Are You Happy With BBC Prime?

[robsamui]

Having become increasingly more irritated with the utterly random nature of the programs on BBC Prime (series running backwards and parts missing etc) I wrote to the BBC. This is the reply that I was not meant to get, but seems to have been sent by error!

Ask me about this if you need to. He is obviously an ex-pat and thinks the channel should be moulded around his principles but as we know the channel is not targeted to the ex-pay community, in fact the total opposite so perhaps he needs to be told this. Remind him this is why most programmes are subtitled in Thai. He will not have a clue about the general population of Thailand! The reason we dropped Eastenders is because there was not a large audience for it, only ex-pats, again not our target audience.

Whatever you say in these circumstances he will not listen and still think us wrong so best to point out the channel is aimed at foreign nationals. If he wants more information about programme rights and the relationship between BBC Worldwide and BBC Entertainment he can go to the BBC Worldwide website.

Let him forward this on to anyone he wants, he is entirely entitled to do so. I am sure our responses are already on several web blogs, we certainly do not try to hide our intentions for the future of the channel. I think he needs to be informed ex=pats are not our target audience and therefore his expectations do not apply.

If you have any complaints about this response, or about the nature of what you see on BBC Prime, then write to this address:

"BBC Entertainment TV Channel Feedback" <[email protected]>

Rob

[mouse]

How dare the "Sons of Bastages" speak to the expat clientele in such a manner. Now here is a petition just waiting to happen. Just who do we send it to?

[howtoescape]

It is institutionally left wing and anti British, its programming is controlled by feminists and champagne socialists and has its own agenda.

See what Sir Patrick Moore their longest serving employee thinks of the BBC

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1760061.ece

Edited August 14, 2007 by howtoescape

[mrtoad]

A bunch of pompous leftists who are only intersted in drinking the plentiful gravy from the train. Should have been privatised years ago.

[howtoescape]

The reason we dropped Eastenders is because there was not a large audience for it, only ex-pats, again not our target audience.

If you complained about Eastenders being dropped you deserve any sort of insult you get.

[Insight]

Quality!

If you could get the original email with all headers and stick it on here, that'll be a bonus!

Remind him this is why most programmes are subtitled in Thai. He will not have a clue about the general population of Thailand!

How presumptuous can you get?

[phazey]

Let him forward this on to anyone he wants, he is entirely entitled to do so.

I think that sentence was taken literally.....

[spot]

See what Sir Patrick Moore their longest serving employee thinks of the BBC

Yeah, lets all listen to what the stargazer in jackboots Patrick Moore has to say...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...equestid=538237

The guy from the BBC who wrote the email is a pompous idiot.

Nothing to do with right/left wing rubbish.

BBC Prime is a rip off anyway, it hasn't really got that much on it.

[Payboy]

why is a bbc prime exec so uptight about expats that he has to respond ... and why does he claim their programming is targeted towards thais? and isn't their channel routed through turd vision? so, shouldn't turd vision handle local complaints / gripes?

[phazey]

why is a bbc prime exec so uptight about expats that he has to respond ... and why does he claim their programming is targeted towards thais? and isn't their channel routed through turd vision? so, shouldn't turd vision handle local complaints / gripes?

i think the point of the post was (as i understand) this mail was an instruction to a lesser minion, so they could contruct the "polite" version...this is not the response as it was finally intended. But I personally think the desk monkey just thought "f*** this for a game of soldiers" and sent the whole thing..

[Ulysses G.]

The unspoken message here is that expats are uneducated, cheap-skate scum and that the BBC could care less about what they think!

[robsamui]

The point is that the BBC make some of the finest made-for-TV serialised drama n the world - never mind Eastenders! Seres like Judge John Deed; Spooks; Silent Witness and so on.

Each of these are "old" stock for the BBC and they have run their course in England. Each comes in maybe 6 or 7 "series" of about 8 parts. Now - I am utterly P****d off with watching the beginning of (to me) a brand new TV drama that starts at series 1 part one, and then after a few weeks suddenly jumps into series 5 part 1 - for instance.

Or - as with the recent series of Judge John Deed - the started off with the last episode of series 5 and ran them backwards! 8-7-6-5-4 and so on.

Quite often the first part of a 2-part dramatisation is shown, and never the second part.

I wrote to the BBC to ask why they could not be bothered to run the series in a consistent order and was initially told that the "polls show that viewers channel-skip, so there is no need to do this."

I wrote again, pointing out that it is just as easy to run 1-2-3 as it is to run 3-6-1 - and if some viewers don't care, why not cater for the ones that do?

The reply above was not meant to be sent to me direct - as as one guy has said - the desk monkey just banged it out anyway.

If anyone wants to complain - then send to the BBC direct. There is no connection with UBC at all. They just broadcast the package that the BBC give them.

Write to "BBC Entertainment TV Channel Feedback" <[email protected]>

(And the entire message header to me is below)

Rob

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Ask me about this if you need to. He is obviously an ex-pat and thinks the channel should be moulded around his principles but as we know the channel is not targeted to the ex-pay community, in fact the total opposite so perhaps he needs to be told this. SNIP

[Solosiam]

I do find it funny when the wrong emails are sent, I have myself done it once - and although the recipient wasn't impressed he did see the truth in it.

Would you have rather received som fluff designed to placate you, yet not answer your questions?

[November Rain]

Very interesting, Rob. I'm another one pi$$ed off with BBC (I thought it was "Entertainment" now, not "Prime"?). Like you say, they play any programme from any series they fancy, no chronology. I can't see how that's appealing to the native Thai audience, either. Maybe they think they're too stupid to notice? And if I watch another episode of "My Family" which seems to be the standard "fill-in" programme, I think I'll vomit. Think I might just email them... Though, as I'm not their target audience... <sigh>

howtoescape - even feminists don't necessarily think it's good programming

[JetsetBkk]

Very interesting, Rob. I'm another one pi$$ed off with BBC (I thought it was "Entertainment" now, not "Prime"?). <snip>

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldw...ment_asia.shtml :

BBC Entertainment is wholly-owned by BBC Worldwide. Available in Asia on: True Visions Channel 35 (Thailand), Astro Channel 26 (Malaysia), Now Channel 529 (Hong Kong), Starhub Channel 76 (Singapore) and Skylife Channel 334 (Korea)

BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC’s assets for the benefit of the licence payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights and doesn't give a toss about expats living anywhere.

OK, I added the last bit myself.

[sbk]

Is there some reason you felt the need to open the same topic in two different places? The other one will be closed but for future reference, do not waste bandwidth with the same complaint in multiple places.

[GuestHouse]

I would send a second complaint into the watchdog that is governing the BBC

[Carmine6]

snip.

... I am sure our responses are already on several web blogs, we certainly do not try to hide our intentions for the future of the channel.

snip

Why not prove him right by sending links to this thread back to as many people at the corporation as you can?

Sounds like you've made some completely reasonable requests such as series running in order. I think all the people who complain about Thais having no common sense should make more note of situations like this.

Edit: What is the intention for the future of the channel? Background noise?

Edited August 14, 2007 by Carmine6

[brizzle]

Are Aunties knickers in a knot once again?

One minute we get:- "Whatever you say in these circumstances he will not listen and still think us wrong so best to point out the channel is aimed at foreign nationals"..followed by:- "I think he needs to be informed ex=pats are not our target audience and therefore his expectations do not apply.”

Well that certainly leaves me confused ...... since I am a foreign national living in Thailand who happens to be an expat!

Congratulations to the very considerate “two fingered” man at the beeb for his excellent use of conflicting vocabulary!

[Sanpatong]

I know I shouldn't, but I will:

www.tv-links.co.uk

You have just witnessed the beginning of the end for Turdvisions.

[pnustedt]

The BBC dropped BBC Prime several months and introduced BBC Entertainment. This newer "service" is terrible, much worse than BBC Prime, continual repeats of third rate programmes, with very little that interests me. At the time I complained to the BBC and got back a reply saying that it was for cost reasons and that they could not rely on the British licence fee to cover its costs. This irritated me as, as far as I am concerned, the provision of the service to me is very expensive.

Maybe a complaint to UBC is also in order as the service is obviously cheaper and we should be paying less for it.

[Sanpatong]

The BBC dropped BBC Prime several months and introduced BBC Entertainment. This newer "service" is terrible, much worse than BBC Prime, continual repeats of third rate programmes, with very little that interests me. At the time I complained to the BBC and got back a reply saying that it was for cost reasons and that they could not rely on the British licence fee to cover its costs. This irritated me as, as far as I am concerned, the provision of the service to me is very expensive.

Maybe a complaint to UBC is also in order as the service is obviously cheaper and we should be paying less for it.

So cancel the subscription then.

Or at the very least, go back to 'gold'.

[Jimjim]

I don't see why they wouldn't run it in order for those in their target audience who may want to follow a series. What a bunch of ######s.

[Payboy]

why is a bbc prime exec so uptight about expats that he has to respond ... and why does he claim their programming is targeted towards thais? and isn't their channel routed through turd vision? so, shouldn't turd vision handle local complaints / gripes?

i think the point of the post was (as i understand) this mail was an instruction to a lesser minion, so they could contruct the "polite" version...this is not the response as it was finally intended. But I personally think the desk monkey just thought "f*** this for a game of soldiers" and sent the whole thing..

somehow, i dont see even the lesser minions at turd visions taking orders or suggestions from farangs at bbc prime.....

[Jimjim]

Payboy you don't get how tv works. True has nothing to do with the production of BBC Prime. They merely broadcast the channel. So, no, complaints should be directed to BBC Worldwide and not True.

[Payboy]

Payboy you don't get how tv works. True has nothing to do with the production of BBC Prime. They merely broadcast the channel. So, no, complaints should be directed to BBC Worldwide and not True.

so bbc worldwide is actually taking the thai population into consideration when they plan their programming for bbc prime? arent there over 100 countries worldwide with different viewer tastes - has bbc developed 1 common package that appeals to all? now i'm even more confused....

...but as we know the channel is not targeted to the ex-pay community, in fact the total opposite so perhaps he needs to be told this. Remind him this is why most programmes are subtitled in Thai. He will not have a clue about the general population of Thailand! The reason we dropped Eastenders is because there was not a large audience for it, only ex-pats, again not our target audience.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Payboy

[robsamui]

It seems that this is a world-wide problem. Here is another set of complaints - this time about BBC Prime on the networks in South Africa!

http://www.dstv.com/Gysmm/Forum/threadView...1409&Id=132

R

[robsamui]

AHA! The original memo from Douglas Spitz - assistant customer relations manager - which was offhand and dismissive has now been followed up by another one! This is the fluffy softspeak B******T version. Compare the 2 and see how the reality and the B******T compares!

INTERNAL MEMMO TO ASSISTANT:

Ask me about this if you need to. He is obviously an ex-pat and thinks the channel should be moulded around his principles but as we know the channel is not targeted to the ex-pay community, in fact the total opposite so perhaps he needs to be told this. Remind him this is why most programmes are subtitled in Thai. He will not have a clue about the general population of Thailand! The reason we dropped Eastenders is because there was not a large audience for it, only ex-pats, again not our target audience.

Whatever you say in these circumstances he will not listen and still think us wrong so best to point out the channel is aimed at foreign nationals. If he wants more information about programme rights and the relationship between BBC Worldwide and BBC Entertainment he can go to the BBC Worldwide website.

Let him forward this on to anyone he wants, he is entirely entitled to do so. I am sure our responses are already on several web blogs, we certainly do not try to hide our intentions for the future of the channel. I think he needs to be informed ex=pats are not our target audience and therefore his expectations do not apply.

Remember to remove this before sending on and let me know if you need any help.

AND THE SAME VERSION OF THIS SENT TO ME DIRECTLY:

Thank you for your reply.

Firstly I would like to point out that if you are watching the channel in Thailand then you are watching BBC entertainment, not BBC Prime.

In your email you write that our target audience are ex-pats living overseas and I'm afraid this is simply not the case. Obviously we know who our channel is aimed. BBC Entertainment is not designed as being a channel that caters only for British ex-patriates, although naturally we regard them as an important, yet not an exclusive, part of our audience. One of the reasons a majority of our programmes are subtitled into several languages is that we hope to attract local viewers, to BBC content. BBC Entertainment is not intended to simply be a replacement for BBC1 or any of the UK channels that perhaps you may be more used too.

In addition, the research we have conducted confirms our previous response than viewers of most cable and digital satellite channels DO channel hope and do not watch one channel for a prolonged period of time. If you are using the channel in this way then obviously you will find some of the programming and way in which the schedule is planned frustrating but once again the channel is not supposed to be viewed for long periods of time on a daily basis, such as the domestic channels in the UK may be used.

We do not, and have never tried to keep our responses in a private domain and you are entirely entitled to make our comments public over the internet. We know there a several internet blogs that already contain our responses. I also wish to add that we welcome feedback from our viewers, positive and negative because it helps us stay in touch with the views and opinions of our audience and in turn make changes that we feel are necessary.

We are sorry you do not agree with us on this occasion and that the channel is not everything you would like but it is with our wider audience in mind that we make schedule decisions and we hope that we may in the future be able to look forward to your support of BBC Entertainment.

Regards,

Douglas Spitz

BBC Entertainment

[Jimjim]

so bbc worldwide is actually taking the thai population into consideration when they plan their programming for bbc prime? arent there over 100 countries worldwide with different viewer tastes - has bbc developed 1 common package that appeals to all? now i'm even more confused....

They control their feed into Thailand. They control the programming. They only show Thai subtitles for their shows in Thailand. Otherwise the programming may be exactly the same as they show in other countries. True only broadcasts this feed. Get it yet?

[Big A]

Combined with the bumbling, uncaring, greedy management at UBC and the wonkers at the BBC, is the Platinum package (B2,000++) really worth it now?

UBC just recently added a few channels (Disney, other HBOs etc etc), and I thought yee haa, more televisual entertainment included in the package (don't forget, I'm platinum package). Phoned up UBC and was told that I had to pay more. Language used would make a docker blush!!