5 - 150,000 hits for Dudley’s Digi TV site

Archived news release from 2008

 

Dudley’s Digi TV system, which allows people to contact the council from the comfort of their living room through their TV screens, has now clocked up a staggering 150,000 hits.

 

Dudley Council became one of only 75 local authorities in the country to take on Digi TV when its site was launched at the start of October last year. And the Dudley site has made a quick rise to the top of the charts, being named one of the most used council sites in the latest report from the service provider.

 

The free to use site means residents with digital interactive television packages such as Sky and Virgin Media (including Telewest and NTL) can access services 24 hours a day, seven days a week via the interactive button on their remote control.

 

In addition to catching up on council news and finding out about services, people can also report things such as litter, potholes, vandalism, bin collections, council housing repairs, abandoned vehicles and street light problems. They can also request benefits leaflets, recycling services, vote forms along with direct debit, blue badge, school register and housing register application forms. There have been hundreds of these interactive requests and reports which allow the user to contact the council directly through their TV set.

 

On top of this, people can also find out bus and train times, search for jobs and make appointments to visit their GP.

 

“We are pleased to see that people continue to visit the Digi TV site on a regular basis. We hope people will continue to find it a useful, additional and convenient way of getting in touch with us at any time of the day.”

 

The Dudley Digi TV site also includes information on the council’s services in relation to care and caring, jobs and careers, home and housing, leisure and culture, transport and streets, rubbish and recycling, education and learning and community safety.

 

To access the site people simply need to press the interactive button on their remote controls and follow the interactive services through to local services. Users can fill in their details to request information using the control in the same way as texting from a mobile phone.

 

Dudley is one of the first authorities in the midlands and the first in the Black Country to take on Digi TV and people can access the Dudley site from anywhere in the country.