s comedy The Royal Bodyguard this Christmas Day, so in an attempt to retain ratings, they’ve decided to make last-minute changes to the show’s schedule.
BBC's flagship Eastenders will be taking the 9pm slot to go head-to-head with the ITV drama series, leaving Jason’s sitcom with no choice but to take the 9:30pm slot on Boxing Day to accommodate for the abrupt change.
Regardless of Jason being a top BBC ratings banker in “Only Fools in Horses," the public broadcasting service needed to reschedule the show in order to protect it from the established brand of Downton Abbey. BBC bosses know the schedule modification is necessary in order to emerge triumphant in the battle for ratings this Christmas.
A Television source says: “This year ITV bosses knew they had Downton up their sleeve as a secret weapon and they are pulling out all the stops with a two-hour show. The BBC have been chopping and changing right up to until the deadline.”
The unexpected alteration made to the TV soaps' time slots is likely to annoy plenty of BBC viewers, but undoubtedly necessary in order for the broadcaster to reap profits.
BBC's flagship Eastenders will be taking the 9pm slot to go head-to-head with the ITV drama series, leaving Jason’s sitcom with no choice but to take the 9:30pm slot on Boxing Day to accommodate for the abrupt change.
Regardless of Jason being a top BBC ratings banker in “Only Fools in Horses," the public broadcasting service needed to reschedule the show in order to protect it from the established brand of Downton Abbey. BBC bosses know the schedule modification is necessary in order to emerge triumphant in the battle for ratings this Christmas.
A Television source says: “This year ITV bosses knew they had Downton up their sleeve as a secret weapon and they are pulling out all the stops with a two-hour show. The BBC have been chopping and changing right up to until the deadline.”
The unexpected alteration made to the TV soaps' time slots is likely to annoy plenty of BBC viewers, but undoubtedly necessary in order for the broadcaster to reap profits.
