Friday 09 October 2015, PM
Friday 09 October 2015, AM
BBC rules out funding digital radio switchover | Media | The Guardian
The BBC has ruled itself out of funding digital radio switchover, saying the cost of the project could put at risk stations such as 6 Music. The BBC has been one of the driving forces behind digital radio takeup, with a lineup of services including 6 Music – saved from the axe five years ago – and Radio 4 Extra (previously BBC7), each of which have more than 2 million listeners. - www.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.comDTG :: News :: DTG publishes R-Book 6: practical guidelines for Freeview YouView aerial system installers
The DTG has published the 6th edition of its free R-Book for aerial system installers fitting Freeview and all other DTT-based platforms, with practical advice on interference mitigation and the latest industry guidelines. R-Book 6 has been produced by the DTG RF Working Group, led by the DTG’s Principal RF Engineer, Alex Buchan, and broadcast transmission and reception consultant Peter Barnett of the CAI (Confederation of Aerial Industries), at the request of Ofcom, the UK communications regulator. - www.dtg.org.uk
www.dtg.org.ukThursday 08 October 2015, PM
BBC seeks 11-year charter in green paper response | News | Broadcast
The BBC will call for an 11 year charter when it publishes its response to the government’s charter review green paper later today. The corporation will address concerns over the politicisation of the charter review process by arguing the extension would separate the review process from the election cycle. Meanwhile it will repeat BBC Trust chairman Rona Fairhead’s earlier call for licence fee payers to play a formal role in charter review in future and to be consulted in debates on the funding of the BBC. - www.broadcastnow.co.uk
www.broadcastnow.co.ukRita Ora, Sam Smith and Coldplay back campaign to protect BBC music | Media | The Guardian
Some of the biggest names in the UK music industry including Sir Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Sam Smith and Rita Ora are backing a campaign calling for the BBC’s music services to be protected from cuts. Industry-backed group UK Music will next week officially launch a campaign in parliament under the slogan #LetItBeeb. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comResearch.net Powered Online Survey
The Government's BBC Charter Review Public Consultation closed on 8 October, following a 12 week consultation period. Responses to the online survey can no longer be submitted. We are now analysing the responses and further updates will appear here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bbc-charter-review-public-consultation - www.research.net
www.research.netThursday 08 October 2015, AM
Humax announces FVP-4000T Freeview Play set-box | What Hi-Fi?
The new set-top box from Humax is the first of its kind to deliver the Freeview Play TV service and comes with a choice of storage and styling options. The Humax FVP-4000T has built-in wi-fi for access to the catch-up services on Freeview Play, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4 and Demand 5, with Netflix to be added in early 2016. There's also access to up to 12 free-to-air HD channels.
www.whathifi.comWednesday 07 October 2015, PM
Tuesday 06 October 2015, AM
Channel 4's Rebrand Dismantles Its Iconic "4" Logo | Co.Design | business + design
When it was launched in 1982, the iconic animated Channel 4 logo, designed by branding agency Lambie–Nairn, was revolutionary. It was one of the first computer animated logos on British television and the first example of a network using its on-air identity to establish itself as a brand. Having survived various reinterpretations over a decade, the logo is considered an icon of British culture. - www.fastcodesign.com
www.fastcodesign.comMonday 05 October 2015, PM
New digital process brings 10,000 programmes
So the UK broadcasters, including ourselves, ITV and C4, formed a digital production partnership called the Digital Production Partnership, of which I was founder and managing director. So the UK broadcasting industry, through the DPP, decided to create the equivalent of an HDCAM SR via a single common digital file format that everyone could use to submit finished programmes. - www.bbc.co.uk
www.bbc.co.ukSunday 04 October 2015, AM
Freeview Play
This beautiful and inspiring ad charts the journey of a little television in a totalitarian world of zeppelins and goosestep marching. One sees echoes of Apple's 1984, a single figure rebelling against the brainwashed masses, a revolution of one. - adland.tv
adland.tvFriday 02 October 2015, PM
A framework for spectrum sharing
Ofcom is today seeking views on a proposed new framework for thinking about spectrum sharing that would offer a model for considering whether frequencies have the potential to be shared. Identify barriers to sharing include regulatory tools and market and technological enablers that have potential to facilitate further sharing and, set out how sharing would be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account any existing uses and proposed new uses. - stakeholders.ofcom.org.ukstakeholders.ofcom.org.ukFreeview Launches Biggest Ever Advertising Campaign
Freeview, the UK's no.1 TV platform, is set to unveil its biggest ever advertising campaign to launch connected TV service Freeview Play. Since last Saturday Freeview has been teasing the new campaign with a version of the brand's Cat and Budgie advert interrupted by an evil TV from Set Yourself Free. - www.freeview.co.uk
www.freeview.co.ukDTG :: News :: "UHD is ready to roll": SES Ultra HD Conference @ the DTG, September 29th 2015
Opening the conference, journalist and industry analyst Chris Forrester said that UHD has taken huge steps forward over the past six months and cited UHD channels in China, Europe Japan, Korea, India as well as the USA. He went on to say that the first commercial 24/7 UHD channels are being carried by SES and expected that more would be announced shortly. - www.dtg.org.ukwww.dtg.org.uk
Barb launches 'gold standard' for online viewing measurement
The TV Player report is BARB's first publication of data for viewing that takes place on laptops, desktop PCs, tablets and smartphones. The report currently includes data from the following TV players All 4, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, Sky Go and UTV Player. - www.broadbandtvnews.com
www.broadbandtvnews.comCorbyn Coverage
open.live.bbc.co.ukFreeview launches biggest ever ad campaign |
Freeview, the UK FTA TV platform, is set to unveil its biggest ever advertising campaign to launch connected TV service Freeview Play. The TV campaign will also include 60 and 40 second versions plus product adverts which explain the features and benefits of Freeview Play. - advanced-television.comadvanced-television.comFriday 02 October 2015, AM
EE TV review
You get a similar interface to the one you use on the TV which means you can do a lot more than the YouView app which is essentially the EPG so you can send recordings to the box. With the EE TV app you can watch live TV, watch recordings and make use of the Replay feature. - www.pcadvisor.co.uk
www.pcadvisor.co.uk
DAB Updates: October 2015
Events radio station Pop Up Radio has been authorised to pop up in more places on DAB digital radio. More information Bournemouth, Derbyshire, Exeter Torbay, North Devon, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and South Hampshire Pop Up Radio will be added to these multiplexes Lincolnshire listeners can now tune into BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Compass FM and Lincs FM via the new Lincolnshire digital radio multiplex. - www.a516digital.comwww.a516digital.comThursday 01 October 2015, PM
BBC releases stats to bolster Charter renewal
The document has been circulated to all former BBC employees who are in the BBC Alumni, a network designed to keep ex-BBC people up to date with the Corporation. 12.7m people a day start the day with BBC radio stations, according to the document 7.0m are listening to BBC Radio's drivetime output. - media.info
media.info#36 - Radio Festival 2015 - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
feedproxy.google.comThe Media Podcast with Olly Mann
themediapodcast.comNew national radio station?
The new national digital radio multiplex, goes live early in 2016. At the moment, DAB stations can only be received on a proportion of digital radios in the UK. However, that's growing all the time with car radios and the digital tick mark helping to accelerate growth. - radiotoday.co.uk
radiotoday.co.ukLincolnshire digital radio multiplex launched
Local DAB has arrived in Lincolnshire, with a new MuxCo multiplex carrying the services of Lincs FM, Compass FM and BBC Radio Lincolnshire. BBC Radio Lincolnshire's digital service was switched-on at 8am this morning when the Mayor of Lincoln, Andy Kerry pressed a big green switch signalling for the digital transmission to start. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukBBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra plans not approved
The Trust decided that the BBC's proposals had the potential to have a material impact on the market and could negatively impact talkSPORT especially talkSPORT 2 which was due to be launched at a similar time early next year. TalkSPORT raised substantive concerns that the proposal would put talkSPORT 2 in direct competition with the BBC in seeking to procure sports rights and programming relationships with sports governing bodies, and that any expansion of Sports Extra's remit would place commercial viability of its plans for talkSPORT 2 in question. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukThursday 01 October 2015, AM
Channel 4 facing 'disaster'
Key figures from Channel 4âs history have warned that privatising the PSB would be a âdisasterâ for the UK television industry. After a government official was photographed outside Downing Street clasping documents suggesting that privatisation is firmly on the agenda, industry heavyweights have rallied around the broadcaster. Former Wall to Wall chief executive Alex Graham, one of the founding fathers of an indie sector fostered by C4âs creation in 1982, said removing the broadcaster from public ownership would have grave consequences for producers. âWe have a delicate ecology in the UK and if you start messing around with it, itâs like drilling for oil in the Arctic â that which we all find precious could disappear almost overnight,â he said. Graham added that, although he has respect for culture secretary John Whittingdale, there is a âslightly thuggish qualityâ about government policy on broadcasting. Charlie Parsons, creator of The Big Breakfast and The Word, said it would be a âtragedyâ if the proposals were pushed through, adding that a privately owned C4 would have a âwatered downâ remit. âSelling off C4 is like selling off the family jewels,â he said..... - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukWednesday 30 September 2015, PM
30/09/2015 Radio 4 Feedback
open.live.bbc.co.uk
New HTML5 Player beta trial for BBC iPlayer
While opted in, whenever you visit BBC iPlayer to play a programme you'll see a reminder banner before you click Play, so you can be sure you're using our HTML5 player. During the beta period if we can't play a video in our HTML5 player you'll see the notification below, enabling you to load our non-beta player on a one-off basis. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukWednesday 30 September 2015, AM
Jon Holmes explains all about DAB digital radio
A fun video explaining digital radio has been produced and played at the Radio Festival in London. The short guide, presented by Radio X weekend breakfast host Jon Holmes, gives a quick overview of getting digital radio in your car and includes appearances by Rosie Smith and Laurence Harrison. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.uk
Zane Lowe: 'I'm not sure that Apple Music needs Beats 1'
Cooper asked Lowe to explain the circumstances which caused him to leave the BBC, prompting Lowe to squirm slightly in his seat. Previously, he worked at XFM and MTV, continuing to present MTV Two's Gonzo flagship music programme throughout his time at the BBC. Lowe was visibly moved after Cooper presented him with a Radio 1 award, and launched an impassioned defence of the corporation. - www.telegraph.co.ukwww.telegraph.co.ukTuesday 29 September 2015, AM
Channel 4 chairman to step down as ministers consider privatisation plans
The chairman of Channel 4 is to step down in January after ministers rejected a proposal that he stay on while trying to turn the state-owned broadcaster into a mutually owned not-for-profit company. The Shareholder Executive, the government body which now owns state assets and is looking to reduce the public deficit, is understood to have instructed advisers to value Channel 4 both with its current remit to commission diverse coverage and to support independent producers and without any public service obligations other than those broadly shared by other broadcasters such as Channel 5 and ITV to provide news and current affairs. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comMonday 28 September 2015, AM
Former Radio 4 announcer fears for the future of the Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast is currently broadcast four times a day at 0048, 0520, 1201 and 1754 the last two forecasts are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 LW only. The Met Office will, via the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, continue to provide data for the BBC's Shipping Forecast beyond the end of the Met Office contract with BBC Weather. - www.a516digital.comwww.a516digital.comSunday 27 September 2015, PM
Walking the talk: an interview with Twelve Winds Managing Director Wayne Myslik
www.twelvewinds.org.uk
We’re proud to be a B Corp!
www.twelvewinds.org.ukOur TV talent is world-beating, so why are the Tories strangling it?
While our glorious car, oil and weapons systems industries get bigged up by ministers abroad, at home there's a choreographed attack on the BBC by Conservative MPs, possibly mounted on the basis that they get asked difficult questions on Newsnight and Radio 4's Today programme. At the Royal Television Society conference two weeks ago, he protested it was not his intention to tell the BBC what programmes it should make and when it should put them out, before telling the BBC that its main news shouldn't be broadcast at 10pm and maybe Strictly Come Dancing shouldn't be shown on Saturday night. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
'Wolf Hall' director says he rowed with Culture Secretary over BBC licence fee
Mr Kosminsky explained he argued with John Whittingdale over whether or not the licence fee was a tax, with Mr Whittingdale declaring that it was. Mr Kosminsky, 59, directed the recent adaptation of Hilary Mantel's book, but has otherwise not worked for the BBC in over a decade. - www.independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukFriday 25 September 2015, AM
Government may privatise Channel 4, document reveals
The government has inadvertently provided further evidence that it is looking at privatising Channel 4, after an official was photographed entering Downing Street with a document setting out options for a sell-off. Channel 4's remit to cater for minority audiences and take risks is considered by some within the broadcaster as the greatest challenge to privatisation. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comThursday 24 September 2015, AM
Police communication, Nordic support for the BBC, Greenpeace investigations, Al Jazeera pardons
open.live.bbc.co.ukWednesday 23 September 2015, PM
The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
www.acast.com
ITV Hub to replace ITV Player and ITV.com
The move seemingly makes sense, as ITV claims 30 per cent of its usage on PC and mobile is from live streaming ITV's channels, which include ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV and ITVBe, rather than the on-demand catch-up service through ITV Player. ITV also showed off new branding for ITV Hub that uses the different coloured dots from the various ITV channel logos and shows how ITV Hub is at the centre of all of ITV's content. - www.expertreviews.co.uk
www.expertreviews.co.ukWednesday 23 September 2015, AM
Radio Times poll shows massive public support for BBC and licence fee
Huge numbers say that the BBC provides high-quality programming that is distinctive from other broadcasters and, as a result, the vast majority of you - regardless of your age - would even be happy to forgo a free licence when you're 75 rather than see the BBC lose out. Three out of four of you say that the BBC should not have its services cut back, even if it means a cheaper licence fee. - www.radiotimes.comwww.radiotimes.comClassic British film channel new on Freeview |
Available from 1300 on Tuesday 22 September 2015, people watching Talking Pictures TV will be able to relax at home and watch vintage and rare films, 24 hours a day, and relive their memories of the 'Saturday morning pictures'. Talking Pictures TV is a family-run business, which first began as a classic films DVD label under Renown Pictures Ltd. With its own large library of rights for UK films and acquired programming from many major broadcasters, Talking Pictures began to see a huge demand for its DVD content, and saw the opportunity to launch a TV channel. - advanced-television.comadvanced-television.com
BBC quietly launches 'live rewind' for radio
The BBC has quietly launched 'live rewind' for radio stations allowing you to rewind back to the beginning of the current radio programme. Live rewind appears available for all BBC Radio stations and appears live now within the web console. - media.infomedia.infoTuesday 22 September 2015, PM
Broadcasters raise concerns over EE TV
ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have raised major concerns about an innovative catch-up tool on fledgling television service EE TV. The commercial broadcasters have questioned EE TV’s Replay functionality - a PVR service that allows users to bypass adverts by automatically recording hundreds of hours’ worth of content. The recorded programmes are presented on EE TV’s 1TB box in a VoD-style menu, allowing users to browse content by genre, channel and specially selected top picks. But unlike a VoD service, which will stream pre- and mid-roll adverts, users are able to skip through the commercials because the content is recorded.. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukTuesday 22 September 2015, AM
RT breached broadcasting rules over claims BBC faked pictures of Syrian chemical attack, says Ofcom
The media regulator instructed RT to broadcast two on-air statements after finding its reporting of the conflicts in Ukraine was not impartial and that its Syria coverage breached the broadcasting code on factual matters. The regulator ruled that the programme Ukraine's Refugees, broadcast in July 2014, was in breach of impartiality rules. - www.independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukSimple.tv to Launch New Cloud DVR for Cord Cutters
Tv, which is about to unveil a major change in direction with the launch of a new cloud DVR. ShowDrive, as the new product is being called, will allow consumers to store up to a thousand hours of broadcast TV recordings in the cloud, and then stream those recorded shows and movies to internet-connected TVs, streaming boxes and mobile devices. The ShowDrive Freeview box doesn't come with an internal hard drive to record shows instead, it uploads recordings to the cloud, where they are instantly transcoded and made available for streaming. - variety.com
variety.comMonday 21 September 2015, AM
Sunday 20 September 2015, PM
Digital UK boss: Freeview Play will be a 'natural evolution of TV'
Digital UK has the figures to back up his statement over 90 of television is watched live on TV and 95 of the most-watched programmes are on Freeview. In just under five years' time around 15m homes will be affected by the government's decision to auction off a chunk of Freeview's airwaves to mobile phone companies. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comSaturday 19 September 2015, AM
Travel Channel trials live restart service
Travel Channel is to become the first broadcaster to trial Arqiva’s live restart functionality, allowing viewers to instantly skip back to the start of any programme during its broadcast. The Scripps Network-owned channel, which features shows including Expedition Unknown, Shed and Buried and Baggage Battles will become the first client to adopt the media services business’ Start Over functionality. Using the Arqiva technology, all Freeview HD homes will be able to press the red button on their remote control to immediately start watching the current programme from the moment it got underway. The service works using MHEG technology, with Arqiva constantly recording the playout feed rather than relying on directing viewers to a VoD service. It blocks users from fast-forwarding the stream to prevent ad-skipping, although pausing is possible. The service has been verified with Barb, which will count viewing as part of its viewed on same day as live (Vosdal) ratings measurement.. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukchallenging news scheduling and indie rules
He announced a major review of the BBC's market impact - not in itself a huge surprise given the questions asked in his own charter review green paper. His line - supported recently by BBC director general Tony Hall - is that consolidation amongst indies and increasing foreign ownership - often by companies that dwarf Channel 4 and even in some cases the BBC - needs to addressed if the health and welfare of Britain's world-renowned creative economy is to be assured. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.compick a page