Wednesday 09 March 2016, AM
Channel 4 chief hits out at critics calling for privatisation
Speaking at a conference held by Enders Analysis, he chose to make the 1bn fight over privatisation highly personal, publicly attacking the two former Channel 4 senior executives. Abraham accused Johnson of flip-flopping on his view of Channel 4 given his long history of defending the broadcaster's model, most recently last September in front of the House of Lords communications committee. - www.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.comTuesday 08 March 2016, PM
BBC increases savings target to £800m a year to pay for drama and sport
The BBC has increased its savings target by 100m to 800m a year over the next five years, blaming rapid inflation in the cost of drama and sport. While there are still doubts over the BBC News channel, BBC sources said on Tuesday that Radio 5 Live would not be axed completely, although it is looking at ways to save money, possibly using its services for local radio. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Tony Hall to sound warning over governance proposals
Tony Hall will today sound a strong warning that Sir David Clementi’s BBC governance review could open the door to further erosion of the corporation’s independence. The director general is expected to raise concerns about Sir David’s recommendation that a new unitary board, tasked with governing the BBC, should consist of six government-appointed posts, including the chairman and vice chairman. If adopted, the BBC believes that this will be the first time in history that the government will have the power to appoint members of the BBC’s operational board. The recommendation has caused concern at New Broadcasting House and, in a speech at an Enders Analysis and Deloitte media conference on Tuesday, Hall will strongly reject the idea. He will make clear that, unlike the BBC Trust, the board will have the power to set the editorial direction of the BBC. This includes contributing to key decisions on programmes, services and journalism. “It doesn’t feel to me that these tasks should be undertaken by government-appointed board members,” Hall will warn. “The BBC is one of the world’s great public service broadcasters - not a state broadcaster.” He will add: “A strong, sustainable BBC needs new safeguards for independence, not yet more erosion. The secretary of state reminded us last week that the public want the BBC to remain independent.”
www.broadcastnow.co.ukTuesday 08 March 2016, AM
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/88816/Digital_UK_LCN_7_Consultation_Stmt_1March16.pdf
English Local services stay at LCN 8 where they are joined by Scottish services to create a consistent UK-wide LCN for local TV. This would result in LCN 7 becoming vacant in England and Northern Ireland but would result in fewer channel moves. In summary, the changes will enable The move of BBC Alba and Channel 4 Wales to LCN 7 The move of Local TV services in Scotland and Wales to LCN 8 The creation of a channel reservation for Local TV across the UK at LCN 8 Local TV channels in England and Northern Ireland currently on LCN 8 being offered the opportunity to move to LCN 7 5 In reaching this decision, we gave due consideration to all the responses we received. - www.digitaluk.co.uk
www.digitaluk.co.uk
BBC considering merging Five Live with local radio stations
'The affluent heartland audiences are protected, and the arts world indulged, while sport is raided'. There have been ongoing suggestions that Five Live faces cutbacks, but the corporation has strongly denied suggestions that the network could go online-only. - www.telegraph.co.uk
www.telegraph.co.ukMonday 07 March 2016, PM
Television licence loophole
The BBC recently ceased transmissions of BBC Three, making it an online only service, accessible through the BBC iPlayer. Extending an anachronistic television licence to viewing on demand does not really address the question of the long-term funding of the BBC. It does open the door to a subscription model, which the BBC has always resisted. - informitv.com
informitv.comSunday 06 March 2016, PM
Welcome to the Whittingdale Broadcasting Corporation
As for Ofcom - incorporating the BBC in its overall media planning, issuing performance frameworks, balancing BBC interests against ITV and the rest - who chooses the chairman, the chief exec and the head of the new corporation-watching committee Take another bow, John Whittingdale. The BBC of Whittingdale's tomorrow will have a government-appointed chair and deputy chair, a government-appointed Ofcom chair and BBC sub-board chair - plus a tiny executive voice at the decision-making table. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comThe trouble with getting the BBC to be less popular
The notion of more primetime arts, science and history programming, more analytical journalism, and more risk-taking new commissions is metaphorical music to ears that scorn Radio 2's literal kind. If the distinctiveness they claim is vital were actually to be enjoyed by more people than the corporation's current output, then ITV, Sky and Channel 5 would be complaining about that and then the culture secretary would have to commission a report calling for more blandness, less risk-taking and more audience-despising primetime bilge. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comSaturday 05 March 2016, PM
Bringing down the paywall
The arrival of UKTV's lifestyle channel, Home, on Freeview last week is timely evidence of an ongoing shift taking place in the broadcasting industry, which has seen more and more broadcasters begin to recognise the growth opportunities in FTA and benefits of moving out from behind the paywall. FTA TV, for example, no longer means settling for a handful of channels in fact, Freeview now has over 60 channels on its service, 12 of which are broadcast in HD. Another of Freeview's selling points for a broadcaster is that FTA TV is a much less crowded place to be, in comparison to the competitive pay-TV landscape where broadcasters must battle the giants, navigate complicated content rights and throw a lot of budget at diversifying their offering and making it stand out in light of challenging SVoD services. - www.tvbeurope.com
www.tvbeurope.comFriday 04 March 2016, PM
#45 - Leveson II, a promising dawn for New Day and Radio 2 Country pops up
feedproxy.google.comFear of Flying, Evan Davis
open.live.bbc.co.ukBBC white paper may be delayed until after EU referendum
The government is likely to delay publishing the white paper on the renewal of the BBC royal charter until after the EU referendum, causing further delay and uncertainty for the corporation. Any legislation regarding the funding and future of the BBC is likely to attract massive media attention, which the government is unlikely to welcome during a divisive political vote over the EU. When asked whether the white paper would be delayed on Wednesday, culture secretary John Whittingdale said no decision had yet been. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comThursday 03 March 2016, PM
Local TV stations gain greater EPG prominence following BBC Three's move online
Local TV channels across the UK are set to move to more prominent positions in the Freeview TV guide. In Scotland and Wales local channels are listed at channel 23 but will now be eligible to move to channel 8 following BBC Three's move online, while local services in England and Northern Ireland, which are currently on 8, will be offered the chance to move to channel 7. - www.seenit.co.uk
www.seenit.co.uk
BBC iPlayer 'loophole' to be closed soon, says culture secretary
John Whittingdale said the licence fee would be extended so it no longer just applied to live television viewers. Only UK TV licence holders can use the iPlayer to watch BBC programmes as they are broadcast live, but currently those without a licence can view the shows at a later date. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukWednesday 02 March 2016, PM
Race and TV viewing, The BBC impact on the market, Should Ofcom replace the BBC Trust?
open.live.bbc.co.ukWednesday 02 March 2016, AM
Public support BBC and its independence from the government
The public has given strong support to the BBC in one of the largest ever responses to a government public consultation, while showing huge indifference to the way it is governed. Some organisations felt the current fair trading arrangements between the BBC and BBC Worldwide and BBC Global News needed further clarity and improvement. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comTuesday 01 March 2016, PM
Ofcom to extended DAB trials for two years
Ofcom engineer Rashid Mustapha was granted a test licence and installed a low power digital radio transmitter on a Brighton roof-top. The test successfully delivered a reliable, high quality digital radio broadcast. - radiotoday.co.uk
radiotoday.co.ukTuesday 01 March 2016, AM
A Review of the Governance and Regulation of the BBC
As part of the ongoing process to review the BBC's Royal Charter to make sure it remains a valued public broadcaster, Sir David Clementi was asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to submit a report on how the BBC is governed and regulated. The model of governance and regulation of the BBC the specific mechanisms of governance and regulation and the way in which the BBC and the bodies that govern and regulate it engage with licence fee payers and industry. - www.gov.uk
www.gov.uk
FCC Probes Cable Firms' Influence on Web TV
The FCC is expected to act soon to curb such contracts on the part of two big cable firms, Charter Communications Inc. A smaller firm, Herring Broadcasting, also has complained to the FCC about the contracts. - www.wsj.com
www.wsj.comMonday 29 February 2016, PM
BBC News faces £80m cuts over the next four years
The BBC news channel costs 63m a year but much of the costly news gathering provided for the channel is used elsewhere in the BBC. Newsgathering in total is the biggest single cost in the whole department. The BBC is looking to make the station online-only because so many consume sports news in this way, but Radio 5 Live is broadcast from MediaCityUK in Salford and is a department of BBC North, which would make such a cut politically sensitive. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comBrexit and the BBC: a tough call for the culture secretary?
All the parties, as well as recent select committee reports, and even the chair of the BBC Trust, agree that reform of BBC regulation is necessary. While the BBC insisted last week that its new referendum guidelines will enable it to be robust and impartial, there can be no way of knowing for sure if the BBC is pulling its punches. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comChannel 4 beats ITV ratings for all shows across whole day
Big-budget drama Jekyll and Hyde was canceled after poor viewing figures, and epic Beowulf, which drew just 1.3 million viewers on Sunday, looks set for the same fate. Channel 4 shows that performed reasonably well for the channel on Sunday night included The Secret Life of the Zoo, which drew 1.5 million, and celebrity winter sports show The Jump, which managed 1.9 million viewers. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com900,000 Australians Now Have FreeViewPlus
Hybrid TV services are growing in strength globally. Germany, for example, has Hybrid TV in over a 1/3 of German households. - www.gizmodo.com.au
www.gizmodo.com.auMonday 29 February 2016, AM
A dozen stations launched on new DAB multiplex
Today is the day around a dozen radio stations launch on the new Sound Digital national DAB multiplex. An official industry event it taking place to mark the launch of the new stations tomorrow in London - and will be available to listen to on the radio industry's radio station - inRadio from 2pm till 440pm. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukSunday 28 February 2016, AM
Local TV prepares to unite under one Freeview channel number
The organisation responsible for allocating Freeview channel numbers is expected to confirm shortly that local TV will be given a single channel number across the UK. Digital UK has recently consulted with channel operators to assist making a decision about a shuffle-up on Freeview, which will be triggered when BBC Three is taken off channel 7. Most major local TV channels, including STV and Made TV have made public responses to the consultation, approving a proposal that would see local TV stations in Scotland and Wales join those in England and Northern Ireland on Freeview channel 8, a move that would enable the local TV network to market its presence on Freeview under a single channel number for the first time. - www.a516digital.comwww.a516digital.comFriday 26 February 2016, PM
Thursday 25 February 2016, PM
DTG :: News :: Ofcom to make the UK a world-leading digital economy, House of Lords want to keep BBC mission and UKTV co
Calls from the industry for changes to BT's network subsidiary Openreach have been unsuccessful to date, but now Ofcom has stated that it is necessary to overhaul Openreach's governance and strengthen its independence from BT, there will be major changes in the coming months. During discussions regarding the BBC at the House of Lords, the communications Select Committee has stated that there is no need to change the BBC's core mission-to 'inform, educate and entertain'-originally set out by the BBC's founder Director General, Lord Reith around 50 years ago. - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.ukDame Janet Smith review
The total payments made to survivors of Jimmy Savile, as part of the Savile Compensation Scheme, can be found below. The terms of the Scheme were agreed with lawyers for the survivors of Savile, the NHS and the Savile estate in February 2014. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukThursday 25 February 2016, AM
Regulator tells BT to open up cable network
Rivals had called for a split between BT and its Openreach operation, which runs its cables, fibre and network infrastructure. Ofcom has stopped short of recommending that Openreach be spilt entirely away from its parent BT - although it has not ruled it out - but it has suggested that maybe it is time to let go of the apron strings. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukWednesday 24 February 2016, PM
5 live Controller ridicules closure report
The Controller of 5 live, Jonathan Wall, has called a report on its possible closure as 'nonsense'. 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra have 6.7m listeners across the UK, and the commercial sector is about to air more rival stations for 5 live, as UTV launches talkRADIO and talkSPORT 2 in the coming weeks, and LBC continues to grow nationally. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukPress Awards women nominees, Lord Best on BBC inquiry, Trinity Mirror's The New Day
open.live.bbc.co.ukWednesday 24 February 2016, AM
Lords committee: no compelling case for scaling back BBC
A government green paper on BBC charter renewal last summer included questions about whether the BBC's scale and scope should be reduced, and a white paper setting out the government's recommendations is due for publication this spring. The BBC news operation is facing cuts of at least 5m as a result of attempts to save 150m across the corporation to make up for a shortfall in licence fee income, and is expected to see further cuts due to the new funding deal. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Lord Hall has buckled to SNP pressure over BBC news
Frankly, it's an insulting lot of claptrap and what's more it will be an expensive nonsense, too, as there is no doubt that BBC Scotland plan to hire more staff - at home and abroad - to service this Scottish Six. Demands like a completely separate Scottish channel and a federal governance system for the BBC, have been shelved by the SNP in exchange for the Scottish Six for now at any rate. - www.telegraph.co.ukwww.telegraph.co.uk
BBC to introduce 'Scottish Six' news programme next year
The plan represents a significant victory for the SNP, which for decades has called for a Scottish Six, but raises concerns that making the BBC less 'British' will help the party's renewed push for independence. BBC insiders pointed out the SNP had rowed back on its original demands for a separate Scottish TV channel and a second radio station, which would have cost significantly more than a separate news bulletin at a time the licence fee is being cut. - www.telegraph.co.ukwww.telegraph.co.ukSunday 21 February 2016, PM
Selling War and Peace to the Russians: global cash drives UK drama
The show became a co-production between the BBC, BBC Worldwide, the British independent production company Lookout Point and US studio The Weinstein Company. As well as high production values, British viewers are now much more used to seeing European dramas - which opens the door to foreign-language co-productions with British broadcasters. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFriday 19 February 2016, PM
#44 - The Death of Linear Everything - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
feedproxy.google.comJunior doctors' strike, David Bowie's death
open.live.bbc.co.uk
Digital UK publishes Freeview Play spec
Launched last year, Freeview Play combines broadcast channels with catch-up content from iPlayer, All4 and ITV Player to ensure TV fans never miss their favourite shows. James Jackson, Technical Director at Digital UK, said 'Our decision to openly publish the technical specifications for Freeview Play will make it easier for manufacturers to bring products to market and help broadcasters around the world develop their own enhanced, hybrid TV services. - www.seenit.co.ukwww.seenit.co.ukWednesday 17 February 2016, PM
Independent moves online, Editor-in-chief of Huffington Post UK, Genre-led divisions at the BBC
open.live.bbc.co.ukWednesday 17 February 2016, AM
If we are serious about BBC independence we must scrap its charter
We are writing this open letter in advance of BBC charter and agreement to explain what we feel the principles should be governing government policy towards the future of the BBC. We write as two former chairmen of the House of Lords select committee on communications who were involved in the debate on the current royal charter and the agreement which went with it. We do not turn our back on private investment if this is to the benefit of the BBC. An example is BBC Worldwide, which sells the rights to BBC programmes around the world. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comMonday 15 February 2016, AM
BBC3 and Radio 1 could merge under BBC plans
BBC3 launches as an online channel next week - but even before it embraces the brave new world of the web, consideration is being given to merging it with other BBC platforms including Radio 1 to create a Youth division, RadioTimes.com understands. The new BBC3 will go online-only on 16th February and will continue to target 16-34 year-olds. - www.radiotimes.com
www.radiotimes.com
New DAB station tests now live
Ahead of the official arrival of the first stations at the end of the month, placeholders for most stations have now appeared, giving listeners a chance to get ready for the new stations and be prepared for the transfer of existing stations to the multiplex. Listeners who have retuned their DAB sets may notice two versions of stations including Absolute 80s and Planet Rock, which are moving to D2 from their current space in the 29th. In some areas, Kisstory and Heat Radio can be found twice in the DAB station list these are moving from local DAB multiplexes to D2. Sound Digital stations. - www.a516digital.comwww.a516digital.comBBC considering scrapping channel-based structure
While the BBC is dedicated to keeping its channels and stations on the air, executives believe that rapid changes in the way people consume BBC content means a new structure would be more appropriate as well as save money. The BBC said it was looking at various options for reforming the BBC's structure, but would not confirm what plans were being considered. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFriday 12 February 2016, AM
Dish to disable DVR ad-skip for 7 days after broadcast to resolve Fox suit
In early 2015, US District Judge Dolly Gee issued a mixed ruling, finding that Dish's features don't infringe copyright but that Dish had violated some contracts and infringed Fox's copyrights when it made copies of programming to do Quality Assurance testing. Not only were networks able to use copyright to knock out a brash, well-funded startup like Aereo, but broadcaster Fox was able to cripple a product made by Dish-a company that already pays for Fox's programming. - arstechnica.com
arstechnica.comSound Digital
Each of the participants in the consortium is also a long-standing operator of DAB digital radio multiplexes in the UK. UTV Media owns 13 regional radio stations and is the company behind talkSPORT, the world's biggest sports radio station. Bauer Radio reaches over 16 million listeners every week with 43 of the most influential radio brands across the country, including Magic FM, KISS FM and Absolute Radio. - www.sounddigital.co.ukwww.sounddigital.co.ukThursday 11 February 2016, AM
BBC Radio Bristol Shutting Down its MW Station
BBC Radio Bristol is inviting listeners via social media to spread the word about the changes, which will mean affected listeners will need to tune in to the station via FM, DAB, online or via Freeview after Feb. 19. BBC Radio Bristol is already available on 94.9 and 104.6 FM, Freeview channel 719, and online. - www.radiomagonline.comwww.radiomagonline.comWednesday 10 February 2016, PM
Monday 08 February 2016, PM
How were some of Britain's brightest stars...
How were some of Britain's brightest stars influenced by the BBC Watch our new film from Simon Curtis to find out - and join them in the fight to make sure that we have a greatBBC to inspire generations to come. We've already lost BBC Three and sports like Formula 1 and the Olympics to funding cuts. - site.greatbbc.comsite.greatbbc.comMonday 08 February 2016, AM
Schedule for the new talkRADIO revealed
Former GLR, LBC and Virgin Radio presenter Paul Ross will host breakfast 6-10am, Ex-LBC'er Julia Hartley-Brewer gets mid-morning 10am - 1pm, writer and former Editor of Heat magazine Sam Delaney is lined-up for drivetime 4pm till 7pm and Iain Lee gets a new late night show 10pm till 1am. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukBBC3 boss on going online only: 'We are reinventing the BBC's offer to youth'
As acting controller of BBC3 after founding controller Stuart Murphy left in 2005, and with experience in BBC children's, Kavanagh was an obvious choice to head up the channel after Zai Bennett left for Sky two years ago. Career 1994 various roles in BBC daytime and BBC1, BBC3 head of planning and scheduling 2005 acting controller of BBC3 2006 BBC daytime head of planning and scheduling 2009 controller, CBBC 2012 head of features and factual formats, Channel 4 2013 controller, BBC Daytime 2014 controller, BBC3.. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.compick a page