Dr Detroit reminds us that there is another market for the BB product which is severely disadvantaged by Channel 5 and their absolute control tendencies.
I have many friends who do not live in the UK and no longer have access to any Big Brother, certainly Spain, Ireland and America have had little access in the past, and if Desmond and his cohorts have their way, will have none in the future.
What have they to gain from this?
The programme will certainly have no resale value in the future, so they cannot be holding it back for Big Brother xx - The Director's Cut dvd. And they don't want anyone offshore from our Small Island to watch it now.
I feel the fell hand of the Multi-Nationals behind this. There has certainly been a desperate scramble on the Internet to regionalise the delivery of material. It isn't driven by governments because they are like the giant supertankers - it takes them forever to slow down and change direction. Multi-National corporations however do have the resources to force through this process and have the money and skills at their disposal to make it happen. It certainly happened with the dvd market. But that was to ensure that differential pricing would not lead to grey market imports. There is no profit to be had from blocking BB alone outside of the UK. It must be a side effect of something else.
The something else.
This seems to be driven by the need to separate markets so that particular products (TV shows for example) can be made available on subscription streams at some time in the future. Their default setting seems to be that it will only be available in one country and they are perhaps just testing the system. (This is regardless of the fact that if it can be streamed it will be re-streamed by third parties because the people who are good at diverting the system largely work outside the system).
It does not seem to be wholly a Ch5 issue, BBC iPlayer is the same and I dare say the other TV channels also are closing it down.
Can we sway them with a well chosen argument?
I doubt it. The Big players seem to be impervious to common sense arguments, But that does not mean we cannot follow the well trodden pathways of aggravation and avoidance. We aggravate them and we also circumvent their controls. They are irritating but we are resourceful.
Showing posts with label oppression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oppression. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
2 Evictions down - and what have we got?
I think it is fair to say that they are pissed off with us. We are pissed off with them so that is all square. Today's questions are therefore...
1. Does Live Feed seem any nearer?
2. How is Twitter filling the gap?
3. Does FB work?
4. How are CH5 reacting?
5. Where do we go from here?
Does Live Feed seem any nearer?
I think it is a fair bet that although we can see nothing out here in the tumbleweeds, deep in panic control there will be a contingency plan. My view is that the delivery of advertising revenue from the sponsors would have been contractually dependent on the delivery of an audience. If the sponsors did not insist on that, they may as well have given their cash to charity.
If I can take that as a given then it follows that there would have been a target number involved. Perhaps the phrase used was that Ch5 would deliver an audience of or greater than X. Down in the weeds it would have stipulated where and how that audience was measured. For TV they would use BARB. For the selected 'Social Media' they would have taken some measurement of the Facebook hits and possibly click-throughs to their web page and videos. How they measure Twitter is beyond me at the moment because all I see is one way traffic - an endless stream of pointless Tweets from them - ranging from the inane to the totally absurd. That one-way torrent of drivel cannot be used as a valid measurement for financial transactions. So, we don't know what they measure and against what target.
What do we know then? Well, rumours suggest that they have given themselves a deadline to hit targets. That means, if taken at face value, that they are not meeting them.
What else do we know? The handling of Nikki Cowan suggests an element of absolute panic in Ch5 - at least in Borehamwood. The left hand did not know what the right hand was doing and the way they reacted suggests that someone very high up the organisation had shouted at the underlings and they reacted in the way that people do when shouted at. The someone would have to be above the programme producers. Perhaps in the rarefied air inhabited by dear Jefford. I would imagine that he is sick and tired of hearing 'Live feed'. The terseness of his response to questions about Live Feed suggested someone of a testy disposition. Perhaps the decision to drop it rest on his shoulders and he feels the cold wind from the Job Centre beckoning? Certainly it suggests that he is the person who will have to change his mind and allow the stream to return to our computers at least. Perhaps he doesn't like us? Perhaps he won't take any notice of us? Perhaps he will only listen to the advertisers and their lawyers?
I asked a colleague of mine about a useful way forward for the campaign. This was the response.
HOW:
Social Media, the same way Ch5 are trying to control the program. Not just one FB group, a dozen or more. All on the same message, all saying the same things. Twitter, again everybody tweets and re-tweets each other. Over and over again using hashtags to get a trend going. STAY ON MESSAGE AT ALL TIMES, ignore the trolls but re-tweet them to increase the trend.
WHO:
Firstly, Channel Five, ALL of Ch5 not just the program. Directors, heads of department, newspaper editors, everybody. Secondly the fans. Not just the aggrieved like yourself but the others who are still tuning in. Tell them what they are missing and why and keep telling them.
TARGETS:
The Advertisers, they are paying for the program and have very thin skins when it comes to public criticism, they don't like being shown up as supporting an unpopular program.
Again, Channel 5. E-mail complaints and 'suggestions' on how to improve the show.
Enough from me, feel free to suggest anything else you can think of or disagree if you like. If you REALLY want live feed to come back, ever, you have to do something before the end of this show.
Perhaps Live Feed will get a bit nearer if we adopt these strategies.
How is Twitter filling the gap?
The answer is that it provides the 'endless stream of pointless tweets' that give us the opportunity for ReTweeting and generating publicity. It will never fill the 'Live Feed Gap' because all it is is somebody else telling us what we should be thinking. And that, dear Mr Jefford is precisely what Live Feed wasn't. We watched, we formed our own opinions and we spread the opinions and defended them.
Does FB work?
It provides Ch5 with what they want and it gives us the opportunity to aggravate them. Ch5 are reduced to inventing whole groups of 'flavoured' posters to combat the constant Live Feed chorus. Some days they are all Nigerian-ish, others they are Irish-ish depending on who in the office has the job of spamming the walls with pro-Ch5 twaddle. FB is not working for them unless they are generating enough click-throughs to satisfy the sponsors. They cannot be measuring traffic on wall posts because they keep on deleting ours. As long as we do not click through their video or picture links, or take part in the polls we should be doing them no good at all.
How are CH5 reacting?
Badly. Which is good news for us.
Where do we go from here?
See above in blue.
Do not give up.
1. Does Live Feed seem any nearer?
2. How is Twitter filling the gap?
3. Does FB work?
4. How are CH5 reacting?
5. Where do we go from here?
Does Live Feed seem any nearer?
I think it is a fair bet that although we can see nothing out here in the tumbleweeds, deep in panic control there will be a contingency plan. My view is that the delivery of advertising revenue from the sponsors would have been contractually dependent on the delivery of an audience. If the sponsors did not insist on that, they may as well have given their cash to charity.
If I can take that as a given then it follows that there would have been a target number involved. Perhaps the phrase used was that Ch5 would deliver an audience of or greater than X. Down in the weeds it would have stipulated where and how that audience was measured. For TV they would use BARB. For the selected 'Social Media' they would have taken some measurement of the Facebook hits and possibly click-throughs to their web page and videos. How they measure Twitter is beyond me at the moment because all I see is one way traffic - an endless stream of pointless Tweets from them - ranging from the inane to the totally absurd. That one-way torrent of drivel cannot be used as a valid measurement for financial transactions. So, we don't know what they measure and against what target.
What do we know then? Well, rumours suggest that they have given themselves a deadline to hit targets. That means, if taken at face value, that they are not meeting them.
What else do we know? The handling of Nikki Cowan suggests an element of absolute panic in Ch5 - at least in Borehamwood. The left hand did not know what the right hand was doing and the way they reacted suggests that someone very high up the organisation had shouted at the underlings and they reacted in the way that people do when shouted at. The someone would have to be above the programme producers. Perhaps in the rarefied air inhabited by dear Jefford. I would imagine that he is sick and tired of hearing 'Live feed'. The terseness of his response to questions about Live Feed suggested someone of a testy disposition. Perhaps the decision to drop it rest on his shoulders and he feels the cold wind from the Job Centre beckoning? Certainly it suggests that he is the person who will have to change his mind and allow the stream to return to our computers at least. Perhaps he doesn't like us? Perhaps he won't take any notice of us? Perhaps he will only listen to the advertisers and their lawyers?
I asked a colleague of mine about a useful way forward for the campaign. This was the response.
HOW:
Social Media, the same way Ch5 are trying to control the program. Not just one FB group, a dozen or more. All on the same message, all saying the same things. Twitter, again everybody tweets and re-tweets each other. Over and over again using hashtags to get a trend going. STAY ON MESSAGE AT ALL TIMES, ignore the trolls but re-tweet them to increase the trend.
WHO:
Firstly, Channel Five, ALL of Ch5 not just the program. Directors, heads of department, newspaper editors, everybody. Secondly the fans. Not just the aggrieved like yourself but the others who are still tuning in. Tell them what they are missing and why and keep telling them.
TARGETS:
The Advertisers, they are paying for the program and have very thin skins when it comes to public criticism, they don't like being shown up as supporting an unpopular program.
Again, Channel 5. E-mail complaints and 'suggestions' on how to improve the show.
Enough from me, feel free to suggest anything else you can think of or disagree if you like. If you REALLY want live feed to come back, ever, you have to do something before the end of this show.
Perhaps Live Feed will get a bit nearer if we adopt these strategies.
How is Twitter filling the gap?
The answer is that it provides the 'endless stream of pointless tweets' that give us the opportunity for ReTweeting and generating publicity. It will never fill the 'Live Feed Gap' because all it is is somebody else telling us what we should be thinking. And that, dear Mr Jefford is precisely what Live Feed wasn't. We watched, we formed our own opinions and we spread the opinions and defended them.
Does FB work?
It provides Ch5 with what they want and it gives us the opportunity to aggravate them. Ch5 are reduced to inventing whole groups of 'flavoured' posters to combat the constant Live Feed chorus. Some days they are all Nigerian-ish, others they are Irish-ish depending on who in the office has the job of spamming the walls with pro-Ch5 twaddle. FB is not working for them unless they are generating enough click-throughs to satisfy the sponsors. They cannot be measuring traffic on wall posts because they keep on deleting ours. As long as we do not click through their video or picture links, or take part in the polls we should be doing them no good at all.
How are CH5 reacting?
Badly. Which is good news for us.
Where do we go from here?
See above in blue.
Do not give up.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Kit Marsters writes - Big Brother - How to Win Back Viewers
Huffy Post
Channel 5 must have expected ratings to drop after Celebrity Big Brother. They must have expected it, as Celebrity Big Brother tends to attract a higher amount of viewers than the regular series. Whether or not they expected a drop of nearly 50% compared to the last series on Channel 4 is a different matter. According to Barb overnight figures, the first five episodes pulled in an average of just 1.7 million viewers, with the first eviction watched by 1.83 million. Indications are that even 1.7 million is proving difficult to maintain, as on Thursday only 1.16 million tuned in to see the highlights. A record low was reached on Saturday, when a mere 900,000 viewers showed an interest. With some eight weeks of Big Brother still to come, it will be interesting to see if Channel 5 can get their audience back to above the 1 million mark, or if even more people will switch off.
Whilst such ratings are still pretty decent for the channel, and they may actually be content with them, it is clear to Big Brother viewers that all is not well.
Why are dedicated fans abandoning their beloved show?
Why are people who have watched the show from series one now moving on?
And what can be done to win them back?
For Linda, it's simple. "Two words are all that's needed - live feed!" She says that she has been a stalwart fan for years, but she will not watch without the feed.
Bradley is still watching but feels that there is room for improvement. He agrees with Linda on the live feed issue.
"Whilst I see their thinking, the people who watch the live feed are the hardcore fans who will watch it no matter what. We are down to the core now. Their thinking is that by providing live feed it makes it harder to hide things and won't get more people watching. They are wrong in the sense that those people are the people who spread the word to the ones who won't watch live feed, who don't know what's going on so won't bother to watch the highlights show. If a BB fan tells them, "You've got to see it tonight, there was a massive argument last night," then others will tune in and become more involved."
Bradley also thinks that the producers should go back to basics. "BB has felt the need to constantly change, whereas apart from the tasks people enjoy the same things that encouraged them to watch in the first place.
The nominations process keeps changing. Go back to the way it was. None of the "surprise" things work; they don't encourage people to tune in, there's no need. Let's go back to nominations on Monday, the announcement on Tuesday, and eviction on Friday. One of the most important parts of the show has constantly been altered and people miss it. In the last few series they didn't even show some housemates actually nominating. With this in mind, the extra nomination programme, when we would see more of the nominations, would be helpful if it returned."
He prefers Big Brother to keep it real. "At present they do everything to create arguments, so much so that none of the arguments are real and are a nightly thing, therefore no one cares. In the first few series when an argument occurred it mattered, because it was real, organic and in some cases, as with Nasty Nick, brewing for weeks. Now they won't let them sleep during the day or allow anything to stimulate them. Give them the opportunity to sleep for an hour or two, or even allow reading material for an hour a day. This will help produce more energy and more excitement. At present they aren't allowed anything but just to sit and wait for a task. They do it to create tension, but in the end it produces boredom and silly arguments. Arguments will come naturally if you allow them to."
Sarah says she used to be an avid viewer. "I loved the sociological/psychological aspect of the show. When I say that, I mean it in terms of group dynamics and being shut away from the outside world, not as a substitute for the care in the community/"OMG I wanna be famous" culture. As a social scientist it was fabulous to see how people formed groups and dealt with isolation. I loved Nasty Nick, because Nick showed some fascinating human traits and instincts to win. It was all about how people get on. I love people watching and this really is the ultimate people watching show. Live footage was brilliant when I was revising for exams - Big Brother has more or less covered my entire career as a student.
"Sadly the show seems to have gone along with the moral decline in this country. It's now about mad people who want to be famous and have the morals and attitudes of alley cats rather than group dynamics. It also celebrates this "I wanna be a star" culture; you never get academics on BB do you? We aren't all boring, but we do have standards. Now it's like care in the community titillation. Let's put a load of unstable people in a house for several months, lock the door and see what happens - carnage! Horrendous, it gives off completely the wrong image to the kids who are the target audience.
"I suppose the major question is why do the producers/makers feel the programme has to be this way now? That's something I'd love to know.
"Let's go back to the more psychological/sociological experiment format. I think the concept has gone from seeing how people react to different situations, to really pushing them to extremes purely for TV entertainment. It's like a human zoo. The problem is, I suppose this could be a reflection of a bad change in society in general, so Big Brother is a symptom. Have tasks, and games, and challenges that test people's endurance etcetera, rather than make them look stupid. I find it really worrying, always have when people leave and are booed by people they have never met."
Bradley agrees with Sarah about the booing. "Eviction night booing. It's revolting and does nothing to improve occasional viewers' feelings on the show. Totally unnecessary and should be banned. Eviction nights used to be special, now they are ruined by nastiness to evicted housemates who often find it terrifying. If so called hardcore fans boo these people, why should others bother to watch? Ban it and tell people there that if they do boo, they will be kicked out and banned in the future."
Sarah has a final point to make: "Have a wider range of people on the show, from different walks of life. The twists that have seen people go into houses in different countries have been fascinating! The age range this year is 18-30, and they all have a very similar demographic."
Whilst the views expressed here are those of just three Big Brother viewers, their sentiments appear to be reflected around the forums. Will they be listened to? Channel 5 and Endemol decide.
Channel 5 must have expected ratings to drop after Celebrity Big Brother. They must have expected it, as Celebrity Big Brother tends to attract a higher amount of viewers than the regular series. Whether or not they expected a drop of nearly 50% compared to the last series on Channel 4 is a different matter. According to Barb overnight figures, the first five episodes pulled in an average of just 1.7 million viewers, with the first eviction watched by 1.83 million. Indications are that even 1.7 million is proving difficult to maintain, as on Thursday only 1.16 million tuned in to see the highlights. A record low was reached on Saturday, when a mere 900,000 viewers showed an interest. With some eight weeks of Big Brother still to come, it will be interesting to see if Channel 5 can get their audience back to above the 1 million mark, or if even more people will switch off.
Whilst such ratings are still pretty decent for the channel, and they may actually be content with them, it is clear to Big Brother viewers that all is not well.
Why are dedicated fans abandoning their beloved show?
Why are people who have watched the show from series one now moving on?
And what can be done to win them back?
For Linda, it's simple. "Two words are all that's needed - live feed!" She says that she has been a stalwart fan for years, but she will not watch without the feed.
Bradley is still watching but feels that there is room for improvement. He agrees with Linda on the live feed issue.
"Whilst I see their thinking, the people who watch the live feed are the hardcore fans who will watch it no matter what. We are down to the core now. Their thinking is that by providing live feed it makes it harder to hide things and won't get more people watching. They are wrong in the sense that those people are the people who spread the word to the ones who won't watch live feed, who don't know what's going on so won't bother to watch the highlights show. If a BB fan tells them, "You've got to see it tonight, there was a massive argument last night," then others will tune in and become more involved."
Bradley also thinks that the producers should go back to basics. "BB has felt the need to constantly change, whereas apart from the tasks people enjoy the same things that encouraged them to watch in the first place.
The nominations process keeps changing. Go back to the way it was. None of the "surprise" things work; they don't encourage people to tune in, there's no need. Let's go back to nominations on Monday, the announcement on Tuesday, and eviction on Friday. One of the most important parts of the show has constantly been altered and people miss it. In the last few series they didn't even show some housemates actually nominating. With this in mind, the extra nomination programme, when we would see more of the nominations, would be helpful if it returned."
He prefers Big Brother to keep it real. "At present they do everything to create arguments, so much so that none of the arguments are real and are a nightly thing, therefore no one cares. In the first few series when an argument occurred it mattered, because it was real, organic and in some cases, as with Nasty Nick, brewing for weeks. Now they won't let them sleep during the day or allow anything to stimulate them. Give them the opportunity to sleep for an hour or two, or even allow reading material for an hour a day. This will help produce more energy and more excitement. At present they aren't allowed anything but just to sit and wait for a task. They do it to create tension, but in the end it produces boredom and silly arguments. Arguments will come naturally if you allow them to."
Sarah says she used to be an avid viewer. "I loved the sociological/psychological aspect of the show. When I say that, I mean it in terms of group dynamics and being shut away from the outside world, not as a substitute for the care in the community/"OMG I wanna be famous" culture. As a social scientist it was fabulous to see how people formed groups and dealt with isolation. I loved Nasty Nick, because Nick showed some fascinating human traits and instincts to win. It was all about how people get on. I love people watching and this really is the ultimate people watching show. Live footage was brilliant when I was revising for exams - Big Brother has more or less covered my entire career as a student.
"Sadly the show seems to have gone along with the moral decline in this country. It's now about mad people who want to be famous and have the morals and attitudes of alley cats rather than group dynamics. It also celebrates this "I wanna be a star" culture; you never get academics on BB do you? We aren't all boring, but we do have standards. Now it's like care in the community titillation. Let's put a load of unstable people in a house for several months, lock the door and see what happens - carnage! Horrendous, it gives off completely the wrong image to the kids who are the target audience.
"I suppose the major question is why do the producers/makers feel the programme has to be this way now? That's something I'd love to know.
"Let's go back to the more psychological/sociological experiment format. I think the concept has gone from seeing how people react to different situations, to really pushing them to extremes purely for TV entertainment. It's like a human zoo. The problem is, I suppose this could be a reflection of a bad change in society in general, so Big Brother is a symptom. Have tasks, and games, and challenges that test people's endurance etcetera, rather than make them look stupid. I find it really worrying, always have when people leave and are booed by people they have never met."
Bradley agrees with Sarah about the booing. "Eviction night booing. It's revolting and does nothing to improve occasional viewers' feelings on the show. Totally unnecessary and should be banned. Eviction nights used to be special, now they are ruined by nastiness to evicted housemates who often find it terrifying. If so called hardcore fans boo these people, why should others bother to watch? Ban it and tell people there that if they do boo, they will be kicked out and banned in the future."
Sarah has a final point to make: "Have a wider range of people on the show, from different walks of life. The twists that have seen people go into houses in different countries have been fascinating! The age range this year is 18-30, and they all have a very similar demographic."
Whilst the views expressed here are those of just three Big Brother viewers, their sentiments appear to be reflected around the forums. Will they be listened to? Channel 5 and Endemol decide.
Friday, 23 September 2011
BB - Big Brother or Bigger Bully
Huffington Post
Whilst for many viewers the Big Brother experience on Channel 5 has soured somewhat, for Nikki Cowan it's personal. Living only a stone's throw away from Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, he's perfectly placed to be the official reporter for Big Brother's Bit on the Radio,
the unofficial but increasingly popular radio show. Each week he
attends the live shows and chats with members of the audience. Later in
the night, he reports his experiences live on the radio.
After twice using an Applause Store ticket, on his third visit security and members of the crew referred to him as "the guy from the radio", and he was offered a pass. On subsequent visits he didn't even have to show his ticket. He could simply go to the office, request his pass and sign it out. One visit it was suggested he attend the spin-off show Big Brother's Bit on the Side, though he was advised not to plug the radio show. This was fine by Nikki, who happily accepted the offer.
On Big Brother's Bit on the Side he kept his promise, but he did mention the live feed, much to the delight of many viewers. He also admits to using a "rude word" towards Darryn Lyons. Despite that, he was told he'd been a great guest and would be welcome back.
Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. "After spending five hours at the compound for the finale of Celebrity Big Brother and having lovely chats with Sally Bercow, Kerry Katona, Brian Belo and Marcus Akin ,and leaving on a high to do the radio show... the next day, for no reason, I was banned.
I arrived to report from the live launch of civilian Big Brother and was greeted on the door by a panicked and irate producer. She instructed the security guards to barricade the entrance and not let me in. As if I was going to rush the gate. She insisted I wasn't with the radio show. She then refused to speak to me."
Nikki ended up going to the main gate, where he was met by security once again. He asked to speak to a producer, and a Bit on the Side crew member told him that it had nothing to do with them; they had no control. They suggested he get in touch with one of the main producers during the week. Feeling rather puzzled, Nikki went home.
"That week I spoke to one of the producers of Bit on the Side, who told me I had upset someone on Big Brother by saying I had permission to be there from him. I unequivocally denied it, as that was a total lie. He said he would find out more and call me back.
When he called me back he told me categorically that, as long as I had a press pass or an audience pass I was allowed back and that I was most certainly not banned. I therefore got myself an Applause Store ticket, like I'd done every time, and went back on Friday."
On the Friday, he discovered that matters had not been solved. Soon after arriving for Tashie's eviction, a member of the Applause Store team asked to see his ticket. Nikki showed it to him, and the team member took it and walked off.
Nikki made his apologies to the people in the queue who he was talking to and followed the team member. At that point he was beckoned over by a police officer and surrounded by security. "I could hear people in the queue gasping and muttering as I was treated like a felon and questioned over my reasons for being there."
He was told by the police that he was not coming onto the site, and that he should go home. Feeling confused, he asked to speak to someone higher up. There'd obviously been a mix up; he'd been told, after all, that he wasn't banned.
Accompanied to the main gate by a member of security and the police officer, he was told over the phone by a member of the production team that they had no problem with him being on the show. They claimed it was full and that they had no control over who the main show let in. They stated they didn't know why he was banned or if, indeed, he even was.
"I was told by the police officer in a very condescending manner that I'd be best off going home. I reminded the officer that I was still allowed on Tesco's land, which Big Brother use for the fans to queue up before the gates open. The security guard concurred, telling me not to cross the railings where the people queue. I duly conceded but returned to the queue."
That night, Nikki had with him a set of posters inspired by housemate Tashie's fish finger incident. Designed by a listener of the radio show, Twitter followers loved it so much that Nikki had a set printed to hand out to audience members. "In my possession that day were 52 posters, A3 size in colour with pictures of Big Brother housemate Tashie crying with a fish finger wedged in her mouth. Down the side of the picture was her name spelt using only the bread-crumbed-meal-time-favourite. As I spoke to people for their opinions, I gave out a free poster."
Right after handing out the last one, security marched down the queue and shouted for the posters to be handed in. The people in the queue were in shock, according to Nikki, and asked to be allowed to keep them, even if just as a souvenir. They were told that the only way to keep their posters would be if they left with them now - they'd not be allowed to take them in. If they did want to come in, they had to hand over their posters, which would be burned.
"I was even told not to do it and that it was wrong. I left soon after, telling the queue not to get into trouble over me."
Nikki was further surprised when he received a tweet from one of his contacts inside the compound, who'd taken a photograph of warm-up act Andy Collins telling the audience that if they were in possession of one of the posters that they "must hand them in or get booted out!"
"Needless to say I was not in a good mood for the radio show that night and shall not bother trying to get back in this week. I will, however, still talk to the queue. Let them try and stop me!"
Nikki's experiences are the most recent in a series of events that have left fans of Big Brother confused and dismayed. Several viewers, making use of the show's Facebook page, have found themselves blocked from the page and even banned from the social networking site altogether. They insist that their comments weren't rude of controversial, nor did they spam the page - one poster only left a single message with a polite request for live streaming.
Viewers from outside the UK, including those from Ireland, are unable to view the clips on Facebook, lauded as the new way to enjoy the Big Brother experience.
Channel 5's press office has been invited to respond to Nikki's experiences, but thus far there has been no comment.
Big Brother Versus Mr Nikki Cowan - The Ongoing Saga
Posted: 23/9/11 15:13 GMT
After twice using an Applause Store ticket, on his third visit security and members of the crew referred to him as "the guy from the radio", and he was offered a pass. On subsequent visits he didn't even have to show his ticket. He could simply go to the office, request his pass and sign it out. One visit it was suggested he attend the spin-off show Big Brother's Bit on the Side, though he was advised not to plug the radio show. This was fine by Nikki, who happily accepted the offer.
On Big Brother's Bit on the Side he kept his promise, but he did mention the live feed, much to the delight of many viewers. He also admits to using a "rude word" towards Darryn Lyons. Despite that, he was told he'd been a great guest and would be welcome back.
Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. "After spending five hours at the compound for the finale of Celebrity Big Brother and having lovely chats with Sally Bercow, Kerry Katona, Brian Belo and Marcus Akin ,and leaving on a high to do the radio show... the next day, for no reason, I was banned.
I arrived to report from the live launch of civilian Big Brother and was greeted on the door by a panicked and irate producer. She instructed the security guards to barricade the entrance and not let me in. As if I was going to rush the gate. She insisted I wasn't with the radio show. She then refused to speak to me."
Nikki ended up going to the main gate, where he was met by security once again. He asked to speak to a producer, and a Bit on the Side crew member told him that it had nothing to do with them; they had no control. They suggested he get in touch with one of the main producers during the week. Feeling rather puzzled, Nikki went home.
"That week I spoke to one of the producers of Bit on the Side, who told me I had upset someone on Big Brother by saying I had permission to be there from him. I unequivocally denied it, as that was a total lie. He said he would find out more and call me back.
When he called me back he told me categorically that, as long as I had a press pass or an audience pass I was allowed back and that I was most certainly not banned. I therefore got myself an Applause Store ticket, like I'd done every time, and went back on Friday."
On the Friday, he discovered that matters had not been solved. Soon after arriving for Tashie's eviction, a member of the Applause Store team asked to see his ticket. Nikki showed it to him, and the team member took it and walked off.
Nikki made his apologies to the people in the queue who he was talking to and followed the team member. At that point he was beckoned over by a police officer and surrounded by security. "I could hear people in the queue gasping and muttering as I was treated like a felon and questioned over my reasons for being there."
He was told by the police that he was not coming onto the site, and that he should go home. Feeling confused, he asked to speak to someone higher up. There'd obviously been a mix up; he'd been told, after all, that he wasn't banned.
Accompanied to the main gate by a member of security and the police officer, he was told over the phone by a member of the production team that they had no problem with him being on the show. They claimed it was full and that they had no control over who the main show let in. They stated they didn't know why he was banned or if, indeed, he even was.
"I was told by the police officer in a very condescending manner that I'd be best off going home. I reminded the officer that I was still allowed on Tesco's land, which Big Brother use for the fans to queue up before the gates open. The security guard concurred, telling me not to cross the railings where the people queue. I duly conceded but returned to the queue."
That night, Nikki had with him a set of posters inspired by housemate Tashie's fish finger incident. Designed by a listener of the radio show, Twitter followers loved it so much that Nikki had a set printed to hand out to audience members. "In my possession that day were 52 posters, A3 size in colour with pictures of Big Brother housemate Tashie crying with a fish finger wedged in her mouth. Down the side of the picture was her name spelt using only the bread-crumbed-meal-time-favourite. As I spoke to people for their opinions, I gave out a free poster."
Right after handing out the last one, security marched down the queue and shouted for the posters to be handed in. The people in the queue were in shock, according to Nikki, and asked to be allowed to keep them, even if just as a souvenir. They were told that the only way to keep their posters would be if they left with them now - they'd not be allowed to take them in. If they did want to come in, they had to hand over their posters, which would be burned.
"I was even told not to do it and that it was wrong. I left soon after, telling the queue not to get into trouble over me."
Nikki was further surprised when he received a tweet from one of his contacts inside the compound, who'd taken a photograph of warm-up act Andy Collins telling the audience that if they were in possession of one of the posters that they "must hand them in or get booted out!"
"Needless to say I was not in a good mood for the radio show that night and shall not bother trying to get back in this week. I will, however, still talk to the queue. Let them try and stop me!"
Nikki's experiences are the most recent in a series of events that have left fans of Big Brother confused and dismayed. Several viewers, making use of the show's Facebook page, have found themselves blocked from the page and even banned from the social networking site altogether. They insist that their comments weren't rude of controversial, nor did they spam the page - one poster only left a single message with a polite request for live streaming.
Viewers from outside the UK, including those from Ireland, are unable to view the clips on Facebook, lauded as the new way to enjoy the Big Brother experience.
Channel 5's press office has been invited to respond to Nikki's experiences, but thus far there has been no comment.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
I posted this on Nick Bateman's blog and he deleted it - then reinstated it.
- Plenty to think about here Nick, not least your interest in being employed in some sort of advisory capacity *lol*.
First things first. I might have expected you to be a bit more positive about Live Feed. You said in your opening paragraph that "The lack of a live feed is perhaps the most contentious issue for BB fans. But let us not lose sight that it was Channel 4 who forced the issue and took away the live feed citing quite reasonably, the cost, the extra staff and of course the legal issues in having a 24 hour feed."
You are right. It is contentious and is also the most important issue facing the programme and the subsequent loss of the audience. As I have said before, Ch4 lost their collective nerve during and after the Shilpa Shetty incident. They took a foolish risk (of bringing in the disfunctional Jade clan) and it backfired spectacularly. After that they never took a risk and as a consequence they removed anything from Live Feed remotely interesting. (Plus they decided to keep anything that looked like a news story back for the main show.) Channel 4 attempted to kill Live Feed (as it had been) deliberately. They were attempting to back out of the show and did not really care about the future of BB. The cost of providing it (staff and kit) is a red herring, part of the smokescreen. We don't believe cost is the issue. If they stopped paying the people they have censoring Facebook and their own website they would have some cash left to re-employ sensible skilled people to carry out the technical and administrative aspects of the feed. (If the quality of the skills and the educational qualifications of the Facebook Channel 5 admins can be judged by the quality of their language, posting styles and decision making then they will probably be free to pursue other employment opportunities elsewhere once Facebook posting is simplified by the provision of Live Feed.)
Legal issues can be reduced with common sense. We live in an increasingly litigious society; the risk wont go away. Again, my view is that the risk of being harassed by vulture-like lawyers is not the reason either. The real reason that we have no Live Feed is because all the young trendies on the production team took the view that Facebook was the solution to socialising BB; bringing the target audience to them in a risk free manner. Their new voting strategy relies on block Facebook voting by people who are reluctant to pick up the phone and vote. My view is that they chose the Facebook solution first and having talked themselves into believing it would work decided to drop Live Feed (and dropped the audience as well). Th truth is of course that they tapped into the articulate core within Facebook who can use all social media for their own ends, rather than have an external social media solution imposed upon them.
No doubt Mr Ford is a bit aggrieved that we haven't gone away, while his audience has. -
22 September 2011 13:23
Big Brother is shedding viewers faster than a cat sheds it’s coat in the summer!
http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/big-brother/big-brother-2011-in-ratings-crisis/
The Celebrity version of the reality TV series proved a hit for Channel 5 when it launched last month and attracted a decent amount of viewers to the channel over it’s three week run. However, the normal series has now begun and though it launched with 3 million people watching earlier in September, the figures have been steadily falling ever since.
On Saturday night, only 900,000 people tuned in for the hour long daily catchup episode. This was the lowest ratings the show has ever achieved, since it first launched on Channel 4 in 2000.
Although the Saturday episode is normally the least popular of the week, the drop was still marked, with the lowest previous recorded ratings occurring during its 11th series when the weekend special drew in 1.5 million in 2009.
Have you been watching Big Brother? Is it as good as previous year’s? Leave all your BB related comments and musings below.
brian garbutt says:
September 22, 2011 at 11:01 am
bring back the live feed thats the problem.you cannot get to know the housemates with the small amount of highlights that your putting out.you need toget to know them at there normal surroundings when its live its off the cuff,they do things and say things for us to see at a instance,your cutting it and editiong,taking away the build up of relations with the housemates therfore making us watch more to see what they are going to do next.
REPLY
Max King says:
September 22, 2011 at 11:32 am
It’s really boring now that its all young under 30 singles.
Big Brother is supposed to have a diverse mix of people from society. There have been such big characters who viewers love such as Carol or Jonty who would not qualify under these bizzare requirements that you have to be under 30 and single. It’s boring because they are all veery similart
REPLY
Loz says:
September 22, 2011 at 12:11 pm
I think some of the problem has to be down to the fact that it doesn’t start until 10pm. It’s a bit late to start watching something for a lot of the people I know. Plus, the time does float around a bit so can be a bit confusing as to when it’s actually on.
I love BB but have got to say that until last night’s episode which was hilarious I have found this series uninteresting and lacking in energy.
I also think they’ve made a mistake putting contestants in who are all under 30.
REPLY
claire says:
September 22, 2011 at 12:55 pm
I wasn’t impressed at first with the ages of them but its turning out to be quite funny.. 10pm is too late for me 9pm was much better. I have to record it and watch it the night after. Mix it up some more BB, we want more laughs and more drama x
REPLY
DT says:
September 22, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Its on too late for some people. Think we should be voting for who we want out, like the borings gits! Apart from that its great!
REPLY
Debs says:
September 22, 2011 at 1:58 pm
decided not to watch as there were no over 30s. Think that may be one of the main problems…older people generally are more interesting
REPLY
mary tait says:
September 22, 2011 at 4:43 pm
ive been an avid fan all these years a 1hr show with 2min. clips doesn’t do it for this type of show never getting to know housemates or what their doing is rather annoying and irritating so people switch of, big brother means watching you 24/7 but 45mins doesnt come close even 4 or 5 hrs a day we could maybe get interested. by choosing all english under thirties was also a mistake youve lost scots. welsh and irish viewers. i am scottish and a much older viewer i would have liked to watch but it holds nothing for me or my ilk. reading about whats happening on facebook page means absolutely nothing to bb fans, you could say anything how do we know its real.
REPLY
Michael says:
September 22, 2011 at 5:14 pm
There have been quite a few under 30′s that have been entertaining, (Glyn and his egg song etc), but they were REAL people not chosen from a portfolio of would be actors or models. The lack of at least some live feed has had the most influence, the lack of being able to relate to each character while their guard is down. The ‘Social Media’ experiment is not working at all because of the bias of those that are administrating it, any comment that doesnt follow the party line is deleted and users blocked, the people they are attacking are the REAL BB fans, the core audience that channel 5 needed, instead they have alienated them – Channel 5 have missed a golden opportunity and have made a laughing stock of a program that is popular wordwide.
REPLY
Darren says:
September 22, 2011 at 5:33 pm
There are many reasons Big Brother on Channel 5 is failing. The main reason is the lack of live feed. An hour of highlights a night is not enough to really get to know the house mates properly. Highlights can and are minipulated to show certain people in a good or bad way, only live feed truely reflects how people genuinely are. Also the highlights show is on too late for many people, it should be shown at 9 o clock every night which is still after the water shed. Also every house mate under 30? come on, we should he a better mix of ages. What about people from Scotland, Wales and N Ireland didn’t they audition for the show?
REPLY
Jazz says:
September 22, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Channel 5 have got BB spectacularly wrong after the stunningly poor decision making by Jeff Ford and his team. Live Feed was and is the solution to socializing the programme, not some inept and totally censored Facebook offering. Unless he recants this rash decision and perhaps even admits he is sorry for his arrogant and derisive justification there is no way he will get the fans back. The advertisers must be really unhappy with the audience size and with the fall in numbers week on week. We are unhappy with the lack of Live Feed. There is a single solution that will make us all happy Mr Ford:Bring back Live Feed. It might not cheer you up greatly to admit you were wrong but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – so get on and make it.
The Celebrity version of the reality TV series proved a hit for Channel 5 when it launched last month and attracted a decent amount of viewers to the channel over it’s three week run. However, the normal series has now begun and though it launched with 3 million people watching earlier in September, the figures have been steadily falling ever since.
On Saturday night, only 900,000 people tuned in for the hour long daily catchup episode. This was the lowest ratings the show has ever achieved, since it first launched on Channel 4 in 2000.
Although the Saturday episode is normally the least popular of the week, the drop was still marked, with the lowest previous recorded ratings occurring during its 11th series when the weekend special drew in 1.5 million in 2009.
Have you been watching Big Brother? Is it as good as previous year’s? Leave all your BB related comments and musings below.
brian garbutt says:
September 22, 2011 at 11:01 am
bring back the live feed thats the problem.you cannot get to know the housemates with the small amount of highlights that your putting out.you need toget to know them at there normal surroundings when its live its off the cuff,they do things and say things for us to see at a instance,your cutting it and editiong,taking away the build up of relations with the housemates therfore making us watch more to see what they are going to do next.
REPLY
Max King says:
September 22, 2011 at 11:32 am
It’s really boring now that its all young under 30 singles.
Big Brother is supposed to have a diverse mix of people from society. There have been such big characters who viewers love such as Carol or Jonty who would not qualify under these bizzare requirements that you have to be under 30 and single. It’s boring because they are all veery similart
REPLY
Loz says:
September 22, 2011 at 12:11 pm
I think some of the problem has to be down to the fact that it doesn’t start until 10pm. It’s a bit late to start watching something for a lot of the people I know. Plus, the time does float around a bit so can be a bit confusing as to when it’s actually on.
I love BB but have got to say that until last night’s episode which was hilarious I have found this series uninteresting and lacking in energy.
I also think they’ve made a mistake putting contestants in who are all under 30.
REPLY
claire says:
September 22, 2011 at 12:55 pm
I wasn’t impressed at first with the ages of them but its turning out to be quite funny.. 10pm is too late for me 9pm was much better. I have to record it and watch it the night after. Mix it up some more BB, we want more laughs and more drama x
REPLY
DT says:
September 22, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Its on too late for some people. Think we should be voting for who we want out, like the borings gits! Apart from that its great!
REPLY
Debs says:
September 22, 2011 at 1:58 pm
decided not to watch as there were no over 30s. Think that may be one of the main problems…older people generally are more interesting
REPLY
mary tait says:
September 22, 2011 at 4:43 pm
ive been an avid fan all these years a 1hr show with 2min. clips doesn’t do it for this type of show never getting to know housemates or what their doing is rather annoying and irritating so people switch of, big brother means watching you 24/7 but 45mins doesnt come close even 4 or 5 hrs a day we could maybe get interested. by choosing all english under thirties was also a mistake youve lost scots. welsh and irish viewers. i am scottish and a much older viewer i would have liked to watch but it holds nothing for me or my ilk. reading about whats happening on facebook page means absolutely nothing to bb fans, you could say anything how do we know its real.
REPLY
Michael says:
September 22, 2011 at 5:14 pm
There have been quite a few under 30′s that have been entertaining, (Glyn and his egg song etc), but they were REAL people not chosen from a portfolio of would be actors or models. The lack of at least some live feed has had the most influence, the lack of being able to relate to each character while their guard is down. The ‘Social Media’ experiment is not working at all because of the bias of those that are administrating it, any comment that doesnt follow the party line is deleted and users blocked, the people they are attacking are the REAL BB fans, the core audience that channel 5 needed, instead they have alienated them – Channel 5 have missed a golden opportunity and have made a laughing stock of a program that is popular wordwide.
REPLY
Darren says:
September 22, 2011 at 5:33 pm
There are many reasons Big Brother on Channel 5 is failing. The main reason is the lack of live feed. An hour of highlights a night is not enough to really get to know the house mates properly. Highlights can and are minipulated to show certain people in a good or bad way, only live feed truely reflects how people genuinely are. Also the highlights show is on too late for many people, it should be shown at 9 o clock every night which is still after the water shed. Also every house mate under 30? come on, we should he a better mix of ages. What about people from Scotland, Wales and N Ireland didn’t they audition for the show?
REPLY
Jazz says:
September 22, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Channel 5 have got BB spectacularly wrong after the stunningly poor decision making by Jeff Ford and his team. Live Feed was and is the solution to socializing the programme, not some inept and totally censored Facebook offering. Unless he recants this rash decision and perhaps even admits he is sorry for his arrogant and derisive justification there is no way he will get the fans back. The advertisers must be really unhappy with the audience size and with the fall in numbers week on week. We are unhappy with the lack of Live Feed. There is a single solution that will make us all happy Mr Ford:Bring back Live Feed. It might not cheer you up greatly to admit you were wrong but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – so get on and make it.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Sleepwalking into a very subtle form of totalitarianism
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-networking-sites-are-gagging-free-speech/279714052057549?sk=info
Networking sites are being abused more and more as a channel for controlling, rather than expanding freedom of expression. We're sleepwalking into a very silent and insidious form of oppression.
If you subscribe to groups or pages of interest on your favourite social network provider, you will more than likely find that any posting that deviates from the orthodoxy of the group will more than likely be deleted, with the poster getting blocked. What's wrong with that? you might say. If the poster is being inciteful, defamatory or abusive, not very much. However if a poster is challenging statements or opinions that deviate from the orthodoxy of the group founder, and being suppressed simply for this, then this is an abomination and a lamentable commentary upon how little genuine freedom of speech there is in our so called democracy. The fact that such a practice is so mainstream is somewhat chilling. The world wide web has always offered the opportunity of emancipation to a new generation of users around the world. However with the advent of the social networking culture, we are sleepwalking into a very subtle form of totalitarianism. You will see more and more of this wherever you step within this virtual world. Social networking can be a fantastic gateway to a world of people one would never ordinarily meet, but it has the potential to be our enslaver as well. We must avoid sleepwalking into this abstract cage.
Networking sites are being abused more and more as a channel for controlling, rather than expanding freedom of expression. We're sleepwalking into a very silent and insidious form of oppression.
If you subscribe to groups or pages of interest on your favourite social network provider, you will more than likely find that any posting that deviates from the orthodoxy of the group will more than likely be deleted, with the poster getting blocked. What's wrong with that? you might say. If the poster is being inciteful, defamatory or abusive, not very much. However if a poster is challenging statements or opinions that deviate from the orthodoxy of the group founder, and being suppressed simply for this, then this is an abomination and a lamentable commentary upon how little genuine freedom of speech there is in our so called democracy. The fact that such a practice is so mainstream is somewhat chilling. The world wide web has always offered the opportunity of emancipation to a new generation of users around the world. However with the advent of the social networking culture, we are sleepwalking into a very subtle form of totalitarianism. You will see more and more of this wherever you step within this virtual world. Social networking can be a fantastic gateway to a world of people one would never ordinarily meet, but it has the potential to be our enslaver as well. We must avoid sleepwalking into this abstract cage.
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