Wednesday 29 July 2009, AM
New ITV chief executive likely to be HMV or Apple boss |Business |guardian.co.uk
About six candidates are understood to have met ITV's board last week in what is considered to be potentially a final round of interviews to find a replacement for Michael Grade. Ball had been an early frontrunner, promoted heavily by a faction of ITV's shareholders, however his appointment as a non-executive director to BT's board last month raised questions over conflicts of interest. Some analysts have held out hope that an appointment might be announced at ITV's half-year results, due to be reported next Thursday, although many observers believe this timeline to be overly optimistic. - guardian.co.uk
www.guardian.co.uk
Snowblog - All the BBC news that's fit to embed
It is when you get inside that you instantly know where you are in a winter wonderland of crazy memorabilia ranging from china snowmen to a musical teddy called Pooh, except that he looks like a lump of just that. When you push the potty on his head an exasperating, supposedly musical sound issues forth. Theres an upset can of baked bean on a velvet arm chair, except that while the chair is real the beans in the can are not. - blogs.channel4.com
blogs.channel4.comTuesday 28 July 2009, AM
BBC bids to control next-gen Telly UI
The idea is that manufacturers will have a common spec with which to create boxes in time for Xmas 2010. Ominously for pay TV operators such as Sky, and web video outfits such as YouTube, the old guard will maintain their grip on the user interface, as well as reserving the right to charge for listings. The broadcasters want to control the user interface and program guide click to enlarge Which might look a bit like this. - theregister.co.uk
www.theregister.co.ukViewing figures tumble for new-look The Bill
On Friday night The Bill averaged 3.9 million viewers in the 9pm hour, a 20 share of the audience. This was down from 4.5 million viewers for the revamped police drama's first showing in its new slot on Thursday 23 July, according to unofficial overnight figures. This was the reality show's second lowest audience of the series for its 9pm Friday slot, after 1.9 million people tuned in on 26 June. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukBT backs Ofcom challenge to Sky sports prices
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blog.wotsat.comSagem reveals Freesat line-up - on the Argos website!
-blog.wotsat.comDanielle Nagler: BBC HD Summer Fixtures
Hello, Yes - I share the frustration on The Open this year. I keep asking the question and getting the same answer from the various parties involved, so it is safe to confirm to you that it will be in HD starting from next year. Other summer fixtures include our Music Festival season with sets from across the country on Thursday nights at 10.30. - bbc.co.uk
www.bbc.co.ukBroadband rates not up to speed
Nearly one fifth of UK broadband customers on an eight Megabit per second Mbps connection actually receive less than 2Mbps, it found. The research showed that less than 9 of users received more than 6Mbps. However, the report shows that average connection speed across the UK is 4.1Mbps, up from 3.6Mbps in January. - news.bbc.co.uknews.bbc.co.ukThe future of radio the best thing - blog - James Cridland
The future of radio the best thing Posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 300 pm. Today, I was asked a few questions by a company who are working on a radio-based event. They sent me the questions ahead of time, so I thought Id prepare by thinking up some answers and I realised that reprinting some of the answers here might be interesting. - james.cridland.net
james.cridland.netIPVision FetchTV 8000 Digital TV Recorder: Integrated IPTV and PVR... from John Lewis
-www.unthinkable.bizCanvas Missing Bits: Targeted Ads, Micropayments, Global Ambition| paidContent:UK
Four months later, the trust asked the Beeb what Canvas really is and has now published the extra detail in a 76-page collection of documents. Here, on one page, we have collected the main points we didnt know before Venture proposal respondents had questioned eligibility critera - Private company Owned 66.7 percent by public service broadcasters, 33.3 percent by ISPs. Members Only four PSBs assumed so is S4C being overlooked. - paidcontent.co.uk
paidcontent.co.ukMonday 27 July 2009, AM
ITV set to offload Friends Reunited at 160m loss |Business |guardian.co.uk
The Friends Reunited social networking website was bought by ITV for 175m in 2005, but has remained problematic for the broadcaster. ITV put Friends Reunited up for sale in February as the drop in online advertising revenues forced the company to dramatically writedown the value of a business that had cost it 175m. Analysts believe Friends Reunited is worth about 20m to 40m, but private equity firm Oakley Capital is understood to have offered just 15m. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukOfcom grants terrestrial spectrum for satellite services
Satellite operators will be able to use terrestrial transmissions to complement mobile satellite services in the United Kingdom but will be charged for the spectrum. Earlier this year the European Union gifted Inmarsat and Solaris Mobile satellite spectrum to deliver services across Europe, including mobile television. Ofcom, the communications regulator in the United Kingdom, proposes to charge them for using the same frequencies on the ground. - informitv.com
informitv.com
Could advertiser-funded programming solve TVs financial problems? |Media |The Guardian
Comparisons with the 1930s are less than cheering when it comes to the economy, but they may offer a chink of hope for cash-strapped commercial broadcasters. It was 1937 when the soap opera Guiding Light, produced and sponsored by the soap manufacturer Procter Gamble and aimed at housewives, was first broadcast on US radio. It is still a small business, says David Brennan, the research and strategies manager for the TV marketing body Thinkbox. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukSunday 26 July 2009, AM
The original Big Brother is watching you on Amazon Kindle
In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face ... was itself a punishable offence. In recent days we have had a dramatic illustration of this because people who had purchased electronic copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm for their Kindles had a nasty shock. On Friday 17 July their books suddenly disappeared from their devices. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukSaturday 25 July 2009, AM
Freeview with internet video moves closer
Printed from http//www.ft.com/cms/s/0/995bbe56-7898-11de-bb06-00144feabdc0.html Print a single copy of this article for personal use. - ft.com
www.ft.comFriday 24 July 2009, PM
Cumbria goes digital
The final stage of digital TV switchover for most of Cumbria was completed on 22 July, extending Freeview coverage to all households served by the Caldbeck transmitter group. Analogue services will remain switched off permanently, allowing Freeview channels to be broadcast from local relay transmitters serving areas such as Keswick, Glenridding and Pooley Bridge for the first time. Freeview coverage has now been extended to reach 98 of households in the Border TV region. - dtg.org.ukwww.dtg.org.ukWill Arqiva resurrect Kangaroo?
-blog.wotsat.comFriday 24 July 2009, AM
download.guardian.co.ukThursday 23 July 2009, AM
High-definition television forces BBC to fix its sets - News, Gadgets Tech - The Independent
The BBC is to spend thousands of pounds of licence fee payers' money upgrading the ageing sets of programmes so that they do not suddenly look shabby or fake when broadcast in high definition HD. She estimated that the cost of shooting The Apprentice in HD could come to as much as 40,000 equivalent to 287 licence fees. He said he and his team had been forced to repaint the Dragons' Den set for this series. - independent.co.uk
www.independent.co.ukWednesday 22 July 2009, PM
Media Show: Out with the old and in with the new?
downloads.bbc.co.ukBen Bradshaw shows what the BBC has to fear from top-slicing |Media |guardian.co.uk
Ben Bradshaw sounded for all the world like a bullying politician. There is considerable frustration in government and regulatory circles that the BBC has not jumped at the chance to break its own monopoly over licence fee cash. By comparison with rivals all subject to serious recessionary woes the BBC looks big, secure and well funded. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.uk
The business pressures behind Channel 4s joint venture ambitions |Media |guardian.co.uk
Channel 4's protracted search for financial security involves strengthening its position in the recession-hit television advertising market. Cutting overheads and gaining extra market power are increasingly important. Even if C4 only got the UKTV portion of that 7.15, that could see C4's respected sales team increase its reach to control close to 30 of the market. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.uk
Arqiva in talks to buy Project Kangaroo technology |Media |guardian.co.uk
Discussions with Arqiva are understood to have progressed to an advanced stage, although a final deal is yet to be signed. Orange pulled out of the process in May. Project Kangaroo has cost its partners in excess of 30m and the remaining assets are now likely to be snapped up for just a few million pounds. Last week BBC Worldwide revealed in its annual report that Kangaroo had cost it 9.1m. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukBSkyB warns crown jewel panel on restricting rights - Business News, Business - The Independent
The deadline for submissions to the government-appointed panel reviewing the Free to Air Listed Events closed on Monday. Sky had already put forward one submission, before adding the findings of an independent report it had commissioned from Deloitte on the day of the deadline. It also wants to protect its rights to screen international cricket matches. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukPublic Service Broadcasting: Annual Report 2009 | Ofcom
Published 210709 Introduction Ofcom has a duty to assess the designated public service broadcasters, taken together, in terms of their delivery of the public service purposes set out in the 2003 Communications Act. The report is intended to provide an up-to-date evidence base of the current delivery of public service content in the UK and gives a factual account of broadcast hours, viewing figures and audience opinions of the channels over the last five years. These included a re-balancing of public service obligations across the sector on one hand, securing the economic future of strong institutions which have public purposes at their heart the BBC and Channel 4 on the other, freeing up commercial networks while retaining modest public service commitments consistent with the commercial value of the licences. - ofcom.org.uk
www.ofcom.org.ukWednesday 22 July 2009, AM
BBC iPlayer to come to Freeview HD through broadband | RBoffers News
This also includes the basis of all products so that people will not have to buy a new product even if iPlayer becomes available after the launch of Freeview HD. In order to receive this service a broadband connection will be required. However, part of the technical development thats taking place will look into ways of improving the experience by utilising the users bandwidth. Our product would still need a broadband connection, but in terms of speed there would not be a massive requirement there. - rboffers.comwww.rboffers.comArqiva to go Global
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radiotoday.co.ukHEXUS.net - News :: PC repair shops found to be snooping customers data : Page - 1/1
A Sky News investigation has found that PC repair shops are wrongly diagnosing computer faults and consequently charging excessive amounts - all whilst attempting to steal a customers' data. Sky's undercover investigation made use of a notebook equipped with screen-capturing software and a hidden built-in webcam, both used to capture the work of the so-called PC repair specialists. To make the notebook appear faulty, Sky loosened a memory chip to prevent Windows from loading. - hexus.net
www.hexus.netSpend on original UK programmes declines but viewers still appreciate PSB channels | Ofcom
Independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. 4G auction bidders announced December 20, 2012 Ofcom has today announced the bidders in the forthcoming 4G mobile spectrum auction the largest ever sale of mobile airwaves in the UK. npower fined for making abandoned calls December 6, 2012 The conclusion of an Ofcom investigation has today found npower, the gas and electricity supplier, to be in breach of rules on abandoned calls. - ofcom.org.ukwww.ofcom.org.uk
Setantas Sky slots to be sold off |Media |guardian.co.uk
Canis Media said there were also an unspecified number of unallocated digital EPG channels slots available. During more buoyant economic times this fuelled a lucrative market in EPG slots with some slots going for more than 1m. However, the recession has led to fewer channel launches and prices of EPG slots have fallen considerably. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukDragons Den on HD
Thanks to my PVR I was able to catch up on the first HD episode last night. Watching it confirmed my view that HD brings real benefits to programming which is about people and their emotions, and where the viewing experience is about support and empathy. Yes, at one level Dragons' Den is a business show, about projects, profts and margins. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukTuesday 21 July 2009, PM
Freeview assigns switchover task to WDMP - Marketing news - Marketing magazine
WDMP was appointed following a three-way pitch against undisclosed agencies. The process was overseen by Tim Hunt, director of marketing communications at Freeview. The agency's brief will be to provide direct marketing support in designated 'Digital Switch Over' areas as regions across the UK progress with digital switchover. - marketingmagazine.co.ukwww.marketingmagazine.co.ukTuesday 21 July 2009, AM
iPlayer on Freeview as soon as possible - Digital Spy
The industry body is currently overseeing the technical development of new set-top-boxes for receiving high definition Freeview when the service launches at the end of the year. However, there are concerns that many areas will not have sufficient internet speeds to effectively access VOD content in the medium term. - digitalspy.co.uk
www.digitalspy.co.ukCarphone Warehouse to become IPTV Warehouse?
The latest figures from Googles Android developers website, concerning the market share of the various different versions of the mobile OS, have arrived and the good news is Jelly Bean is making swift forward strides. In fact, Jelly Bean is now on 10.2 per cent.. more - iptv-watch.co.ukwww.iptv-watch.co.ukThe Bill joy for Scottish fans | The Sun |Showbiz|TV
Scottish channel STV had sparked fury by announcing it would not be showing the new series. Scottish fans with digital or Freeview will be able to catch it at 11pm on ITV3. - thesun.co.uk
www.thesun.co.ukOldest TV found in London home
What is thought to be Britain's oldest working television has been tracked down in a house in North London. The set belongs to Jeffrey Borinsky, an electrical engineer and collector of antique television and radio sets. Despite its age, it can show modern TV channels broadcast on Freeview. - news.bbc.co.uknews.bbc.co.ukMonday 20 July 2009, PM
Tim Berners-Lee says television channels are history
-informitv.comBBC Interactive TV Executive, Rahul Chakkara, to Step Down | InteractiveTV Today
According to Broadcast, only around a third of the approximately 100 employees of the Platforms Group have agreed to date to make the move they have until September to make their decision. Neither Chakkara nor the BBC has been commenting publicly on his decision to step down. - itvt.comwww.itvt.comProject Kangaroo bounces back on teeV.co.uk
-blog.wotsat.com
Freeview HD boxes in shops by year-end - Digital Spy
With the increase of HD adoption, the market for Freeview HD will also most likely grow by around four million homes each year. - digitalspy.co.ukwww.digitalspy.co.uk
Wyplay Wyplayer - Register Hardware
It is, in essence, a high definition Personal Video Recorder combined with a media streamer, in a single box. Wyplay's Wyplayer media player The Wyplayer is a slim unit, almost square, measuring 275 x 240 x 45mm. Theres a single UHF aerial connector, which feeds both tuners internally, and a pass-through output for the TV. - reghardware.co.ukwww.reghardware.co.ukIP Visions Hybrid Freeview-OTT Device to Be Available in John Lewis Stores | InteractiveTV Today
The box also allows customers to access 1,500 hours of content from such providers as Paramount Pictures, National Geographic, and Cartoon Network on a pay-per-view basis. Our first retail deal for the box with John Lewis means that it will now be much easier for customers to buy one of our FetchTV boxes. The company says that it also offers home media center functionality, allowing customers to view their own digital pictures and home movies on the TV. - itvt.comwww.itvt.comBBC - BBC Internet Blog: Radio and Telly? Thatd be Telio!
Editor's note While our coverage on the Blog of the radio visualisation trials to date have focused almost exclusively on Radio 4 the truth is that our colleagues at Radio 1 have been putting in the hours too. Here's how their listeners have responded. 'Visualising Radio' is a clunky term. 'Visualising Radio' isn't very sexy and when I hear Chris Moyles or Aled say it on the radio it feels horribly corporate. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukMonday 20 July 2009, AM
Joint venture between BBC Worldwide and C4 imminent |Media |The Guardian
It is certainly not the first time a deal has been said to be close. Today C4's board will respond to those demands that its remit be changed - the first big rewrite of the broadcaster's remit since it started broadcasting in 1982, and one that will require deft legislative amendment. In its Next on 4 policy blueprint last year, C4 estimated a funding gap of 100m a year by 2012. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukSunday 19 July 2009, PM
Landlady fined for Sky TV scam - Lancashire Evening Post
A landlady has been fined for illegally receiving Sky TV programmes screened to punters in her pub. Traders who want to screen Sky programmes in such venues need a business subscription which costs anything up to 3,000. It is understood inspectors visiting the pub discovered the illegal broadcasts. - lep.co.ukwww.lep.co.ukSaturday 18 July 2009, AM
When news people lose sense BuzzMachine
Financial Times editor Lionel Barber predicted that almost all news organizations will be charging in a year just because they need to. Meanwhile, former McClatchy news exec Howard Weaver thinks that news orgs should get, oh, say, 10 percent of Google et als revenue because they, oh, should. Would Barber ever suggest that GM would charge more just because it needs to, with no consideration of the market forces and its competition - buzzmachine.com
www.buzzmachine.com
Amazon deleting 1984 from Kindle, but 99-cent ebook was illegal copy | Betanews
The press loves a juicy story, and Amazon served one up on a silver platter this morning by automatically deleting certain copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customers' Kindles. Amazon was able to remove the titles because the Kindle is configured to automatically sync up with the user's Bookshelf via the electronic book reader's WhisperNet wireless service. When the company removed the unauthorized books from customers' accounts, they also disappeared from the Kindle. - betanews.com
www.betanews.com
BBC3 random documentary generator |Media |The Guardian
Simply think of a four-digit number between 0000 and 9999, then pull the relevant ingredients from our four component pools Z-list celebrity presenter, style of reportage, subject matter and trite conclusion put them all together and hey presto Having unnecessary cosmetic surgery to look like subject 5. Basic sarcastic voiceover, no actual contact Edgy subject matter 0. - guardian.co.ukwww.guardian.co.ukDigital TV - News - IP Vision launches Fetch TV Freeview+ box - Digital Spy
It also offers pay-per-view access to films and premium content from Paramount Pictures, National Geographic and the Cartoon Network. - digitalspy.co.ukwww.digitalspy.co.ukpick a page