Great things to read about British TV from March 2008 to today

Monday 06 July 2009, PM

With all these programmes online, why watch TV? |Media |The Guardian

British TV viewers may scratch their heads when asked what Hulu is now, but later this year, if things go to plan, we will all be talking about the catchup service with the funny name. To do so it needs to overcome myriad rights issues with UK broadcasters, which are trying to come up with a homegrown alternative. This year, Project Kangaroo, the nearest UK equivalent to Hulu, failed because of competition concerns. - guardian.co.uk

Monday 06 July 2009, AM

Question of the week: How can ITV improve its ratings? |Media |The Guardian

ITV1 has sunk to its worst audience share since it started 54 years ago - 16.1 in the week ending 18 June. Peter Bazalgette, media consultant What a relief to discuss ITV's programmes rather than its debt, pension deficit, board or new chief executive. Peter Fincham has to perform the most devilish balancing act in TV history cut programme expenditure and increase ratings. - guardian.co.uk

Sunday 05 July 2009, PM

Geeks vs. journalists: A tale of two worldviews | Tech Policy Law News - Betanews

Some of the incurious double-digit-IQ nonsense I've heard in the newsrooms of old-line mainstream publications would make the average geek bite a mousepad in half. Frankly, a lot of people with journalism degrees are the last people who ought to become journalists. The idea of journalism as a white-collar profession, rather than a grubby old trade, is only a few decades old. - betanews.com

Friday 03 July 2009, PM

BBC Media Show: Radio Fesival Live 01/07/09

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Media Talk: Radio Festival 2009

Tuesday 30 June 2009, AM

2010 will be the breakthrough year for Micro USB | Tech Policy Law News - Betanews

- betanews.com

New TVs PVR can save video to SD chips | Tech Gear News - Betanews

Like Vizio in the United States, Cello has grown rapidly in the last four years because of its affordable, but feature-rich products. It is equipped with two tuners and two SD slots for simultaneous Freeview recording, a built-in electronic programming guide and DVD player. There, the SD card is shown, but not mentioned in the feature list. - betanews.com

What's happening with Freeview HD?

The Editor In our recent open post we had several questions about the roll-out of Freeview HD. The plan has always been to roll Freeview HD out around the country following switchover and Winter Hill was selected as the first achievable transmitter. The March 2010 date in the Ofcom document is simply the last backstop date by when Winter Hill has to be on air to comply with our licence conditions. - bbc.co.uk

BBC R

The latest product of their efforts is the ASTOR demonstrator - aka 'the world's heaviest laptop' which is currently being tested by the archive and network media research engineers. It's big, runs pretty hot, weighs close to half a ton, and can store dozens of hours of HD content, but perhaps most amazingly is that in its brief few months of existence, it's clocked up more than 10,000 miles. The story began three years ago, when RD started looking at the best ways to store large amounts of AV content in digital form. - bbc.co.uk

Cable DVRs are legal: Supreme Court denies appeal of Cablevision decision | Betanews

That August 2008 ruling had overturned an earlier District Court ruling in March that had been a victory for the studios. Their argument was that when a cable service provider lets its customers record and play back shows at the headend -- using the provider's own storage rather than a local DVR -- that constituted a retransmission, which was contrary to the terms of service. In other words, they could only be replayed in the context of each customer's DVR service. - betanews.com

Wednesday 24 June 2009, PM

Caldbeck TV mast - a sneak look...

- bbc.co.uk

Wednesday 24 June 2009, AM

Are ESPN and Sky friends or foes? |Media |guardian.co.uk

Disney, whose TV assets include ABC, one of the big four American networks, has a market value of 42bn 25.7bn and operations in dozens of countries. However, all the talk from ESPN thus far is about partnership rather than rivalry as the company seeks to play down talk of a challenge to Sky. ESPN hasn't got the infrastructure or the expertise to set up its own UK subscription business, a costly exercise that hurt Setanta. - guardian.co.uk

Sky's illogical ad still misleading HD newbies?

What's less clear is just how much true 720p or 1080i content you're getting, and at what quality. Yes, it says that there are 33 high definition channels available, but it doesn't say that only a modest proportion of programmes on those channels were made in high definition. No mainstream broadcaster can yet offer full 1080p high definition, which is what you expect from films on Blu-ray. - hdtvuk.tv

www.hdtvuk.tv

Tuesday 23 June 2009, PM

BBC Red Button now available via BBC HD

However, you couldn't press red to access the BBC's interactive services from this channel. All the additional video inside the BBC Red Button service will continue to be in standard definition. Our code too is built in standard definition as the majority of set top boxes don't allow us to write HD versions of our software. - bbc.co.uk

Setanta goes into administration with loss of 200 jobs |Media |guardian.co.uk

Irish pay-TV company Setanta has today been placed into administration after rescue talks designed to secure new funding collapsed. Accountancy firm Deloitte has confirmed it has been appointed as administrator for the UK part of the business, which employs about 200 staff. The broadcaster's other wholly owned channels, including Setanta Sports 1 and 2, went off air around the same time. - guardian.co.uk

Freesat - all you need to know - AVReview Features

It has chalked up sales of over 400,000, the number channels has grown to over 145 and there's a wide range of Freesat-equipped hardware on the market catering for all budgets. A big part of Freesat's appeal is the lack of subscription costs, but the main reason why consumers are heading towards the service in their droves is the prospect of getting high-definition channels absolutely free. To belatedly celebrate its birthday, we're taking a look at the current state of Freesat how it compares to its rivals, the various ways of getting it and what the platform has in store for the future. - avreview.co.uk

www.avreview.co.uk

Monday 22 June 2009, PM

Marquee opens BBC iPlayer despite Canvas problems

The idea is part of the partnership proposals presented as part of the BBC contribution to Digital Britain and is seen by some as an attempt to avoid top slicing of the licence fee revenue. The BBC has previously said that it is ready to share the iPlayer technology and brand with other public service broadcasters who could use the same technology and user experience to support their own branded, independent on-demand services supported by advertising or other means. The only problem is that most major broadcasters have already made significant investments in their own broadband video platforms. - informitv.com

informitv.com

Digital Britain report disappoints

The Digital Britain white paper aims to set out the importance of the digital economy to the economic future of the nation, but some see it as disappointing, lacking vision, ambition and fibre. The ground that it attempts to cover is wide ranging but in many parts it descends into a commentary on general trends and vague observations about the digital landscape. What is lacking is any inspiring aspiration or groundbreaking initiative to invest in modern digital infrastructure. - informitv.com

informitv.com

ITV, C4 and Five rapped for pushing products | 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

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Monday 22 June 2009, AM

Eexpensive TV productions that need to sell thousands of DVDs to cover their costs

A budgetary ice-age seems to be sweeping through UK television - raising fears about British broadcasting's delicate eco-stystem. The morning before Demons' fate was confirmed, the BBC instructed all six of its television networks to find record efficiency savings of 7.5 - over the next five years the channels will lose 1bn from their budgets. In March, head of programming Julian Bellamy said the broadcaster would like to commission more drama, but there was no money in the budget with which to do so. - guardian.co.uk

BBC - Radio 4 Blog: Reith 2009 in the Twitterverse

As I've explained in my previous blog posts, the 2009 Reith Lectures team was keen to extend the reach of the programmes beyond the traditional Radio 4 and World Service listeners. A key part of our strategy was social networking site Twitter. We wanted to find people already talking about Professor Sandel and his work, or related ideas, and establish a community of listeners which could start engaging with the lectures' themes before the programmes were even broadcast. - bbc.co.uk

Sunday 21 June 2009, PM

The BBC is serving younger audiences well but could do more

Our review shows that BBC Three, Radio 1 and 1Xtra are doing a particularly good job in serving young people. Nine out of ten young people use BBC services every week, and the BBC as a whole provides a good range of high quality content for this group. However the BBC faces growing challenges in engaging young people with its news provision and reaching teenagers on television. - bbc.co.uk

...the Digital Britain lock-in |Media |guardian.co.uk

With cameras rolling and the temperature soaring outside, a door had to be flung open to prevent any unfortunate fainting incidents. Monkey update it has been brought to our attention that it was in fact Gideon's Standard colleague, senior reporter Amar Singh, who made the dash for freedom. The soon-to-depart government minister has dispensed with tank tops and now sports a side parting that could be modelled on the business secretary's own and he sprinkled his presentation with a few witty asides. - guardian.co.uk

Millionaire cheque bounces | Media Monkey |Media |guardian.co.uk

Who Wants to be a Millionaire is all about the money, so one contestant who won 10,000 in the ITV quiz was bemused to find the cheque bounced when she went to cash it in. 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.uk

Channel 5 set for licence for high definition programmes on digital terrestrial television | 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

www.ofcom.org.uk

BBC Trust responds to Digital Britain report

Saturday 20 June 2009, PM

DAB Digital Radio in the UK, Italy, and Denmark - blog - James Cridland

Then pointed out that Ofcoms forecasts in 2006 for digital listening said that wed be at 35 by now were actually at 20. Similarly, RadioCentres forecasts have been out of kilter with where we actually are. Then he goes through a few challenges to DAB in the UK. - james.cridland.net

james.cridland.net

Goodbye Sky - blog - James Cridland

I got one of the first Sky Movies decoders, which was free for a Sky Pioneer like myself. I declined to buy a decoder card, when that became available. For me, the excitement was the large amount of foreign channels also on the platform nearly 32 channels, I think, including a rather peculiar comedy channel with an ident of a goldfish, I seem to remember. - james.cridland.net

james.cridland.net

Another exciting new sound for BBC Radio

Flash Player is already installed in many corporate environments - and, since Flash is in use on many other websites including the video for BBC iPlayer, chances are you'll already have it. In the UK, we've taken this opportunity to greatly increase our audio quality doubling the bitrates for most live streams, and using a significantly more efficient audio codec which increases the audio quality yet further. For bitrate watchers - AAC is much more efficient than MP3 at the same bitrate, and thus gives a significantly better sound. - bbc.co.uk

Saturday 20 June 2009, AM

A carve-up of the licence fee would be sheer vandalism | Polly Toynbee |Comment is free |The Guardian

Just as the lottery was once plundered so the BBC will, before long, shrink away to something insignificant. Make no mistake, that isthe purpose of those malign forces that have pushed for this for years. This is not about the sum of money itself, because governments already decide how much the BBC gets when setting the licence fee in hard times ahead, no doubt the BBC will be squeezed like everyone else. - guardian.co.uk

Friday 19 June 2009, PM

BBC NEWS | Business | Setanta loses Premier TV rights

A potential rescue deal, led by a US investor who had proposed buying 51 of Setanta, had fallen through. The league will now put the rights to the 46 live matches for the 2009/2010 season out to auction, after Setanta missed Friday's payment deadline. Offers to buy the rights need to be made by Monday. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

Premier League ends Setanta deal |Media |guardian.co.uk

Setanta's failure to meet the deadline for the next instalment of payments for the 46 live Premier League matches next season casts serious doubt over the company's future, after a fortnight in which it has been desperately seeking new funding to ward off the threat of administration. The Premier League will now re-tender the 46 live matches to other broadcasters in two packages of 23 live games. It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet its obligations. - guardian.co.uk

Media Talk: Digital Britain

Thursday 18 June 2009, AM

The corporation fixation | Comment | Broadcast

- broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Setanta collapse could cost Premier League clubs 30m |Media |The Guardian

Setanta must pay the Premier League another instalment of 10m by the end of Friday or face the possibility of going into administration. The Irish company faces yet another crucial day on Friday, when it is due to pay 10m to the Premier League. If it misses that deadline, its rights will revert to the League and Setanta is likely to go into administration. - guardian.co.uk

Ofcom to crack down on strong sexual content shown just after watershed |Media |guardian.co.uk

Ofcom is concerned that these services are broadcasting sexually explicit content, including R18 material, that is only meant to appear on encrypted, subscription-only adult channels. In the past couple of years, the regulator has fined a number of babe channels for breaches of the broadcast code. In April Ofcom fined Playboy TV 22,500 for serious and repeated breaches of the broadcasting code for the unencrypted airing of explicit scenes in 2007 and 2008. - guardian.co.uk

Wednesday 17 June 2009, PM

BBC Media Show: 17 June Digital Britain

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Wednesday 17 June 2009, AM

Tip blocks TV and phone signals

Residents in Rhosaman, Carmarthenshire claim they have noticed interruptions after Celtic Energy's East Pit returned to full production. Some say they have had to change mobile companies and can no longer receive certain digital television channels. Neath Port Talbot Council said the tip operated within the approved height granted by planning permission. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

Tuesday 16 June 2009, PM

Digital Britain: Stephen Carters plans for broadband, web piracy, television, local media |Media |guardia

9.10am After months of debate, bargaining and thinking deep thoughts, Stephen Carter's media baby, Digital Britain, will today be unveiled. The announcement is expected by the new culture minister, Ben Bradshaw, at about 3.30pm in the House of Commons. The unveiling of the report could be delayed, depending upon the parliamentary business it follows. - guardian.co.uk

Friday 20 March 2009, AM

BBC Red Button in the Freeview EPG : BBC - Press Red Blog

In our What's On post on Wednesday, we mentioned that one of the comments heard regularly is that people don't always know about some of the content we have on the red button. This data hasn't traditionally been held in the BBC's normal schedule database, hence it hasn't been available before. Getting the data isn't as simple as it would be for a normal TV channel. - bbc.co.uk

Monday 16 March 2009, PM

BBC HD Channel Up To Nine Hours Per Day : BBC - BBC Internet Blog:

Those paying close attention may have noticed that for the first time today outside of a major event, the BBC HD schedule is up at 9 hours. That's the full service that we have permission for from the BBC Trust, and from now on until there is any extension to the service the channel we plan to deliver to you. We'll start daily at 4pm, and run through to between 12.30 and 1.30 7 nights a week although we will of course still extend the channel hours when there are sporting or other events that fall outside those hours. - bbc.co.uk

Barb TV ratings system to change |Media |guardian.co.uk

The multi-platform, timeshifted digital world means the percentage of programme's audience that watches it the first time it appears on the small screen is in rapid decline. Smith's more recent offering, The Pursuit of Happyness, had only 25 of its total audience watching its debut live on Sky Movies Premiere last year. In addition, viewers could watch via Sky Movies Premiere1 or a number of narrative repeats on the two channels over the next seven days. - guardian.co.uk

Grade s ITV is in a classic lose lose situation | Greg Dyke - Times Online

- timesonline.co.uk

www.timesonline.co.uk

Friday 13 March 2009, AM

BBC NEWS | Science Environment | Campaign against snide online remarks

The internet has created a whole new language. That is the official word coined in the States for a snide remark made online. The web-based 'nastiness' has annoyed one New York writer so much he has started a campaign against it. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

Guardian Media Talk: The death of regional media?

BBC Media Show: 11 March 2009

downloads.bbc.co.uk

RTL slashes Fives value by half and eyes merger with Channel 4 |Media |The Guardian

The owner of Five, RTL, yesterday slashed the value of the television company by more than half, blaming conditions in the advertising market. Gerhard Zeiler, RTL's chief executive, added that the worsening environment in the UK was forcing companies to consider consolidation. Five made a loss before financial and restructuring charges of 2m, compared with a profit in 2007 of 10m. - guardian.co.uk