Worth The Price? Suspension Of Top Gear And Clarkson Costs BBC 4 Million Viewers On First Night

The BBCs decision to suspend Jeremy Clarkson and pull the three remaining episodes of Top Gear cost BBC2 nearly 4 million viewers on Sunday night.

With Clarkson set to give the BBC his first full account of the alleged fracas with a Top Gear producer this week, BBC2 filled the void left by its top-rating show with a repeat of Red Arrows: Inside the Bubble.

But the documentary about the Royal Air Force aerobatics team could only manage 1.3 million viewers, a 5.7% share of the audience, nearly 4 million fewer than watched last week’s edition of Top Gear.

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TheSteve - 3/17/2015 4:37:09 PM

+2 Boost

I believe religion is the root cause to many of our problems: As long as we continue to worship money, we'll continue to get ourselves into all sorts of calamities, and we'll suffer for it.

If all the BBC cares about is profit, then yes, beg Clarkson to come back, give him a raise, and sack the guy he belted.

But if the BBC values principles of respect, integrity, and non-violence, then they may choose to cut loose a violent, self-absorbed, though immensely popular bully, and let some other network reap the financial rewards of hiring him.

For what it's worth, this dilemma is played out in management training school, in which students are presented with the following scenario and its moral dilemma: Joe is the best salesman you have, by far. He single-handedly brings in 40% of your company's sales, and he is compensated handsomely for his efforts. You have learned that Joe has yet again flagrantly violated your company's Ethics Policy and Code Of Conduct. You have given him warnings before, but he has not heeded them.
Assignment: Write an essay on your chosen course of action regarding Joe, and explain why.

(SPOILER ALERT!!!) The underlying question is whether you continue to keep an unethical employee who does not uphold your company's core values, but who is very attractive financially, or whether you turn down revenue for higher ideals.

There is no "correct" answer. There will always be lots of folks who enthusiastically declare "show me the money!" Where you draw the line is solely up to you. I have no tolerance for violence, domestic or in the workplace. I don't care if your dinner was late. That doesn't make it okay for you to assault your wife, or co-worker.

PS: This is NOT a "money is bad" assertion. I assert that money is benign, being neither good nor bad. It just lets you express yourself on a grander scale. And it surely is more comfortable to have too much money than not enough!

MDarringer - 3/17/2015 9:20:33 PM

-1 Boost

The BBC blew this. They should have backed Clarkson and played the drama.

Only idiots prattle on about core values and ethics. It's about making money.

@TheSteve is a prattling, Liberal, amoral tool.

bw5011 - 3/17/2015 11:14:30 PM

+3 Boost

liberal has nothing to do with it...