BBC News - TV licence fee non-payment could be decriminalised

8 March 2014 Last updated at 0348 Not paying the TV licence fee could become a civil offence, rather than a criminal one, under plans being considered by ministers. The BBC said changing the law could lead to more people failing to pay. In 2012 about 155,000 were convicted and fined for not paying the 145.50 fee. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC News - Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy video game returns

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game embarks on its next chapter on Saturday with the launch of a new online game. The updated version has been made to coincide with the 30th Anniversary of the award-winning game, 36 years to the day since the programme's first-ever radio broadcast. The first two series of the radio programme will be aired on BBC Radio 4Extra from 6pm this evening. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - Blogs - About the BBC - What's on BBC Red Button, 8-14 March

As always sports fans have ample reason to press red, with Six Nations highlights and a Formula1 preview on offer. Catch up with highlights andfeatures from the festival on Red Button - this weekend is your last chance to watch With the Formula One season fast approaching, tune in for a special F1 Season Preview show. - bbc.co.uk

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The BBC, not its young viewers, might be the biggest losers when BBC3 goes - Ben Ferguson - Comment is free - theguardia

Frankie in the BBC3 programme Growing Up Poor. My job was to find three boys who would be happy to let us follow them around their daily lives. The search took me to some of the most deprived parts of the UK. - theguardian.com

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Ariel - Staff have done enough to cope with cuts

The director of television believed programme makers had 'done enough' in working longer hours to turn smaller budgets into great tv, while senior managers 'avoided' difficult choices. Speaking to staff about the money-saving decision, announced on Thursday, to move BBC Three from a television to online service, Cohen admitted it had been a 'painful and difficult' couple of days. 'It's an opportunity for radical thinking and unprecedented collaboration.' 40-minute docs He expected the channel, which will have a 30m content budget, to continue to make a similar mix of shows - albeit considerably fewer of them - but with the 'freedom to break the traditional shackles' of linear schedules. - bbc.co.uk

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DTG :: News :: Children watch nearly 90% of TV live

89 of children's TV viewing is still live, reveals the TV Licensing report, Telescope 2014 out today. 8 of the 10 most popular kids TV programmes are shown on school days between 430pm and 630pm. The report also revealed that children spend an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day watching TV an hour and a half less than the national average. - dtg.org.uk

dtg.org.uk

Feedback: The Oscars, Long Wave Broadcasting House 7 Mar 14

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BBC3 closure: now director of TV refuses to guarantee the future of BBC4 - Media - The Guardian

However, Cohen said the BBC had no choice because of the 2010 licence fee settlement, which saw the corporation take on extra funding responsibilities such as the World Service. We don't know for certain what will happen with BBC4 in the future. They will be seen as a warning shot, across the bows of opinion makers and the government, that further cuts to its funding in the next licence fee deal with result in the loss of more services including the politicians' favourite, BBC4. - theguardian.com

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BBC News - DG Tony Hall defends making BBC Three online-only

The decision to make the channel only available via the iPlayer is expected to contribute towards the corporation's plan to save 100m by 2016. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - Media Centre - BBC Cymru Wales and S4C announce changes regarding broadcast pattern of Pobol Y Cwm

O fis Medi 2014 ymlaen, bydd yr ail-ddarllediad brynhawn Sul o ddigwyddiadaur wythnos yng nghyfres ddrama BBC Cymru yn dod i ben. Dywedodd S4C fod y penderfyniad yn adlewyrchu newidiadau i batrymau gwylio syn wynebu pob darlledwr, ac oherwydd fod y penodau diweddaraf iw gweld erbyn hyn ar-lein ar Clic ac iPlayer. Maer penderfyniad hefyd yn adlewyrchur angen i dorri costau ar adeg anodd iawn o ran cyllid. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC THREE goes online only: but how does this save money?

This step alone is being touted by the press as how the BBC will save money. In any case, as pointed out below, the BBC needs them during the day for the childrens channels. That has saved the BBC 3m a year. - mediauk.com

www.mediauk.com

SaveBBC3

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BBC News - BBC Three: Russell Kane on why channel should not be axed

The television channel, BBC Three, is expected to become online-only, as part of the corporation's plans to save 100m. The channel has an annual budget of around 90m and a weekly audience of around 4m. - bbc.co.uk

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Comedians in revolt as bosses plot to close £90m-a-year youth channel BBC3 - TV Radio - Media - The Independent

Lord Hall said further cuts are required to allow the BBC to deliver an additional 100 million of savings. It is still only halfway through a 700 million programme of cuts. A previous BBC management decision to close the 6 Music radio station was reversed by the Trust after a lobbying campaign by listeners. - independent.co.uk

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Media: BBC 3 online only; Vice news; net neutrality.

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Media Talk podcast: BBC3 to be axed

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BBC News - BBC Three to be axed as on-air channel

The BBC will make an official announcement on Thursday, media correspondent David Sillito said. The channel's service budget was 85m in 2013/14 - although moving the channel online would not eradicate those costs entirely. However, he added, the move to iPlayer would make sense for the station's target audience of 16-34 year-olds. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - Media Centre - Radio 5 live celebrates 20th birthday

The six days of celebrations begins on Sunday 23 March when Drive presenter Peter Allen starts a week of presenter swaps where he will front a number of 5 live programmes, leaving his regular show to be co-hosted by some equally special combinations. Peter, who has been with 5 live since the launch day 20 years ago, will join Ian Wright and Kelly Cates on Sunday 23 March to present football phone-in 606. Full schedule below. Since its launch in 1994, 5 live has been BBC Radios home of news and live sport. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC3 on the brink of online move - News - Broadcast

Update: The BBC wants to change BBC3 from a traditional TV channel to an online-only brand that will super-charge the iPlayer. BBC director general Tony Hall has made it clear that evolving the VoD platform is one of his highest priorities, and an announcement that BBC3 will become part of iPlayer, as revealed by Broadcast, is now expected tommorrow (6 March). The move will then have to be ratified by the BBC Trust. Hall’s Oxford Media Convention speech was full of hints about scaling back services and initial reaction focused on the axe falling on BBC4. But multiple top-level execs dismissed the idea that the former Royal Opera House chief executive would ditch the arts channel, and instead revealed the emergence of the proposals surrounding BBC3. Repurposing BBC3 will attempt to achieve two aims at once: contributing to Hall’s plans to save £100m by 2016, and boosting his vision to make iPlayer the “front door” to the corporation’s television and radio services. Sources agreed that the addition of an online-only BBC3 would increase iPlayer’s firepower, but there are concerns about the wholesale transition.

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Lord Hall's axeing of BBC3 is the least worst way of saving money - Media - theguardian.com

If the reports of BBC3's demise are correct, and I imagine they are, then it is obviously not a time for rejoicing. Surely no-one believed that that the BBC could go on delivering on all fronts when its budget has been constrained due to the licence fee freeze at a time when it has also been required to take on extra commitments. Of all the cuts that could be made, the axing of BBC3 is unquestionably the most sensible or perhaps the least worst. - theguardian.com

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BBC3 to be axed under director general's plans - Media - theguardian.com

Tony Hall's plans must be approved by the BBC Trust. His decision also signals a reprieve for its sister channel, the arts and culture specialist BBC4, which has faced calls for it to be axed and merged into BBC2 although it is not clear if the channels will subsequently be renumbered. Critics of the BBC's size had singled it out as a candidate for closure, seizing on what they perceived to be its salacious and celebrity-obsessed content. - theguardian.com

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Ariel - No decisions yet over BBC Three future

Bad Education's Whitehall said its 'support of new comedy in particular is vital', while Lucas - whose Little Britain began its tv life on the channel - called the rumours that it may close 'horrible'. They hope a Twitter protest can repeat the success of the celebrity-backed public campaign that overturned the decision to close 6 Music four years ago. Last week, the director general told the Oxford Media Convention that the 'status quo was unlikely to be an option' as the BBC faced a flat licence fee and new obligations, although he did not point the finger at any specific service. - bbc.co.uk

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YouView: "All of our shareholders are pleased" - IP TV News

We also added market-leading accessibility functionality including zoom, high contrast EPG and compatibility with Grid 2 software. Its a strong partnership and all of our shareholders are pleased with the success of YouView in just 18 months. Looking ahead, what do you think YouView will have to do to remain significant in such a rapidly changing ecosystem Its important to remember that UK consumers arent as far ahead with technology adoption as we think, so it always needs to be relevant and compelling to them. - iptv-news.com

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BBC eyes online-only future for BBC3 - News - Broadcast

The BBC is drawing up plans to turn BBC3 into an online-only channel, Broadcast can reveal. The idea is emerging as a favoured proposal that would both prepare the corporation for a revolution in TV viewing and help it find £100m in savings. Several BBC sources indicated that a plan to move the channel onto iPlayer is being discussed at the highest level, although no formal decisions have been taken. One senior industry figure said they were “certain” it is on the corporation’s agenda.- broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Don't axe BBC3, stars plead - Media - theguardian.com

Axing BBC3 would save nearly 90m in programming costs, the lion's share of the 100m that Hall has to save. The cuts come on top of the 700m of savings the corporation is already making. - theguardian.com

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Ofcom - Assessing the impact of second screen

A report for Ofcom by Technologia There has been a proliferation in the number of second screen applications available for hand held devices such as tablets and smart phones, which facilitate interaction with content viewed on TV. In order to improve our understanding of second screen applications, Ofcom commissioned a report from Technologia. This report explores top level functionality, technologies, and the commercial landscape of second screens, and analyses the significance of second screen applications in providing new access services to consumers, and Rich EPG functionality for TV viewing. - stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

Mary Beard wants viewers to switch off TV shows that do not represent women - Television radio - The Guardian

Classics professor Mary Beard says older male television presenters are still seen as the voice of authority. - theguardian.com

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Technology vs TV - Comment - Broadcast

If you were to run a survey to find out how people watch television today, you’d learn nothing you haven’t heard before: the majority of TV viewing is linear and beamed to the box in the living room. So there can’t have been the faintest twitch of an eyelid when a recent Thinkbox study confirmed our viewing preferences. So why would the organisation that commissioned stimulating studies such as Screen Life: TV in demand six months ago bother to state the obvious? Fearful of losing the goose that lays the £1 billion advertising egg, ITV, alongside some of its peers, wants to maintain the status quo. To forget conveniently that the take-up of online TV is higher in the UK than in other major TV markets and ignore that the advancement of technology goes hand in hand with changes in the behaviours of society. broadcastnow.co.uk

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One in four European internet users see content blocking - informitv

Nearly one in four European internet users said they have experienced blocking of content or applications by their service provider, while four out of ten had experienced difficulties due to download capacity. These are among the findings of a survey of 28,000 people across the European Union, which is seeking to establish regulations to ensure an open internet across Europe. The representative survey across 28 member states found that 24 had experienced blocking of online content or applicationswhen using their household internet subscription, while 39 had experienced difficulties accessing online content and applications due to insufficient speed or download capacity, rising to 43 for those using the internet with a mobile device. - informitv.com

informitv.com

Discovery and Viacom bid for C5 - News - Broadcast

Discovery, MTV-owner Viacom and UKTV-backer Scripps Network are among the companies battling to acquire Channel 5. Saban Capital, the investment company run by multi-billionaire Power Rangers owner Haim Saban, has also submitted a bid for the Northern & Shell-owned broadcaster. . - broadcastnow.co.uk

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ITV confirms major shake-up of Daybreak - Advertising news - Campaign

Crozier said another area of the business perceived to be underperforming was ITV's men's channel ITV4. Chiles and Bleakley left the show in November 2011, with viewing figures plummeting as low as 500,000. This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk comments powered by ' else if google_ads.length gt 1 / For text ads, append each ad to the string. - campaignlive.co.uk

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BT YouView box (2014 model) review - seenit.co.uk

Its partly for this reason that YouView and Humax last year updated the retail version, adding a fashionable Silver/White fascia to give it a more modern look. But, beyond the new exterior, the revamped DTR-1010 was identical to its predecessor with the same specs and performance. BTs new box, though still made by Humax, is a radical departure from earlier models, being around 1/3 narrower, dropping the front scrolling LCD display and introducing a brand-new look. - seenit.co.uk

www.seenit.co.uk

Is news ruining our lives? - Snowblog - Snowblog

I thought you might be interested in my answer What is news We are amid the greatest revolution human life has ever known the liberation of communication in the hands of the many as well as that dangerous few. Yes, of course the danger is there the danger that what we call news maybe hijacked, distorted, lied about, propogandised. - blogs.channel4.com

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a516digital: BBC local radio spotted testing on Freeview in West Midlands

The test is hidden from most Freeview receivers. The BBC's plans regarding local radio in England are currently unknown. - a516digital.com

www.a516digital.com

Feedback: The Exorcist: 28 Feb 14

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BBC and BSkyB reach agreement over retransmission payments - Media - theguardian.com

BBC director general Tony Hall made ther issue of retransmission fees a priority. They have also agreed a new long-term carriage deal for BBC services and the iPlayer on-demand service on Sky's satellite platform. The BBC raised the stakes last year, threatening to charge Sky for its content, following a call by culture minister Ed Vaizey for the satellite broadcaster to scrap the charges earlier in 2013. - theguardian.com

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Ariel - Sky retransmission fees dropped

28 February 2014 Last updated at 1428 The BBC no longer has to pay Sky to transmit on the company's platforms. Sky currently charges the corporation 4.5 million a year, but both organisations have reached an agreement where the payment has been dropped completely. Friday's agreement follows pressure from the government and PSBs on Sky to stop charging the fees. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Cat and Bird's Duet Will Restore Your Faith in CGI-Enhanced Animals

Freeview, a UK-based free-to-air digital terrestrial service, is making a name for itself outside of its home region with this little ad. - mashable.com

mashable.com

Sky drops BBC retransmission fees - 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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Ariel - Trust approves plans for online store

People will be able to use the iPlayer to search for shows, buy them through links to BBC Store and watch them via the catch-up service. Suzanna Taverne, lead trustee on the assessment, said 'The BBC needs to respond to significant changes in the way audiences now buy programmes. In a letter to the trust, the regulator said the service was likely to 'provide an attractive consumer proposition over time' that would increase consumer choice. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Ariel - Where would we be without the BBC?

27 February 2014 Last updated at 1010 Charter renewal negotiations may have to wait until after next year's general election, but that doesn't mean the debate isn't ramping up already. 'The last charter renewal went on for far too long,' the culture secretary told the gathering of media workers and academics. It also discovered that total TV industry revenue was likely to drop, by anything between 10-25, if the licence fee was taken away. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

DTG :: News :: ZTE launches 4K p60 Ultra HD STB

H.265 is the next generation super HD code transmission specification, which delivers encoded video using half the bandwidth of the previous generation H.264, with the same quality. TheH.265 standard will gradually replace H.264 to become the mainstream standard of the next generation of video transmission. DTG Staff 27.02.2014 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk

dtg.org.uk

BBC charter renewal talks set for 2015 - News - Broadcast

27 February, 2014 By Kate Bulkley, Jake Kanter Formal charter renewal negotiations are unlikely to begin in earnest until after the general election in 2015, it has emerged. BBC director general Tony Hall used his Oxford Media Convention address to mount a passionate defence of the licence fee and demonstrate how savings, organisational changes and digital projects will position the corporation to meet future audience needs. - broadcastnow.co.uk

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Media Talk podcast: No BBC for an independent Scotland?

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Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Study reveals how cutting BBC licence fee would reduce choice

Total investment in programmes would be 5-25 lower with investment in new UK programmes likely to be 25-50 lower, which would be a severe blow to UK production companies as well as to viewers. The report says that these projections are conservative, if anything, since they assume that the BBC crowds out some of the investment in programming that would otherwise be made by commercial broadcasters. On balance, the evidence suggests that, on the contrary, the BBC probably forces commercial channels to spend more on programmes in order to attract viewers. - reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk

ITV can play on the world stage, Adam Crozier has shown - Business - The Guardian

Adam Crozier has strategic problems other CEO's would envy. It may be churlish of investors to ask the question of ITV's chief executive, Adam Crozier, but that's what happens when a share price doubles in little more than a year. These are nice strategic problems to have, of course, and Crozier has a further 12 months to draw up his second five-year plan. - theguardian.com

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Ariel - Tony Hall says BBC must make tough choices

He also pointed out that, in 2006, the corporation employed 635 people in the core finance team but, by 2016, that figure would fall to around 280. Licence fee Hall also used his platform to champion the licence fee ahead of Charter Renewal in 2017, saying that public support for it stands at 53. He spoke of shrinking margins, explaining that the BBC receives about 25 of broadcasting revenues. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC could axe frontline channel or service as it seeks extra £100m in cuts - Media - theguardian.com

So, we are in the final stages of a budget process to find an extra 100m of savings. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. - theguardian.com

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Media: Licence fee; Lord Hunt on IPSO; Paul Foot award

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BBC faces 'tough choices' over cost cutting, says Tony Hall - Media - theguardian.com

Tony Hall will say that the BBC should be run more like John Lewis. He will say the BBC, much criticised for its multimillion-pound payoffs to former senior staff, should be run more like John Lewis, which is owned by its 85,000 partners, than a big bank or financial institution. The BBC is an essential part of that. - theguardian.com

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