More BBC unease

[GlosRFC]

Does anyone else feel the same sense of unease and outrage about the latest "adverts" on the BBC trying to encourage people to buy DAB radios as Christmas presents this year?

The BBC have spent millions of tax-payers money switching to digital radio services but most listeners have, quite sensibly, come to the conclusion that their £5 transistor radio works just as well as a £100 DAB radio.

Personally I think it's scandalous of the BBC to run "advertising" of this nature - surely that's the job of the radio manufacturers who stand to profit from the sale of DAB radios rather than the public service organisation whose job is to provide the signal.

It's also an admission that DAB hasn't revolutionised the world of radio - hardly surprising given that its coverage is poor compared to FM and that, where stations are digitally broadcast, it's in mono rather than stereo. Just like BBC3 and BBC4, millions of pounds are being squandered on services that people don't actually want to a user-base of about 10,000 people.

[GlosRFC]

Aha...maybe this explains why they're so keen to promote the sale of DAB radios
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/articles/Annual-DAB-sales-50-below-forecast.php

"the forecast sales for 2008 are a massive 50% below"
"cumulative sales will be 18% below previously forecast by the end of this year "
"cumulative sales will be 30% below what they had previously forecast by the end of next year"

And yet this article explains why people aren't buying into the technology that the BBC seems so keen to want to push people towards:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/articles/All-DAB-receivers-will-be-obsolete-in-a-few-years-time.php

"existing stations that use the old MP2 format will probably be switched off completely in the UK in around 7-8 years' time"

"DAB radios being sold in the shops today will not be able to receive any of the many new stations that will launch using the new AAC+ format in the coming years"

Like I said above, this seems pretty scandalous to me.

[Win2Win]

DAB doesn't work under the Mersey tunnek, Bit I can still get Radio 2 & 4 on the normal box :) Which is better then eh?

Why not complian to the Advertsing Authority? I did about British Gas...and won :D

[Onlyforfun]

There are 2 issues here

1- BBC advertising. It's getting ridiculous now and I for one would happily see the notional value of it's internal advertising knocked off the license fee. (at a higher rate than commercial advertising as it runs a monompoly)

2- I'm all for progress but sometimes what seems like a step forward to techno wonks seems liek a step backwards to me. As has been pointed out above, existing radio frequencies can be picked up by very cheap, durable and simple transistor radios, why overcomplicate? It is another example of a solution looking for a problem.

[vegyjones]

Will you stil be able to use alternative radios when they wsitch off all the analogue signals?

[GlosRFC]

Anyone else also notice how Sports Personality of the Year was sponsored with the sponsors logo prominently displayed and referred to? It now appears that the BBC want both a licence fee and external advertising revenue.

The official response from the BBC is that it was the event that was being sponsored but not the program...but surely, without the program their wouldn't have been an event? More weasel words, I suspect.

And Vegy, the answer is no. Just like the digital TV saga, the public are being forced to shell out on technology they don't want simply because Auntie thinks it's best for us.

[Jonny2621]

Scrap the license fee, sell it off to a private organisation that can see the sense in closing down peripheral channels like BBC 235 and Radio Mongolian Youth 6 and start running the place in the real world....

Simple innit ?? :D

[Win2Win]

Or they could give Win2Win free sponsorship on any programs to do with ADHD which we all get after a race :D