Crystal Palace Tower Lights Up the London Skies

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Caroline Thomson – engine room strategist ready to take BBC helm - From the Guardian - The Guardian

Ninety years, and fourteen directors general later, and the BBC may get around to appointing a woman to the top job. In an open field, there are a number of female contenders but it is Caroline Thomson, whose CV includes a stint as Eurotrash's censor-in-chief and a brush with tragedy on a Cumbrian train, who has arguably the best claim. The BBC chairman, Lord Patten, may have dictated there should be no overt campaigning for the job, but there are already signs it is Thomson the corporation's clear-thinking chief operating officer who is already winning support from colleagues. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Four-strong team builds digital TV revolution - Emerging Tech - ZDNet UK

As long as the global economy doesn't collapse, that is. published 23 hours ago by Andrew Nusca Comments Vote - zdnet.co.uk

www.zdnet.co.uk

Who'll become BBC director general? Think outside the box - Media - The Observer

Helen Boaden of BBC News is 7-2 in the early betting, albeit in what is currently quite a sparse field. Ed Richards from Ofcom one betting shop favourite doesn't quite do it because he'd have to resign the moment he applied. Appointing him would be balance in the best BBC tradition. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

I dont want to sound contentious, but....: And the Sony for best strapline goes to....

Let's be clear on a couple of points - firstly, most commercial music radio listeners tune in because of the music - absolutely every piece of research bears this out. If this country can produce 25-30 outstanding personality based music radio presenters, then most of them are going to end up working for the BBC networks because of the platform and prestige it gives them - not all, but most. The BBC also does not run adverts on its radio services, which gives them the scope to play 3 or 4 more records per hour than its commercial rivals - and still let its presenters express their personality within its output. - rileyorionradio.blogspot.ca

rileyorionradio.blogspot.ca

Scripps acquires international Travel Channel arm - Media - guardian.co.uk

Travel Channel's UK shows include Sophie Grigson in Thailand. TCI employs 46 staff in London who will all join Scripps Networks International. Scripps Networks has been on a major expansion drive internationally, taking stakes in numerous channels. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

UKTV channels to be streamed on BT Vision

UKTV channels will be made available to BT Vision subscribers as part of a new streamed service. BT Vision has previously relied on the DTT Freeview platform to deliver its linear channels, but has been upgrading its network to run the more efficient multicast delivery. Watch, Gold and Alibi will be the first channels to be streamed to be followed later by Good Food, Eden and Home. - broadbandtvnews.com

www.broadbandtvnews.com

BBC execs look to future as Thompson departs - 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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Wannabe Murdochs crash Ofcom's local telly party • The Register

Ofcom's consultation on Local TV has now closed, and the responses offer a slightly worrying insight into what to expect from the new tiny telly stations. The UK government is completely committed to launching local broadcast television in White Space frequencies. Ofcom is therefore obliged to define what that means and how it will operate despite the fact that no one seems to know how these new TV channels will be funded. - theregister.co.uk

www.theregister.co.uk

Sky reveals NOW TV brand for new internet TV service

With a distinctive look and identity, it will stand out from the existing Sky TV service and offer even more choice and flexibility to customers. Having two brands will allow us to meet the needs and preferences of different customer segments more effectively. Starting with movies, it will soon expand to offer sport and entertainment as well. - corporate.sky.com

corporate.sky.com

BBC News - Digital switchover is completed in parts of the South

21 March 2012 Last updated at 0222 ET The final stage of the digital switch over is taking place in the South. The BBC Two signal was switched off in the first phase on 7 March. Households who have not switched to digital will lose their TV service. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Is it time for a woman to run the BBC? - Features - TV Radio - The Independent

Ms Thomson is a former commissioning editor at Channel 4 and trained at the BBC as a journalist, skills she drew on while reporting from the scene of the 2007 Cumbria rail crash. These two women are in a strong position because of the peculiar problems faced by the BBC at this time in its history. The key priority for the next Director-General will be the renewal of the BBC's charter, which runs out at the end of 2016. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

The BBC: safeguarding the nation's values - Editorial - Comment is free - The Guardian

When Mark Thompson became the BBC's 14th director general in 2004 it was not certain that there would be a 15th. The Conservatives, meanwhile, had fallen out of love with the BBC long ago. The Murdoch empire's guns were bombarding the corporation at every turn in a remorseless attempt to end the licence fee and break public service broadcasting. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Broadcasters often at fault over 'media scrums' at news events - Media - guardian.co.uk

Broadcasters should be issued with regulatory advice to deal with media scrums at major news events, says PCC. Speaking afterwards to MediaGuardian, Collett declined to name the news events he was referring to because the guidance issued by the PCC during large-scale news events is confidential and often reflects the private concerns of members of the public. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: BBC iPlayer launches on XBox 360

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash Installed. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content. As we've said in our press release, today's launch means that BBC iPlayer is now on all major games consoles in the UK. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

More4+2 to precede 4seven launch - News - Broadcast

20 March, 2012 By Balihar Khalsa Channel 4 is to launch a two-hour time-shifted version of More4, paving the way for the launch of repeats station 4seven. 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

Ariel - iPlayer everywhere

XBox users who have Kinect will be able to call out their viewing requests, or wave at the tv - and see it respond. The iPlayer is now available on more than 450 platforms, from phones, tablets, internet-connected tvs, through games consoles and digital tv platforms. The way people interact with entertainment content is changing. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Launches iPlayer on XBOX 360 LIVE - BBC - News on News

BBC iPlayer is now available on every major gaming platform in the UK. Xbox 360 users with Kinect will benefit from enhanced functionality. For the first time it is possible for BBC iPlayer users to discover and play programmes using hand gestures and voice recognition. - newsonnews.net

www.newsonnews.net

As Mark Thompson's era ends, the BBC looks for the right successor - Media - The Guardian

BBC director general Mark Thompson has said he will step down from the post in the autumn after the Olympics. Photograph Ben Stansall/Getty Mark Thompson's resignation announcement confirms the worst-kept secret in British television. The only difficulty had been getting Thompson to the point where he was prepared to finally to go public. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Cheers to 'Martini media' man Mark Thompson - Media - The Guardian

There have been no major retreats or closures. The BBC still runs 10 TV networks, 10 national radio stations, 40 local stations and a large website. Critics attack him for failing to prioritise against stricter public service values, but Thompson has shrugged them off. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Google Public Policy Blog: Making our ads better for everyone

Just as we work hard to make Gmail free of spamand the Google Play Storefree of malware, were committed to enforcing rigorous standards for the ads that appear on Google and on our partner sites. Like all other Internet companies, were fighting a war against a huge number of bad actorsfrom websites selling counterfeit goods and fraudulent tickets to underground international operations trying to spread malware and spyware. We must remain vigilant because scammers will always try to find new ways to abuse our systems. - googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.co.uk

googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.co.uk

m.guardian.co.uk

Ofcom launched an investigation into the holiday and travel broadcaster after being contacted by a complainant who made serious allegations about the conduct of viewer competitions dating back more than a decade. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - m.guardian.co.uk

m.guardian.co.uk

Media culture shifts: theory v reality - Media - guardian.co.uk

This weekend, my reading was dominated by corporate media culture issues how to transition from the legacy media culture to the more agile and chaotic digital world But, to my surprise, over time, I've been feeling lectured on those very issues. Since 15 December, I've been in charge of digital operations for Groupe Les Echos, which publishes the only remaining business newspaper in France. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

With TV Everywhere, It s All About Discovery - TechCrunch

Thats as many TVs connected to the Internet as Android devices in the market today. In other words, the Connected TV ecosystem today is in a similar place to the Android ecosystem in mid-2010. Discovery is the dominant paradigm on Connected TV. - techcrunch.com

techcrunch.com

m.guardian.co.uk

Except Thompson's friends insist that he always intended to go at about that time, telling Lord Patten the moment the Tory peer arrived as chairman last year that he would be on his way after the Olympics. The only difficulty has been getting Thompson to the point where he was prepared to concede in private that he was going he got there in January and going public with it which is where we got to on Monday. If anything, Thompson shows signs of being demob happy now the announcement is finally out in the open. - m.guardian.co.uk

m.guardian.co.uk

BBC - Research and Development: Prototyping Weeknotes #99

This week the project focus is Recommendations and Chris Newell, one of our Lead Technologists, gives us an overview of the recent work the team has been doing. Following the completion of the project we have continued to explore recommender systems and their user interfaces. For most of this work we use the open source MyMediaLite Recommender system library which was developed by the project. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Ariel - Let the race begin

If that's right, all the internal candidates have been taking part in an unofficial assessment for over ten months - and the outsiders will have been making sure their reputations are buffed up in speeches, conferences and media launches. The bookies' interest seemed to peter out in February, with the only real mover in the field appearing to be Helen Boaden, shortening to 5/4 with William Hill. It's a job that doesn't come up often - Mark's been at the helm for eight years. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/tv/ccrs/Channel_TV_CCR.pdf

- licensing.ofcom.org.uk

licensing.ofcom.org.uk

BBC DG Mark Thompson confirms departure

Please enter a valid email address Simply enter your email address below and we will send you details on how to subscribe / activate today. - m.broadcastnow.co.uk

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Watford and Rickmansworth have poor digital TV signal From Watford Observer)

Research carried out for Digital UK, the not-for-profit company overseeing the digital switch over, showed people in those towns suffered the poorest digital reception along with places like Barnet and Finchley in London. However the company said the digital signal for Freeview in these areas should improve after the switchover from analogue begins next month. Two weeks later, on April 18, the remaining analogue channels will close and Freeview coverage will reach its final levels. - watfordobserver.co.uk

www.watfordobserver.co.uk

Signal failure - This is Somerset

Freeview customers saw their programmes replaced by French channels as the weather played havoc with TV signals. Broadcasters blamed a high pressure weather system which can cause signals from foreign channels to 'bounce' off their normal course, a phenomenon called 'continental interference'. Satellite services, such as Sky, are not affected by the phenomenon as their signals are beamed from space. - thisissomerset.co.uk

www.thisissomerset.co.uk

New Take Me Out scandal as producers 'tell girls which partners to pick' - Mail Online

Several girls have alleged that producers told them they would be kicked off the programme unless they agreed to show an interest in men who did not attract them. Some contestants on the show, hosted by Paddy McGuiness, have alleged that producers try to tell them who to pick 'The whole thing is totally misleading and leaves a whole lot of people feeling humiliated and exploited afterwards,' one girl apparently complained. The TV show has been dogged by controversies this season, after it emerged a male contestant was an escort, and the girl he picked later revealed she used to work as a prostitute. - dailymail.co.uk

www.dailymail.co.uk

TalkTalk begins rollout of YouView consumer trial

A consumer trial for YouView is being organised by TalkTalk. A new consumer trial of the upcoming YouView digital TV service has been launched by TalkTalk. Subscribers contacting the internet service provider's customer service and sales departments are being given the chance to sign up to the initiative, while people are also being actively urged to take part on its online forums, reports Marketing Week. - cable.co.uk

www.cable.co.uk

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: BBC Red Button Blog 17th - 24th March

6 Music are currently celebrating their 10th birthday and highlights from a very special night of live music at London's Southbank Centre will be available on the Red Button this week. A host of 6 Music DJs will be guiding you through the mayhem. The red button is sure to reveal all. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: A Quick Download on Project Barcelona

The research we've done with audiences tells us they're very comfortable with the idea of BBC programmes being made available for purchase like this there's a clear understanding of the difference between viewing something once and keeping it to enjoy in perpetuity. As Mark Thompson said in his speech, this is not a second licence-fee by stealth or any reduction in the current public service offering from the BBC. Wed like to change that, and get to a point where its the norm, not the exception, for shows to be available for digital purchase soon after transmission, with the most comprehensive range of BBC titles being offered via a bespoke online shop. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

YouView to order players by popularity - 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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BBC viewers 'very comfortable' with pay download service - Media - guardian.co.uk

BBC viewers would be 'very comfortable' with a download pay service, says Roly Keating, director of archive content. He said more than 90 of BBC programmes are currently unavailable to buy once they are removed from the iPlayer. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

News Corp and Permira sell NDS to Cisco for $5bn - Media - guardian.co.uk

Cisco has bought NDS from News Corp and Pemira for 5bn. Originally an Israeli startup, NDS was bought by News Corp in 1992, and spun off a few years later into a separate public company. News Corp made a 1.2bn gain on NDS when it reduced its 67 stake in the company to 49 in 2008. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

How will OTT affect traditional pay-TV providers? - Media network - guardian.co.uk

Netflix are going head to head with Virgin Medias FilmFlex service and Sky Movies. How will the advent of OTT affect traditional pay TV providers Rapid advancements in technology coupled with growing consumer demand and expectation are driving intense competition between new entrants and traditional TV platforms as they battle for the consumer's wallet. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

BBC - Media Centre - Mark Thompson: The BBC in 2012 and beyond

Im going to try this evening to offer a view of the future of the BBC and of the whole of broadcasting through the prism of a single year This year, 2012. What the BBC stands for and what its priorities should be. How the new connected digital technologies are transforming the way we serve our audiences and redefining what we mean by the term broadcasting. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Clover s Week: Terrestrial broadcasting reaches its peak

Last months WRC conference saw the beginnings of a debate that could have far reaching consequences for broadcast and broadband alike. At issue are the future needs for wireless broadband and a possible further encroachment into the 700 MHz band. Not only are broadcasters facing potential interference to their programmes from next generation LTE services, but they may also have to give up a further portion of the band to the telcos whose devices look likely to cause the trouble. - broadbandtvnews.com

www.broadbandtvnews.com

BBC lobbies over 4G plans - 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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All the latest news from Harlow, Essex. - Harlow piped TV network to be switched off in December

Up to 26,000 homes currently have access to the free cable service run by Virgin Media which replaced the former master antenna cable television network installed in the 1970s. Harlow Council had hoped to secure a deal with the media giant to continue to providing free-to-air channels post-digital switchover, originally claiming the provider was legally bound to do so according to the terms of its contract. However, in a move that will benefit vulnerable residents and those living in sheltered accommodation and council-owned tower blocks, the authority yesterday Wednesday unveiled plans to set aside 650,000 to help mitigate the costs of the switchover. - harlowstar.co.uk

www.harlowstar.co.uk

TalkTalk attempts to kick-start YouView - News - Marketing Week

The broadband provider is asking new and existing customers to register their interest for the widespread trial of the TV service when they call its customer service and sales centres. Existing customers are also being actively encouraged by TalkTalk to sign up to the trial via its online forums, its 20,000-strong customer panel and its e-zine. The company also announced earlier this week it is to begin offering super-fast fibre optic broadband from April, benefiting those who want to watch live TV via the internet. - marketingweek.co.uk

www.marketingweek.co.uk

Sky and STV plan launches on YouView - 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

C4 reveals thinking behind 4seven plan - News - Broadcast

15 March, 2012 By Balihar Khalsa Channel 4 is to buy a Freeview slot for forthcoming repeats channel 4seven, which will be populated by its most popular shows but have the flexibility to air content that has stirred up discussion. 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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No change to Terms of Trade, Hunt hints - 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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Radioplayer to launch mobile and TV app on YouView - Telegraph

Hill would not reveal when the anticipated launch was, which has been postponed several times and cost the BBC at least 6m, but sources close to the operation believe it will go live on May 14 this year. The BBC and the commercial radio industry equally co-own Radioplayer, in what has become a successful not-for-profit joint venture. The player, as it turns one, attracts seven million unique monthly users and has doubled its initial user figures over the last 12 months. - telegraph.co.uk

www.telegraph.co.uk

BBC News - Project Barcelona to see BBC open archive for downloads

He added that the digital archive would stay open for good, and shows would remain available to licence fee payers. The plans will be put before the BBC Trust later this year. Mr Thompson added that more and more programmes from the archive would be added to the service. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC boss confirms TV download pay service - Media - guardian.co.uk

The BBC is to introduce Project Barcelona, a pay download service available to viewers to purchase programmes permanently, available minutes after broadcast. Thompson was not specific about the timescale or pricing, but sources said it was hoped that programmes would be available to buy at the same time as they go on the iPlayer. Early speculation put the price at 1.89 a show. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk