OK, this news came as a bit of a shock. So I wrote them a letter. And got a (pointless) reply.
I don’t get this – you’re removing the Cult website as it’s “too similar to the commercial sector” i.e. there are other websites with similar content. Perhaps… but none of them are as good, nor as comprehensive as the BBC’s. On top of that I’m *paying* for the BBC site out of my license fee.
If we’re going to get rid of things for being “too similar” to commercial offerings, can we also please scrap Eastenders as it’s just Coronation Street set in London? And Holby as it’s only a cheap version of E.R.? Getting rid of that dross would allow plenty of funding for excellent resources such as this.
How on earth you can scrap a site that gets almost 700,000 hits a month and comes second only to your news pages is beyond me. I thought the idea was to provide a public service? The two statistics there show that this site is doing this above and beyond all expectations, and your decision is one of utter stupidity.
Cult TV is going through a massive boom right now. I mean, come on – you’ve just sold Playschool in Maori! There are DVD releases coming out left/right/centre and this site is by far and away the most detailed and comprehensive *anywhere*. Killing it off is like scuppering the Ark Royal just because the US has a couple of aircraft carriers that can kind of do the same job.
If you do send me a reply, I’d appreciate a personal one – not the usual formulaic garbage such as the official statement which, frankly, contradicts everything I’ve ever believed the BBC to stand for.
Thanks (not),
(etc)
The reply:
Dear Mosh
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the closure of the Cult website.
I appreciate you have further concerns about the closure of the website. Rest assured that your complaint has been registered on the daily log. This will be made available throughout the BBC, including the senior management. Feedback of this nature helps us when making decisions about future BBC services and your comment will play a part in this process.
Thank you again for taking time to contact the BBC.
Regards
Katherine Tsang
BBC Information
I think the basic gist of this is “your feedback will be ignored at the highest level”. **** them and **** their license fee. OK, OK, so the only decent stuff on TV these days is either on BBC or Channel 5, but I wonder if I could withhold 2p/month of my direct debit in protest?
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Hey, how do you think it feels on the inside? 😉
I think it feels all soft and squidgey lol
Grey matter in these persons really isn’t worth the skull that is encasing it.. YOU GO MOSH, Tv crusader of earth!!
You even made it onto the “best will be chosen list”
(Bet they regard you now as similar to one of these people that go on every single quiz programme in the country just to become famous for something?? Hehe just kidding love.. it’s great you stick up for what you believe in… and I still cannot get the picture and sound of the singing whale in THAT tv ad!)
That truly is a **** form reply.
My suggestion would be to complain about their **** form replies.
It won’t make much of a difference, but you’ll feel an awful lot better about it.
As ever, blame the politicians. Didn’t some parliamentary committee argue that the BBC website shouldn’t try to compete with stuff that is available commercially and focus on what only they do?
Complete bollocks in my view, The Beeb site is probably the best on the web. It’s comprehensive and usually trustworthy which is more than be said for some of the crap you can stumble upon.
I’ll be complaining too, even if just means getting that crap standard reply. Of course, we should have complained to the politicians at the time. Not that they’d take a blind bit of notice either.
I didn’t know about the site until I read about it on here. I posted my disdain for the removal of our heritage. The BBC will not dare remove it now.