Radio Ballads for Olympics on hold or abandoned?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/olympiad/other/ballads.html

Smooth Operations are ignoring all requests for info.

Seems like the whole exercise has been abandoned at licence payers expense. NOT GOOD.

This from BBC:

Dear Mr Brady
Reference CAS-1460485-5JBJVP

Thanks for contacting us regarding BBC Radio 2.

We understand you'd like more information about an upcoming series 'The Ballad[s] of the Games'.

All information about our programmes will either be on the BBC Media Centre website, and closer to transmission, the BBC programmes page at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes

Unfortunately there isn't any further information about this series at present and we're unable to assist further at this stage. BBC Audience Services receives hundreds of thousands of requests each year for information about programmes. We are pleased that we can usually provide answers to nearly all the enquiries we receive. However, occasionally the information requested is not available and, due to limitations of time and resource, we're unable to conduct the further research necessary to provide a comprehensive response. As you can appreciate, the expenditure to do this can only come from the licence fee, resulting in resources being diverted from the primary function of the BBC, which is to provide programmes. However, we'd advise that you check the above web page and listen out for any upcoming trails about the series.

Nevertheless, we'd like to assure you that we've registered your concerns on our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that's made available to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, programme makers, channel controllers and other senior managers.

The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

Kind Regards
Shona McCullough
BBC Complaints
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

NB This is sent from an outgoing account only which is not monitored. You cannot reply to this email address but if necessary please contact us via our webform quoting any case number we provided.

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On the Smooth Operations website there is this:

http://www.ubcmedia.com/smoothoperations/operators/

Vince Hunt came to Smooth Operations in 1999 from the BBC in London where he was a news reporter and producer launching Five Live Breakfast, producing World Service radio news programmes and World Service TV coverage of the Gulf War and Omagh bomb. Within weeks he was in a car crossing the USA with Andy Kershaw making the series 'Promised Land'.

Since then he's worked across the range of Smooth Operations output, particularly on the Mike Harding Show, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and the award-winning Radio Ballads series for BBC Radio 2. Vince is currently working on a further series of Ballads about the Olympics for BBC Radio 2.

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So one Vince Hunt (who?) is supposed to be working on the Radio Ballads for the Olympics. BUT SMOOTH OPERATIONS REFUSE TO DIVULGE DETAILS ABOUT THEM. I've emailed tham many times at: info@smoothoperations.com

So wft? NOT GOOD.

CJB.