Great things to read about British TV from March 2008 to today

Between them, Birt and Dyke gave birth to this top-heavy BBC |Media |The Guardian

Photograph Murdo Macleod Of course it is impossible to disconnect entirely the BBC's announcement on senior management pay and staffing from the prevailing political context. General election round the corner, Tories on the warpath etc etc. But although the problem too many managers too highly paid has considerable, if on occasion overstated, symbolic significance, it is real enough. Having too many managers is a condition that tends to affect all large organisations public and private. - guardian.co.uk

Peter Fincham interview: ITVs reluctant hero? |Media |guardian.co.uk

Peter Fincham has perfected the art of sidestepping awkward questions. The positions are vacant, and Fincham is among the favourites for both. What reassurances can Fincham offer his new star - guardian.co.uk

Why radios grand plan has me tuning out | Jack Schofield |Media |The Guardian

You wouldn't normally know there was a fight going on in the UK's radio industry in public, they all want to keep smiling, because it discourages awkward questions. What makes it shocking is that he represents a leading industry company that has invested in DAB not some minor commercial broadcaster, analyst or journalist. UTV has quit the industry body, RadioCentre, making its displeasure plain. - guardian.co.uk

www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk

Sunday 01 November 2009, PM

Radio Today with RCS: Two new tenants for Digital One

radiotoday.co.uk

Saturday 31 October 2009, PM

Seo an cothrom gu BBC Alba fhaighinn air Freeview - Scotsman.com News

- news.scotsman.com

news.scotsman.com

Digital roadshows in Taunton From This is The West Country)

A team will stop off in the town to offer practical advice on how to get set for digital. Switchover will start on 24 March 2010, making digital TV through an aerial Freeview available to all 913,000 households in the West region. More than 145,000 homes served by 58 local relay transmitters will be able to receive Freeview for the first time, seeing the number of channels available through an aerial rising from four to around 15. - thisisthewestcountry.co.uk

Saturday 31 October 2009, AM

A day in the life of the Head of BBC HD

Hello Everyone, I know the extended silence has been frustrating you - I've been away from the office for some of the time, and also handling a range of other issues. That identifies any technical problems with the channel - and unfortunately, as many of you will be aware, frequently highlights problems with HD transmissions. Like you, I find it deeply frustrating that more than 20 months after we launched the channel the service still doesn't always run smoothly. - bbc.co.uk

Friday 30 October 2009, AM

Media Talk: Radio 4, Channel 4, and Ofcom takes on BSkyB

download.guardian.co.uk

BBC tech staff underpaid compared with private sector, says internal report |Media |guardian.co.uk

Overall the report found that the BBC offers pay packages between 20 and 80 lower in terms of total remuneration than the private sector. Total remuneration was down around 60 for executive board members and 40 for senior managers compared with private sector companies. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. - guardian.co.uk

Thursday 29 October 2009, PM

Responses to Freeview HD encryption consultation

You might like to try one of the following to help find what you were looking for Make sure the address of the page you are looking for is spelled correctly. Try submitting a question to our FAQ system Go to the Ofcom homepage and navigate to the information you want. Click the 'back' button to try another link. - ofcom.org.uk

www.ofcom.org.uk

They get The Wire, we get Casualty

The breakup of the old US network cartel and competition from cable channels such as HBO has been good for competition the result is that shows have smartened up, rather than dumbed down. It's not that Britain is short of TV writing talent, reckons Jukes, but that it hasn't worked out how to use it. As a result, the US has cornered the market in the high-end stuff that bears devoted watching and repeat viewing. - guardian.co.uk

The BBCs top 50 highest-paid senior managers |Media |guardian.co.uk

- guardian.co.uk

BSkyB Launches Appeal Against ITV Stake Cut - WSJ.com

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. Apache/2.2.15 CentOS Server at online.wsj.com Port 80 - online.wsj.com

online.wsj.com

BBC appoints new Director of Marketing, Communications Audiences for Future Media Tech

He will also play a role in the strategic leadership and development of MCA as a division. - bbc.co.uk

TalkTalk to resist govt piracy plans - Digital Spy

TalkTalk has said that it will mount a legal action against the government's plan to cut off the internet connections of online copyright violators. Business secretary Lord Mandelson yesterday confirmed that the net services of persistent illegal file-sharers will be blocked from summer 2011. TalkTalk will continue to resist any attempts to make it impose technical measures on its customers unless directed to do so by a court or recognised tribunal. - digitalspy.co.uk

www.digitalspy.co.uk

BBC Radio Labs: Immersive audio for Planet B

Planet B is a science fiction series on BBC 7, the second series starts on the 29th November. You can read more about series two of Planet B on the Radio 4 blog. Before you read on, you should put your headphones on and listen to this... - bbc.co.uk

Radio Today with RCS: Digital Radio listening drops

radiotoday.co.uk

BBC to axe 100 top jobs in drive to slash costs -TV Radio, Media - The Independent

The BBC is to cull more than 100 top management posts in a cost-cutting drive aimed at making savings of almost 20m. The move will see the current total pay bill for more than 600 bosses, including director general Mark Thompson, reduced by 25 per cent over the next three and-a-half years. The restructuring plans involve cutting the total senior management numbers by 18 per cent over the period up to the end of July 2013. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

About the BBC: Unlocking the archive

Will commercial deals help open up BBC archive to the public by 2022? |Media |guardian.co.uk

The broadcaster has shaped the UK's cultural heritage for more than 80 years, so it contains important snapshots of the nation's history. The BBC then plans to gradually make this material available to the public, with a deadline for digitising as many shows as possible - rights and other issues permitting - by the BBC's 100th anniversary in 2022. The BBC's archives occupy 4.5 miles of shelves - as shown in this gallery, with 2.5m hours of film and video, 6m photographs, 4.5m pieces of sheet music, 5 miles of documents about programmes, staff, finance, correspondence and 200,000 word pronunciations. - guardian.co.uk

Thursday 29 October 2009, AM

Wednesday 28 October 2009, PM

Call to harmonise mobile airwaves

Digital switchover could pave the way for better mobile broadband The EU has urged its members to use the same part of the airwaves for mobile broadband to help achieve its target of 100 broadband coverage by 2013. A similar plan allowed the emergence of GSM mobile phones in the 1990s. The EU believes using the common frequency would be a particular boon for unconnected rural areas because it travels over long distances. - news.bbc.co.uk

Wednesday 28 October 2009, AM

Dont let BSkyB avoid pay-TV regulations, urge rivals |Media |guardian.co.uk

The group also said that if Ofcom ever granted approval for Sky to launch Picnic, its mothballed pay TV service for Freeview, then this should also be factored into any new regulation. The group also reiterated that Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports Xtra should be included in Ofcom's definition of the premium services that would come under the proposed system of regulation. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editormediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. - guardian.co.uk

diamondgeezer.blogspot.com

The BBC's Red Button content slimmed down

Planning is well underway, but there are funding worries the whole project might cost - shock horror - nearly 110m. The workerfolk at Tyrone Ltd, in their big yellow shed up Marshgate Lane, are busy making luxury lace curtains. I'm just about to move into a flat in unfashionable Bow, less than a mile from a spot that'll be world-famous in eleven years time. - diamondgeezer.blogspot.com

Gaelic channel set to push BBC radio off Freeview -TV Radio, Media - The Independent

This would see radio stations 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as 5Live, Radio Scotland and the World Service dropping off the digital channel during Alba's broadcast. Alba was something of a surprise package when it launched in Scotland in September last year to what 2001 census figures suggested was the lowest ever Gaelic-speaking audience of just 58,650. In its first week of broadcast the channel, which broadcasts between 5pm and 11pm on Sky and Freesat, pulled in 600,000 listeners. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

Twitter for TV lovers: who to follow |Television radio |guardian.co.uk

Armando Iannucci among several The Thick of It Twitterers. TTOI fans will be glad to know that the cast and writers of the show are big Twitterers. You can also follow rebeccafront, who plays new minister Nicola Murray, and writers jessearmstrong1 and simonblackwell. - guardian.co.uk

Tuesday 27 October 2009, PM

BBC - Newsbeat - Sky Player launch on XBox delayed

By Dan Whitworth Newsbeat technology reporter It was supposed to run like clockwork. The launch of a new service that would give XBox Live users access to dozens of live Sky channels and on-demand TV shows. All some people logging on to the service could see was an error message. - news.bbc.co.uk

Ruling bodies appeal to keep rugby and cricket off crown jewels TV list |Media |guardian.co.uk

The ECB has suggested the cost of adding the Ashes to the 'crown jewels' list will be about 140m. 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. - guardian.co.uk

BBC to sub-let spectrum capacity on Freeview multiplex B in parts of UK

The BBC remains committed to delivering the very best video content to Freeview viewers via its remaining interactive stream. The two streams will be available in approximately 80 of the country from the end of 2009, and coverage will reduce to zero when switchover is complete in 2012. The BBC has launched its competitive bid process which will provide third parties the opportunity to launch new services for audiences in the UK. - bbc.co.uk

www.whitehaven-news.co.uk

MP Jamie raises issue of Freeview

However, Mr Bradshaw did reveal that up to one million homes throughout the UK had been affected by the reduction in channels. The channels were lost to make way for high-definition TV in the near future. Meanwhile The Whitehaven News petition available in our office or at Brooks in Duke Street has collected more than 200 signatures complaining about the reduced service. - whitehaven-news.co.uk

Changes to BBC Sport on the red button

Next week the BBC will be making some changes to the Freeview service which will have an impact on our sports coverage. We know from the feedback we get that HD is increasingly popular with sports fans and this development will mean that even more viewers get to watch BBC Sport's big events in the best possible quality. What the arrival of HD does mean, though, is that there will be a reduction in the amount of capacity available on Freeview for our interactive services. - bbc.co.uk

Digital TV - News - Arqiva offers new Freeview channels - Digital Spy

According to the transmission firm, the two new channel slots will be able to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Arqiva is the licence holder for multiplexes C and D, which principally make up the Freeview platform. However, the company stressed that the available slots will be used for TV channels only, and not radio, data or any other related service. - digitalspy.co.uk

www.digitalspy.co.uk

BBC to release Freeview capacity | 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

VIVA TV CHANNEL LAUNCH (Viva Freeview on channel 21 Up Your VIVA)

www.prfire.co.uk

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Highlands and Islands | Gaelic TV channel being reviewed

Firstly, whether the channel is achieving wide appeal to viewers beyond existing Gaelic speakers and helping to educate people in the language. Secondly, whether to make BBC Alba available through Freeview. Programmes are currently available on Sky, Freesat and live on the BBC iPlayer. - news.bbc.co.uk

Switching to Digital Television: UK Public Policy and the Market

Presented as a 'case history' for academics, this impressive book nevertheless is a highly readable piece of journalism, with a strong and compelling narrative line. - amazon.co.uk

www.amazon.co.uk

The Dream That Died: The Rise and Fall of ITV

It is a book based on more than 90 exclusive interviews with key players who had their hands on the money, and the power, behind commercial television, but who saw politicians, businessmen and broadcasters convert high quality public service broadcasting into a ratings driven commercial wasteland, undermining the BBC and Channel 4. The book goes a long way to explain the complete sorry, downmarket mess that ITV has become. That is my problem with the book it's terribly one-sided, making little reference to the context of technological change which has had an impact on the TV industry. - amazon.co.uk

www.amazon.co.uk

Reviews of the financial terms for the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences | Ofcom

www.ofcom.org.uk

Software update causes problems for Bush, Goodmans, Grundig Freesat boxes

blog.wotsat.com

EXCLUSIVE! London to switch on Freeview HD on December 2

blog.wotsat.com

Greg Dyke and Richard Eyre among frontrunners to be Channel 4 chairman |Media |guardian.co.uk

Interestingly, those being tipped for the job all have heavyweight broadcasting experience. Sir Richard Attenborough was the last Channel 4 chairman to have worked in the industry. According to reports, others being considered for the position include Chorion chairman Waheed Alli. - guardian.co.uk