5 - Digi TV hits 100,000

Archived news release from 2008

 

Dudley Council only launched its Digi TV site in October and now, just eight months on, the site has already received more than 100,000 page hits.

 

It has fast become one of the most successful sites in the country and was recently named by the service provider as the fourth best performing site nationwide.

 

The free to use site allows Dudley residents to contact the council 24 hours a day through their TV set via the interactive button on their remote control. The site, which is the only one of its kind in the Black Country and one of just a handful in the Midlands, is available to all residents with digital interactive television packages such as Sky and Virgin Media (which includes Telewest and NTL).

 

Through the innovative service people can report things such as litter, potholes, vandalism, bin collections, council housing repairs, abandoned vehicles and street light problems.

 

And residents can also find out more about the council’s services by requesting benefits leaflets, recycling services, vote forms along with direct debit, blue badge, school register and housing register application forms.

 

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

 

“We are delighted that people in the borough appear to have taken to this new and easy way of contacting the council. People can use the site to find out information or latest news from the council as well as using the interactive service on the site to make contact with us to request a service or report an incident.”

 

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.