BBC Lincolnshire Pirate Gold

[Commercial-Free-Zone]

Brilliant fun and mayhem on a Sunday on BBC Lincolnshire.

A couple of BBC Local stations run something similar (Norfolk and 3CR spring to mind) where the radio presenter has no internet access or e-mail or map and is totally reliant on the info passed to the studio from the evil ones.  A second presenter is out and about in the radio car with no navigational aids, and only the info passed from the studio.

They solve a series of clues travelling around the County to (hopefully) end up finding the gold.

Well worth a listen, and it's absolutely addictive.

[peaklogic]

- I told them it's an excellent format to monetarise by  franchising it to overseas commercial stations, but they took no notice .. I guess they think it's easier to cut stuff here rather than do some stuff to generate an income to subsidize UK programming.

[News Mutt]

Hi Peak.

Although it's a fun format, I'm afraid this idea isn't really that new at all. As early at 1991, 2CR in Bournemouth did something similar with a radio car - though in that case the listeners were encouraged to go and find the presenter.

Registering the intellectual rights to a "Treasure Hunt" on the radio would be a hugely costly affair. In any case, the BBC itself is not allowed to sell formats in this way - it would have to be via BBC Worldwide. Siphoning off any profit back to Local Radio would be nigh on impossible.

[peaklogic]

- "been done before" , that doesn't stop Apple patenting things ( which someone else did before http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-braun-products-hold-the-secrets-to-apples-future )

and formats are not like patents you are just selling a expertise
so I still think they can sell it