Wednesday 22 March 2017, PM
Tuesday 21 March 2017, PM

UK broadcasters back BBC's call for top spots on programme guides
The House of Lords will debate an amendment to the digital economy bill on Monday that would extend rules that give the UK's public service broadcasters top billing on electronic programme guides. Purnell has said that BBC channels such as CBBC and CBeebies, which account for the bulk of UK-made children's shows, should be further up the programme guide than commercial channels aimed at children, most of which show US programming. - www.theguardian.comMonday 20 March 2017, AM

BBC demands new laws to give its shows top billing over rivals in television guides
The Government argues that the move would be anti-competitive. - www.telegraph.co.ukFriday 17 March 2017, PM

Is it time to re-think the Official Chart show?
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/597421/07.03.17_5G_strategy_-_for_publication.
- www.gov.uk
PBS hits back Trump fund cut plans - TBI Vision TBI Vision
- tbivision.com
#69 - Broadcast Indie Summit; Songs Of Praise; Daily Mail Newspaper Of The Year - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
Friday 17 March 2017, AM

Invitation to comment for public interest test on the proposed acquisition of Sky plc by Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.
The public interest assessment that Ofcom has been asked to make by the Secretary of State and our ongoing duty under the Communications Act to assess whether a licensee is fit and proper are separate legal processes. We propose consider these matters within the same timeframe within which Ofcom will report to the Secretary of State on the public interest assessment. - www.ofcom.org.ukWednesday 15 March 2017, PM
Tuesday 14 March 2017, AM

The 'invisible epidemic' afflicting millions globally
The app has also won the approval of partners such as the World Health Organization and USAID. But how much should we trust such diagnostic apps, however well-intended There are 259,000 health apps available to consumers globally, according to a recent study by the health research group Research2Guidance, measuring everything from heart health to female fertility, asthma to diabetes. - www.bbc.co.ukMonday 13 March 2017, PM
Sunday 12 March 2017, PM

Channel 4 News editor Ben De Pear: 'I see no end to Jon Snow. He's immortal'
He may have been up until 2am the night before celebrating an Oscar nomination for the film Wattani My Homeland by former colleague Marcel Mettelsiefen, but Channel 4 News' editor, Ben de Pear, is clear as a bell about his programme's mission. Channel 4 News discovered her a year ago following a film she made about a child in Aleppo who had built a model city It gave her a contract and a week of training in Turkey. - www.theguardian.comFriday 10 March 2017, PM

Keeping it impartial

TVPlayer calls for new OTT pubcaster rules - TBI Vision TBI Vision
- tbivision.comFriday 10 March 2017, AM

BT strikes deal to legally separate Openreach division
The regulator had threatened to force BT to legally separate Openreach. BT chief executive Gavin Patterson said the deal, reached after two years of negotiations with Ofcom, meant Openreach would have its own board and make its own investment decisions. - www.bbc.co.uk
Made in Teesside
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis ure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Lorem ivelit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. - www.thenorthernecho.co.ukThursday 09 March 2017, AM

BBC focus too middle aged and middle class, says Ofcom chief
The BBC has set ambitious diversity targets for on- and off-screen staff, which it says it is on track to meet. Ofcom is in the final stages of preparing a framework to assess the BBC's performance, including its distinctiveness, which White said would involve extensive consultation with the public. - www.theguardian.comWednesday 08 March 2017, PM

08/03/2017 Radio 4 Feedback

Consultations
Digital UK has published a consultation on options for the allocation of Logical Channel Number 7 in the Freeview programme guide, following confirmation of the BBC's plans to transition BBC Three to an online service. Digital UK has published a consultation on the reservation of channel numbers in the General Entertainment and News genres for HD-only services. - www.digitaluk.co.uk
Should presenters live near their station? – RadioToday
Sadly, too many local radio presenters still haven't grasped this. It's not the same role it had for the first 20-30 years of ILR. Remember when the floods in 2012 meant none of Radio Exe's presenters could get to the studio on a Sunday Heart Devon's presentation that day was coming from London but the team at Leicester Square did as much coverage as a locally-based jock would have done - thanks to technology. - radiotoday.co.ukSunday 05 March 2017, PM

Podcast: All about loudness compression – RadioToday
This is just one of the weekly podcasts produced and published by RadioToday, hosted by Trevor Dann and sponsored by Broadcast Bionics. See our archive on the RadioToday Programme channel here. - radiotoday.co.ukFriday 03 March 2017, PM
Friday 03 March 2017, AM

#68 - How Long Will ITV Hold Their Nerve With The Nightly Show? - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann

TVCatchup cannot distribute commercial content
Britain's commercial broadcasters have won their long-running dispute with TVCatchup over the distribution of their content over the internet. ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 argued TVCatchup was in breach of copyright and couldn't rely on UK legislation that provided for retransmission over cable networks. - www.broadbandtvnews.comThursday 02 March 2017, AM

Freeview Play TV sales surpass one million
Freeview has announced sales of Freeview Play TVs and set-top boxes have surpassed one million. Launched in late 2015, Freeview Play offers UK viewers a combination of live, catch-up and on demand content all in the same place and for no monthly cost. - www.tvbeurope.com
ITV sees fall in profits as advertising revenues also drop
ITV has reported a 14 per cent fall in its annual pre-tax profits to 533 million as it saw advertising revenues drop by three per cent. On the positive side, ITV reported a 13 per cent increase in revenue from the ITV Studios division and underlying pre-tax profit was up slightly on the year, from 843 million to 847 million. - www.tvbeurope.comWednesday 01 March 2017, PM
Wednesday 01 March 2017, AM

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox to formally notify EU of Sky bid
Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox is expected to formally notify the European competition regulator of its 11.7bn takeover offer for Sky later this week, after which the UK culture secretary will have to decide whether to launch an investigation into the extent of Murdoch's control of UK media. In 2011, Murdoch's bid for Sky resulted in a deal to spin off Sky News to quell media plurality issues before the takeover was abandoned. - www.theguardian.comhttp://www.digitaltveurope.net/665782/bt-rolls-out-next-generation-of-youview/
- www.digitaltveurope.netMonday 27 February 2017, AM

Arqiva announces excellent results for the half year to 31 December 2016
During the six months to 31 December 2016, Arqiva increased the capacity of its two main DVB-T Multiplexes to 31 streams, all of which are utilised. As at 31 December 2016, Arqiva had 159 new transmitters on air helping broadcasters in reaching the targeted UK DAB network coverage of more than 97 of the population. - www.arqiva.comFriday 24 February 2017, PM
Thursday 23 February 2017, AM

BBC ups Welsh programming investment by 50% - TBI Vision TBI Vision
- tbivision.com
ITV outlook darkens as Brexit anxiety kicks in - TBI Vision TBI Vision
- tbivision.com
BBC reveals new
- tbivision.comWednesday 22 February 2017, PM
Wednesday 22 February 2017, AM

ITV to shut London studio with 40-year history of top programming
The London television studio where some of the UK's most popular shows of the past 40 years have been filmed is to be closed by ITV. Programmes from Upstairs Downstairs to Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway have been shot at the London Studios on the capital's South Bank but it is to close as a result of plans to redevelop the broadcaster's headquarters on the same site. The tower block in which the studio is housed was built in the 1970s for London Weekend Television, with ITV securing the freehold on the site in 2003 for 56m. In December the Wembley studio where the ITV shows The X Factor and Pop Idol were shot was closed before a planned demolition. - www.theguardian.comMonday 20 February 2017, PM

SS-GB viewers listen up! Actors should be allowed to mutter as well as shout
Until SS-GB, the BBC dramas that had faced most accusations of inaudibility were Jamaica Inn, Taboo and Happy Valley. If drama wants to be convincing, TV characters must be allowed mouths that mutter as well as shout. - www.theguardian.comSearch for even higher efficiency compression
The search is on for improvements in video compression beyond the latest High Efficiency Video Coding standard, otherwise known as HEVC or H.265. Further details are available in the Preliminary Joint Call for Evidence on video compression with capability beyond HEVC. itu. - informitv.comMonday 20 February 2017, AM

Ministers pledge to keep sport's 'crown jewels' on free TV channels
The rights for major events including the Olympics, the football World Cup and the Wimbledon tennis finals must be offered to free-to-air channels which can be received by at least 95 of the population under the current rules. Highlights of events that must be offered to free-to-air channels include England's home cricket tests, the Six Nations rugby championship involving the home nations and the Commonwealth Games. - www.theguardian.com
Google and Bing to demote pirate sites in UK web searches
Google and Microsoft's Bing have signed up to a voluntary code of practice and will ensure offending websites are demoted in their search results. The organisers of the new agreement say in future internet users will be more likely to be taken to bona fide providers than pirate sites where their online security could be at risk. - www.bbc.co.ukFriday 17 February 2017, PM

#67 - Zuckerberg’s state of the union a new threat to whistleblowers - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann

#67 - Zuckerberg’s State of the Union New Threat to Whistleblowers - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann

BBC iPlayer gets personal on connected TVs
Along with the new development, the BBC announced iPlayer had another record-breaking month in January. There were 304 million requests in January, the highest ever seen by the BBC. January was up eight per cent on December, BBC iPlayer's previous best ever month, and saw over 50 million requests more than the same month last year. - www.tvbeurope.com
Time to re-think Russia?
Thursday 16 February 2017, PM
Wednesday 15 February 2017, PM

Secrecy and whistleblowing, Times Literary Supplement editor Stig Abell, Radio style guides

Discovery to launch second free-to-air UK channel
Discovery Communications will launch a second free-to-air channel in the UK this year. Discovery currently has free-to-air channel Quest which is available on Freeview as well as Sky and Virgin. - www.tvbeurope.comTuesday 14 February 2017, PM

Opinion piece: Commercial radio deregulation – RadioToday
David Lloyd writes It's been a long time coming, but many in the commercial radio sector, but not all, will be delighted to see today's announcement from DCMS on the future regulation of commercial radio. On World Radio Day, let's celebrate another chapter for this great thing called radio - as it enters its third age. - radiotoday.co.ukMonday 13 February 2017, PM
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/591463/Radio_Deregulation_Final.PDF
From 1995, commercial radio saw both a major acceleration in the licensing of new stations to fill the remaining coverage gaps and an increasing number of take-overs and mergers, leading to the emergence of major radio groups holding a large portfolio of local licences throughout the UK. The 1990 Broadcasting Act opened the way for the creation of quasi-national brands such as 'Classic Gold' and the Magic AM network and allowed the Radio Authority to advertise one national commercial FM licence and two national commercial AM licences for the first time - these would be won by Classic FM, Virgin Radio and Talk Radio. Pdf 14 Commercial Radio by Weekly Audience Reach 2007 Commercial Radio by Weekly Audience Reach 2015 Since 2007 Global and Bauer have emerged as the two largest commercial radio groups accounting for around three-quarters of all commercial radio listening and around 80 of commercial radio revenues. - www.gov.ukpick a page