American programmes have been expunged from BBC One’s schedule despite their popularity with viewers, the corporation’s director of television has said.
Danny Cohen, an outspoken defender of British drama, last year criticised “box-set consumers” who claimed that American shows such as Breaking Bad and Mad Men were superior to British-made series.
Writing in the Radio Times this week, Mr Cohen said that US shows used to make up a fifth of BBC One’s primetime programming, but now none was shown in peak hours.
He wrote: “Looking back at the listings in Radio Times from this week 30 years ago, primetime viewing featured Shogun, Starsky & Hutch, Cagney and Lacey and the triumphant return of Dynasty. And that was just on BBC One. In those days American programmes regularly made up about 20 per cent of the channel’s peaktime output. In 2015 that figure is zero.”
He added that there was a “public hunger for locally produced content” and said: “Viewers believe the BBC makes programmes aimed at ‘people like me’ far more than any other broadcaster.”
Advertisement
Mr Cohen cited BBC research that found that 57 per cent of viewers preferred British shows and 22 per cent preferred US programmes.
He said: “I want a vibrant, competitive British TV sector that showcases British production companies, designers, writers and actors and boosts our economy and world standing.”