05-30-2002, 01:25 PM | #1 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
BBC forces viewers to record its new sitcom
By Matt Born (Filed: 30/05/2002) The BBC was accused yesterday of Orwellian tactics after digital video machines in thousands of homes were switched on remotely to record Caroline Aherne's new sitcom Dossa and Joe. The move was described as the equivalent of junk mail. Many of the 50,000 households that own TiVo machines awoke on Friday to discover that the 30-minute programme had been downloaded on to their recorders without having asked for it. It is the first time a broadcaster has used the new technology to try to boost audiences for a show. TiVo's selling point is its ability to "remember" to tape viewers' favourite programmes and similar shows, based on a list of preferences. However the BBC sent Dossa and Joe to all the machines regardless of preference. Almost 1,000 messages have been posted on a web forum for TiVo users, many complaining that such "foul-mouthed rubbish" had been imposed on them. Some were unhappy that they missed the start of the Ten O'Clock News last Thursday because the machine was still recording Dossa and Joe on BBC2. Others accused the BBC of breaching the 9pm watershed because children could watch the programme the next day. TiVo is one of a new generation of digital video machines that record programmes on hard disk rather than tape. The BBC was able to send the episode because the machines are linked by telephone to a central database. The BBC has high hopes for Dossa and Joe, about a retired Australian couple and starring the former Neighbours actress Anne Charleston. But the comedy, Aherne's first series since The Royle Family, has attracted fewer than 1.5 million viewers. Granville Williams, of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, said: "This is an unwanted and unrequested intrusion into people's lives. "Consumers were told that TiVo would give them greater control, yet exactly the opposite has happened here. Someone has decided, 'This is what you want to watch.' " |
05-30-2002, 01:44 PM | #2 |
Ironworks Moderator
Join Date: January 7, 2001
Location: Monroe, LA
Age: 60
Posts: 7,387
|
Absolutely disgraceful, MagiK! I should hope there will be a HUGE public outcry about this. I would be infuriated if such a thing happened here.
You are right; it is something right out of Orwell. -Sazerac
__________________
"And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams, Are where thy grey eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams, In what ethereal dances, by what eternal streams..." |
05-30-2002, 03:14 PM | #3 |
Ironworks Moderator
Join Date: March 1, 2001
Location: Upstate NY USA
Posts: 19,737
|
Whoa! I'd have been one of the ones sending complaints! Geez,it's bad enough they SHOW what they want but force me to tape it? [img]tongue.gif[/img] no way!
__________________
"Don't take life for granted." Animal (may he rest in peace) |
05-30-2002, 03:19 PM | #4 |
Iron Throne Cult
Join Date: June 3, 2001
Location: There is no IRL, Only AFK.
Age: 35
Posts: 4,896
|
WOW! That's Terrible... And Uh, Is That Um... Legal?? Should'nt Be...
__________________
My pokemon bring all the boys to the yard, and they're like; you wanna trade cards? Damn right, I wanna trade cards, I'll trade this but not my Charizard. |
05-30-2002, 03:20 PM | #5 |
20th Level Warrior
Join Date: April 9, 2001
Location: Dallas, Tx, USA
Age: 55
Posts: 2,830
|
Here's a TIVO representative's statement on it. [img]graemlins/idontagreeatall.gif[/img]
__________________
[img]\"http://home.earthlink.net/~rudedawg/images/perin14.gif\" alt=\" - \" /><br />The RudeDawg, known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes<br /><br />Think Different. Keeper of the Bunnies of Total Self Confidence <img border=\"0\" alt=\"[bunny]\" title=\"\" src=\"graemlins/bunny.gif\" /> |
05-30-2002, 03:29 PM | #6 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
The BBC, is supposed to be funded out of the taxpayers pocket and not allowed to engage in advertising and rubbish like this.
It’s goes against the original spirit in which the BBC was conceived, I.E to provide nationalised news, sports coverage and entertainment and education. So they’re all a bunch of CLASS TRAITORS!!!! |
05-30-2002, 03:37 PM | #7 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Oh for Goodness' sake. It's nothing LIKE George Orwell's 1984.
They are NOT monitoring civilians in their households, they are over-riding what those people record on the telly Yes, this is disgusting behaviour indeed, but it's hardly "Big Brother" |
05-31-2002, 01:44 AM | #8 |
Horus - Egyptian Sky God
Join Date: April 10, 2001
Location: Tacoma, WA, U.S.A.
Age: 39
Posts: 2,615
|
Some guy on tv reported the same problem but it was with old M.A.S.H. episodes.
|
05-31-2002, 02:42 AM | #9 | |
Drow Warrior
Join Date: April 16, 2002
Location: Connecticut
Age: 40
Posts: 259
|
Quote:
__________________
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.<br /><br />-John Fitzgerald Kennedy |
|
05-31-2002, 03:46 AM | #10 |
Horus - Egyptian Sky God
Join Date: April 10, 2001
Location: Tacoma, WA, U.S.A.
Age: 39
Posts: 2,615
|
That would be a good idea if M.A.S.H. didnt suck so much.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
???SPAM??? | eLLithid | Baldurs Gate II: Shadows of Amn & Throne of Bhaal | 6 | 05-30-2002 10:38 AM |
Spam is getting a bit to much.. | Ziroc | General Conversation Archives (11/2000 - 01/2005) | 51 | 05-07-2002 07:25 AM |
You know you spam to much when.... | caleb | General Conversation Archives (11/2000 - 01/2005) | 73 | 06-16-2001 09:46 PM |
Spam (and its uses) | Patriarch | General Conversation Archives (11/2000 - 01/2005) | 10 | 03-06-2001 07:45 AM |