General Banter and Random Musings

[Herring]

Liz Truss vs Seen on TV

• Poor grasp of economics and market realities
• Thought they knew it all/how to do things better
• Career largely build on the backs of the gullible
• Short stint left people worse off/feeling cheated

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

Technically, Freeview hasn't increased the bill. It's the company Simon went through to buy carriage on Freeview (and perhaps elsewhere). Aq… something or other. Those increases were signposted in the contract he signed, according to Insider. Either Simon didn't read it properly or he did but thought he'd be making more than 39 sales in a 24 hour period…

Bit of an oops .

(Also what's with this whole "give them a chance!!" line people keep throwing out? Without being cold, anything anyone says, be it good or bad, on this forum, on Facebook, or using the medium of mime to a bemused fish in their garden pond, won't make a blind bit of difference to the ongoing issues the channel is experiencing. Positive comments won't pay the increased carriage costs any more than negative/schadenfreude comments made the price go up).

Are you talking about Arqiva (similar to IBA)?

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

It's all gone Pete Tong. A black screen everywhere. I do hope this is temporary. Where is Alex Knowles?

 

[Glen_C]

It's all gone Pete Tong. A black screen everywhere. I do hope this is temporary. Where is Alex Knowles?

I suggest you read the post at the bottom of the previous page.

 

[peter1uk]

When you usually see this on Freeview it`s never good news.

 

[SiRich]

Seen on TV (For a Week!)

Have to say am not in the least bit surprised if its gone under given the products being sold. Missed the boat by about 2 years on air fryers and weve all got an iron too!! Bonkers!

 

[Duke of Cheese]

What a shambles. Ambition/arrogance over common sense. The presenters (from published creditor lists of IW2) seem to live in good addresses and remain comfortably off freelancers. It's the behind the scenes people he took on.you reserve you pity for. I wonder if this is one crash too far now for My Name is Den? Have they drunk those six bottles of Gancia from Simon Peters? I bet he regrets going into Victoria Wine for them now.

 

[Alex Knowles]

I’m here @Dr Quincy MkII and I won’t duck. I have just logged on now.
Today at 2pm we went black. Don’t get me wrong, we are struggling as everyone knows, but a piece of equipment called an encoder which sends the feeds out to Sky, freeview, freesat etc has stopped working. Insiders will I’m sure verify that for me as well. Like I said, I’m not saying we have a magic wand and it’s well documented the financial restraints we have had…but this is a kick because it looks like we have just ducked off the face of the earth when the truth is - it’s another blow we just didn’t need. The engineer is trying to fix the fault and so far we can’t get the feed back up to the platforms. All be it being tape.
So today has been a disaster and will see if we can fix it tomorrow but it’s quite a big fault.
I’m just really sorry. Many of us joined a project that we believed in, felt there was room in the market to survive and could offer more opportunities to friends and colleagues (including myself) that were struggling to find regular work in the shopping telly industry. And it hasn’t worked as we had hoped. I’m Not going to make excuses and blame people or money issues or technical glitches. For my part in this it hasn’t worked and I’m sorry for anyone who has been affected by it. I have been through IW going bust twice and lost out on being paid the last time to know how much it hurts.
Simon has committed to everyone that has worked here will be paid and every order made will be fulfilled, that I do know and if anyone on here doesn’t receive an order please contact me and I will make sure it is processed.

When the dust settles I’m glad I have been able to engage in here and under my own name. I will go back to pillows and bedding and if I’m fortunate to continue within this industry, have learnt much more than I have before in terms of what viewers want with regards to correct information and not misleading customers.
It’s certainly given you an insight into just what it takes to actually be apart of the day to day running of a shopping channel. For my friends on here who are working at all the other channels - you are awesome and I have a complete new level of respect for how you do it and what you do everyday to get a channel on the air and running smoothly.
I’m going to take a break from here for a few days because I don’t think there is any more than I can say above. Priority tomorrow if we can’t get the picture back online is to focus on getting all the orders out to the customers, which we are doing. If anyone in here is waiting on an order or has any queries about there order, message me (with the order number) and I will make sure it’s dealt with. Cheers, Alex

 

[Herring]

Have they drunk those six bottles of Gancia from Simon Peters? I bet he regrets going into Victoria Wine for them now.

Oh Duke, that's had me creased for a good five minutes haven't heard that name for decades.

More generally, I am sorry to see Seen on TV struggle, more so for the behind the scenes folks than a few of the on-screen grifters (who, as Duke points out, aren't likely to be affected too much since they're already pretty well off). I wrote a TED Talk a few weeks back about how shopping TV has, historically, been a pipeline for so many in getting started/work experience/a break in the TV industry, and more options for that is, in my book, always welcome - so sad on that front.

I know a few regulars might see me as a bit of a snarky b'stard (and Peter Simon stan) but I have said many, many times that I want(ed) this channel to succeed (and maybe it still could, IDK?). I want selly telly 'done right' to succeed. This is why I'm such a huge supporter of the indomitable Rob Locke and Shop on TV (though I concede they're struggling with product variety, much to their frustration I'm sure. But as this effort proves: it isn't easy. Little wonder that the tat n' half truth peddler's prosper while good-intentioned efforts struggle to get off the ground).

 

[Dr Quincy MkII]

I’m here @Dr Quincy MkII and I won’t duck. I have just logged on now.
Today at 2pm we went black. Don’t get me wrong, we are struggling as everyone knows, but a piece of equipment called an encoder which sends the feeds out to Sky, freeview, freesat etc has stopped working. Insiders will I’m sure verify that for me as well. Like I said, I’m not saying we have a magic wand and it’s well documented the financial restraints we have had…but this is a kick because it looks like we have just ducked off the face of the earth when the truth is - it’s another blow we just didn’t need. The engineer is trying to fix the fault and so far we can’t get the feed back up to the platforms. All be it being tape.
So today has been a disaster and will see if we can fix it tomorrow but it’s quite a big fault.
I’m just really sorry. Many of us joined a project that we believed in, felt there was room in the market to survive and could offer more opportunities to friends and colleagues (including myself) that were struggling to find regular work in the shopping telly industry. And it hasn’t worked as we had hoped. I’m Not going to make excuses and blame people or money issues or technical glitches. For my part in this it hasn’t worked and I’m sorry for anyone who has been affected by it. I have been through IW going bust twice and lost out on being paid the last time to know how much it hurts.
Simon has committed to everyone that has worked here will be paid and every order made will be fulfilled, that I do know and if anyone on here doesn’t receive an order please contact me and I will make sure it is processed.

When the dust settles I’m glad I have been able to engage in here and under my own name. I will go back to pillows and bedding and if I’m fortunate to continue within this industry, have learnt much more than I have before in terms of what viewers want with regards to correct information and not misleading customers.
It’s certainly given you an insight into just what it takes to actually be apart of the day to day running of a shopping channel. For my friends on here who are working at all the other channels - you are awesome and I have a complete new level of respect for how you do it and what you do everyday to get a channel on the air and running smoothly.
I’m going to take a break from here for a few days because I don’t think there is any more than I can say above. Priority tomorrow if we can’t get the picture back online is to focus on getting all the orders out to the customers, which we are doing. If anyone in here is waiting on an order or has any queries about there order, message me (with the order number) and I will make sure it’s dealt with. Cheers, Alex

This isn't on you but to be clear, you are saying the business is over? I have worked in broadcasting and know that Arquiva and faults with streams can happen. But the lack of communication (even on the website and Facebook and even Tik Tok) is very shady. Simon would do well to address that ASAP. I wish you well and thank you for being honest about your own situation. I wish the others who pinned a career move on this the best as well. The team assembled here are the better end of shopping telly and if this is really the end then it has been disappointing because it had great potential.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

Alex is the shopping television equivalent of the sort of earnest and enthusiastic young officer the crusty old General, hidden deep inside the trenches of WW1, with a flask of brandy for later, and Camp Coffee in the morning, sends a message to via Irish Terrier to lead his company of young and terrified Pals from the Sunken Road to face what lies above, only for all of them to meet their end from relentless German machine gun fire. Only in this case, it is General Gluinze-Iles, hidden deep inside an industrial unit in Nottingham with a Klarna application for finance gone into to refer, an on loan Labrador called Josh, a cupboard full of air fryers and six half drunk bottles of Pomagne from Brigadier Simons…Sending poor Captain Knowles into the shopping abyss to face the verbal shelling about probably the biggest cock-up of shopping wars campaigns since the last biggest cock-up. Bottoms up to cocks up.

 

[SiRich]

Alex is the shopping television equivalent of the sort of earnest and enthusiastic young officer the crusty old General, hidden deep inside the trenches of WW1, with a flask of brandy for later, and Camp Coffee in the morning, sends a message to via Irish Terrier to lead his company of young and terrified Pals from the Sunken Road to face what lies above, only for all of them to meet their end from relentless German machine gun fire. Only in this case, it is General Gluinze-Iles, hidden deep inside an industrial unit in Nottingham with a Klarna application for finance gone into to refer, an on loan Labrador called Josh, a cupboard full of air fryers and six half drunk bottles of Pomagne from Brigadier Simons…Sending poor Captain Knowles into the shopping abyss to face the verbal shelling about probably the biggest cock-up of shopping wars campaigns since the last biggest cock-up. Bottoms up to cocks up.

I hope they did due diligence on the pomagne, might have been supping Simons own brew like the police officer on dumb and dumber, that or a liberated 6 pack from the going live staff xmas party, circa 1990

 

[PhaedrusR]

Hi everyone,

First of all - I am 100% a rubbish speller so there isn’t much I can do about that one . Hopefully spell check will pick up most of the mistakes!
I said at the start of the thread a week ago that I wanted to engage on here and do it openly as myself and some things I write you will disagree with, some we will agree on and some bits I will learn from.

For me personally - 1 year ago the old IW wrapped up and left me in a bit of a hole as I didn’t get paid for the last month working.
Some brilliant people helped me. Shop on TV gave me work and an opportunity, so did GX pillow, Ideal World (new) and Simon Iles. I’m grateful to all of them and is why I have nothing bad to say as I have friends here who also struggled and these channels and people helped us. Some of the channels and individuals many of you may not like. I’m grateful because if they hadn’t stepped in I would have had to leave this industry and find new employment. And I wanted to stay here doing this.
Simon gave me an opportunity to help him set up a new channel and a group of us have put everything into it. I will forever be grateful for that opportunity and the friendship shown to me by him and everyone else that helped me and others cover our bills.

But - the point I want to come back to is on the products we are selling and Herrings point above. I disagree to an extent with you because I think the website information on a product is enough information on the brand and the history. I don’t think I have time to fact check every fact that I’m given from a company’s website to make sure they are also upto date. For me - it’s a fan. You are buying a fan with a 2 year warranty, bells and whistles and £10 cheaper than anywhere else that you could find the same fan for.
I don’t think the majority of customers (who want a fan because they are hot) will decide no on the purchase because they researched in depth the history of the company beyond what the company website says.

Now if it’s a watch or a much higher ticketed item, I get why you need to know beyond in depth knowledge of your product.
With bedding and mattresses for me - I need to be talking to the manufacturers, visiting the factories, chatting to the owners etc because this is my field and as you rightly said - I can’t be Meh about it.
Now I may be wrong and if the majority of people on here disagree with me, then I will make sure in the future I do a little more prep on future items than just read and learn the website about the history of a company.
I just think what the fan actually does, the speeds, modes, wattage, how much is it going to cost you to run etc is more important that if I got the history wrong because I didn’t double check the information that the company website gave me .

If you repeat what other website is saying, without attributing it to them, then you are stating incorrect facts.

You may think it is a small point, but when *your channel*, *your presenters* say this Rediffusion brand has been around 100+ years, they had better be telling the truth.
They weren't. They need to check the facts, or not say it. If the presenters (via *you*) had said 'their website says a long-established brand" that is factual. When you say they have, as if it is fact, then, yes, you *should* have fact-checked this incorrect assertion.

As a broadcaster you have responsibilities to present factual truthful information and not mislead.

You should fact check. To me, it seems like you are wilfully prepared to ignore any qualms and di the leadt to confirm your assertion. It feels like you are using plausible deniability, with your fingers in your ears, humming 'la la la'.

I'm sorry about the situation you find yourself in, but the ethics of your tv shopping channel, or any other is important! You have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions and actions to check what you say in selling items is honest, accurate factual. Your actions were insufficient in this regard.

The reason I pedantically, admittedly, raised your spelling/grammar is the errors are identical to Saintslad, our local miscreant. Is that you too?

Brutal, sorry, but true.

We do appreciate your coming on here to suffer the brickbats and bouquets of good and bad comments, compared to others who hide behind their channel or an alias.

But it doesn't mean you can abdicate your basic responsibilities as a broadcast tv c.hannel.

 

[PhaedrusR]

Do you think it will survive?

Sadly, and I mean that, no.

 

[GrantB]

...so, what have I missed?

 

[PhaedrusR]

Sadly, and I mean that, no.

Happy to be proved wrong if they can get the investment needed in the short to mid-term.

They need a shock, new, innovative USP and some publicity from it!
A few different products, but many the same, no phone number and an attempt, but failing in some areas, to be more open, isn't enough to differentiate from ShoponTV and IW.

Maybe they need alliances with JML, or Asda and get benefits of toYou returns or effectively infomercials like home shopping direct.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

...so, what have I missed?

Retail implosion in a world record time.

 

[PhaedrusR]

...so, what have I missed?

Nope, nothing. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Good job you didn't pack it all in to join Seenontv to make it a success, huh

Maybe you can help save the situation and sell a million android clones to make them profitable...

 

[GrantB]

I gotta be honest - having been out of the selly telly game for a while, I was internally rooting for this to have been a success - there's some folks involved with it that I only want good things for. It's been at the same time sad and utterly baffling to see it turn out the way it has.

 

[Duke of Cheese]

For some years up to later 2010s, Ideal World, visually at least, gave QVC decent enough competition. Presentation consistently good. Good range of branded goods. Keen prices. Well produced promos and shows. Two excellent Tech experts in you and Janice before you. I ordered stuff myself from it then without an issue. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be sustained. QVC and TJC are the rich players now. Able to sustain their channels financially with relative ease. And not desperate to sell from the get go. Seen on TV looked the part but as we have seen, it was so badly set up it was gone in the format it started with in about a week. Are there really any further gaps in a dying market - literally dying?