The riot Channel
England in 2020 has three BBC Emergency Broadcast Channels. EBC1 is reserved for nuclear attack. EBC2 is for conventional military attack. EBC3 is for internal states of emergency, and by 2020 people are used to seeing it due to the increasing frequency of multicentred riots. This has gained it the colloquial name of the Riot Channel.
The Riot Channel replaces all normal BBC broadcasting except for News 24. Much of its content consists of news bulletins, practical information about the availability or otherwise of key supplies, how people can keep themselves safe (generally by remaining at home) and other disruptions (including suspension of public transport to and from affected cities, curfews and interruptions to communication). It also, however, contains a lot of 'light' filler content to encourage people to stay at home with the TV on instead of joining or getting caught up in the riots, mainly old soap operas and quiz shows which are readily available in the BBC archives. This element of the emergency programming schedule is a source of humour, with certain shows described as 'Riot Channel fodder'. EBC3 was not intended to be used with any regularity and originally only allowed for two days worth of filler content - this was later upped to five days, giving viewers a bit more variety, but the schedule is rarely updated. Hence, while the latest episodes of a popular soap may be off the air, the public will get many chances to catch up with storylines from five years previously.
The Riot Channel replaces all normal BBC broadcasting except for News 24. Much of its content consists of news bulletins, practical information about the availability or otherwise of key supplies, how people can keep themselves safe (generally by remaining at home) and other disruptions (including suspension of public transport to and from affected cities, curfews and interruptions to communication). It also, however, contains a lot of 'light' filler content to encourage people to stay at home with the TV on instead of joining or getting caught up in the riots, mainly old soap operas and quiz shows which are readily available in the BBC archives. This element of the emergency programming schedule is a source of humour, with certain shows described as 'Riot Channel fodder'. EBC3 was not intended to be used with any regularity and originally only allowed for two days worth of filler content - this was later upped to five days, giving viewers a bit more variety, but the schedule is rarely updated. Hence, while the latest episodes of a popular soap may be off the air, the public will get many chances to catch up with storylines from five years previously.