Please bring back texts to BSXtra Freeview

It would be nice if the old Party People format returned to BSXtra Freeview. Reasons being that it was a fun format, gave the voiceovers meaningful tasks such as reading out texts and analysing pictures and didn't interfere with the girls whilst they were busy on the phones.

FAVOURITE BABES

| 1: PAIGE TYLER | 2: SOPHIA KNIGHT | 3: GRACIE LEWIS | 4: CHARLIE O'NEAL | 5: ANASTASIA HARRIS | 6: ADELE TAYLOR | 7: TAMMY TAYLOR | 8: ROSIE LEE | 9: CAITLIN WYNTERS | 10: ELLA JOLIE |

They should bring it back,I'll used to love texting the show and send picture's in on Babestation Extra.Good old days.

(03-10-2010 20:51 )dick4dani Wrote:  They should bring it back,I'll used to love texting the show and send picture's in on Babestation Extra.Good old days.

Also it gave an image that BS was an interactive show, no disrespect but the advertising that BS have for BSXtreme and XXX pictures, are they serious? they seriously need to get back to basics and give back the show we loved and knew.

FAVOURITE BABES

| 1: PAIGE TYLER | 2: SOPHIA KNIGHT | 3: GRACIE LEWIS | 4: CHARLIE O'NEAL | 5: ANASTASIA HARRIS | 6: ADELE TAYLOR | 7: TAMMY TAYLOR | 8: ROSIE LEE | 9: CAITLIN WYNTERS | 10: ELLA JOLIE |

I’d love to see the old format BS Xtra return, so I definitely share the sentiments of the above members. But sadly I fear there’s more chance of Bruce Forsyth turning up on Babestation than onscreen text chat coming back.

BS Xtra was an experimental show when it began, conceptualised, it appears, at least in part by Donna Duke, as a way of keeping marketing off the other three BS channels (award that girl a medal!). In fact, BS Xtra bucked a trend in which all other BS shows had been winding down their text facilities, so the phasing out of onscreen SMS chat was already well underway before BSX began. Reviving text chat for the launch of BS Xtra was, however, a very good way to divert viewers’ attentions away from what had actually happened on Channel 96. Namely, BS had taken Party Girls out of its roomy, multi-set studio, rebranded it, and put it on a couch in a ‘closet’. It worked. But after some early experimentation with the show format, there was a steady transition in which, over a period of five months, texting was completely phased out. This slow death of text chat looked indicative not of an easily reversible decision, but of economics in action, and you can’t fight economics.

Live text chat helps attract attention when a show is new, quiet or only moderately busy on the phonelines, and it can also be a good way of doing market research. But in terms of revenue per minute, I don’t think texting would stand a chance against a well-patronised phoneline. As I envisage things, the busier the phonelines get, the less commercial sense it makes to retain live text chat. Another big drawback with a text show (for BS) is that it has to tread a line between keeping individual texters happy, and ensuring the wider audience remains ‘call ready’. That can’t be easy – particularly when it comes to texts from small groups of minority fetishists, with the potential to kill the passions of the mass audience.

Going back to all that would, I’m sure, be an unnecessary headache for BS today. And now that they only have three unencrypted channels as opposed to four, it’s even less likely than ever. The services BS has today are more streamlined than TV text chat, and unless the phonelines start getting much quieter, I can’t envisage anyone contemplating a text revival. I’d love them to prove me wrong, but I don’t think they will.

My biggest disappointment is that the end of text chat on BS Xtra also saw the end of Jodie Cox as the show’s presenter. I thought she did a great job, and I think her conscientious approach gained BS a lot of trust.

I suppose in the end though, some things you just have to enjoy while they last.

Another nail in the coffin of the original Xtra format was that it put a lot of emphasis on request texts. The silly rules that BS had in place at the time meant that very few requests could be fulfilled once Freeview coverage of the show went on air. The girls were constantly saying they couldn't do the requested acts on FV and/or offering pathetic substitutes. The text reading part of the show on FV was first cut short by increasing amounts and then withdrawn completely. The time delay between receiving and reading out the requests meant that many which were received in Sky time weren't dealt with before FV started, fell foul of the stupid rules and were never carried out. Even if the format had been economically viable to start with, which I doubt, I would imagine that texters quickly got fed up with paying £1.50 a time with no return and stopped texting.

(05-10-2010 19:02 )Light Entertainment Wrote:  [SNIP]

The way Jodie was treated I don't neccesarily agree with however saying that when the new financial year comes into play things may change(hopefully for the better). The thing of modern day BS that gets on my wick is the persistant advertising of which needs to be cut drastically. I don't dislike BS but I wish it(BS) would do things differently. Personally I don't call up nevertheless entitled to an opinion and that opinion(good or bad) is valid.

FAVOURITE BABES

| 1: PAIGE TYLER | 2: SOPHIA KNIGHT | 3: GRACIE LEWIS | 4: CHARLIE O'NEAL | 5: ANASTASIA HARRIS | 6: ADELE TAYLOR | 7: TAMMY TAYLOR | 8: ROSIE LEE | 9: CAITLIN WYNTERS | 10: ELLA JOLIE |

With this thread in mind I edited some footage from the first episode of BS Xtra (28/10/09), and it makes interesting (and fun) viewing in the light of what the show came to.

The opening sequence has no screen surround and it looks odd with the video insets floating unframed. The video insets lasted just six nights, so this original format was very short-lived. In fact, the graphics had changed slightly by the second night, so this exact look was for one night only. The main telephone number accessed the other three shows, but BS Xtra had no phoneline of its own in its first week. When the show got its own phoneline the main number changed to that formerly used on Party Girls (CH37/96). That’s the number BSX still has today. When they relaunched Xtra as text-only on 10-11th November, there was no main number shown on screen and the OSG simply said ‘TEXT THE SHOW’ in its place. This continued until the beginning of December when the Party Girls number returned, and the slow rundown of text chat commenced.

In the first night footage, Paige does a really nice, professional job of introducing the show (alongside Stevie and Louise). Then Yvette comes on and the whole thing descends quickly through dragging the backstage staff onto screen and spanking them (with the help of Charlie C), and life-coaching advice from Hell (with the help of Alex Adams), to a pineapple chunk war. There’s also a snippet of Yvette’s authentic French, which was another of her many facets.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here’s the vid. Sorry about the dodgy audio-sync in the second half…

Download Babestation Xtra First Episode clips (via Megaupload, 40MB AVI file)

I think my campaign has worked because they are doing the texts and pics tonight. Kudos to my campaign for igniting the fun back into BSXtra Freeview.

FAVOURITE BABES

| 1: PAIGE TYLER | 2: SOPHIA KNIGHT | 3: GRACIE LEWIS | 4: CHARLIE O'NEAL | 5: ANASTASIA HARRIS | 6: ADELE TAYLOR | 7: TAMMY TAYLOR | 8: ROSIE LEE | 9: CAITLIN WYNTERS | 10: ELLA JOLIE |

(14-10-2010 01:22 )ledders69 Wrote:  I think my campaign has worked because they are doing the texts and pics tonight. Kudos to my campaign for igniting the fun back into BSXtra Freeview.

Yeah well done they have an excuse to make the graphics at the bottom bigger now.
No doubt all the foot/balloon bursting freaks will be getting stiffies just at the thought of being able to text in again.

The good thing about the old format was it allowed the girls personalities to come through and you got to know a bit about them. Seeing them jiggle their arses is all well and good, but I always thought it was more attractive to hear them speak naturally, some of them seem pretty cool.