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Tuesday 18 February 2014, AM

CBS Admits Aereo Supreme Court Win Wouldn t Hurt CBS, Might Make Things Better For Everybody - Techdirt

It's part of a long, long history of broadcasters pretending that if things don't go just they way they want them to, they'll surely go out of business. The threat to pull broadcasts was aimed at scaring Congress into passing protectionist legislation, and as we noted at the time it's something CBS should just shut up and do -- given the public could probably come up for better uses for their spectrum. However, if that should happen, if the worst should happen, there are so many other alternatives that will not so this will not affect our bottom line. - techdirt.com

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Sky to be accused of ripping off X Factor rival show idea - TV Radio - Media - The Independent

After what they describe as eight months of negotiations with Skys commissioning team, the couple claim they were told the satellite broadcaster did not wish to proceed with their proposal. Wade and Perry allege that the shows use of a judging panel of celebrity singer-songwriters rather than music executives was another of their ideas. The show was made by Princess Productions, which is a subsidiary of Shine, the super-indie production company which Ms Murdoch founded in 2001. - independent.co.uk

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Court Favors BT in Sports-Channel Dispute With BSkyB - MarketWatch

Former telecom monopoly BT challenged the tribunal's decision, leading to Monday's ruling from the Court of Appeal. The court also dismissed a challenge brought by BSkyB to Ofcom's jurisdiction, and said the tribunal must reconsider the case. The outcome of the dispute could lead to cheaper packages of premium sports coverage for U.K. viewers, analysts said. - marketwatch.com

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Monday 17 February 2014, PM

BT wins court battle forcing review of Sky wholesale pricing decision - Media - theguardian.com

BT challenged this decision and on Monday the court of appeal handed down a judgment forcing the CAT to reopen the issue. A spokesman for Ofcom, which had its reputation battered by the CAT's original decision, said that it welcomed the decision. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - theguardian.com

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Parks Associates mobile research: TV apps gaining popularity, with 61% of tablet owners, 55% of smartphone owners using

The number of global TV app users on smartphones will reach 1.29 billion by 2018. For more information, contact salesparksassociates.com, call 972-490-1113, visit www.connectionsconference.com. - parksassociates.com

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Monday 17 February 2014, AM

TV viewing figures show Brits prefer traditional sets over smartphones - Media - The Guardian

Predictions of the death of living room TVs continue to be wide of the mark with 98.5 of average daily viewing done via traditional sets. The average UK viewer watched a total of three hours and 55 minutes of TV a day last year. This was a nine minute year-on-year drop, due in part to a comparison with the hugely popular London 2012 Olympics the previous year. - theguardian.com

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UKTV creates “built for innovation” new HQ - Rapid TV News

Editor 17-02-2014 Weeks after revealing record annual ratings for 2013, UKTV has announced its intention to create a new headquarters for its 250 staff. Technology will be at the heart of our progressive new workspace, and it will give everyone at UKTV the freedom to work creatively and collaboratively. - rapidtvnews.com

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Ad of the Day: Freeview - Cat and Budgie - The Drum

Freeview has been teasing us all week with its catandbudgie What happens next trailer, and we certainly didnt see this coming. The trail ominously cut off with the cat managing to open the poor budgies cage and to be honest we thought the little bird would either be lunch, or about to star in its own version of Sylvester and Tweety Piehow wrong we were. - thedrum.com

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Clover s Week: A change of view

When Canvas was making its regulatory progress it was suggested that outside partners be brought in. The Adshel posters dont dispel the image either. The men in suits were sniffy about Skys involvement in YouView, but as it turned out the platform has given a home to its Now TV service. - broadbandtvnews.com

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Despite rise of the tablet, TV set viewings are still strong - TV Radio - Media - The Independent

Just 1.5 of television viewing was on other screens such as tablets, laptops and mobiles, according to the figures released by television marketing body, Thinkbox. The average viewer watched just over three hours, 55 minutes of TV a day during 2013. Of that figure, just three minutes, 30 seconds a day of live stream viewing was conducted via PCs and mobile devices. - independent.co.uk

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Sunday 16 February 2014, PM

BT needs to up its game in the pay-TV market - Business - The Observer

BT needs to find its own Game of Thrones if it is not to be dwarfed by Sky. Industry observers suggest that BT may well look to follow Sky into film and entertainment next, adding another pillar of must-watch programming to its offering. Netflix has shown the power of a well-marketed TV property. - theguardian.com

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Alan Yentob: 'The BBC can't compete with its hands tied behind its back' - Media - The Guardian

They ask us to move as flashes from the camera can be seen on-screen on the BBC News Channel illustrating the perils of having a newsroom as a backdrop for live bulletins. Yentob apologises and we retire to his office a former radio drama kitchen that sits between Old and New Broadcasting House. His office is narrow but cosy desk stacked with books and an Alan Yentob mask someone sent him. - theguardian.com

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As the waters rise, the sands run out for BBC funding - Media - The Observer

Tony Hall, keeper of the flame, was doing his valiant best last week. Come April, the Foreign Office grant that sustains the service all 245m of it per year stops short. The BBC and Lord Hall will have to find that money from licence-fee payers with 700m in wider cuts looming. - theguardian.com

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Friday 14 February 2014, PM

BBC - Blogs - About the BBC - What's on BBC Red Button, 15-21 February

- bbc.co.uk

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Feedback: Climate change: 14 Feb 14

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BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - BBC iPlayer Radio: your feedback

Im the senior product manager for BBC iPlayer Radio. A lot of these pages were being duplicated in BBC iPlayer. We appreciate that this is inconvenient and we looked really carefully at whether there was a way of transferring those favourites across, but unfortunately we couldnt find a simple way to do it. - bbc.co.uk

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Can we save AM radio? - The Verge

In its first 50 years, AM was a large enough player in the media landscape that it required lots of technical regulations to keep stations from interfering with one anothers signals while simultaneously serving their communities with adequate signals. Now that its audience is relatively microscopic and competition is low, those regulations need to be relaxed to make AM a viable medium, especially for minority and rural read small-budget broadcasters to be able to effectively serve their communities. If the FCC doesnt adopt these rules, or something like them, the AM band may simply be too big of a hassle for Americans to both produce for and listen to. - theverge.com

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Media Talk podcast - TV Lair special

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Virgin Media falls behind as rivals BT and BSkyb sign up more customers - Media - theguardian.com

Virgin Media chief Tom Mockridge has said the companys cable business is improving in the face of more competition. The cable TV and telecoms operator added 18,600 pay-TV customers and 39,100 broadband customers in the three months to the end of December. BT's multi-billion pound drive into top-flight sports rights, including Premier League football, helped it add 70,000 TV customers and 150,000 broadband customers. - theguardian.com

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Friday 14 February 2014, AM

DTG :: News :: Report: 6 Billion new internet-enabled devices to be produced in 2014

The global market for connected devices that allow users to access the Internet is set to surpass 6 billion units this year, as new products including mobile phones, tablets and computers enter the electronics ecosystem, according to a new report from IHS Technology. Worldwide production of connected equipment will amount to 6.18 billion units in 2014, up a solid 6 percent from 5.82 billion in 2013, so the report. This will be the largest increase for the market in four years, surpassed only by the 10 percent hike in production during 2010, a year after the global economic recession ended. - dtg.org.uk

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Ready to break the internet? Netflix s House of Cards premiere is a big test of how video gets to yo

The buffering in Wheelers bedroom is familiar to any American who has tried to stream video over the internet at night, when their neighbors are doing the same thing. Look at the dip in average download speed between 8pm in the chart below where each datapoint spans the following two hours During that primetime, about a thirdpdf of all internet traffic heading into North American homes is carrying data-heavy movies and TV showsfrom Netflix. Transmitting all those bitswill become an increasingly severe challenge as more people opt for streaming video over traditional television. - qz.com

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Thursday 13 February 2014, PM

DEBATE: ITV - to Be or not to Be - Comment - Broadcast

Is ITVs decision to launch a new female-focussed channel on the money Meanwhile, ITV2 will feature scripted and entertainment content for 16-34 year-olds, such as Plebs and Celebrity Juice. - broadcastnow.co.uk

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BBC World Service's sponsored content plan will 'threaten impartiality' - Media - theguardian.com

Peter Horrocks, BBC director of global news, said sponsored content on the World Service would enable them to make new investments. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - theguardian.com

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Linking to a website doesn't infringe copyright, Europe's Court of Justice says - PCWorld

Retriever provided its customers with hyperlinks to articles written by the journalists that were published and freely accessible on the website of the Gteborgs-Posten. Retriever did not however ask the journalists for permission to link to the articles. Retriever presented the linked articles in such a way that gave the impression that they appeared on Retrievers site. - pcworld.com

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Apple in Talks to Revamp Set-Top Box - WSJ.com

Apple might consider seeking some rights directly in the future, one of the people said. One of the people said Apple was aiming to release the new set-top box as early as June, though another cautioned the device might not be ready for several months after that. Apple TV, a digital media player introduced in 2007, offers users access to iTunes movies on the larger screen of a television as well as streaming video from Netflix, Hulu and other online services. - online.wsj.com

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Accenture tries to find material gains from the BBC's DMI debacle - Media Monkey - Media - theguardian.com

Accenture's report on the BBC's DMI debacle contains a fascinating glossary of terms. DMI, of course, turned out not to be FitNesse for purpose. Now the BBC, having to spend 3m a year on a database system that previously cost less than 1m, has had to cut its cloth rather differently. - theguardian.com

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Thursday 13 February 2014, AM

ITV's 'channel for women' isn't necessarily a disaster for feminism - Daisy Buchanan - Comment is free - theguardian.com

Gemma from The Only Way Is Essex, series 4. Photograph ITV ITV reckons it knows what women want. Let's spoil ourselves with a scrape of low-fat cheese spread on a dark rye cracker - theguardian.com

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Wednesday 12 February 2014, PM

Media: Al Jazeera; Panel Shows; Exposes; Twitter

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ITV to launch 'The Only Way is Essex' channel - Telegraph

When it launches later this year, ITV Encore will target households with premium Sky subscriptions and an appetite for quality and original drama. The Only Way is Essex, known as Towie to its fans, was first broadcast in 2010 and is due to return for an 11th series this year. - telegraph.co.uk

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DTG :: News :: Virgin Media announces two millionth TiVo customer

Virgin Media has announced that it has sold its two millionth TiVo receiver to the Lynch family from Manchester. The family had the device installed at their home alongside a surprise visit from Dancing on Ice and Hollyoaks star Jennifer Metcalfe. TiVo brings your favourite TV right to you, so we thought we'd go even further for Chris and Leigh by surprising them with a visit from their favourite television celebrity. - dtg.org.uk

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At last: an in-car DAB radio that looks quite good

Regularly, I'll moan and grump about the user experience for radios. Mostly designed by engineers, the user experience for most radio receivers that I've ever played with is woeful. Nowhere is this more the case than in-car. - mediauk.com

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Wednesday 12 February 2014, AM

Ariel - WS future funding not yet clear

12 February 2014 Last updated at 1030 Peter Horrocks admits there are no guarantees over future funding levels for the World Service. 'It would be preferable to have a longer term commitment,' conceded Horrocks, who pointed out that the Foreign Office had reduced World Service funding over the last three or four years. 'If that's not the case, we'll work within the circumstances.' Sponsorship It is likely, however, that it will be able to top up its licence fee funding with income from 'a limited amount of advertising and sponsored content that is not news and current affairs'. - bbc.co.uk

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ITV to launch ITVBe - presscentre

ITVBe, which will launch towards the end of the year, will be wholly funded by advertising and sponsorship, and will be available free on all the major broadcasting platforms, including Freeview, Sky and Virgin. ITVBe will complement ITV2 which will continue to strengthen its position as the home of unashamed entertainment for 16-34 year olds, focusing on scripted series, irreverent panel shows and formats, and youth skewing commissions and acquisitions with bold humour at their heart. We identified an opportunity to develop what is currently part of the ITV2 schedule - reality and non-scripted shows, which are very popular with young women and housewives with kids - into a distinct channel proposition, aimed more squarely at that audience. - itv.com

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Michael Grade: My blueprint for the BBC - Media - News - The Independent

How can the BBC argue its case to survive against such odds Intellectual logic, both economic and social how better could we spend 3.5bn is against it. On the other hand, political sentiment will usually follow the public mood and this is where the BBC scores heaviest. - independent.co.uk

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Have a look at community television Estuary TV on Freeview Channel 8. - HU12 Online

The channel, broadcasting from Grimsby, is bringing a daily diet of local community news stories and has an ethos of aiming to involve local people in creating local television. As a website aimed at bringing local news to a very local audience, HU12 Online is extremely interested and very supportive of the Estuary TV project. We urge our readers to have a look at Estuary TV and let us know what you think you may have to re-tune your digital TV receiver first. - hu12online.net

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Tuesday 11 February 2014, PM

Greg Dyke criticises Lord Patten after 'dismal' year for BBC - Media - theguardian.com

One shouldn't confuse what the Daily Mail thinks with what Daily Mail readers think. - gu.com

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Michael Grade calls for smaller BBC - Media - theguardian.com

Michael Grade told the Commons culture select committee that Channel 4 should be turned into a publicly funded broadcaster. 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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RadioToday - Financial Times sponsors new UK wide LBC

Global has secured a partnership with the Financial Times for LBCs national launch today. The station is now Leading Britains Conversation and is available nationwide on DAB. The station also has a revamped logo which swaps rugged edges for straight lines. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Tuesday 11 February 2014, AM

BBC - Blogs - About the BBC - The BBC World Service's funding may change – standards will not

Everyone in the city knows that at any minute they might be dead. When the World Service started broadcasting in 1932, John Reith warned listeners to keep their expectations low. The World Service is the BBC our reputation is founded on it. From April, the World Service budget of 245m will be paid by the licence fee, not by Foreign Office grant-in-aid as it has been for decades. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - Media Centre - Janice Hadlow to step down as Controller of BBC Two

In her new role as Controller, Special Projects and Seasons, she will develop and originate high impact cross-platform series, seasons and other major television events. Janice will also advise Danny Cohen and the Channel Controllers on broadcast strategy. Janices new role will involve identifying ideas of scale and ambition which will work across BBC output to maximise quality and distinctiveness. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC News - Pirated Sky TV sold for £10 a month

Criminal gangs are selling hacked pay television services at a fraction of their true cost, a BBC investigation has revealed. Subscribers to satellite or cable TV can pay more than 80 a month to legitimately receive premium packages. Ahmed did not respond to a request for a comment. - bbc.co.uk

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Ofcom - Determination of financial terms for the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences

Published 110214 Introduction The Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences are due to expire on 31 December 2014. Each of the current licence holders has applied for a renewal of their licences. Ofcom has decided to renew the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences. - stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

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YouView snubbed as broadcasters back Freeview Connect - informitv

The BBC must be currently considering whether its multimillion-pound commitment to YouView represents value for television licence fee payers. British broadcasters are instead expected to back yet another brand, Freeview Connect. The report was delivered to the BBC in November 2013 and has now been published and presented to the government. - informitv.com

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Janice Hadlow set to leave BBC2 - 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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Tony Hall: The BBC World Services funding may change – standards will not - Opinion - Media - The Independent

Nomsa Maseko told BBC1 viewers she was 10 years old when Mandela finally left prison. Everyone in the city knows that at any minute they might be dead. When the World Service started broadcasting in 1932, John Reith warned listeners to keep their expectations low. The World Service is the BBC our reputation is founded on it. - independent.co.uk

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Monday 10 February 2014, PM

Calls for clampdown on drivers watching TV - Motors.co.uk

Road safety groups are calling for a clampdown on drivers who watch television at the wheel, in response to a growing trend that has been branded irresponsible and stupid by government ministers. To comply with the rules of the road which state that it is illegal to watch a screen other than one displaying driving information almost all turn themselves off when the car is in motion. Its very stupid for drivers to buy these devices - AA president Edmund King However, a growing number of companies are offering gadgets that bypass this safety mechanism, leaving drivers free to illegally watch their favourite programs while on the road. - motors.co.uk

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Ariel - BBC Trust to review network radio

The second review, due to begin in the summer, will look at speech stations such as Radio 4 and 5 live, plus their spin-offs Radio 4 Extra and 5 live Sports Extra. They will form part of the Trust's rolling programme of reviews, where the governing body assesses each BBC service at least once every five years. The Trust will also launch public consultations, inviting the views of licence fee payers, and conduct audience research. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - BBC Trust - Trust to review BBC's UK radio stations in 2014

Notes to editors Further information about the Trust's programme of service reviews can be found here. The Trust's 2013 progress report on service reviews, published alongside the 2012/13 Annual Report, can be found here. - bbc.co.uk

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Monday 10 February 2014, AM

BBC iPlayer - Help - Why are you separating iPlayer and iPlayer Radio?

Since launching BBC iPlayer in 2007, we've gradually made lots of changes to improve it. Over time, it's become clear that what works best for watching TV doesn't necessarily match what is best for radio. Overall we think the experience of radio will be richer in iPlayer Radio, and more tailored to listening than watching. - iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk

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BBC News - BBC trials Instagram news service for 15-second bulletins

The BBC is trialling a new Instagram news service, Instafax, to deliver 15-second news bulletins. - bbc.co.uk

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