Wednesday 08 December 2010, PM
Anthony Rose replaced as YouView technology chiefyo - Telegraph
A senior TV executive close to the project, said Anthony Rose was brought on for his technology vision. However, when it came to managing a large team, the YouView executive thought his skills were lacking and the role of chief technology officer would be suited to someone else. YouView, due to go on sale during the middle part of 2011, has been in development during the last six months. - telegraph.co.ukwww.telegraph.co.ukWednesday 08 December 2010, AM
Traffic radio service succumbs to government cuts | Media | guardian.co.uk
Photograph PA A digital radio traffic and travel news service always seemed an unlikely proposition when so few vehicles have in-car digital radio. Now the Highways Agency's traffic radio service has become the latest victim of government cuts just as the administration is encouraging the BBC and commercial radio to invest more in digital. Traffic Radio, which launched on digital audio broadcasting DAB radio in 2007 and broadcasts live traffic updates 24 hours a day, will stop broadcasting in August next year. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukTuesday 07 December 2010, PM
BBC pensions dispute settled | Media | guardian.co.uk
The NUJ warned of the possibility of further strike action next year. NUJ representatives today voted to accept the agreement that will see pension contributions uprated by 4 a year less if the inflation rate is lower for the next six years. It brings to an end a five-month industrial dispute that saw the BBC's news programmes and services severely disrupted in a 48-hour stoppage early last month. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukNew DAB TX for South East
- radiotoday.co.ukApple to get FM radio in iPhones? Not this way, please - Media UK
The chip that does the wifi DOES also have FM reception functionality but there's no antenna wired in, nor much of the other gubbins that would make it work properly. So, no, they won't work as an FM radio. This was actually originally submitted last year, but yes, they've submitted an FM radio patent. - mediauk.comwww.mediauk.comTuesday 07 December 2010, AM
YouTube raids ITV for top marketer to bolster ad offering - Marketing news - Marketing magazine
He was promoted to head of marketing for the same division before taking on responsibility for growing ITV.com and all programme websites as director of platform marketing. Bateson joined YouTube in May 2009, also from ITV, where she was director of viewer marketing. Waterworth's appointment is part of YouTube's sustained attempt to persuade brands to advertise around professionally produced content on the platform. - marketingmagazine.co.ukwww.marketingmagazine.co.ukMark Thompson says the BBC will have to make at least 300m of savings | Media | The Guardian
Outside Mark Thompson's top-floor west London office is a single sheet of A4 paper, framed. On it are a set of financial projections for the BBC from now until 2017, annotated with Thompson's spidery handwriting with names such as George Osborne scrawled on it, and numbers adjusted and crossed out. It is that piece of paper the 53-year-old director general took with him six weeks ago for a frantic few hours of negotiation that produced the toughest licence fee settlement for a generation a deal with the coalition government that leaves the licence fee flat at 145.50 a 16 cut in real terms and a national broadcaster uncertain about its future. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukMonday 06 December 2010, PM
Traffic Radio to be scrapped
- radiotoday.co.ukBBC - Radio - Radio Frequencies
- bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukThe future of TV | Future of TV | guardian.co.uk
Link to this video At a time when internet content is about to be readily available on traditional television screens in the nation's living rooms, just how TV will look in the future is by turns exciting and daunting but for the moment not altogether clear. Certainly, both new opportunities and difficult transitions will have to be faced by the traditional purveyors of television, led by the TV broadcasters, as well as the new kids on the block such as Google and Facebook, as they try to re-make TV to be more interactive and, well, more like the internet is today. YouView plans to offer selected broadband services, including video on demand, to TVs starting in June. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukJames Naughties slip of the tongue | Open thread | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
Naughtie's twist on Jeremy Hunt's name may go down as the Today programme's funniest linguistic blunder. To find out more information about driving traffic to your content or to place this widget on your site, visit outbrain.com. We welcome your feedback at userhelpguardian.co.uk or feedbackoutbrain.com. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukMark Thompson: Weve got to do fewer things better | Media | The Guardian
Outside Mark Thompson's top-floor west London office is a single sheet of A4 paper, framed. On it are a set of financial projections for the BBC from now until 2017, annotated with Thompson's spidery handwriting with names such as George Osborne scrawled on it, and numbers adjusted and crossed out. It is that piece of paper the 53-year-old director general took with him six weeks ago for a frantic few hours of negotiation that produced the toughest licence fee settlement for a generation a deal with the coalition government that leaves the licence fee flat at 145.50 a 16 cut in real terms and a national broadcaster uncertain about its future. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukNaughty Naughtie c-word slip
- radiotoday.co.ukMonday 06 December 2010, AM
Jeremy Hunt needs to rethink the saga of local TV l Steve Hewlett | Media | The Guardian
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt may need to reconsider his plans for local TV. On the other is the firm belief of almost everyone else that in the terms he has set for it that it must be commercially sustainable and free of subsidy, it can simply not be made to work. It has been as if the emperor has no clothes. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukMark Thompson survived the BBC licence fee crisis but must not overplay his hand | Media | The Guardian
Close, or rather near-run, was how the Duke of Wellington famously described the Battle of Waterloo. Which is pretty much what you could say for the battle recently endured by the BBC, which was less than 18 hours or so away from being destroyed by a Sunday cabinet decision. It's clear now that even Nick Clegg as well as David Cameron and George Osborne were prepared to sign off the deal that would have lumped in the cost of the free licence fees for the over-75s. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukWhat has Lord Burns done for Channel 4, one year on? | Media | The Guardian
Exactly one year after Lord Terry Burns, nicknamed Mr Fixit, became Channel 4's new chairman, it is time to assess his impact. He was smilingly upbeat at a recent Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, apart from voicing concern that C4 is included in a list of public bodies that could suddenly have their powers curbed by government order. Michael Grade chose the same event to renew his argument that C4 should be funded by the licence fee, removing competition for advertising a suggestion briskly rejected by its top team. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukSunday 05 December 2010, PM
BBC presents YouView as a big revolution in broadcasting
Mark Thompson, the director general of the BBC, has described the proposed YouView platform as a big revolution in broadcasting. He expects the first YouView boxes will come on the market in the middle of 2011 and cost somewhere between one and two hundred pounds. Five left and then rejoined the venture but its services were not referred to directly by the director general of the BBC. - informitv.cominformitv.comSunday 05 December 2010, AM
So who thinks DAB is the future? Not enough of us to make it so - TV Radio, Media - The Independent
It isn't very often an advert en- courages you not to buy a product. If that all sounds confusing, it's because the future of British radio has never been less certain. Since January 2009, when Lord Carter's report said that the future of radio was digital, scare stories have hinted that FM will one day be switched off, whether we are ready for it or not. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukSaturday 04 December 2010, AM
How toys took over kids TV
The name of this enormous three-day shindig is Brand Licensing Europe 2010, a trade fair bringing together the property owners of cherished kids' TV, film and comic-book characters and those hoping to use these properties to sell their wares. I have a vested interest in all this, especially nearing Christmas. That was the first time we'd had a TV brand where the licensing was truly global. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukFriday 03 December 2010, PM
Smartalk Freeview Box | In-depth | The Engineer
Region by region, analogue channels will have been switched off and replaced with Freeview, the free-to-air digital TV and radio services that will give consumers considerably more viewing choice than currently available. The leap from five terrestrial TV channels to as many as 40 or more with Freeview, plus access to 20 digital radio channels and interactive services marks a boom for consumers. Further consumer benefits will be felt as the move to digital frees up the airwaves for new services which include mobile TV and ultra-fast wireless broadband. - theengineer.co.ukwww.theengineer.co.ukMedia groups boost dividend hopes| Reuters
Some of the world's top advertising companies told Reuters this week they were actively considering raising their dividend, especially as such payouts assumed more importance in an environment of low returns on other asset classes. WPP's 2009 dividend yield is 2.48 percent, more in line with the 2.39 percent average payout of European technology companies -- which are seen as growth prospects -- than the European media average of 4.12 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. After two years of cost-cutting, WPP, the world's biggest ad agency group, reported a 33 percent increase in first-half operating profit on a 2.5 percent sales rise, and in October said it was on course to exceed its 2010 profit target. - reuters.comwww.reuters.comNew for Christmas on BBC TV
- www.bbc.co.ukWhats On BBC Red Button 4th - 17th December
Episode 5 is a special two hander between Miranda and Penny so Red Button viewers will see an exclusive interview with Miranda and her real life mother. Red button audiences are treated to some exclusive extra sketches immediately after the BBC2 programme. From episode 2 onwards fans will be able to watch clips from the show and answer questions put to you by Merlin played by Colin Morgan on his magical medieval world. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukMedia Talk: Is DAB dead in the water?
download.guardian.co.ukFriday 03 December 2010, AM
Internet and mobile apps to fuel Teletext Holidays relaunch - www.travelweekly.co.uk
- www.travelweekly.co.ukTV ad recovery looks set to continue | Media | guardian.co.uk
The UK's largest free-to-air commercial broadcaster has enjoyed a strong recovery from the recession this year, with advertising revenue is expected to be up as much as a market beating 16. According to a number of media buying agency sources the total UK TV market is tentatively predicted to be up 9 year on year in January. The spread given for ITV1 is between 7 and as high as a 12 increase on January year on year. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukNews Corp offers EC concessions for Sky bid - Business News, Business - The Independent
In response, the Commission has allowed 10 extra days for the first phase of its inquiry into the planned 12bn deal, extending the deadline from 8 December to 22 December. No details were made public, but it is understood that New Corp, which is seeking to raise its 39.1 per cent stake in Sky to full ownership, has not offered any asset sales. The saga dates back to June, when News Corp first approached Sky's independent directors with a bid valued at 700p per share. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukThursday 02 December 2010, PM
TV viewing rises in UK
Trade body Thinkbox stated the typical individual viewed 27 hours, 34 minutes of live, linear television per week betweenJanuary and September 2010, equivalent to nearly four hours a day. The median total - which only included TV sets - had increased by one hour 50 minutes when measured against the corresponding period last year, posting growth across all age groups. Commercial TV took a 62 share, or just over 17 hours every seven days, marking an annual improvement of 49 minutes, and a surge reaching one hour 22 minutes on the five-year average. - warc.comwww.warc.comOfcom | Report to the Secretary of State on the public teletext service
Published 021210 1.1 Under the Communications Act 2003 CA03, Ofcom must do all it can to secure the provision of a public teletext service. 1.2 The public teletext service licence was held from 1993 until January 2010 by Teletext Ltd. However, in December 2009 Teletext Ltd ceased to provide the required service. - stakeholders.ofcom.org.ukstakeholders.ofcom.org.ukThursday 02 December 2010, AM
Blinkx eyes YouView as better bet than Google TV and Microsoft | News | Rapid TV News
The Reuters news agency has revealed that the two companies have been in conversation and that Blinkx has been deeply involved in the various technical processes YouView is running before it launches sometime in 2011. Reuters also reported that Blinkx was also willing in the future to charge for content, he said, and that the best candidate platforms for this would be TV and mobile. - rapidtvnews.comwww.rapidtvnews.comOfcom | UK consumers revealed as early adopters of new technologies
UK consumers are some of the earliest adopters of new communications technologies, new Ofcom research reveals. They are among the best connected for broadband, mobile and digital TV and the UK has seen the fastest growth in smartphone take-up. UK consumers are also enjoying lower prices for communications services than many consumers across the world. - media.ofcom.org.ukmedia.ofcom.org.ukBritons well ahead of the pack in adopting new technology, says Ofcom | Business | The Guardian
Britain is seeing faster growth in subscribers to high-value smartphones, such as the iPhone, than anywhere else in Europe, Ofcom's latest research has found. The communications regulator said that the UK was near or at the front of almost all the basic categories it studied, including percentage of broadband users, adoption of new TV technologies, use of social networking, smartphone and mobile internet take-up, and use of laptops rather than desktop computers to access the net. Italy has the highest take-up of smartphones among European countries with 26 subscribers for every 100 people, followed by Spain 21 and the UK 18. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukBBC Plans Subscription-Only U.S. iPlayer On iPad| paidContent:UK
The significance of the move is clear it means the BBC will operate a subscription worldwide media channel that, in time, could become one of its biggest. However I can announce here that were going to be adopting a pure paid subscription model for the global iPlayer for launch in part to get audiences used to using the service, but more importantly so we can generate additional value from the service in terms of the user data that it gives us. Launched three years ago, its now the UKs most popular broadcaster-operated VOD service, clocking 139 million requests in October. - paidcontent.co.ukpaidcontent.co.ukFake sales and price tricks targeted in crackdown - December - 2010 - Which? News
02 December 2010 Companies which dupe people into buying items through tricks such as hidden extras must make prices clearer or face enforcement action, the trade watchdog warned today. It singled out practices such as 'drip pricing' - where extras such as taxes and card charges are added as you go through the buying process - time-limited offers - such as those that 'end today' - and baiting sales, where a deal is advertised to get customers through the door but few items are available at the sale price. We've reported several companies to trading standards officers and the OFT because of our concerns that consumers were being misled. - which.co.ukwww.which.co.ukUK lags on broadband and mobile
In its annual International Communications Market report, the regulator said more needed to be done on fixed and mobile broadband. Less than 1 of UK homes have super-fast broadband, compared to over a third of Japanese consumers. Next-generation mobile services have yet to roll out in the UK. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukWednesday 01 December 2010, PM
Blinkx eyes place on UKs YouView platform| Reuters
Blinkx has indexed more than 35 million hours of audio, video, viral and TV content using patented search technology. It generates ad revenue at the search stage and then also within the playback if the video is shown on its own site or on one of its partners' sites. - reuters.comwww.reuters.comJana Bennetts reign as BBC head of television to end | Media | guardian.co.uk
The outgoing director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett. The person appointed is likely to be considered a potential successor to Mark Thompson as director general. Other rising BBC stars have been discreetly ruled out. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukMedia: Michael Grade, WikiLeaks, Neil Berkett. 1 Dec 10
downloads.bbc.co.ukHumax: Freeview HD receiver sales have been disappointing | News | TechRadar UK
Humax is at the forefront of Freeview HD in the UK. Price of the product has been a little high. - techradar.comwww.techradar.comThat UKRD spat in numbers - James Cridland
They damage radios standing in the eyes of advertisers and listeners. The radio industry is best served by making brilliant programming that people want to listen to on whatever platform. The radio industry is not best served by subjecting UKRDs 898,000 weekly listeners to a negative propaganda exercise. - james.cridland.netjames.cridland.netBBC strike threat averted as pensions reform agreed | 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.ukThousands of Sky customers sold fake insurance | This is Money
Insurance scam Three firms convinced customers to take out monthly premiums A probe by the City regulator found three firms were raking in millions of pounds in profit by selling Sky insurance without authorisation. It meant that customers who had a problem with the insurance had no protection from the Financial Services Authority as a result, they could not complain to the ombudsman. Money Mail has repeatedly warned readers about satellite insurance scams. - thisismoney.co.ukwww.thisismoney.co.ukSly Bailey: Murdoch will want pound of flesh from Sky - Press Gazette
- www.pressgazette.co.ukWednesday 01 December 2010, AM
DAB radio switchover to proceed as planned - November - 2010 - Which? News
30 November 2010 Listening on DAB or internet contributes towards digital listening figures. The response suggests no change will be made to the criteria that will trigger the switch from FMto DAB, which may disappoint those less than enamoured with digital radio at present. In particular, it was concerned that it could lead to FM listeners feeling bullied into buying into DAB for fear of losing the ability to listen to radio. - which.co.ukwww.which.co.ukTuesday 30 November 2010, PM
In Online TV Re-Streaming, UK s TVCatchup Dealt A Legal Blow| paidContent:UK
The website started re-streaming live TV channels on the web two years ago, after it earlier shut a kind of web-based PVR it operated. TVCatchup argued that its re-streams are not broadcasts since they are one-to-one, not one-to-many. The channels concede, on this point, that TVCatchups streams themselves dont constitute broadcasting. - paidcontent.co.ukpaidcontent.co.ukDigital switchover to be delayed | News | Broadcast
30 November, 2010 The switchover to digital radio could be delayed until 2017 at the earliest, sources at Westminster have said. 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.ukMonday 29 November 2010, PM
Media comment and updates - Media UK
... more Changes to our email alerts James Cridland August 25, 2012 We've changed our email alerts to be more comprehensive and better. James Cridland May 22, 2012 Chrome is apparently now the number one browser. ... more 24 hours in media Thu 3 May James Cridland May 3, 2012 A trial. - mediauk.comwww.mediauk.comMonday 29 November 2010, AM
London gets Noughties on DAB
- radiotoday.co.ukVideo on demand: will there actually be a demand? | Media | The Guardian
Deluded, because he believes, supported by the data, the extent of change in viewing habits is much less, and will be much less than the hype suggests, over the next decade. Barwise bases his case on the fact that 80 of viewing is of live TV, and the rest is largely catchup in one form or another. Of the remainder, VoD accounts for only 1-2 of viewing for young adults, he said. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukHas BBC World Service become a sacrificial victim? | Media | The Guardian
The FCO funds the World Service via an annual grant that has already been reduced from 272m to 261m this year. Osborne said in October it would be subject to a further 16 cut in its budget by 2014. That is simply too big a cut not to have a devastating effect on services, some of which will be shut down completely. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukpick a page