How Murdoch's upstart became the status quo

Addressing executives from a cosy industry not used to new entrants, he made bold predictions on the impact of multi-channel broadcasting. It will be surprising if he does not use the same platform to criticise the Murdochs new foe, media regulator Ofcom, and its proposals to make Skys premium movies and sports channels available to other pay-TV retailers at reasonable prices. Twenty years ago, Rupert Murdoch was the champion of the plucky new entrant and railed against the big beasts of broadcasting trying to preserve the status quo to the detriment of consumers. - ft.com

www.ft.com

Four out of five people think TV stars are paid too much |Media |guardian.co.uk

Jonathan Ross, Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell fewer than 10 of those polled thought their pay was justified. Four out of five people thought the huge salaries paid to top TV stars were excessive, a YouGov poll of 2,000 people found. TV stars were second only to Premiership football players as a group that respondents thought should earn less, with 80 saying they earned too much compared with 93 for footballers. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Top contender for ITV job may sell Coronation Street - Crains Manchester Business

It is proud to provide free business news to the Manchester business community, and also businesses in Cheshire, Lancashire and Liverpool. TheBusinessDesk.com would like to invite all Crain's subscribers to spend just one minute signing up to our service at this link http//www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/register/login.html - completely free of charge - to ensure you are kept abreast of every breaking business news story that affects Manchester and all the cities and towns across the region. Unlike any other regional media company, our sole focus is online - and like Crain's we send out a daily email with the cream of business news from Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire, and Lancashire business. - crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk

www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk

A Murdoch returns to the MacTaggart, two decades on |Media |guardian.co.uk

Twenty years ago, in 1989, his father Rupert Murdoch delivered his MacTaggart lecture in what seems like a totally different media era, the analogue world. Murdoch's essential theme laid out to a fairly hostile festival audience of broadcasting executives then was that television is an area of economic activity, a business, and that competition is invariably preferable to monopoly. The crowd of TV movers and shakers, who between them owned scarcely a mobile phone or laptop in 1989 let alone the as-yet-uninvented BlackBerry were distinctly unimpressed. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

BT boss battles BSkyB over charges for sports channels and blockbuster films |Business |guardian.co.uk

With his luxuriant head of collar-length black hair, tanned face and youthful looks, Patterson could easily be mistaken for a recently retired footballer who has decided to make the leap into the corporate world. The chief executive of BT retail, who turns 42 next month, trained as a marketeer, but football rather than cricket has been uppermost in his mind of late. BT Vision was launched in December 2006 with the ambitious aim of attracting 2 million customers, but only 433,000 have signed up. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

File-sharers TV tastes revealed

US drama Heroes was the most popular illegal download this year, according to research firm Big Champagne. About 55 million people downloaded the show, while 51 million chose to access Lost, the second most popular show. The proportion of file-sharing involving films and television rather than music is continuing to rise, the research shows. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

STV profits fall 84% |Media |guardian.co.uk

As a group, STV reported a 35 fall in revenue, from 75.6m to 48.8m, and an 84 fall in pre-tax profits from 4.5m to 700,000 in the first six months. Operating profit fell 61 to 2.2m while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 45 to 3.6m. The company said that the decline was partly due to the sale, in June last year, of Virgin Radio, which had revenue of 11.3m and operating profit of 1.1m in the first half of 2008. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Ashes climax watched by a fraction of 2005 audience - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

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uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

BBC The Media Show 26 Aug 09

downloads.bbc.co.uk

DTG and Mirifice announce strategic automation partnership

Benefits for manufacturers include a shorter time to market, improved quality and reliability of testing and improved testing efficiency. The introduction of automation to our test regimes will reduce the time taken to test products and provide a more controlled testing environment, ensuring even greater consistency of test results. World-class services such as Freeview, Freesat and Freeview HD require a truly world class test and conformance centre. - dtg.org.uk

www.dtg.org.uk

BBC launches audio description on BBC iPlayer

Audio description describes what is happening on screen using the gaps between dialogue in programmes. There are also plans to extend the coverage of the service to include more of the BBC's weekly broadcast audio described programmes in the future. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Families lose channels after switch to new TV transmitter

Thousands of pounds of work is being carried out on the 245-metre high mast ahead of the change to digital broadcasting in 2011, when analogue TV signals will be turned off forever. Digital UK, which is overseeing the work, said that the move to the temporary antenna might have caused a problem for people without properly aligned aerials or those on the fringes of digital coverage, which extends to 76 per cent of the West Midlands. Viewers who receive satellite pictures or cable services have not been affected by the work. - birminghampost.net

www.birminghampost.net

Digital TV - News - Price Drop TV returning to Freeview - Digital Spy

After the channel disappeared from the Freeview platform in January, it will now rejoin the EPG at position 43 from August 27. The shopping channel will broadcast for 16 hours per day from 8am to midnight for seven days a week. - digitalspy.co.uk

www.digitalspy.co.uk

Switchover Help Scheme selects Freeview as standard offer for West

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www.dtg.org.uk

Channel Fives 35% revenue slide leads RTL losses |Media |guardian.co.uk

Channel Five's revenues fell 35 in the first half of the year as the advertising recession hit hard, making it the worst-performing part of RTL Group's pan-European broadcasting and production business. The UK broadcaster's revenues were 138m 121m in the six months to June, down from 212m for the same period last year. This 34.9 year-on-year decline was far worse than the 18.5 fall RTL recorded in Germany and the 16.5 in the Netherlands. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Big Brother to be axed by Channel 4 |Media |guardian.co.uk

Photograph Channel 4/Rex Features Channel 4 confirmed today that it will axe Big Brother after a decade following next summer's 11th series. The broadcaster announced this morning at its autumn programming launch that it would not renew Big Brother producer Endemol's deal for the reality show. Another series of Celebrity Big Brother will be broadcast in January before Channel 4's association with the show comes to an end. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

UK Launch of Hulu Postponed Until 2010 Says Report - ITProPortal.com

The launch of US-based free video on demand service, Hulu.com, has apparently been pushed back from September this year - which is next week - to early 2010, possibly in January, according to latest reports. Put it otherwise, there are not enough UK content for it to launch. Now there's no reason why this should be a problem, a mainstream broadcaster like Five for example, sources a significant portion of its programme lineup from outside the UK. - itproportal.com

www.itproportal.com

Free help for digital switchover

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www.thewestonmercury.co.uk

Unthinkable - Devices you wouldnt think of (as as Wednesday, 26th August 2009)

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www.unthinkable.biz

BT Vision Roll out a Major Update | geeks.co.uk

The requested URL /6013-bt-vision-rolls-out-a-major-update was not found on this server. Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. - geeks.co.uk

www.geeks.co.uk

Beware touts trading on Sky TVs name | This is Money

Touts Sky fears its customers are being targeted by firms purporting to be linked to the company Broadcaster Sky fears its customers are being targeted by firms purporting to be linked to the TV company and offering insurance for satellite dishes and set-top boxes. These firms are charging around 10 for insurance, but don't say they are not linked to Sky at all. Last month, Sky took one firm to the High Court. - thisismoney.co.uk

www.thisismoney.co.uk

Hulu nears deal with ITV to lead its UK online push |Media |guardian.co.uk

It is understood that Hulu has offered ITV an equity stake thought to be significant and possibly more than 25 in the UK venture. It is not thought to have made an equity offer to other UK players such as Channel 4. A sticking point, as it was with Project Kangaroo, has been the question of ad sales. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Sky satellite subscribers watch out - scammers about - Derry Today

- derryjournal.com

www.derryjournal.com

Loophole over selling banned DVDs

Dozens of prosecutions under a 1984 Act have been dropped because the government of the day failed to notify the European Commission about the law. It made it illegal to sell violent video games to children and the most explicit adult films could be sold only in licensed sex shops. The loophole means no-one can be prosecuted until the law is passed again and that will take three months. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

Your ECHO guide to the digital TV switchover

Basically, in both cases, were talking about nothing more complicated than boxes. A great many people in Merseyside wont even need to give it more than a second thought because theyve already got a digital box or a sleek and shiny digital TV. If theyve got Freeview, all theyll need to do is retune their equipment at both stages of switchover. - liverpoolecho.co.uk

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Digital TV - News - Canvas eyes 2010 launch date - Digital Spy

Halton said that this was to clarify that Canvas will be an open platform which is available to everyone. The feedback we have had from indies, studios and content retailers of all description has been really positive. Halton explained that the important thing to bear in mind is that Canvas will never be directly involved, or draw a revenue stream, from those models. - digitalspy.co.uk

www.digitalspy.co.uk

Mobile TV very slow to take off

They predict that the number of people watching free-to-air analogue TV on their phone will be 54 million in 2009. By 2013 they say those numbers will increase to around 300 million with the biggest growth in emerging markets. Everyone has a TV and everyone has a mobile phone. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

The internet TV revolution: Free movies could be just around the corner | Mail Online

This year sees the arrival of a new generation of web-based TV services that build on the massive success of the BBC's iPlayer, allowing you to catch up with programmes you missed - or to revisit old classics. It promises to revolutionise the way we watch TV. Verdict The best under-the-TV computer you can buy. - dailymail.co.uk

www.dailymail.co.uk

Apple to offer own-brand HDTV, claims analyst Register Hardware

In the run-up to the launch of its branded TV in 2011, Apple will unveil a range of TV-focused gadgets, Munster predicted. An iTunes TV Pass offering unlimited pay monthly access to the librarys content archives could also launch within 12 months, Munster said, effectively replacing a consumers monthly cable bill. - reghardware.co.uk

www.reghardware.co.uk

BBC plunged into new deception row - TV Radio, Media - The Independent

The BBC was plunged into a new deception row today after a cameraman posed as a member of the public on one of its daytime shows. The corporation - which was fined last year after a phone-in scandal - has suspended the production company behind the auction programme Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting, hosted by Angela Rippon. The series - a key part of the BBC2 daytime schedule - has been pulled off the air and from the iPlayer web service. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

James Cridland quits as audio head of BBC future media |Media |guardian.co.uk

He joined the BBC after serving as digital media director at Virgin Radio. He sets out his plans for his immediate future My last day will be Wednesday 2 September. I'll be working on www.mediauk.com for a while out of trendy Shoreditch then exploring a bit of the world's radio industries, before popping up somewhere new and exciting in the spring in radio, naturally. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Sky3 to show pay TV content for free - Digital Spy

Sky has announced that it will make selected pay TV programmes and content free-to-air on Sky3 for one weekend in September. - digitalspy.co.uk

www.digitalspy.co.uk

BBC - Press Office - First look at new animated Doctor Who

The BBC today releases the first image of the animated Doctor as he will appear in the new animation, Dreamland, which is due for broadcast later this year. In the run-up to the animation, fans will be able to visit the Doctor Who website bbc.co.uk/doctorwho to follow a behind-the-scenes production blog on the making of Dreamland, giving the opportunity to follow the progress of the animation as it develops. It presents an amazing opportunity to expand the multiplatform storytelling potential of Doctor Who. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

What range of television channels will be available through a TV aerial in different regions of the UK after digital swi

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www.ofcom.org.uk

Media Talk: Demise of the London Paper

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Lower rates promised as Teletext Holidays retains analogue for fu...

TeletextHolidays has promised reducedratesfor travel advertisers as it announcesthe retention of its analogue TV service for a further 12 months. The deal - a result of discussions with Ofcom- follows Teletexts decision to bring forward the shutdown of its news and information services on analogue from January 2010 and removing all its services, including travel, news and information, from Sky in December. Managing director Victoria Sanders said the service will be retained until at least September 2011.Teletext Holidaysis also available onFreeview channel 101 and teletextholidays.co.uk, thisistravel.co.uk and villarenters.com. - travolution.co.uk

www.travolution.co.uk

South west Wales switchover underway

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www.dtg.org.uk

Agents seek better Teletext deal - Travel Trade Gazette

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www.ttglive.com

BBC - Today - John and Evans review

Today is A-level results day in England and Wales and, as it's announced that the pass rate has risen for the 27th year in a row, the perennial debate about whether the exams are becoming too easy comes around once more. Just how best does government tailor its education and examination system to the needs of students, parents, education providers, employers ands society as a whole Today produced a 'mash-up' to imagine what it might sound like if Test Match Special commentator Henry Blofeld had to describe the 100m sprint. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: Improvements to BBC Local Radio online

It was a proud day last November when we finally integrated all our local radio stations into the BBC iPlayer. However, as the more observant will have noticed, the audio remained in the same format, Realmedia. Although our UK wide national stations have been using Flash-based streams for some time it has taken a significant amount of re-engineering behind the scenes to expand use of this technology to all of our nations and local radio stations. - bbc.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

The Media Show: 19/08/2009

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Sony Follows Loewe With Cunning TV Scrappage Scheme - ITProPortal.com

Sony is introducing a new scrappage scheme which will hand out up to a maximum of 150 to those who purchase a new television set from the consumer electronics giant. American rock singer, Alice Cooper, will be the face of the new campaign which emulates the popular government car scrappage scheme which gies up to 2000 for sending an old banger to the trash. The message that the advertising campaign will convey will be that users need to update their TV sets before the digital switchover is completed. - itproportal.com

www.itproportal.com

Viewpoint: Canvas Is In Danger Of Looking Like A Monopoly| paidContent:UK

- paidcontent.co.uk

paidcontent.co.uk

Second transmitter switches over

Wales will be the first nation in the UK to go completely digital A second analogue transmitter has halted part of its service as the switch to digital television continues. Digital switchover began in Wales last week at the Kilvey Hill transmitter, which serves Swansea and Neath. Any viewers who do not have digital will not be able to see BBC Two from Wednesday, or the other four channels in four weeks. - news.bbc.co.uk

news.bbc.co.uk

ESPN channel could make BSkyB 80m a year

Analysts at Citigroup calculate that BSkyB will make as much as 80 million a year providing it targets 2 million subscribers. - sportbusiness.com

www.sportbusiness.com

TVonics next gen Freeview box launched

The digital switchover is a worrying time for some older viewers, as the set top boxes appear to be complex, even though they are not too difficult to install. The set top box will tune into all of the channels automatically, so there is no need to search and save channels. The MDR-240 will also retune every night, which means there will be no chance of the viewer missing any new channels. - techwatch.co.uk

www.techwatch.co.uk

The Digital Britain broadband tax was a curveball from Carter |Media |guardian.co.uk

So the boldest idea in the Digital Britain white paper, a 6-a-year fixed phone line charge to fund universal fast broadband, is now being kicked into the long grass, less than a month after its author, Lord Carter, quit the government. Although the proposal makes some sense, especially for frustrated households in rural areas, the politics behind this have been ropey, going on non-existent, from the start. Specifically, no attempt was made to build a broad alliance to support what amounts to a new, if minor, tax which could in future be raised, and could also have the unplanned effect of driving more people to mobile only, from fixed-line phones. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Television Access Services: Second Quarter Report for 2009 | Ofcom

This is the second quarterly report for 2009 on the provision of access services subtitling, signing and audio description by broadcasters under the Code on Television Access Services during the first six months of 2009. An explanation of the obligations applying to broadcasters is given in the first quarterly report for 2005. The second report for 2009 shows that the majority of broadcasters are exceeding their quotas for subtitling, audio description and signing. - ofcom.org.uk

www.ofcom.org.uk

Channel Five wheeze goes above viewers heads |Media |guardian.co.uk

When Channel Five showed Groundhog Day, the broadcaster thought it might be a cunning wheeze to show the same ads, in the same order, during each commercial break. To find out more information about driving traffic to your content or to place this widget on your site, visit outbrain.com. We welcome your feedback at userhelpguardian.co.uk or feedbackoutbrain.com. - guardian.co.uk

www.guardian.co.uk

Sky and Virgin complain about Canvas timeline

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