BBC moves up a gear with plans for production arm

The BBC could finalise its radical plans to commercialise its production division as early as March, as the project begins to gather pace The corporation has told external stakeholders that a preferred option for the future BBC Productions could be in place in three months’ time if there are no hitches in getting it signed off by the executive board. Project lead Anna Mallett, the former BBC Studios and Post Production boss, is currently assessing how to unravel in-house from its existing structure. She is working closely with director of television Danny Cohen and Anne Bulford, managing director of finance and operations, on the roadmap, which is at the top of the agenda for the BBC executive board over the coming weeks. The plans will then be submitted to the BBC Trust for formal assessment, although the corporation currently believes a full public value test, which the BBC3 proposals are undergoing, will not be necessary. - www.broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Media: Prince Andrew coverage; postponing of Royal doc; Peter Greste retrial; 10 years of FOI.

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Steve Hewlett abdicates for BBC's royal documentary inquest

BBC Radio 4's The Media Show will have a guest presenter for its first 2015 outing on Wednesday, with Andrea Catherwood revealing on Twitter that she'd landed the gig. As eagle-eyed readers may summise from Catherwood's tweet, the regular host's absence is not entirely unrelated to the BBC's decision to postpone its TV documentary about royal spin tactics presented by ... Steve Hewlett. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

You could be prosecuted if your broadband interferes with radio signals

As well as networking adapters, Ofcom said that in the past two years it had received complaints of electromagnetic interference from TV aerial amplifiers, electrical transformers, high voltage power cables and lighting, among other equipment. The regulator received 114 complaints of electromagnetic interference last year but had powers to resolve only three, it said. - www.telegraph.co.uk

www.telegraph.co.uk

Official Android Blog: Coming to a TV near you

In 2014, Android evolved and opened up to new screens for your wrist, car and living room. If you want to get in on the action using your current television, Razer just announced a gaming console powered by Android TV. Razer's Forge TV has high-performance specs, a wireless game controller and allows you to stream PC games to your TV. It will start shipping to consumers in February. - officialandroid.blogspot.co.uk

officialandroid.blogspot.co.uk

Interactive Streaming - Interactive streaming service features have consumers leaving cable behind

- www.trendhunter.com

www.trendhunter.com

CES 2015: TV makers redefine 4K battleground

Bosses at LG's morning event repeatedly stated that they had the edge thanks to their expertise in making OLED TVs, which are famed for displaying deeper blacks, producing more vibrant colours and being more energy efficient than traditional LCDs. LG has seven new OLED sets for sale in its refreshed line-up, including a giant 77in flexible model that can switch between being flat and curved at the press of a button. Samsung is switching all its sets to Tizen - a Linux-based operating system it already uses on some smartphones Sony, Philips and Sharp are adopting Google's new Android TV platform Panasonic is releasing its first TVs powered by Mozilla's Firefox OS in the Spring. - www.bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Lenny Henry's radio dream still distant

A few minutes later, I was still puzzling over the comment 'Are you looking for a computer' when looking through the workshop window into the open-planned office I saw the producer now at his desk, and a man from computer support attending him and a hot flush of recognition washed over me that my fellow producer had mistaken me for a technician from computer support. End Quote Colin Grant Keeping status quo If some supposedly enlightened people in the BBC find it difficult to conceive of a black producer is it surprising that black subjects for programme-making are similarly invisible to them or inconsequential - www.bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Google hopes Android TV means third time lucky for their home invasion

Now in 2015 there's Android TV. Will it take off The trouble with quotConnected TVsquot is that though almost every TV now sold can go online, few owners take advantage of it. Google's Android TV has plenty of competition there are about 20m units of Apple's set-top box, Apple TV, installed worldwide Roku has sold 10m devices in the US alone since 2008 and Amazon offers Fire TV. Samsung uses its home-grown Tizen software for smart TVs, while LG has webOS. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

STV Edinburgh's The Fountainbridge Show broadcasts on January 12

The city channel will launch with the magazine show at 7pm, which will be followed by Edinburgh's Murder Mysteries at 9pm, STV Edinburgh News at 10pm and Peter Roughie's Football Show at 11pm. The Fountainbridge Show will be presented nightly from the studio by former Heart and Real Radio breakfast show host Ewen Cameron and broadcaster and presenter Hayley Matthews. STV Edinburgh will broadcast on Freeview channel 23, Sky channel 117 and Virgin channel 159 and will be available to watch live on the STV Player. - edinburgh.stv.tv

edinburgh.stv.tv

Ian Burrell: BBC survived Margaret Thatcher's hostility but still faces political opposition

David Cameron's criticisms of the BBC over its quotWigan Pierquot coverage of the Autumn Statement can be seen in a broader context departing Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards complained to this newspaper last week of the cosy relations between Government officials and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp as it sought to outgun the BBC by taking full control of BSkyB. Douglas Hurd, the Home Secretary at the time, has since written of his alarm at a quotGrowing obsession against the BBCquot. Mrs Thatcher was furious about a 1985 Real Lives documentary that gave a platform to former IRA commander Martin McGuinness - and the BBC's governors pulled the programme under intense political pressure. - www.independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

UTV Ireland becomes Republic's first new commercial broadcaster since 1998

UTV Ireland, the first new commercial terrestrial TV broadcaster to launch in the Republic since TV3 in 1998, arrived on air on New Year's Day with a line-up including Emmerdale and Pat Kenny's Out With the Old and In With the U. The new offering by Belfast-based UTV, the channel 3 broadcaster in Northern Ireland and TalkSport owner, is up against TV3 - for 16 years the country's only significant commercial terrestrial TV broadcaster - its spin-off service 3e, and public service broadcaster RTE's two networks. UTV Ireland's flagship evening news programme, Ireland Live, launches on Monday night, hosted by Alison Comyn at 6.30pm before Comyn and Chris Donoghue team for a late bulletin at 10pm. Ireland's newest channel's viewing figures have been billed as disappointing in the Irish media - although new TV networks always take time to bed in, with viewers having to find the new service and get into the habit of coming back regularly. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

Anticipating developments in 2015

Expect to see a lot more interest in 4K or ultra-high-definition television and video, as screens become more affordable and services begin to launch. Cloud-based approaches to processing and storage will become increasingly important as broadcasters and service providers move from specialist equipment to general purpose computing platforms and software defined workflows. - informitv.com

informitv.com

Seiki First To Deliver Freeview Connect To The U.K.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - - With the goal of delivering simple connected TV experience, Seiki, a leading brand in HD and emerging 4K Ultra HD display market, today announced it will be the first major TV brand to introduce HD TV models in the U.K. featuring the new Freeview Connect TV service. quotThe goal of integrating Freeview Connect to Seiki TVs is to enable universal access to public service broadcasts via connected TVs in the U.K. market,quot said Mickey Cho, general manager at Seiki U.K. quotSeiki is proud to be one of the major TV brands working with Digital UK to build and provide Freeview-branded connected TVs. Seiki aims to bring to the market its own unique approach to make the connected TV experience simple and accessible to every TV buyer. - www.prnewswire.com

www.prnewswire.com

Netflix Cracks Down on VPN and Proxy "Pirates"

Netflix is starting to block subscribers who access its service using VPN services and other tools that bypass geolocation restrictions. Netflix is not the only streaming service that's targeting VPN and proxy users. - torrentfreak.com

torrentfreak.com

James Harding: British man plans ambitious project to globalise news

Brit media outlets, Brit passport holders at risk What does it mean for the quotFuture of Newsquot His Future of News deliberations feature quotThree interwoven strands technology, stories and peoplequot. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

The simple guide to changes at Magic Radio RadioWise

You're about to get TFM2, which is really Magic from Newcastle, which is becoming Metro Radio 2, on AM. However, if you continue to listen to Magic on DAB in any of these places, you'll hear soft pop from London. In a nutshell, your local Magic on AM will change its name to mirror its sister station, and Magic on FM in London will expand to be available on DAB radio everywhere. - radiowise.uk

radiowise.uk

'Fun' DAB+ test ends, but it's just the beginning for DAB+ in the UK

The UK's first major 'real life' test of the next generation of DAB digital radio involving the public has ended after four months on air, as broadcasters and multiplex operators continue to assess the advantages of using DAB in the UK. Fun Kids from Folder Media was made available on a trial basis from September 2014 to DAB listeners in North East Wales, West Cheshire and Liverpool, providing they had a next generation DAB set. As the number of radios that are compatible with DAB increase, Ofcom has stated that some of the capacity on the forthcoming second national commercial DAB multiplex can be reserved for such DAB services, but what exactly might launch in DAB will depend on who wins the coveted Digital 2 licence. - www.a516digital.com

www.a516digital.com

Is Vodafone Group plc Really About To Launch A Takeover Bid For Sky PLC?

As Sky points out, more than 60 million customers across its key markets of Britain, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Austria do not currently take pay-TV services, providing plenty of product penetration opportunities for Vodafone. Vodafone undoubtedly has the financial firepower to initiate a takeover of Sky, and promisingly the latter's shaky financial platform may allow Vodafone to walk away with a terrific deal - indeed, Moody's downgraded Sky's credit rating last month after the Brentford firm's European expansion doubled its debt to around pound7bn. I believe that any potential deal has the potential to vastly enhance Vodafone's earnings outlook. - www.fool.co.uk

www.fool.co.uk

Media: Chat shows with Graham Norton 31 Dec 14

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Wind-up radio inventor gets New Year Honour

Mr Baylis is currently heading a venture called Baylis Brands, which advises inventors about the best way to develop ideas and puts them in touch with other experts that can help turn their creations into marketable products. Mr Baylis' best known invention is the Baygen wind-up radio, which he came up with in 1991 while watching a documentary about Aids in Africa that proposed using educational radio programmes to tackle the virus' spread. An appearance on the BBC's Tomorrow's World in 1994 helped turn his invention into a commercial product. - www.bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

In Its Last 6 Months Of Existence, Aereo Subscriptions Grew 40%

CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves said in August that Aereo got quota lot of attention for a service that virtually nobody was using.quot Skeptics have questioned whether Aereo would have really garnered widespread consumer usage, since broadcast TV signals are already free over the air with an antenna. It's no wonder the same broadcasters who sued Aereo have been raising concerns in bankruptcy court that potential buyers of Aereo's technology could use it against them and once again infringe their copyrights. - blogs.wsj.com

blogs.wsj.com

Dish, Fox News Feud Again Illustrates How The Cable TV Industry Is Digging Its Own Grave

quotSince Dish dropped Fox News, Dish has focused on shifting blame instead of getting Fox News back on the air. But the facts speak for themselves - Dish has blocked more than 10 channels in the last six months alone,quot said the network statement. quotConsequently, Fox's fan base has besieged Dish with calls and emails since the channel went dark. By Fox's tally, about 180,000 complaint calls have been registered with the toll-free line Fox established for the Dish fight. At last count, 140,000-plus emails have been sent as well. - www.techdirt.com

www.techdirt.com

Margaret Thatcher secret papers: PM tried to force BBC to have ads to curb spending

A memo of their discussion shows that Mrs Thatcher raised quotThe possibility of introducing advertising on light music radio programmes should be consideredquot. A memo to the Home Office later in 1979 suggested that Mrs Thatcher had turned against the idea, saying quotThe Prime Minister... has decided that - on reflection - it would be a mistake for the Home Secretary even to raise the possibility of the BBC accepting radio advertising at this stage. - www.independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

Ofcom boss 'surprised' by informality between Murdoch and government

News Corp abandoned the controversial deal when it emerged that journalists at the News of the World had ordered the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler to be hacked. Richards told the Independent that communications between politicians' offices and News Corp lobbyists during the process had not been balanced. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

SES: ASTRA 2G SATELLITE ROARS INTO ORBIT

Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer of SES stated, quotWe would like to congratulate Airbus Defence and Space and ILS for the successful ASTRA 2G mission, a launch that marks the 24th SES satellite to be launched by ILS Proton, and the ninth Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet. The ASTRA 2G satellite completes our significant replacement investments at a strategic orbital neighbourhood over Europe and provides 10 incremental transponders for expansion while cementing our unique co-positioning satellite back-up-scheme. Detailing the programme, Halliwell added, quotThe spacecraft furthermore includes the capability to connect West Africa to Europe via Ka-band. In combination with ASTRA 2E and ASTRA 2F which were launched in September 2012 and 2013 respectively, ASTRA 2G is the culmination of our fleet renewal programme at the 28.2/28.5 degrees orbital arc. The new state-of-the-art SES satellites provide more focused and higher power to our broadcast customers, while the Ka-band on board supports the delivery of next-generation satellite broadband services as well as intercontinental connectivity between Africa and Europe. - www.ses.com

www.ses.com

Court allows Aereo to auction TV streaming technology assets

Dec 26 - A bankruptcy court has allowed defunct video streaming company Aereo Inc to auction its TV streaming technology assets, according to court papers published on Friday. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday that Aereo could sell its assets, after the company reached an agreement with broadcasters over the sale process. - www.reuters.com

www.reuters.com

MediaGuardian quiz of the year 2014

What is former Radio 5 Live controller Adrian van Klaveren's new job at the BBC Head of values, BBC Controller digital strategy, future media, BBC Director of strategic governance, BBC Head of strategic change, BBC News 21. Which of these BBC programme launches did Tony Hall NOT go to - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

Media: ABC Entertainment, Monty Penguin, Snow Wolf

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Change in Audio Formats

Why is BBC Radio changing the audio format of its radio streams We think most internet radios will still be able to receive our live radio streams. - iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk

iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk

Latest news from the licensing industry

Set to fully launch on January 7th 2015, Tiny Pop will be available on Freeview channel 126 across the whole UK. This extends SPT Networks' reach of children's programming on Freeview to two channels, with POP - aimed at older kids - already available on channel 125. Announcing the launch, Kate Marsh, SPT's EVP, Networks, Western Europe, said quotThis extended distribution on Freeview marks our commitment to continue to invest in our UK networks business. With the extension of Tiny Pop, SPT's reach on Freeview now spans five channels, and the introduction of this well-loved and established channel enables us to deliver a quality and fun alternative for families in Freeview homes. - www.licensing.biz

www.licensing.biz

Landmark 20 millionth digital radio set sold

The Christmas digital radio industry advertising campaign features Formula One host and ex-Gadget Show presenter Suzi Perry, running on over 100 commercial radio and BBC national and local radio stations, with the message that digital radio is the perfect gift and the endline quotIf you love radio, give digitalquot. Digital Radio UK CEO Ford Ennals says quotDAB is an overnight success story 20 years in the making. The sale of the 20 millionth digital radio, together with the expansion of DAB coverage and digital radio stations is a real milestone. There has never been a better time to buy or give a digital radio. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

SES: ASTRA 2G READY FOR DECEMBER 28 PROTON LAUNCH

LUXEMBOURG, December 22, 2014 - SES S.A. is pleased to announce that the ASTRA 2G satellite is ready for its scheduled launch on board an ILS Proton booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 28 at 033749 Baikonur Time. ASTRA 2G will be the twenty-fourth SES satellite to be launched by ILS Proton, and the ninth Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet. - www.ses.com

www.ses.com

BBC iPlayer tops list of corporation downloads

The BBC iPlayer app is by far the corporation's most popular download, with 30m transactions since its 2012 launch, while CBeebies Playtime is the most popular programme-related app with 3.4m. The iPlayer app was recently tweaked to extend the catch-up window for TV and radio programming from seven to 30 days making it even more attractive to users. In second place in a list of the BBC's 10 most popular apps published on Monday is BBC News, the corporation's oldest app launched in 2010, with 15m downloads. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

Feedback: Controller of Radio 4: 19 Dec 14

downloads.bbc.co.uk

#19 - Sony’s PR Disaster, Serial breaks records - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann

feedproxy.google.com

ISSUU - Broadcasting by Lyonsdown

Business Reporter Broadcasting TV wars Let battle commence BT vs Sky - issuu.com

issuu.com

Sky should continue to be forced to make sport available to other platforms

Media regulator Ofcom has said Sky should continue to be forced to make its sports channels available to other platforms but said it was quotLess clearquot that the same obligation should be extended to its rival BT. Ofcom said Sky's dominance of live Premier League football, where it has more than 75 of the rights and 80 of the market revenues, meant other pay-TV retailers would be harmed if it limited distribution of Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2. quotGiven Sky's continued strong market position, Ofcom is seeking views on its assessment that if there was limited distribution by Sky of its key sports content, competition between pay-TV retailers may be harmed. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

The great DAB digital radio station reshuffle: what's changing?

A516digital provides an overview of the developments and a guide of what's changing for listenersBauer Media, owners of stations including Absolute Radio, Kiss and Magic are shuffling their DAB stations around London's Magic is going nationwide on DAB, while Absolute Radio 90s moves to local DAB in parts of the UK. There's also changes to the distribution of Absolute Classic Rock, Kerrang, The Hits Radio, plus the roll-out of the Kiss Fresh and Kisstory stations in selected areas on local DAB. Rival Global Radio is currently in the process of developing its DAB profile its Smooth Radio network has recently moved to local DAB only, making way for Smooth Extra, launching late December. - www.a516digital.com

www.a516digital.com

Radio 4 announces partnership with TED Talks

Gwyneth Williams, the controller of Radio 4 BBC. Radio 4 has maintained its average listening age at 55 despite an ageing population. quotShe's a brilliant modern writer, of course Radio 4 is going to run her new short story collection. It's fiction and I think we are in a pre-election period. We at Radio 4 will carry on doing the very best that has been thought and said in the world and bring it to air. - www.independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

DTG :: News :: DTG Testing reveals challenges facing DTT receivers in White Space networks

Richard Carlton, associate director of DTG Testing, said quotThe DTG is proud to support Ofcom and the industry through the unique facilities and expert knowledge of DTG Testing, and the work of the Dynamic Spectrum Access Forum. DTG Testing's research is part of an ongoing pilot scheme to test different aspects of dynamic spectrum access, with a further Ofcom report due in early 2015. - dtg.org.uk

dtg.org.uk

Government should have no role in running of BBC World Service, says John Birt

John Birt, the former director general of the BBC, has said the government should no longer have any say in the running of the World Service after its funding was taken over by the BBC. Birt said it was a quotNonsensequot that the Foreign Office still had a role in the running of the global broadcaster and said it should be quotTaken out of the equationquot. quotOne of the biggest changes in the BBC's history took place without any public debate, a piece of skulduggery in the middle of the night,quot he told a conference on the future of BBC current affairs at London's City University on Thursday. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

BBC iPlayer Radio for Tablet - Android Apps on Google Play

App will run on v2.3.3 and above. The app will scale for any screen size but is optimum at small to medium screens. - play.google.com

play.google.com

BBC current affairs not doing enough to explain difficult issues, says John Birt

Birt, who brought his quotMission to explainquot approach to current affairs from LWT when he joined the BBC as deputy director general and director of news in 1987, said the BBC's on-air current affairs presence had been progressively dismantled. In order to restore its effectiveness, he called on James Harding, director of BBC news and current affairs, to be willing to quotTake on battles with other people in the BBCquot. However, Birt said the major part of Harding's BBC News division, the day-to-day news operation, was quotIn really good shape as good as it's ever beenquot. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

BBC News boss denies Panorama will be hived off into separate production unit

Longer investigations were not particularly suited for outsourcing, he said, adding the weekly show was an essential part quotOf BBC news and current affairs and not part of an independent separate ,quot he said in a wide-ranging speech at a conference on the future of the BBC at London's City University on Thursday. Harding said the scale of the job cuts had made quotMany people in the BBC news department unhappyquot but that efficiencies were necessary ahead of a year which will bring a general election and licence fee negotiations. - www.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com

'Electromagnetic smog' unlikely to harm humans

The researchers found no magnetic field effects in the various reactions studied. Further potential mechanisms of action will need to be studied before drawing firm conclusions on the risk presented by mobile phones, power lines and other sources of weak magnetic fields. - www.nhs.uk

www.nhs.uk

Premier Christian Radio to be 'evicted' from digital radio

quotMr Miliband told Premier todayquotI know the importance of Premier Radio. Peter Kerridge, CEO of Premier Christian Radio, said quotDespite months of negotiations with Arqiva, we have been unable to secure the renewal of our Digital One licence. But we still hope and pray for a last minute reprieve from eviction from the national network. - media.info

media.info

ITV suffers 2014 ratings woes

ITV is on course to suffer the most marked ratings declines of all the major broadcasters in 2014 as the World Cup failed to prevent its audience dropping 8%. - www.broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk