Wednesday 26 January 2011, PM
The media class, not the middle class, is the BBCs problem | Phil Redmond | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
'Grange Hill was made at the BBC, by some very nice middle-class folk'. If reports are to be believed, he sees the channel as having become too middle-class, with programmes such as My Family and Outnumbered squeezing out shows based around working-class characters. However, the eyebrow-raising is only because no one should get to being head of anything at the BBC without realising that one of its primary purposes is simply to be middle-class. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukBBC World Service cuts
To ensure the 16 per cent target is achieved and other unavoidable cost increases are met BBC World Service is announcing cash savings of 20 per cent over the next three years. In the first year, starting in April 2011, the international broadcaster will be making savings of 19m on this year's operating expenditure of 236.7m 2010/11. The changes include five full language service closures the end of radio programmes in seven languages, focusing those services on online and new media content and distribution and a phased reduction from most short wave and medium wave distribution of remaining radio services. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukTheres been a culture of bullying and sexism at Sky for a long time | Matt Scott | Football | The Guardian
Richard Keys and Andy Gray were part of a Sky Sports culture which 'looked down' on women, claim insiders. That is the view of three women who have all held frontline roles at Sky Sports. Fearing repercussions that could harm their careers if they were identified, the three spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukGovernment cuts blamed as BBC slashes jobs - TV Radio, Media - The Independent
The news sparked anger from opposition politicians and unions and led to warnings of possible industrial action to fight the cuts. The BBC blamed changes to the funding of the World Service, which will be paid for by the licence fee from 2014 rather than by the Government, and made it clear that the corporation had made a strong case against the cuts. More than one in four of the World Service's 2,400-strong staff will be axed, with around 480 of the job losses going over the next year, with savings amounting to 46 million a year by 2014. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukPainful day for BBC World Service
Update, Monday 31 January Thank you for your comments. It's been a painful day for the BBC World Service and its audience of 180 million around the world. BBC WS will be funded by the licence fee from April 2014. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk
Sky Deutschland turns black
C21Media.net is Everything about content in the 21st Century, from television to web, mobile, tablet and beyond. - c21media.netwww.c21media.netWednesday 26 January 2011, AM
How Sky News could be sold
British Sky Broadcasting would - I am told - simply have to guarantee to buy Sky News's output for a very long time, probably a minimum of 10 years. With that guaranteed income stream, which would have to be sufficient to cover Sky News's costs, there would probably be quite a few potential buyers of Sky News, both media industry buyers and financial buyers. News Corp will almost certainly promise to separate Sky News just as soon as the takeover of BSkyB is completed. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukBBC set to announce World Service job cuts - TV Radio, Media - The Independent
The news sparked anger from opposition politicians and unions and led to warnings of possible industrial action to fight the cuts. The BBC blamed changes to the funding of the World Service, which will be paid for by the licence fee from 2014 rather than by the Government, and made it clear that the corporation had made a strong case against the cuts. More than one in four of the World Service's 2,400-strong staff will be axed, with around 480 of the job losses going over the next year, with savings amounting to 46 million a year by 2014. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.uk
Letter from the editor: Were clearly obsessed, but are you? - editor, i - The Independent
Because, put simply, were engrossed in these running stories, but were not sure that you are, too. Of course, these are not simply media village stories. Nevertheless, does the outcome of these stories really affect you - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukJeremy Hunts balancing act as he mulls Murdoch BSkyB bid | Media | The Guardian
Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary, has said he will take more time to consider News Corp's BSkyB bid. Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor who resigned as Cameron's director of communications last week was also there, along with celebrity guests including Jeremy Clarkson. It emerged today that as soon as the festive period was over, Hunt had meetings with executives at the company to discuss its bid for Sky on 6 January and again last Thursday. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukOfcoms warning shows concern over the future impartiality of Sky - TV Radio, Media - The Independent
- independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukSky News independence to mirror that of News Corporation titles | Media | The Guardian
A year later, Evans who had been appointed to the editorship of the Times by Murdoch was sacked. News Corporation has not offered a specific undertaking at this point, but the company has told Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, that it is willing to negotiate a concession that addresses the future running of Sky News. However, it is not willing to see the 24-hour news channel sold. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukBBC iPlayer - Help - Why am I experiencing difficulties when playing BBC iPlayer content and other BBC related videos?
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. - iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.ukiplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk
BSkyB: Impossible undertakings | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian
The advice from Ofcom was pretty clear that Hunt should refer the bid to the Competition Commission for deeper consideration of the serious plurality issues in creating a huge unified media company, boosting its share of news consumption from 14 to 24. There will be many who will believe it, particularly after learning of the extremely ill-judged Christmas social contacts between News Corp executives and the prime minister. More benign observers will argue that Hunt is simply going the extra mile to lower the chances that the Rottweiler tendency within the Murdoch camp will succeed in judicially reviewing the process. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukRupert Murdoch cancels Davos visit to negotiate over Sky buyout | Media | The Guardian
Rupert Murdoch is to personally lead negotiations with Jeremy Hunt. It is understood that any promises made by News Corp would concern an offering of editorial guarantees on the independence of Sky News, although the former refuses to contemplate a sale of the 24-hour channel. Hunt's team said that its decision was motivated by a desire to be seen to be fair to all parties, and avoid a legal challenge by News Corp or the alliance of newspapers, including the Guardian, that has opposed the bid. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.uk
Murdoch given time to prove his BSkyB bid will not harm competition - TV Radio, Media - The Independent
This despite the UK's strong controls over the impartiality of news coverage. News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch's media empire, wants to take its 39.1 per cent stake in BSkyB up to full ownership. Vince Cable was stripped of his powers to adjudicate on the deal after unwise comments about Mr Murdoch. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukTuesday 25 January 2011, PM
News Corps BSkyB bid: the reaction | Media | guardian.co.uk
It is consistent to the approach the OFT or the European Commission would take, a policy to encourage merging parties to come forward as early as possible with any remedies. Referral to the Competition Commission is costly and extremely time consuming and often has a chilling effect on the deal. Hunt has received a clear recommendation from Ofcom and by his own admission has been unable to agree remedies with News Corp which would address public interest concerns. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukStatement on BBC World Service
They are all extremely important to their audiences and to the BBC. However, further information will be confirmed tomorrow at a press conference. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukBBC World Service to cut up to 650 jobs | Media | guardian.co.uk
BBC Bush House in the Aldwych where staff will hold a 'vigil'. There was also further detail on the impact of cuts on arts organisations across the country when the Arts Council admitted that it would probably turn down 600 applications for long-term funding as it finalises its budget for this year. The World Service is facing a 16 budget cut between now and 2014, imposed as part of the government's comprehensive spending review. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukHunt should steer clear of Murdoch decision so why hasnt he? | Jane Martinson | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
Jeremy Hunt has given Rupert Murdoch more time to justify his planned merger of News Corp and Sky. Surely, the easier decision would have been to refer the News Corp boss's bid to an independent body set up for just this purpose, the Competition Commission. The siren voices of a referral come from the fact that it would be backed by expert opinion, from media regulator Ofcom and public opinion. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukTNA set for Freeview | The Sun |Sport|Wrestling
A spokesman for Sky the satellite operator 39.1 per cent owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Sun added Well be showing all the episodes fans have missed. - thesun.co.ukwww.thesun.co.uk
Internet TV Thinktank: Jeremy Hunt needs to think beyond the retro yellow button - Telegraph
2011 is the year connected TVs are finally becoming a reality for the normal TV consumer and not just the early tech adopters. According to TV analysts, this self-styled next generation of Freeview risks becoming obsolete if it fails to meet its summer 2011 launch deadline as the connected TV market is moving so fast. The broadcasters are very aware that there is a battle on the horizon for the domination of the living room and those parties which develop and take advantage of the best technology platforms will win out. - telegraph.co.ukwww.telegraph.co.ukBBC Trust chairman: what the role demands | Media | guardian.co.uk
This is a direct reference back to the bruising events of last October, when the BBC found itself dragged into the government's comprehensive spending review and hurriedly concluded a six-year funding deal without public debate, which will see the licence fee frozen at 145.50 and income cut by 16 in real terms over the next six years. This is a reference to the divide between Mark Thompson and the executive board, and the trustees, who favour selective service cutbacks, not more salami slicing, to deliver the BBC director general's 20 cuts target. BBC managers, they believe, will naturally want to obfuscate and protect their baronies. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukDelivering Quality First: plans for online radio
Yesterday we announced the next phase of Putting Quality First. As part of that announcement, we made the first mention of our upcoming 'Radio and Music product', which created a bit of confusion about our plans for online radio I hope this post explains in a little more detail. Yes, we do plan to build a new product for radio but this isn't to cut corners, or downplay what we do for radio online - as with everything we announced yesterday it's because we want to make the service better, not worse. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukOfcom's NewsCorp / BSkyB report : | OfcomWatch |
- www.ofcomwatch.co.ukJeremy Hunt buys himself time over News Corp decision | Media | guardian.co.uk
Jeremy Hunt ... handed a political hot potato over the News Corp/BSkyB deal. Photograph Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features Jeremy Hunt knows that in the end he is not going to win. Ultimately he can't duck the decision as to whether the News Corp-Sky deal should go ahead but, luckily for him, he doesn't have to decide just yet. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukMichael Crick: Is Lambert angling to move from CBI to BBC?
Was Sir Richard Lambert's speech on Monday something of a job application It must have come as something as a surprise kick-in-the-teeth to ministers, as previously they regarded the CBI boss as being on their side. The question of who becomes BBC Chairman is a subtle game. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk
Sky 3 to relaunch as Pick TV | News | Broadcast
It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukACS:Law ceases claims against illegal filesharers | Technology | guardian.co.uk
ACSLaw says it will no longer be chasing alleged copyright infringers. Andrew Crossley, the founder and lead solicitor at ACSLaw, announced in a statement to the patents county court in London yesterday afternoon that his firm would no longer be chasing alleged copyright infringers. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is currently investigating its practices as hundreds of the accused claim to have been wrongly identified. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukNews Corp lays ground for judicial review of BSkyB verdict | Media | guardian.co.uk
News Corp branded Ofcom 'one sided' in its submission to culture secretary Jeremy Hunt. In fact, on 7 January Ofcom fully disclosed all relevant communication between Ofcom and BIS in a freedom of information response. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukCan News Corp salvage the Sky takeover?
News Corporation has a couple of weeks or so to come up with a scheme to overcome the objection raised by Ofcom that the full takeover of BSkyB would reduce the number of providers of news and current affairs services to an unacceptable extent. To be clear, selling Sky News would not be easy, because it is a consumer of cash, not a profit centre. Finding a buyer with deep enough pockets to guarantee that Sky News could thrive in the long term would be quite a challenge. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukBRITISH SKY BROADCASTING GROUP PLC (BSY.L) Key Developments | Reuters.com
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. - reuters.comwww.reuters.com
Sky takeover bid decision delayed by Hunt - Business News, Business - The Independent
In the wake of findings from media regulator Ofcom, Mr Hunt said the proposed takeover might be against the public interest in media plurality and he was minded to refer it to the Competition Commission. If the undertakings are accepted, a 15-day consultation period will commence, when parties will be able to express their views. News Corporation said it believed Ofcom's analysis to be deficient in a number of ways and added that the level of plurality in the UK has increased since 2003, when the Communications Act was enacted. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukArqiva seeks investment partner for SeeSaw
Arqiva has announced that it is seeking an investment partner for its online TV service SeeSaw, following a strategic review. The move comes after a major reorganisation of Arqivas business units, announced last October. Weve been looking at SeeSaw as part of a wider strategic review and, following the success in launching a pioneering new service to both consumers and advertisers, we now believe the service needs further investment to reach its full potential. - dtg.org.ukwww.dtg.org.ukHunt to give update on News Corp BSkyB merger
In this letter I explained that I was minded to refer the case to the Competition Commission but that I would receive written, and if necessary oral, representations from them if they wanted to challenge my thinking. On 10 January I met with Ofcom to seek clarification on a number of aspects of their report. After considering these responses and consistent with section 104 of the Enterprise Act 2002 I therefore met again with News Corporation on 20 January to hear representations on the issues they highlighted. - dtg.org.ukwww.dtg.org.ukTuesday 25 January 2011, AM
Non-confidential version of BSkyB Submission dated 14 January 2011 [pdf]
- culture.gov.ukwww.culture.gov.uk
Government favours News Corp/BSkyB probe
C21Media.net is Everything about content in the 21st Century, from television to web, mobile, tablet and beyond. - c21media.netwww.c21media.net
Hunt plans competition probe over Sky bid | News | Broadcast
It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukNews Corps BSkyB bid: Hunt delays referral decision | Media | guardian.co.uk
It is understood that News Corp's undertakings relate to editorial guarantees for Sky News. However, if Hunt decides to accept News Corp's undertakings and put the proposal out to a 15-day consultation, it could be a matter of weeks. Hunt had planned to announce whether he was referring the bid to the Competition Commission by the end of the month. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.uk
Politics live blog - Tuesday 25 January | Politics | guardian.co.uk
Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, has said that he is going to give News Corporation more time to find a way of making its bid for BSkyB acceptable. On the evidence available, I consider that it may be the case that the merger may operate against the public interest in media plurality. However, before doing so it is right that I consider any undertakings in lieu offered by any merging party which have the potential to prevent or otherwise mitigate the potential threats to media plurality identified in the Ofcom report ... - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.uk
Government plans competition inquiry over BSkyB bid - Channel4 News
A report by media watchdog Ofcom recommended that the proposed deal should be investigated further by the Commission. It also called on the government to review the law on media ownership generally. If the undertakings are accepted, a 15- day consultation period will commence when parties will be able to express their views. - channel4.comwww.channel4.comFor all its neuroses, the BBC should have self-confidence | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian
How they detest it, not just for particular faults, but because its very existence is an affront to everything they believe about markets. The sight of a sour old BBC presenter of yesteryear plugging his memoirs in the Daily Mail and attacking the hand that fed him rather well for 20 years might on an ordinary day not be worth noting. You might think that now the government has lopped off a great chunk of BBC revenue, it would go away. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.uk
Ofcom | Public Interest Test
- stakeholders.ofcom.org.ukWhat kind of programmes are available on BBC iPlayer?
If you are searching for a specific programme then please head to the BBC iPlayer homepage and use the search there to find the programme you are after. It may be that the programme has been delayed, or you can try entering a different search word or browsing the categories. In addition, certain programming can be subject to restrictions Films and sport To offer programmes on BBC iPlayer, we have to acquire the relevant rights from the people who make and appear in them. - iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.ukiplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.ukWhy 3D doesnt work and never will. Case closed. - Roger Eberts Journal
The 3D image is dark, as you mentioned about a camera stop darker and small. So 3D films require us to focus at one distance and converge at another. If we look at the salt shaker on the table, close to us, we focus at six feet and our eyeballs converge tilt in at six feet. - blogs.suntimes.comblogs.suntimes.comSecret film embarrases Currys and Comet - January - 2011 - Which? News
If you're not a member, subscribe to Which magazine now to try three issues for just 3. Comet and Currys did badly Not one visit to electrical giants Comet and Currys could be rated as excellent, so we went on follow-up visits with secret cameras to investigate further. There was also evidence in our visits of hard sell tactics - staff steered us towards buying cables we simply didnt need, or towards more expensive cables when cheaper ones would have been just as good. - which.co.ukwww.which.co.ukMonday 24 January 2011, PM
We re all Mark Thompson now. Emily Bell(wether)
The BBCs announcement today of its streamlining and focusing of its web strategy, 25 per cent budget cuts, the loss of 360 jobs, cannot have been a surprise to anyone, least of all its most ardent competitors. The out of control growth of the BBCs websites has often been posited as a commercial market impact problem for commercial rivals, but it is more of an editorial challenge than a regulatory one. After all, it is not clear exactly what the market is for it to impact. - emilybellwether.wordpress.comemilybellwether.wordpress.comCameron-Murdoch meeting will not affect BSkyB decision, says No 10 | Media | guardian.co.uk
Rupert Murdoch with his son James, who had dinner with David Cameron over the Christmas period. The Guardian revealed last week that Cameron had been a guest of Brooks over the Christmas period. A Downing Street source denied last week that the meeting had taken place on Christmas Day, but declined to confirm or deny whether the prime minister had met Brooks over the Christmas period. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukThe BBC Radio Blog: Surround sound for streaming radio - the challenges
Simon Tuff, a senior engineer at the BBC, takes up the technological challenges being met in producing surround sound for online audio. Alan Ogilvie in the first surround sound blog post talked about some of the challenges we face when delivering surround sound online as well as some of the changes that make this increasingly feasible. In this second part I'll look at what broadcasters like the BBC are doing to create surround sound content for you to enjoy as well as some of the challenges this has created - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukRadio leaves the BBC iPlayer, and more - James Cridland
A large amount of tweets appeared after this announcement, unnecessarily worried and it even made Erik Huggers come out of Twitter retirement and post his first tweet for three months Audiences will still discover both live and ondemand audio in iPlayer. We will however build a new dedicated product for Radio and Music which looks a little confusing to me is it coming out, or staying in. BBC radio is mostly consumed live online 74 is live, rather than the 13 of TV viewing. - james.cridland.netjames.cridland.netpick a page