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Friday 18 September 2009, AM

Yesterday guilty of noise pollution under new ad rules

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BBC Trust - Trust announces changes to BBC Worldwide governance

Please visit the BBC Trust homepage to find the information you want. you may have typed the web address incorrectly - please check the spelling, or that there are no spaces or capital letters. Alternatively, please try the other links and search box on this page. - bbc.co.uk

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Radio Today with RCS: RadioDNS makes Pure Sensia

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STV to opt out of 6.30pm ITV network news | 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.uk

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ITV1+1 data appears on Skys EPG - Digital Spy

EPG information for ITV11 has appeared on Sky's programming guide, despite no official launch date for the one-hour timeshift channel yet being confirmed. - digitalspy.co.uk

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Dont let BBC shrink, says former culture secretary James Purnell |Media |guardian.co.uk

Any licence fee money should not be spent on privately owned commercial broadcasters such as ITV or Channel Five, Purnell added. The government is proposing to top-slice the licence fee and use the money to fund independent consortiums, made up of media companies, to take over provision of ITV's regional news service. Purnell added that the bigger threat to the BBC was the possibility of it growing too dominant, especially as Channel 4 came under increasing financial pressure. - guardian.co.uk

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The governments BBC top-slicing poll barely gave respondents a choice |Media |guardian.co.uk

They had then answered a number of questions about their own news consumption, particularly local news. They had next been asked their views about the importance of alternative sources of local and regional news and they had finally been informed that ITV can no longer afford it. By that point, it is frankly astonishing that 24 still believed that the licence fee should be confined exclusively to the BBC. - guardian.co.uk

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BBC chief hits out at political interference - TV Radio, Media - The Independent

- independent.co.uk

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BBC Freeview HD anti-piracy plans cause backlash | Electricpig

Want to know what the hubbub is about and how it affects you This could potentially stop cheap boxes now now and in the future from working with Freeview HD, since some rely on open source licenses incompatible with the regulations. Ofcom is now considering its response, so well keep you updated. - electricpig.co.uk

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Anger at UK digital copy protection plans

Printed from http//www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e65cfcb8-a31f-11de-ba74-00144feabdc0.html Print a single copy of this article for personal use. - ft.com

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Thursday 17 September 2009, PM

BBC Media Show: 16/09/2009

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Picture Quality on BBC HD: a response

There was an extensive process of assessment in advance of the selection of new encoders for the BBC HD service, using both objective and subjective criteria. The encoders which were chosen then went through further testing in advance of operational use, not only for picture quality but for compatibility with the Sky and Freesat platforms and their ability to deliver other services such as subtitling and surround sound successfully. The new encoders were intended to help us in handling the wide range of material which the BBC broadcasts in HD, and to help to improve the picture quality of some of our most challenging programmes. - bbc.co.uk

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Thursday 17 September 2009, AM

Ads too loud on UKTVs Yesterday channel, finds ASA |Media |guardian.co.uk

To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. To find out more information about driving traffic to your content or to place this widget on your site, visit outbrain.com. - guardian.co.uk

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The questions that Andy Duncan never answered and Channel 4 must | Steve Busfield |Media |guardian.co

He had his ups and downs Andy Duncan in the lifts at Channel 4's London HQ. Slumdog Millionaire aside, there are other figures which are probably more key to Channel 4's future. More worryingly, the Channel 4 surplus was 44.6m in 2004, but just 1.8m in 2008. - guardian.co.uk

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What to look out for at this years RTS Cambridge Convention |Media |guardian.co.uk

Mark Thompson, who will be chairing the RTS Cambridge convention 2009. So these executives gather rather like thirsty cattle in a water meadow for the first time after the summer holidays, soaking up gossip and industry politics over dinner in the Great Hall of Kings College. The unofficial agenda must surely include will the gravy train keep rolling for overpaid TV executives - guardian.co.uk

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Ending TV ban on product placement is sensible move | Business

At that time, the then secretary for culture, media and sport, Andy Burnham, was moved to explain that placement would blur the boundaries between advertising and content. We may learn a little more about that when he speaks at the Royal Television Society convention later today but, thus far, he has offered only one simple, and somewhat simplistic, answer the climate has changed. It is true that ITV reported a loss of 105 million last month. - thisislondon.co.uk

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Merge Channel 4 and BBC to save kids TV, says Phil Redmond | RTS Cambridge Convention |Media |guardian.c

To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - guardian.co.uk

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Culture Secretary calls for BBC Trust to be dismantled - TV Radio, Media - The Independent

The Corporation's senior management is concerned that a future Conservative government would try to reduce the BBC licence fee. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has since published a different survey showing that two-thirds of respondents would support the fee being shared. In the meantime, we have been set up to be, as the then Secretary of State put it in 2006, 'the voice, eyes and ears of licence fee payers'. - independent.co.uk

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Wednesday 16 September 2009, PM

UK Broadcasters Want Freeview HD DRM d To Tackle PVR Piracy| paidContent

Ofcom launched a consultation pdf on 3 September and says it is minded to amend the Freeview multiplex licence allowing for the protection of intellectual property rights in HDTV services. - paidcontent.org

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BBC Freeview DRM: The slightly less inflammatory truth - Crave at CNET UK

The move would prevent equipment from being able to record high-definition TV content unless the set-top box manufacturer has signed a contract with the BBC and is subsequently given access to the encryption keys. This is not the case -- current PVRs wouldn't be affected, only those built and designed to handle Freeview HD would need to respect this broadcast flag. Indeed, this proposal is only going to affect HD broadcasts via Freeview. - crave.cnet.co.uk

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Preseli mast goes digital From Western Telegraph)

All terrestrial TV signals were turned off at the Preseli transmitter shortly after midnight. The analogue services will remain switched off permanently allowing new freeview channels to be broadcast from 26 local relay transmitters including, for the first time, in areas such as St Davids. The switchover has made it possible to extend the level of freeview coverage to reach 98 of homes in the country. - westerntelegraph.co.uk

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BBC looks to copy protect content

Under plans submitted to regulator Ofcom, the broadcaster has requested that it be allowed to encrypt certain information on set top boxes. Only trusted manufacturers would be offered the decryption keys. Opponents, including Labour MP Tom Watson, say that, if the move is agreed, it will limit consumer choice. - news.bbc.co.uk

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Wednesday 16 September 2009, AM

License to Kill Innovation: the Broadcast Flag for UK Digital TV? | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Consumers won't reliably choose to have their TV reception limited by the demands of rightsholders - with restricted controls over recording, ad-skipping, and format-shifting. To trump consumers' wishes, rightsholders need to devise a way to make demands mandatory on consumers' technology. The parameters to this algorithm would be kept secret by the BBC it would ask manufacturers to sign a private agreement in order to receive a copy. - eff.org

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Unthinkable - Devices you wouldnt think of (as as Wednesday, 16th September 2009)

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picoStick: world s smallest Freeview tuner - mirror.co.uk

- mirror.co.uk

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Q

By Stuart Turton Posted on 15 Sep 2009 at 1332 Project Kangaroo promised to bring together the video-on-demand efforts of all the major terrestrial broadcasters under one umbrella. Unsurprisingly, the idea quickly drew the ire of the Competition Commission, which rejected the plan claiming it would significantly reduce competition in the market. However, Project Canvas has now taken up the mantle and aims to deliver the same basic service as Project Kangaroo, but in a radically different form. - pcpro.co.uk

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Project Canvas to be sold round the globe | News | TechRadar UK

So the BBC may need to re-think its strategy if it wants to truly dominate the world's online video content. - techradar.com

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Project Canvas promises help for niche and web services | News | Broadcast

15 September, 2009 By Robin Parker The Project Canvas team aims to launch a kit for niche and web-based third parties to develop services for the platform by next summer. 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.uk

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Free Windows 7 Upgrades for Windows Media Center TV Ambassadors - In the UK - Softpedia

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ITV and Channel 4 head for crisis of leadership |Business |The Guardian

Andy Duncan's tenure as chief executive has coincided with the decision to drop Big Brother. The developments could leave ITV and Channel 4 rudderless at a critical time for both broadcasters, which are pursuing a series of commercial tie-ups and regulatory changes amid the most severe advertising downturn for a generation. Duncan, who is currently negotiating the terms of his departure from Channel 4, could resign as early as tomorrow. - guardian.co.uk

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A sneak peek at the Canvas interface

BSkyB said all BT or Virgin Media customers could potentially be affected by their fair use or traffic management policies. The ASA found that the two companies did have practices in place which resulted in slower speeds for those using popular applications with very large bandwidths during peak hours. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. - guardian.co.uk

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CRR review shows ITV is still a broadcasting powerhouse | Maggie Brown |Media |guardian.co.uk

In 2008 that figure was 993 - just two fewer. Nor has ITV's ability to get out an advertiser's message to a huge audience around shows such as Britain's Got Talent diminished. This is despite the fact that multichannel mainly digital channels now account for 39 of UK viewing, compared with 24 back in 2003, and that digital TV households have doubled from 42 to 88. - guardian.co.uk

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The Big Question: Whats gone wrong at Channel 4, and where does it go from here? - TV Radio,

Channel 4's chief executive, Andy Duncan, is on the verge of quitting after five years in the post, effectively admitting defeat in his long-running campaign to put the broadcaster on a sound financial footing beyond 2012, when the analogue signal is switched off and the channel is forced to fight for audience share and advertising revenue in a solely digital world. His attempts to secure government funding for Channel 4's future filling a post-switch-off shortfall in advertising revenue which he has frequently cited as 150m a year have hit a brick wall. Duncan has struggled to obtain indirect government support to replace the value of the analogue spectrum and safeguard public service programming such as Channel 4 News and the acclaimed documentary strand Dispatches. - independent.co.uk

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Sponsorship ban for BBC on-air events |Media |guardian.co.uk

After a ruling in July last year by the trust, in which it criticised the prominence of the Robinsons logo on the 2007 show's set and said the corporation should not be offering guarantees of on-air mentions in return for sponsorship, the BBC's management said it would no longer take commercial sponsorship. Off-air BBC events will also still be allowed commercial sponsorship, but will be subject to the corporation's editorial guidelines. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - guardian.co.uk

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Freeview HD - will receivers be ready for December 2?

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Tuesday 15 September 2009, AM

ITV shares down as CRR advertising rules kept in place |Media |guardian.co.uk

In its provisional findings, published this morning, the commission said that, although advertisers could theoretically build campaigns around other channels without using ITV1, the channel's dominance is such that the mechanism should remain largely unchanged. The commission was widely expected to reach this conclusion but ITV had hoped the regime might be significantly relaxed. The Office of Fair Trading recommended this year that CRR or contract rights renewal rules should be changed. - guardian.co.uk

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Monday 14 September 2009, PM

Humax Freeview HD receiver outed | News | TechRadar UK

Humax is one of the first manufacturers to release details about a new range of Freeview HD receivers, choosing this year's IBC to unveil its latest player. Wotsat also spoke to Graham North from Humax who confirmed the Humax's release date will be in the early part of 2010, with pricing similar to Humax's current Freesat range. - techradar.com

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Mark Thompson, director-general of BBC on how it could become smaller |Media |guardian.co.uk

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Up to 50 PA editorial jobs under threat over Teletext closure |Media |guardian.co.uk

Up to 50 editorial jobs at the Press Association could be at risk as a result of Teletext's decision to shut down its core TV service. MediaGuardian.co.uk understands that most of the affected journalists work at the company's centre in Howden, in east Yorkshire. The job cuts affect the news and sport production departments. - guardian.co.uk

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CBS to launch UK-branded channels with Chellomedia |Media |guardian.co.uk

US broadcaster CBS is to launch a number of branded channels in the UK for the first time. In addition to drawing on CBS drama, reality and long-form archive content, the channels will also continue to acquire programming from third party suppliers. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - guardian.co.uk

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Product placement not enough to transform ITVs fortunes, say analysts |Media |guardian.co.uk

Ben Bradshaw expected to signal moves to reverse product placement ban. Photograph David Levene Product placement could provide a useful fillip for ITV but will be no panacea for its financial woes, experts warned today. Advertisers may not be willing to pay much for having their products showcased on TV programmes, while British viewers could be resistant to the tactic, they said. - guardian.co.uk

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Proposed regulation of video on demand services: implementing new EU law | Ofcom

Independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. 4G auction bidders announced December 20, 2012 Ofcom has today announced the bidders in the forthcoming 4G mobile spectrum auction the largest ever sale of mobile airwaves in the UK. npower fined for making abandoned calls December 6, 2012 The conclusion of an Ofcom investigation has today found npower, the gas and electricity supplier, to be in breach of rules on abandoned calls. - ofcom.org.uk

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DTG :: News :: Virgin Media upgrades digital TV platform with Cisco

On completion, the new TV platform will be capable of delivering advanced services to more than 12.6 million UK homes, say Virgin. With greater resilience and added capacity, we can guarantee an outstanding viewer experience as we add further HD content to our TV platform. Since Cisco introduced the concept of medianets, intelligent networks that are optimised to deliver rich-media content, we have seen service providers like Virgin Media take the lead in transforming their networks to really differentiate the consumer experience. - dtg.org.uk

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Proposals for the regulation of video on demand services | Ofcom

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Product placement go-ahead brings Digital Britain closer to obsolescence |Media |guardian.co.uk

Ben Bradshaw has swiftly decided he doesn't agree with much of Digital Britain will any of it come to pass Now, his successor, Ben Bradshaw, has said that he accepts lifting the ban and will this week unveil you guessed it a new consultation process. Communications minister Carter's Digital Britain, hailed in advance as the document that would set the agenda for the UK's creative and technological industries for the new era, is being rapidly discarded. - guardian.co.uk

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Monday 14 September 2009, AM

New direction required at the top of television | Emily Bell |Media |The Guardian

It is hard to look at what the next 12 months has in store and to reach any conclusion other than that there will be a significant regime change in two of our biggest broadcasters. Like Brown, they are all imbued with a strong sense of purpose, to the extent that one could even feel a certain amount of sentimentality about their plight, and like Brown each in their own way has been burdened with a legacy from the past. Ball's focus will undoubtedly be to try to find a buyer for the company and quite possibly kick off a round of consolidation in the industry. - guardian.co.uk

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Under-fire BBC may sell slice of 1bn Worldwide division |Media |The Guardian

BBC director general Mark Thompson says corporation looking at a 'whole range of things'. Among the options under consideration is a stockmarket listing of the business, which had annual revenues of about 1bn last year. BBC Worldwide sells the rights to popular shows such as Strictly Come Dancing to international buyers. - guardian.co.uk

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Mark Thompson: People want the BBC to step backwards |Media |The Guardian

In a small office next to the splendid art deco suite commanded by earlier director generals, Mark Thompson is enjoying a bit of historic context. The ideological battle between state broadcasters and the Murdoch family may go back three generations, but the BBC finds itself facing unprecedented challenges. Last week, the BBC Trust took pre-emptive action by announcing a strategic review likely to lead to a reduction in its services, led by Thompson. - guardian.co.uk

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Question of the week: What would you cut at the BBC? |Media |The Guardian

I would have no problem with it if it actually delivered a proper public service to young people aged 19, 20 but it doesn't. I would also question the viability of the BBC's range of digital services. This would reduce the layers of managers and increase UK production overall. - guardian.co.uk

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Sunday 13 September 2009, PM

Product placement to be allowed on British television - TV Radio, Media - The Independent

ITV welcomed the news that product placement is to be allowed on British television programmes for the first time. Ministers hope lifting the ban will throw a lifeline to struggling independent broadcasters such as ITV by opening new multi-million pound revenue streams. The move - which is likely to prove highly controversial and could be announced as early as this week - represents a major U-turn. - independent.co.uk

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