Channel4 Dispatches preparing hatchet job on the UK mobile industry
Channel4’s Dispatches team are preparing a hatchet job on the UK mobile industry.
I was talking to one operator and, well, it looks like the producers appear to be doing their best to knock together yet another one of those thematic documentaries.
You know the type. Lots of good theme music, lots of hanging questions with little in the way of fair and balanced reporting — and plenty of highs and lows spaced between the adverts to keep you watching.
I can’t watch Panorama or Dispatches because of the silly way in which they deliver their message.
So what’s the message of Monday evening’s programme? Let’s take a guess from it’s title:
The Great Mobile Phone Rip Off
Definitely fair and balanced.
You know I’d have agreed with the title statement a few years ago. But now? No. It’s massively dated. There are problems yes. Roaming is still crazy — my 308 pound Vodafone bill is testament to that (from last month, where I mistakenly chatted away for hours at 125p per minute, when I wrongly thought I was benefiting from the Vodafone Passport plan). That’s being addressed and there are rays of light appearing. It won’t be long. There’s no price collusion, the operators are doing their best to make cash before one of them breaks ranks, and cuts roaming prices dramatically. Then it won’t be long before that cash cow turns into a damp squid.
Text messaging over priced? Well again, it’s just not an issue. I even started a maketextingcheaper campaign a few years ago. Nobody cared enough to support it! And today’s massive availability of ‘unlimited’ texting plans and various Flext-style plans (as well as Pay As You Go offerings) make this issue nigh on mute.
So make sure you’re busy on Monday night. Turn over to some Simpsons re-runs, unless you’d like to watch what I suspect will be a rather dramatic piece of entertainment-cum-fair-and-balanced reporting.
I’m going to see if I can get a list of points that the show is covering and see how crazy (or reasonable, you never know!) they are.
I have to agree, Ewan. I’ve dealt with these programmes on behalf of clients and no matter how fair and honest the business actually is, you know you’re just going to be on the end of a hatchet job. Pertinent balancing material is ditched or sidestepped with a single comment, while otherwise innocuous details are blown up with dramatic graphics. That said, the mobile industry could still do with pulling its boots up on customer service and some of the more ridiculous charging - I just don’t think any TV ‘investigation’ (gimme strength!) is going to help that cause.
Posted by MarkW on April 22nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm.I agree Mark — I think the market dynamics are doing the job (perhaps not as quickly as I’d like)
Posted by Ewan on April 22nd, 2008 at 2:43 pm.…and how is the mobile industry any different to any other industry?
Other suggested titles for ‘The Great <insert here> Rip-Off’:
Coffee at any London train station
Petrol
Bottled Water
Matches
DVD
Champagne
Crocs
Hotel WiFi (Ups Dean Bubley in Da Grumpy House yaaaaa)
AnythingmadebyNike/Reebok/etcetc
Panorama lost me after the complete trainwreck of a WiFi story last year. When I was growing up Panorama was a byword for integrity. Now, they are just anoter News of The World.
The industry will shrug. meh.
/m
Posted by Mike on April 22nd, 2008 at 3:04 pm.