trading as WDR

There's lots of fascinating stuff (as ever) at Bill Roger's trading as WDR blog. 

As Charlie pointed out on the open thread, Bill has caught Lord Hall in the act of spinning the ratings for BBC Sounds. By Bill's calculations, the BBC's justification for launching the service - that it would increase the number of listeners aged 16-34  - hasn't been realised. The figures have barely budged.

Another post tells us that the BBC's preferred supplier for booze is Majestic and that over the past twelve months the BBC has bought close to £25k from them. By my own calculation, the amount they spent rose by 22.6%. Wonder if, post-election, post-Brexit, this year will see a sharp drop in fizz? 😜

Meanwhile, BBC Editorial Director Kamal Ahmed is focusing on what Bill calls a "woke wheeze" called "Growing up, Learning and Identity". Ah, an even greater focus on identity politics from the BBC? How delightful!

And there's something too about our old friend 'Opinionated' Huw Edwards:

The BBC's lead anchorman Huw Edwards is back from his social media holiday, and piling in on those who have given Welsh place names new English monikers. 

Huw doesn't approve. 

There's lots more too, including a regal response to an FoI request about the disappearance of the BH piazza Christmas tree. a very W1A BBC job advertisement, and various job moves...

...plus something I meant to mention yesterday. The National Audit Office has found that of the BBC's commercial successes, only four of its forecast top 16 money-spinners date from after 2010 - i.e. the BBC is replying on stale cash cows. Bill adds something that I've not seem reported elsewhere though:

The NAO notes a load of money was lumped on a second series of His Dark Materials, way before the first could be assessed financially.

I do hope Peter Hitchens takes note. He's not keen on the BBC's pushing of Philip Pullman, which gives me a chance to post his take on it from this week's Mail on Sunday:

Flop after Flop, but Pullman's Atheism keeps the dramatisations coming

The atheist author Philip Pullman is, I suspect, more admired and bought than read. When his finger-wagging anti-Christian books are dramatised, on stage or film, they flop. Yet people still keep trying to stage them. Why? My diligent colleague James Heale has obtained for me the viewing figures for the BBC’s recent costly TV version of ‘His Dark Materials’. They started at 7.2 million in Episode 1. Then they fell almost continuously, with one hiccup at Episode 5, to a poor 4.1 million at the end. But how many of them were awake? It was quite boring. A friend who stuck it out to the end confesses that he fell asleep during the final bout.

You many remember Mr Pullman from such foam-flecked tweets as:

Of course Meghan Markle is attacked by the British press because she's black, and of course Prince Harry is right to defend her. What a foul country this is.

— Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman) January 9, 2020

😮

Anyhow, if you're not already a fan, please take a look at Bill's very fine blog.