The Falklands Play, a controversial drama that scored the highest audience figure on the fledgling culture channel BBC4, is to be repeated on BBC2 after lobbying by its author.
Ian Curteis, whose play was once banned by the BBC for its pro-Thatcher stance, said challenging drama should not be the preserve of a small minority of digital viewers and should have a mainstream outlet. "The play was always intended for the large general audience, not a specialist one," he said.
BBC4 has been in the firing line for low ratings despite a massive marketing campaign and a £40m budget for the arts and culture network. The BBC is also gearing up for a row over redundancies in its arts and factual departments.
But the corporation insists that BBC4 audience levels are exceeding expectations.
The Falklands Play was the channel's highest rated show so far, scoring an average of 121,000 viewers. There have been low points too: Andrew Marr's first outing as presenter of The Talk Show discussion programme drew 6,500, and some programmes have scored a zero rating.
Since launching on March 22 BBC4 has recorded an average share of 0.21% in the evenings, when it is transmitted. The channel which it replaced, BBC Knowledge, averaged a 0.15% share. In the last quarter of 2001 the History Channel scored a 0.1% share while the Discovery Channel rated 0.3%.
Roly Keating, the controller of BBC4, said yesterday: "It now feels like the channel has very quickly become part of the media landscape, and that programmes are getting reviewed in the papers alongside mainstream TV output."
He said BBC4 was already getting a reputation for showing original programmes such as A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, a play starring Eddie Izzard; a portrait of Henry Kissinger; and challenging debates such as Strange New World, a 90-minute debate about the post-September 11 economy. "That was a piece of television that you would not have seen anywhere else," Mr Keating said.
Before BBC4 was launched the BBC2 controller, Jane Root, agreed to show some of its programmes on her channel, but she has been constrained by a lack of space in her schedule. An agreement reached with the Open University this month means that late night slots are being opened up. The OU has decided to concentrate more of its resources on providing online learning materials, rather than making television support programmes which few of its students were watching.
The BBC is sensitive to the ratings charges: Tessa Jowell, culture secretary, warned the corporation not to sideline its arts and culture output on the main networks. She told GMTV last month: "In approving new digital services for the BBC, this is not the go-ahead to dump on digital channels programming from the mainstream analogue channels. So viewers paying their licence fee should expect to see the whole range of genres on BBC1 and BBC2."
But the BBC is facing further controversy with cutbacks in its in-house factual and arts departments. About 100 posts are to go, and it is feared that the lack of take-up for voluntary redundancies will mean some staff in the arts department will have to be made compulsorily redundant.
High and many lows
The Falklands Play
Ian Curteis's drama about the Falklands conflict reached 121,000 viewers when it was aired earlier this month, BBC4's highest rated show so far. It is to be repeated on BBC2.
Brit Art: the Unofficial History
A documentary, also shown on BBC2, about the British arts scene got 5,000 viewers.
The Talk Show
Discussion programme, hosted by Andrew Marr, got 6,500 viewers on its first airing in March.
Storyville
The regular documentary strand, which used to be a regular fixture on BBC2, has been getting audiences of between 10,000 and 50,000.
BBC4 News
The 8pm bulletin, presented by George Alagiah and Kirsty Lang, has a global agenda, concentrating on international stories. It has been getting an audience of about 15,000 to 20,000.
