BBC rules out merging local stations and Radio 5 Live - Media - guardian.co.uk

The BBC will not merge Radio 5 Live with its local stations, it has announced. Thompson said he would not be closing any local radio stations or merging regional TV news operations in England, but declined to rule out service closures entirely. There will be no full or partial merger of local radio and Radio 5 Live. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

BBC boss Mark Thompson pledges smarter savings - TV Radio, Media - The Independent

The BBC committed itself to saving billions of pounds from its budget when it launched a process, called Putting Quality First, last year after the annual licence fee was frozen at 145.50 for six years. We won't be closing any local radio stations or television regions. There will be no full or partial merger of local radio and Radio 5 Live. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

informitv - BBC Global iPlayer app offers downloads

Further details have been revealed about the global BBC iPlayer, which is soon to launch in Europe. It will launch as an Apple iPad app and will support downloads to the device, allowing users to view programmes more than once, for an unlimited time, so long as they maintain their subscription to the service. In practice, the number of programmes that can be stored will be limited by the capacity of the device. - informitv.com

informitv.com

Beeb to fund ad-mungous Local TV for local people • The Register

The plan calls for a new company to manage a new multiplex, squeezed into 8MHz of white space locally unused spectrum and built using 25m of BBC cash. Local TV companies will then be able to broadcast on that multiplex, only paying the running costs, and the BBC is committing to buying 15m worth of content from them over the following three years. Both the multiplex-running company referenced as MuxCo and the Local TV franchises will be selected by beauty contests the company judged most able to provide the service will get the bandwidth, rather than the highest bidder. - theregister.co.uk

www.theregister.co.uk

A new framework for local TV in the UK - July 2011 [pdf]

- culture.gov.uk

www.culture.gov.uk

BT cuts price of digital TV and broadband deals - uSwitch.com

BT has slashed the price of its popular digital TV and broadband bundles, in a bid to attract new customers to the Vision service. Consumers have two options when signing up for BT Vision which can be the perfect bolt-on for any home phone and broadband package. Other on-demand entertainment packs cannot be added to this tariff, but subscribers have the option of taking Sky Sports 1 12.30, Sky Sports 2 12.30 or Sky Sports 12 17.40 with their deal. - uswitch.com

www.uswitch.com

VOD not in demand in U.K. - Entertainment News, Technology News, Media - Variety

- variety.com

www.variety.com

Signs of BSkyB slowdown bring more bad news for investors - Business - The Observer

BSkyB's full-year results are expected to show signs of a slowdown in growth as the consumer spending squeeze hits Sky subscribers. Earlier this month, Sky promised to freeze prices for its TV, broadband and phone subscribers from September for at least 12 months. Some see this as the first indication its customers are finally feeling the pinch. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

BBC News - Podcasts: Who still listens to them?

So why has such a popular technology received such a small amount of attention Named word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary in 2005, podcast has become a widely understood term, with more than 150,000 podcasts available about almost any subject imaginable. A podcast is defined as a multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc.. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

ASDA Launches Budget 40 Full HD 1080p Freeview LCD TV Priced At £299

However, it is not just groceries that the company is offering cut-price deals on. Over recent years ASDA and many other supermarkets have started selling products such as home furnishings and electrical items, including a range of flat-screen TVs from a variety of manufacturers. The supermarket chain has this week launched the latest bargain in its electrical range in the form of a 40-inch, full HD LCD television for just 299. - hdtvtest.co.uk

www.hdtvtest.co.uk

Digital switch has turned me off - Money - The Guardian

It was installed in our home as part of the service, but in June this year it stopped working. We approached Switchover Help Scheme to ask for it to be repaired or replaced it was only 18 months old but staff have refused to help. We have repeatedly been told to contact Goodmans, but they didn't supply us the box and are under no obligation to help. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Australia watchdog frowns on Murdoch bid - TV Radio, Media - The Independent

Foxtel, which delivers more than 200 channels to 1.63 million subscribers in metropolitan areas of Australia, is seeking to buy Austar, which has over 760,000 subscribers. Austar, however, is available mostly in regional and rural Australia, and the only place where the two rivals are competing is in the Gold Coast. The ACCC has asked for further submissions from interested parties by August 11, and it intends to publicly announce its final view by September 8. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

Nick Clegg: Ofcom should review Rupert Murdoch's Sky stake - Telegraph

Mr Cable last year told undercover Daily Telegraph reporters that he had declared war on Mr Murdoch and suggested he wanted to block the Sky deal. - telegraph.co.uk

www.telegraph.co.uk

BBC - Research and Development: DVB-T2-Lite profile tech standard approved: Transmissions are go!

This new profile will allow simpler receiver implementations for very low capacity applications such as mobile broadcasting. This new profile can be mixed with conventional T2 signals in a single multiplex, to allow separate optimisation of the individual components.The T2-Lite component could provide audiences with a reliable live 'broadcast' TV or radio experience on their handheld devices. Using this new profile live broadcasts can be delivered to multiple audience members at a fixed cost to the content provider. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

RadioCentre: Make 5 Live rolling news - Radio Today

RadioCentre is calling for the 5 Live service licence to be amended to emphasise its public value output, and for 5 Live to cease branding itself as an entertainment station. Radio 5 Live is the obvious outlet for this, but its drift towards entertainment-led output means it often falls short of that aspiration. The submission argues that 5 Live has moved away from the public service principles it was founded upon, and calls for a reduction of soft news in the 5 Live schedule. The 5 Live service licence has an obligation to feature minority sports and RadioCentre believes this coverage should be expanded to at least half of all sport output. - radiotoday.co.uk

radiotoday.co.uk

PSB spend on original content drops 12% - News - Broadcast

21 July, 2011 By Catherine Neilan Spend on original programmes by public service broadcasters has dropped by 12 over the last four years, with Channel 5s contribution almost halving in that time, an Ofcom report has found. 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 science coverage: time for some joined-up thinking? - Media - guardian.co.uk

Some NHU staff even told him they were warned not to be too scientific. Is this due to the demand for natural history programmes to be as accessible as possible to boost international sales, I wonder The sense you have, delving behind the headlines, is that BBC licence fee payers are probably being short-changed on science programming. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Iptv is a minefield for everyone- The Inquirer

This is apparently set to grow but there are a number of issues surrounding the technology. The biggest barrier, according to the research, is the cost of buying the device, with 34 per cent giving that answer. What will eventually happen is that consumers will probably buy a new TV without fully knowing that it has the capability to connect to the internet. - theinquirer.net

www.theinquirer.net

Why does Largs area have less digital tv? / News / Largs / Articles / Largs Millport Weekly News

Published 21 Jul 2011 0930 10 Comments A Largs man has demanded a reduction in the tv licence fee because of less choice for local viewers. It is galling to think we are paying the same licence fee but must accept a second class service. mr mc garvey we had same problem before with channel 5 local councillor recomended get sky the local council should be doing something about it as we pay the license fee im sure it goes to the govermentis north ayrshire not part of goverment - largsandmillportnews.com

www.largsandmillportnews.com

DTG not competing with HbbTV - Broadband TV News

Gauntlett explained that YouView was taking the DTGs set of standards and then enhancing them with its own technology. - broadbandtvnews.com

www.broadbandtvnews.com

Analysts warn Sky brand could suffer a backlash - 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 - Public Service Broadcasting Annual Report 2011

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stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

Channelling the energy online - Archive - Marketing Week

At least, that was the view of its then newly appointed senior vice-president of digital, Philip OFerrall. Hence the past five years have been all about building a digital marketing effort which, as he puts it, is a 360-degree strategy in which websites do not simply reflect television shows but are separate entities with unique content. Sites can then help generate and reinvigorate interest in a show, particularly through invitations to follow or like a programme and its main characters on Twitter and Facebook. - marketingweek.co.uk

www.marketingweek.co.uk

Hunt favours individual stations for local television plan - Editors Blog - Journalism.co.uk

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has backtracked on his plans to introduce a local TV network. Hunt originally wanted a single network channel based around a national spine before changing to a more locally run approach. Hunts original plans would have seen a centralised national channel with syndicated programming, which would act as the hub which local channels could feed. - blogs.journalism.co.uk

blogs.journalism.co.uk

What did PM tell Murdoch about the BSkyB takeover? - UK Politics, UK - The Independent

Downing Street had previously insisted that the 8bn takeover was not mentioned. Despite private fears among Tory MPs about his links to Mr Coulson, they rallied strongly behind him when he addressed their weekly meeting last night. PM Perhaps Mr Bradshaw will now be transparent, as he was culture secretary, about all of the contacts he has had with News International over many years. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

Andy Parfitt to leave Radio 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

Ariel - Report praises BBC Science output

The review, by geneticist Professor Steve Jones, says individual BBC science teams are doing excellent work, but should collaborate more - and programmes should stop trying to fulfill impartiality guidelines by always having 'pro' and 'anti' commentators on science stories, for example, climate change. Content analysis by Imperial College, London found one in four BBC news stories was science related. Nonetheless the report suggest improvements, including appointing a specialist Science Editor, getting science programmes to collaborate across genres, widening the source base for stories and clearly identifying to the audience when something is scientific fact and when it is opinion. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

The Media Show: The Murdochs and phone hacking. 20 Jul 11

downloads.bbc.co.uk

BBC - The Editors: BBC science review

His report suggests there is too little cooperation between the various parts of the BBC that cover science, and that news coverage relies on too limited a pool of commentators and sources - creating the risk that we give our audiences an incomplete view of developments in the scientific world. The report also says we should make sure that we achieve the right balance between well-established scientific fact and opinion. Otherwise, Professor Jones argues, there is a danger of the BBC giving undue prominence to critics on the fringes of what is actually a settled scientific debate. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Trust - BBC science coverage given vote of confidence by independent report

Please visit the BBC Trust homepage to find the information you want. you may have typed the web address incorrectly - please check the spelling, or that there are no spaces or capital letters. Alternatively, please try the other links and search box on this page. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Trust - How we govern - Review of BBC governance

Please visit the BBC Trust homepage to find the information you want. you may have typed the web address incorrectly - please check the spelling, or that there are no spaces or capital letters. Alternatively, please try the other links and search box on this page. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC must improve science output, says Trust - 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

Ariel - Governance guidelines announced

The review was one of the Chairman's first acts when he arrived in May, he said he hoped to deal with the issue so it would not be a constant topic during his tenure. The remit was to establish whether current arrangements could be improved within the framework of the Royal Charter, which runs until 2017. Today he said 'The Trust is working well but these changes will help make it an even stronger advocate for licence fee payers. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Hunt unveils new local TV 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

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

BBC iPlayer - Regional TV: Life Through a Local Lens

This is the story of how we fell in love with regional telly. In the late 50s and early 60s viewers were offered a new vision of the places where they lived. ITV and the BBC took advantage of transmitter technology and battled for the attention of an emerging regional audience. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Ariel - Stars contribute to BBC Four programme on regional TV

18 July 2011 Last updated at 0905 BBC Four will tell the story of regional television this week in a documentary that will stir fond memories for programme makers and viewers alike. It will also show how it acted as a launch pad for presenters and reporters, such as David Dimbleby and David Frost, who went on to become household names. The hour-long documentary will explain how both the BBC and ITV took advantage of new transmitter technology in the late 50s and early 60s to reach new audiences across the country, offering content that focused on the places 'real people' lived. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: What's On BBC Red Button 19th July - 1st August

Once again optional expert commentary will be supplied by conductor Matthew Rowe. Have some horrible fun on the Horrible Histories website http//www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/horriblehistories/ The karaoke service will be available from 25th to 29th July, 0600 to 1900 daily on Freeview and Sky. On weekends the tone becomes more conversational when Red Button viewers can watch a topical interview in 'Five Minutes with...' or a round-up of the week's weird and wonderful videos in OddBox. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: BBC News maps the Mobile Internet

From today you can download an app which will record the signal you're getting on your phone - 3G, 2G or nothing - and feed the data back to our research project. You can also can download the Android app warning long license text from the Android Market. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

DTG :: News :: DCMS consult on local TV plans

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has published a consutlation on its plans to introduce local TV services. The framework document outlines the steps the government intends to take by using available secondary order making powers and the funding of up to 40m secured through the licence fee settlement with the BBC to support local TV services. Audiences want more local content that's directly relevant to what's going on in their own communities, which is why it's one of my priorities to address the almost total lack of local TV in the UK. - dtg.org.uk

www.dtg.org.uk

Jeremy Hunt drops plan for new national TV network - Media - guardian.co.uk

Jeremy Hunt has abandoned his plan for a new national TV 'spine' network. Publishing his final proposals for establishing a new generation of local TV services on Monday, Hunt said that instead he intended to provide bidders with digital terrestrial TV spectrum, to be allocated and managed by a new licensed multiplex company. However, the DCMS said local TV operators might come together to form a new network if it made commercial sense. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Breaking legal news: TVC wins ground-breaking case against broadcasters

Whilst this is barely significant, it is a protracted process that will take some years and will not affect users of this website. TVCatchup would like to thank the Hon Mr Justice Floyd, our legal team, our staff, our commercial partners and, of course, our valued members, for their support, friendship, patience, loyalty and encouragement throughout a period of uncertainty - a period in time that is now firmly behind us. - forums.tvcatchup.com

forums.tvcatchup.com

Murdochs must prove fitness to keep existing BSkyB slice, says Tory MP - Media - The Guardian

Unlike Fox, Burt, who grew up in Bury and once represented the town at Westminster, is on the moderate wing of the Tory party. He has been prominent in explaining Britain's policy towards Libya during the Nato bombing campaign, and was on Radio 5 Live to field more such questions. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

informitv - Criterion to succeed socially with SeeSaw

Michael Jackson, the former BBC channel controller who went on to head Channel 4 before moving to America, will become chairman and is taking an ownership stake. So, what does Criterion need to do to succeed with SeeSaw SeeSaw was due to close by the end of June after its owners Arqiva announced that it no longer fits with the strategic direction in which we are taking Arqiva and requires considerable investment to succeed in an increasingly competitive market. - informitv.com

informitv.com

Department for Culture Media and Sport - digital TV switchover

Department for Culture Media and Sport By 2012, analogue television services in the UK will be replaced by digital. The old analogue television signal will be switched off a region at a time, and the digital terrestrial signal will be boosted. This process, known as digital switchover, has important benefits more choice It is important that people have a choice of options for getting digital television. - culture.gov.uk

www.culture.gov.uk

BBC News - Hacking: Miliband and Clegg seek media ownership limits

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg backed new ownership rules to foster more press diversity but said an independent inquiry should be completed first. The calls follow last week's closure of the News of the World, which Mr Murdoch owned, amid claims of phone hacking. Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister echoed the calls for media ownership changes expressed by Mr Miliband. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Freeview appoints Leo Burnett to £12m ad account

Leo Burnett will be responsible for developing a strategy to transform the brand to encourage viewers to take a fresh look at Freeview. The agency will also develop what Freeview says is its first brand campaign, due to air later this year. - campaignlive.co.uk

www.campaignlive.co.uk

BBC iPlayer - The Media Show: 25/05/2011

Does the law need to be re-assessed to take the impact of social networks into account The Telegraph's Emma Barnett explains where Twitter stands now. Ofcom has upheld a complaint against Press TV, finding the broadcaster in serious breach of the rules. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Current TV chief claims Murdoch's Sky Italia broke commitment - Media - guardian.co.uk

Hyatt said that he was told by Murdoch that he would look into the matter, which in turn prompted renewed contact with Sky Italia. During these brief negotiations, Current says it sought a 33 increase on the 3.3m 2.9m a year it was being paid, only for the News Corp subsidiary to respond by saying the fee should be cut by two-thirds. Current TV rejected the offer, with the result that the TV station will go off air in Italy at the end of July. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

More work needed on complaints handling

14 July 2011 Last updated at 1148 A mystery shopping exercise has revealed that the BBC is still not dealing quickly enough with letters and emails of complaint. The independent exercise, conducted in January, looked at what happens when complaints - and in 2010/2011 there were 240,000 of them - enter the system. The study found that 56 of emails received a response within the BBC's published aim of ten days. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC launches guide to low energy lighting for television

The BBC has launched a new guide that will help television productions to cut carbon emissions and save on their energy bills. The BBC has a target of 20 reduction in energy consumption by 2013 and needs to use energy more efficiently and adopt low carbon technologies to achieve this which is why low energy lighting LEL can help. LEL lamps last longer than traditional ones allowing maintenance cost savings to be made, and the new lamps offer more flexible ways to change light colour. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk