What is it With BBC Scheduling?

I have to mention this: what is going on with BBC scheduling at the moment?

It seems the corporation has a death wish, scheduling its popular entertainment programmes all over the shop.

There used to be certain slots in the schedule for instance, for comedy programmes: BBC2 used to have a "comedy Thursday" where popular comedy programmes were concentrated. You knew, without browsing the schedules, you could sit down on a Thursday evening and you'd be treated to a decent hour of comedy.

Not so now. Some (but not all) of those comedy programmes made famous have migrated to BBC1, some have stayed on BBC2, but ALL of them have been scattered all over the weekly schedule, so its impossible to remember when they're on.

Add to that the BBC's penchant for arbitrarily moving programmes to new timeslots in mid-series, stopping them for no apparent reason mid-series and replacing them with a totally different genre of program, you really have to ask, what the hell is going on?

There does appear to be a something at work damaging the BBC as a broadcaster, whether its cocking up the scheduling, or some of the worst casting I've seen in years.

I'd like to say its some sort of conspiracy as its more exciting, but I'm far more inclined to say its poor management and poor quality of staff. There appears to be an influx of medicocre graduates inducted into the corporation and a loss of focus at the BBC and to be honest I'm not impressed. I hark back to my days working for a large computer manufacturer: they started a policy of fast-tracking graduates (of any kind, with no engineering or I.T. background) into management positions ahead of experienced candidates. Within 5 years the company ceased to exist.

I'm not saying the BBC will cease to exist, but I'm sure its share of the market will fall and give ammunition to those who want to privatise it.