Study: Pay TV Industry Sees First-Ever Subscriber Decline in Western Europe - The Hollywood Reporter

The U.K. reported a subscriber gain for 2012, but that was outweighed by drops elsewhere, including big declines in Spain and Italy. In the Southern European nations, financial crisis and a weak economy also have been a drag on box-office trends and TV advertising spending. The region ended 2012 with about 92.6 million pay TV subscribers, down from 93 million at year-end 2011, Informa Telecoms Media said. - hollywoodreporter.com

www.hollywoodreporter.com

BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - What's on BBC Red Button 23 February - 2 March

Weve got something for everyone coming up on Red Button this week. Watch the programme exploring how the last 100 years have changed music, and then press red to see the special performances in full. There are 11 questions to test their knowledge, simply answer by pressing the coloured buttons on the remote control. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC - Inside the BBC - Pollard Review Appendices Transcripts

From the thousands of pages that are being published, roughly 3 of the transcripts have been redacted for a very limited number of legal reasons. It has not been an entirely comfortable process for us to go through but it is right that we did it this way. It is important that the BBC now moves forward with the lessons learned and continues to regain the publics trust. Important note 1. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

ITV plans radical shake-up of regional news - News - Broadcast

22 February, 2013 By Jake Kanter ITV plans to radically overhaul its nations and regions news output scaling back regional bulletins in favour of providing more tailored local content. It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - Designing the Connected Red Button

We thought now would be a good time to share some of the thinking behind the design approach. The live service The project began in mid 2011 when the design team received the brief for a reimagining of the Red Button service for connected TVs. The vision was to provide the foundation for interactivity around the BBCs television channels and to set the benchmark for delivering internet driven content across broadcast. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

CC delays Global GMG takeover decision : Radio Today

RadioToday has learnt that sufficient time is needed to take full account of any comments received in response to the provisional findings and that the need to provide a fully reasoned decision within the statutory time frame has arisen. The range of possible remedies to be considered in this case is complex and that all possible remedies need to be explored with the parties to the merger and third parties, the Competition Commission said today. It adds another two months of uncertainty to staff at both companies before any announcement can be made on the future of all the stations and staff involved. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

Tim Harford Article Don t blame Ofcom if the 4G price isn t right

Its almost 13 years since the UK government raised 22.5bn in one of the biggest auctions of all time, for the right to use radio spectrum for 3G mobile phone services. The next big thing, 4G, has been auctioned for around a 10th of that price, and a third less than the sum the Treasury had pencilled in. Some say thats the wrong question several telecoms analysts claim that the low prices will result in a better deal for consumers, which makes me wonder if they have their wires crossed. - timharford.com

timharford.com

Viacom eyes second Freeview slot for Nick - News - Broadcast

It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Ofcom - Channel 3 and Channel 5: proposed programming obligations

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stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

Freeview readies bid to nab lapsed Sky users - News - Marketing Week

Freeview is to launch an aggressive multi-million pound acquisition drive to tempt low-end BSkyB and Virgin Media customers not watching the channels they are paying for to switch after admitting interest in the service has fallen post digital switchover. Freeviews acquisition drive is targeting customers on cheaper pay-TV subscriptions from providers such as Sky and Virgin. The free to air service has scaled back the retention campaigns promoting added value services such as personal video recorder Freeview and Freeview HD in favour of value-based activity pointing out it provides over 95 per cent of the most watched programmes in the UK. - marketingweek.co.uk

www.marketingweek.co.uk

STV returns to profit as ITV battle ends - Media - guardian.co.uk

The TV company reversed a pre-tax loss from 2011 thanks to a rise in production revenue and the end of a legal battle with ITV. Turnover in the year to 31 December 2012 was up marginally at 102.7m, from 102m in 2011. The 9.1m pre-tax profit in 2012 compares to a pre-tax loss of 900,000 in 2011. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Ofcom - Ofcom announces winners of the 4G mobile auction

Ofcom has today announced the winners of the 4G mobile spectrum auction. This is suitable for rolling out new superfast mobile broadband services to consumers and to small and large businesses across the UK. The auction has achieved Ofcoms purpose of promoting strong competition in the 4G mobile market. - consumers.ofcom.org.uk

consumers.ofcom.org.uk

BBC News - Ofcom raises £2.34bn from 4G auction

20 February 2013 Last updated at 0305 ET Telecoms regulator Ofcom has raised 2.34bn from its auction of 4G mobile spectrum, less than expected. The Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast that the auction would raise 3.5bn for the Treasury. 4G mobile broadband should provide smartphone and tablet computer users with superfast download speeds. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Freeview ad claims platform airs 95% of top-rating TV programmes - Media - guardian.co.uk

Freeview ad claims 95 of the most popular TV programmes are available free-to-air Freeview has raised the stakes in its battle for the nation's living rooms in a bullish ad campaign claiming that 95 of the most popular television programmes are available free-to-air. Freeview has also published research to accompany the ad which suggest that nearly three-quarters 72 of consumers who pay for a package of TV, broadband and phone from a single provider are confused about what they have signed up to. Freeview claimed this meant pay-TV homes were spending an average of nearly 200 each on TV they did not watch. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

TV on-the-go pegged at 1% - News - Broadcast

It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

BBC News - Have 3D films had their day?

With Avatar's cinema release in 2009 came the promise of 3D technology that was here to stay. Avatar and Stephen Spielberg brought with them the fourth wave of mainstream success for 3D, but since then, film revenues have fallen 1 each year for 3D films. Some 71 of people surveyed who had seen a 3D movie preferred the experience. - bbc.co.uk

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High-definition TV is the nemesis of every actor of a certain age - Michael Simkins - Comment is free - guardian.co.uk

'We all like to think of ourselves as having the technique of Laurence Olivier, the methodology of Marlon Brando and the timing of, well, Maggie Smith. Photograph Nick Briggs Dame Maggie Smith's recent admission that she never watches herself on the telly may come as a shock to people out in the real world, but it merely confirms what actors have known to be best practice for many years. Watching yourself perform on television is the most exquisite torture any actor can suffer, and the business is tough enough already without adding yet more despair and humiliation to our lot. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

UK broadcaster ITV seen as possible takeover target - Financial News

Last October, the Daily Mail reported that buyout firms and media companies could have been targeting ITV. - financial-news.co.uk

www.financial-news.co.uk

informitv - Freesat adds YouTube to its new platform

YouTube will soon be available as an app on Freesat, the first time the online video service will be incorporated on a free-to-air television service in the United Kingdom. Freesat, which is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, says it has achieved 3 million sales in the last four and half years. That figure represents retail sales of Freesat compatible products, including televisions with a certified integrated satellite receiver. - informitv.com

informitv.com

BBC supports attempt to sneak DRM into HTML5 (Wired UK)

The broadcaster, which has a requirement to serve the public interest and has long pledged a commitment to open standards, has supported the publication of the first draft of a method to limit what users are able to do in their web browser. - wired.co.uk

www.wired.co.uk

James Purnell is the man for the BBC – but what about Lord Patten? - Media - The Guardian

New BBC recruit former culture secretary James Purnell. After the near-total corporate meltdown of last year someone in charge is what the BBC desperately needs. On the upside Purnell is not new to the BBC. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

BBC journalists to stage 24-hour strike over compulsory redundancies - Media - guardian.co.uk

Members of the National Union of Journalists NUJ will walk out from midnight as part of a campaign against compulsory redundancies. The BBC said it could not speculate on possible disruption to programmes. The union said 7,000 jobs had been cut at the BBC since 2004, with a further 2,000 to go under cost-saving plans. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Challenges are mounting for new BBC chief - Observer editorial - Comment is free - The Observer

Five months after the shambles of Jimmy Savile, the great BBC fightback begins. Last week, the new BBC's incoming director general, Lord Hall, made the first of his management changes. A head of news becomes head of radio. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Ex-BBC Chief Mark Thompson on the Jimmy Savile Scandal: The Ravens Have Not Left the Tower of London - Van

- vanityfair.com

www.vanityfair.com

BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - What's on BBC Red Button 16th – 23rd February

The series explores why individual composers felt compelled to create the challenging music they did and how they were influenced by the upheavalsof theirtime. This week features music by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Charles Ives. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Ariel - Trust asks if BBC distribution works well

It will review the performance of traditional and online distribution methods to see if they are cost effective and provide every UK household with convenient and free access to BBC services. The work, which will be carried out by specialist media consultancy Mediatique Ltd, will consider digital television, analogue and digital radio as well as iPlayer and the BBC website. It will also determine how well placed the BBC is to distribute content in the future as people increasingly access it via new means. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Digital One applys for Northern Ireland TX : Radio Today with RCS

The mux, which has been on-air for over a decade, has never been available in Northern Ireland but since the Digital Economy Act 2010, it has been entitled to extend the coverage of its licensed area, subject to consultation. According to Digital One, these transmitters would provide indoor coverage to 74 of households, and 70 of the road network, in Northern Ireland. The addition of this coverage would result in the national radio multiplex service providing coverage of 89.5 of the households in the United Kingdom, and 75 of the UKs road network. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

Tony Hall's email to BBC staff - Media - guardian.co.uk

Dear all, I wanted to tell you about my first senior executive appointments to the top team of the BBC. It is my first task to build the team that will deliver a new strategy and creative vision for the BBC and define public service broadcasting for the next decade. I want to bring in great people from outside the BBC and combine them with the best people from within. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Ofcom - Extending DAB Services in Northern Ireland - Request to extend coverage area of national radio multiplex service

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stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

James Purnell to rejoin BBC - Media - guardian.co.uk

James Purnell the former culture secretary is to rejoin the BBC. MediaGuardian revealed on Friday that Hall had offered Boaden the job. Purnell will earn 295,000 in his new role and will start at the BBC on 20 March. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

New Herts Beds Bucks multiplex launched : Radio Today with RCS

The National Radio Centre in Milton Keynes was the centre of local radio attention this morning as a new Mux was turned on. Research has shown how much people value their local radio stations, so we hope this will make a big difference to the digital radio listening experience in the county. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

Viewer trust in BBC recovers after Jimmy Savile scandal - News - Broadcast

It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - What's On BBC Red Button 9th - 16th February

In the first episode, Wrecking Ball, a host of renowned composers explore the foundations of contemporary music and discuss why 20th century composers deliberately chose to discard the traditional structures of form, melody and rhythm in favour of consonance and dissonance. The three episodes also feature specially filmed performances from a number of ensembles including the London Sinfonietta, which can been seen in full on the Red Button after each programme. This week features music by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Charles Ives. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC News - 4G to affect TV reception in two million homes

11 February 2013 Last updated at 0708 ET Filters will be provided for Freeview televisions which experience reception problems following the roll out of 4G later this year. Ofcom estimates that the TV viewing in up to 2.3 million British households could be affected by 4G but only 40 of them have Freeview. Satellite receivers will not be affected, the watchdog claims. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Ian Burrell: Local TV with no place for Alan Partridge

The cathedral city of Norwich was, during the Middle Ages, the second largest population centre in England but it has never had a broadcast media to reflect its prestigious past. Run by Archant, a regional newspaper group with historical ties to the Colman mustard family, the TV station will rely on an existing 140-strong editorial team. A flagship nightly 45-minute magazine programme The Mustard Show will allow viewers to question local politicians. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - Building Connected Red Button

Connected Red Button on TiVo This has been a fairly long journey for us in terms of the use of agile techniques in a technology project so I'll attempt to give you the what, why and how of the project from a technical point of view. Techies like requirements The project team responsible for this first iteration or version of the Connected Red button is a dozen strong multi-disciplinary software engineering team but due to the nature of the project many other areas of the BBC have been involved in a design or engineering capacity. Put it on the telly From the beginning the requirement for multiple TV platforms dictated some of our architectural choices. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Date set for Herts Beds Bucks DAB launch : Radio Today with RCS

At the time, NOW said it would launch the service by July 2008 using a network of seven transmitters. Over 1.8 million people living in the three counties area will receive local DAB services for the first time, adding to the current national offerings. Itll be the first time Capital is available in the area. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

235 people in Bath try to live without FM : Radio Today with RCS

The trial, called GO Digital, is being held ahead of a ministerial decision later this year on when or if a switchover to digital radio should take place. Its being run by Ipsos MORI and involves 235 people, including older people, assisted living people, disabled people and those who are registered blind or partially sighted. Minister for culture, communications and creative industries Ed Vaizey said We have been clear that any radio switchover must be consumer-led. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

BBC - Blogs - About the BBC - Happy Birthday BBC Three

We may have a laugh with our comedy, but we take our documentaries and journalism rather seriously on BBC Three. Dont start to think we just do a bit of this because were the BBC and we think we should, the truth is we love empowering our audience and fighting for them, its an essential part of why we exist and its something no other channel in the UK does for people aged 16-34. We love it when our stars get properly famous and go and play with the big boys and girls at BBC One and Two because it means we can go and find some more newbies. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Ariel - News to come under BBC Trust scrutiny

The division will be the subject of a service review, beginning in the summer and led by trustee Richard Ayre. Occasional or weekly current affairs programmes, such as Panorama, will not be included. Pollard triggered the resignation of the long-serving deputy director of News Stephen Mitchell and the move of Newsnight's editor and deputy editor into new roles. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

DTG :: News :: BBC Trust to conduct channel review

The reviews are being conducted as part of the Trust's rolling programme of service reviews. Under the Charter the Trust is required to review each BBC service at least once every five years. Public consultations will be held for both reviews as well as specific audience research and interviews with elevant BBC controllers and staff. - dtg.org.uk

www.dtg.org.uk

$23 billion acquisition of Virgin Media may pose biggest threat yet to BSkyB - The Verge

The price refelects a 24 percent premium over Virgin Medias closing share price on February 4th. The deal is still subject to things like approval from the companies shareholders and regulators, but assuming it goes ahead, the new ownership could potentially shake up the British pay TV landscape. Virgin Media's subscriber count of 4.9 million is less than half of BSkyB's 10.7 million, but financial backing from the larger Liberty could help it fund investment in new technology and be more competitive in crucial content deal negotiations. - theverge.com

www.theverge.com

YouView estimated to have added up to 230,000 subscribers since launch - Media - guardian.co.uk

YouView launched in July 2012 and is reported to have added 230,000 subscribers to its internet TV service. TalkTalk, which also revealed on Tuesday that its broadband subscriber base grew for the first time in three years in the quarter, is estimated to have added more than 40,000 more customers since 31 December. BT Vision, which began offering YouView boxes to its customers for free from 26 October, said last week that it had signed up a total of just over 60,000 customers to its service up to 31 December. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

YouView sales hit 140,000 - News - Broadcast

Total sales of YouView boxes have risen to 140,000 after TalkTalk reported it had distributed 80,000 units in the three months to 31 December.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Lebedevs win London local TV licence - Media - guardian.co.uk

Evgeny and Alexander Lebedev will be hoping the new London Live TV service will help their newspapers into profit. London Live was one of five bids for the licence, and the Lebedevs will be banking on their entry into the UK TV market helping to move their newspaper assets to profitability. An initial five-year plan for London Live will include annual marketing support of 5m, and it has been indicated that it could launch as soon as September. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Three UK promises to provide LTE without increasing prices - The Verge

Three is already consistently cheaper than the other major networks, and if it can indeed step up to LTE without adding anything to its subscribers' bills, today's decision should provide the catalyst for a long-overdue price war among UK carriers. - theverge.com

www.theverge.com

Billionaire Lebedev Wins License to Start New London TV Station - Bloomberg

London Live TV beat four other applicants for the right to a 12-year license to broadcast to an estimated 4 million homes, U.K. communications regulator Ofcom said in a statement today. Lebedevs free-to-air channel won against bids by former mayoral candidate Steven Norris and former Channel 4 Chairman Luke Johnson. London is one of 21 U.K. markets where Ofcom is adding local TV stations. - bloomberg.com

www.bloomberg.com

London gets first dedicated digital terrestrial TV channel as ESTV launches London Live

London is to have a dedicated television channel offering a service to 4 million homes, the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom announced today. London Live will utilise the journalistic resources of both the Evening Standard and The Independent. Our excellent team of journalists in the capital have the best contacts, knowledge and understanding of the London scene, he said. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

Ian Burrell: Hall's task is to build bridges inside and outside the BBC

During Hall's time running the Royal Opera House he built bridges and made alliances. His management style will be far more inclusive than the lone wolf leadership of Mark Thompson, whose BBC he essentially inherits. Thompson was one of the BBC's warrior kings. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

BBC - Blogs - Internet blog - What's On BBC Red Button 2nd - 8th February

For regular updates follow BBC Red Button on Twitter. Every Saturday press the Red Button during the show to pit your wits against our studio contestants. This has enabled the Red Button team to offer the best games tailored to each system. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk