Wednesday 20 May 2015, AM
HSBC tax scandal: Classic FM and Capital owner Global Radio advised stations not to report story
Peter Oborne resigned from The Telegraph earlier this year Comment The Telegraph only has itself to blame. The Independent has contacted Global Radio for a comment on the situation. - www.independent.co.uk
www.independent.co.ukMonday 18 May 2015, PM
Over-The-Top Streaming Video Services To Surge To 330 Million+ Subscribers By 2019
Consumer adoption of streaming video services is surging, according to a new report by Juniper Research out this morning, which finds that subscriber numbers for services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video will grow from 92.1 million in 2014 to 333.2 million global subscriptions by 2019. Dish Network is running an Internet-based streaming TV service called Sling TV. Juniper also says that the spike in consumer adoption of these streaming video services will be led by growth in North America, but will be closely followed by the Far East, as this region, too, will see new services and increasing consumer interest. - techcrunch.com
techcrunch.comPay television in the UK and Ireland
The informitv Multiscreen Index now reports there are 18.50 million pay television customers across the four main providers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. TalkTalk added 82,000 video customers for a total of 1.41 million, while BT TV gained 52,000 video customers to reach 1.14 million. - informitv.cominformitv.comSurveying ultra-high-definition benefits
So why is viewing distance relative to screen size important The designed viewing distance for high-definition television is apparently just over three times the screen height. The optimal 'design viewing distance' is apparently 'the distance at which two adjacent pixels subtend an angle of 1 arc-min at the viewer's eye'. - informitv.cominformitv.com
TV licence loophole exploited by viewers
As a consequence it is not doing everything it can to reduce licence fee evasion such as making iPlayer access - which unlike watching free-to-air broadcast signals can be easily controlled - contingent on owning a TV licence. In the digital age where all online devices have unique addresses and where mobile applications - including the BBC's iPlayer app - identify the devices they send content to - the BBC already has mountains of information it could use to pursue licence fee evaders but chooses not to. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comMonday 18 May 2015, AM
BBC's Diane Coyle: 'Whittingdale, despite the headlines, is a good choice'
quotShe explainsquotIn the Conservative party there are more people who are ideological about the BBC and would want to pare it backquot, but quotI think the government and John Whittingdale are actually quite pragmatic and recognise among the people who vote for them that the BBC has great popularity. quotIf politicians really stop to think about it they recognise independent scrutiny from the BBC, although it can be uncomfortable, serves them better than anything else. All the research I've ever seen says that people, on the whole, like the BBC and want it to carry on and don't want it interfered withI think grown-up politicians will not be daft enough to ignore what people think about it.quot And she thinks that, quotWhittingdale, despite the headlines, is actually a good choice. He's really well-informed. He's a pragmatic, sensible man. He knows people in the independent sector and around the country. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comJohn Whittingdale, the horror fan putting the frighteners on the BBC
There is no shortage of evidence that Whittingdale will take a tough line on the BBC, having said last year that the licence fee was quotWorse than the poll taxquot because there was no element of subsidy for the low-paid. More top-slicing is likely and there is the possibility that Whittingdale will revisit the idea, which he backed five years ago, of the BBC paying the pound500m cost of free TV licences for the over-75s. If the axeman cometh, then he does so with a cheery smile and a glint in his eye, a man who once said his favourite Star Trek character was The Borg, quotAn alien species which is very similar to the Whips' office a collective consciousness dedicated to the eradication of all other speciesquot. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comSunday 17 May 2015, PM
BBC Local Radio closes Late Show for East Midlands
The programme, which broadcasts on BBC Radio Nottingham, Derby, Lincolnshire and Leicester, will have its last edition on May 21st. As of May 24th, East Midlands listeners will join the late show broadcast in the West Midlands, on BBC WM, Coventry Warwickshire, Hereford Worcester, Stoke, and Shropshire. Given the BBC's comparatively large local radio sizes, it's likely that he now reaches more potential listeners across BBC Local Radio than he did on the GWR network. - media.infomedia.info
Shutting down huge pirate sites has no 'positive effect'
To shutdown may actually have made life worse for the authorities quotThe postshutdown market structure was much more fragmented, thus making it potentially more resistant to any future interventions. Consumers might be using more offline resources that are not easily tracked. - www.wired.co.ukwww.wired.co.ukMedium wave transmitters turned off in Berkshire
The original frequency used by Radio 210 from its launch in 1976 is no more, after the AM transmitter broadcasting Smooth Radio to Reading was turned off this weekend. Smooth Radio has been on 1431KHz from Manor Farm since last March, when it took over the old Gold frequencies on medium wave across the country. - radiotoday.co.uk
radiotoday.co.ukFriday 15 May 2015, PM
CONTENT FLOW THROUGH THE MOBILE ECOSYSTEM
CONTENT FLOW THROUGH THE MOBILE ECOSYSTEM In Association with the Mobile Video Alliance Content Created UK Digital Video Revenues Content items are typically created by a Content Owner or Broadcaster at a Studio and are designed to be shown via a variety of TV and mobile devices. The video asset will typically be delivered by a Content Distribution Network ready to respond to multiple requests from a variety of mobile end users. - www.dtg.org.uk
www.dtg.org.ukHome
The electronic programme guide on a DAB digital radio will not receive updates from Wednesday 20 May to Sunday 24 May inclusively. The service will resume on Monday 25 May. We apologise to any listeners who will not be able to update their guide. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk
Freeview Play first look: Is this the future of contract-free smart TV?
For a closer look at Firefox OS and My Home Screen 2.0, check out our early eyes-onWhen playing around with the Panasonic smart TV, we noticed that there was a Freeview Play icon floating on the Firefox OS main page, providing viewers with yet another window into the Freeview Play suite of connected services. Arqiva, the infrastructure company and Freeview shareholder that manages and distributes Freeview channels, has been busy working on what was described as a 'vanilla' Connected Operator user interface, something that could be adapted to meet Freeview Play's requirements. - recombu.com
recombu.comFriday 15 May 2015, AM
Best Freeview and Freesat PVRs 2015
Below we've listed the three best Freetime PVRs and three best Freesat PVRs available right now. See how these PVRs compare with the best of the rest by taking a look at our Best Buy PVR reviews. - www.which.co.ukwww.which.co.ukThursday 14 May 2015, PM
Killing Freemium is the Worst Thing for Artists
Do we really want to go back to an era when a small group of players controlled what most of us heard, and the only way to hear outsider artists was to trade tapes and mix CDs. And now we have easy ways to get free music, for which artists get paid nothing, and that will become the new normal for discovery There are plenty of artists who credit Napster with helping them build their careers-but wouldn't it be better for artists to have something, rather than nothing. If big labels can erase Spotify's free option, what else can they do They all have equity in Spotify as well, so they've hedged their bets and get paid either way-but what about the artists And what about the artists who don't have label deals, or access to legit licensing deals Should they just stay in their own backyard - medium.commedium.comFinancial Times | BBC iPlayer popularity falls for first time
The popularity of the iPlayer TV service has fallen for the first time, raising questions about the BBC's ability to maintain its position as a pioneer of online video. The iPlayer - which gives users access to the BBC's radio and TV programmes - has been one of the broadcaster'??s biggest success stories, and has become one of the UKs biggest brands since its launch in 2007. - www.ft.com
www.ft.comWednesday 13 May 2015, PM
Media:News chiefs on dominance of election poll stories; All3Media CEO Jane Turton
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London Live chief executive: 'We can't keep propping it up'
Last week, London Live was released from its commitment to increase the number of hours of original, local programming by an hour a day in its second year, and to 10 hours a day in its third year. When pressed on what has gone wrong for London Live, the flagship channel for the Government's plans to boost local news as devised by Jeremy Hunt when he was culture secretary, Auckland was candid. - www.campaignlive.co.ukwww.campaignlive.co.uk
BBC Global iPlayer to close in June
The BBC has confirmed the quotGlobalquot version of its iPlayer on-demand service will close next month. The global iPlayer app was first made available as an iOS app in July 2011 but was never extended beyond Apple's platform. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukDigital Radio UK welcomes return of Ed Vaizey
He has been an active supporter of our industry and worked closely with Digital Radio UK to back expansion of local DAB coverage and authorise Ofcom funding for trials of small-scale DAB radio. Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio UK, said quotWe welcome the return of Ed Vaizey as Culture Minister. He is passionate about radio and a great advocate for the sector. Ed's reappointment will ensure strong leadership and continued Government support for delivering UK radio's digital future. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukWednesday 13 May 2015, AM
Tony Hall tells BBC staff to be 'bold and inventive' as licence fee battle looms
Tony Hall has said that the BBC should be quotBold and inventive about the futurequot in a note to all staff, which comes amid rightwing criticism of anti-Tory bias during the election and fears over the future of the licence fee. After the BBC won 11 awards at the Baftas on Sunday night, Hall said quotThe best argument for the BBC lies in the quality of its programmes. But there can never be any room for complacency. The challenge for us all over the coming months is to push ourselves to do even better. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comArmando Iannucci to deliver MacTaggart lecture
quotMore and more people are poking their heads up and saying, 'do you think the licence fee is going to last' It would be lovely but I really don't. Inevitably it's going to fall apart, or it's going to be more difficult to collect or sustain,quot he said. Festival advisory chair Zai Bennett, who is also director of Sky Atlantic, said quotI promised when I became advisory chair that we would strive to make the festival more international and more entertaining than ever and I can't think of a more appropriate MacTaggart than Armando. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comTuesday 12 May 2015, PM
but does the public back a mauling?
quotFront pages of the Telegraph, Times and Mail as well as the leader column of the Sun all declared, with ill-disguised glee, that the appointment of John Whittingdale as culture secretary was aquotdeclaration of warquot against the BBC which leaves the very future of the licence fee in doubtquot. In the long 18 months ahead before the BBC charter is confirmed, any tiny transgression will be seized on by the BBC's enemies in the same way that they picked on a man eating a bacon sandwich. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comJohn Whittingdale backed BBC paying £500m cost of TV licences for over-75s
The BBC faced the prospect of having to pick up the tab for free TV licences for over-75s in the 2010 negotiations around its future funding that saw the licence fee frozen until 2017 and the BBC take on a number of other funding responsibilities including the World Service and Welsh language channel, S4C. With a new government in place, negotiations around the future shape of the BBC and the way it is funded, including the level of the licence fee, will now begin in earnest. quotSome of my friends work at the BBC and they are either open or privately Tory supporters. What has always been a concern, it has never been as simple as political bias. It's not that the BBC has a load of Labour supporters, the Labour party would never allow one to suggest that. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
BBC faces being cut back to basics
The BBC’s tough past few years are nothing compared to the pain it will face under the new government, says John Mair The Conservatives’ victory last week was arguably the worst possible result for the BBC, which had kicked negotiations over a new licence fee into the long grass until after the election.. - www.broadcastnow.co.uk
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
David Cameron paves way for shake-up of the BBC as licence fee critic John Whittingdale joins all-Tory Cabinet
Three Eton-educated ministers will attend Cabinet - Mr Cameron, Oliver Letwin, head of the Cabinet Office and Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who will attend quotPoliticalquot sessions when civil servants are not present. 43 per cent of cabinet ministers went to comprehensive schools - double the 21 per cent in the Coalition cabinet. - www.independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukMonday 11 May 2015, PM
Chris Bryant named as shadow culture secretary
Chris Bryant has been named as shadow culture secretary, replacing acting party leader Harriet Harman who has held the position since 2011. Bryant, who won a pound30,000 damages payout in January 2012 after his phone was hacked by the News of the World, has been a shadow minister for culture, media and sport since December last year. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comBBC licence fee in doubt as John Whittingdale is named culture secretary
As culture secretary Whittingdale will push for much more rigorous oversight of the BBC, including giving the National Audit Office unrestricted access to the BBC's accounts and creating a new public service broadcasting commission. The 55-year old has said that the BBC Trust is quotFar too close to the BBC and blurs accountabilityquot. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Freesat expands Freetime footprint as it beams down in 1.9m homes
Freesat's managing director, Alistair Thom, said quotI'm thrilled to report another strong quarter for Freesat that clearly demonstrates the continuing growth and strength of the UK's free-to-air proposition. With critically acclaimed programmes such as Breaking Bad now available through Spike, Freesat continues to support our ever expanding content offering with connected technology that empowers customers and their viewing habits. As well as streamlined access to catch-up and on-demand services including ITV Player, 4oD, Demand 5 and YouTube, Freetime also lets Freesat viewers remotely manage recordings through a mobile app, available for iOS, Android and Kindle devices. - recombu.comrecombu.comEuropean plans for digital single market
The ambitious aim is to bring down regulatory walls and move from 28 national markets to a single digital market with over 500 million potential customers. Rus Ansip, the vice-president for the digital single market, said quotThey will give people and companies the online freedoms to profit fully from Europe's huge internal market. - informitv.cominformitv.comMonday 11 May 2015, AM
DTG :: News :: DTG prepares R-Book update for the post-switchover environment
With the increasing potential for interference from services such as LTE 800 and TVWS as well as the changes to DTT services such as local TV, it was thought that it would be useful to include guidance on some of these issues. The second section will provide some more practical details such as guidance on aerials, faceplates, cabling, interference mitigation, de-rating for amplifiers and such like. - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.uk
Michael Wolff: Why Is the U.K.'s ITV on a Hollywood Buying Spree?
There is, too, a subplot here, the sure comedy of the mismatch between the high-flying Weinstein brothers - who will continue to run their arm of ITV and whose TV company has yet to establish a real track record - and the quite unshow-business London banker types who run ITV. Rather than a closed distributor, ITV strategically was turning itself into a supplier to the new glut of worldwide channels, including by 2014 providing more than 60 shows to U.S. channels, and buying, before the Weinstein play, four other U.S. production companies Gurney Productions, which makes Duck Dynasty High Noon Entertainment with Cake Boss Thinkfactory Media with Hatfields McCoys and DiGa Vision with Teen Wolf. - www.hollywoodreporter.comwww.hollywoodreporter.comFriday 08 May 2015, PM
Wednesday 06 May 2015, PM
Media: Journalists on the election trial; Sky News' Alex Crawford; CEO of Bloomberg Media
downloads.bbc.co.ukSunday 03 May 2015, PM
Apple TV, BT YouView and EE TV boxes
We put 11 models in our latest test Apple TV, Microsoft and Netgear streaming devices, plus 8 Freeview/Freesat boxes such as EE TV, a Panasonic PVR and Blu-ray player, and new sub-pound100 BT YouView box. Do you want a set-top box to watch Freeview or Freesat TV, a PVR to watch/record, or a way to stream films and catch-up TV such as BBC iPlayer In our latest batch we've tested a variety of models and found the best of the crop. - www.which.co.ukwww.which.co.ukWednesday 29 April 2015, PM
Friday 24 April 2015, PM
Feedback: Impartiality: 24 Apr 15
downloads.bbc.co.uk
#28 - BBC3 move postponed, Adblock Plus - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
feedproxy.google.comWednesday 22 April 2015, PM
Saturday 18 April 2015, PM
Have Sky customers reached the limit?
A Eurogroup meeting on 11 May seems to be the new cut-off point, but before that Greece needs to scrape enough cash together to fulfil its imminent payments, with the International Monetary Fund on Thursday ruling out any postponement of what it is owed. quotThe ratio of chief executive pay to average employee pay is also considered excessive. Lastly, the balance of the chief executive's realised pay with financial performance is not considered acceptable as the change in chief executive total pay over five years is not commensurate with the change in total shareholder returns over the same period. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comDTG :: News :: Who will win the battle for OTT TV supremacy? Find out at the DTG Summit 2015: Driving Global CollaborVat
Don't miss this debate and discussion with your peers from Arqiva, Channel 4, BBC, Sky, EE, Disney, ITV, Dixons Retail and many more. More than 400 executives attend every year so register your place today using the link on the right. - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.ukFriday 17 April 2015, PM
Thursday 16 April 2015, AM
Norway to switch of FM radio in two years
STATS FOR DIGITAL RADIO IN NORWAY . - 56 of radio listeners use digital radio every day. quotOle Joslashrgen Torvmark, CEO of Digital Radio Norway saysquotThe White Paper from 2011 and a unique collaboration between the radio industry is the main reason why Norway is far ahead in the transition to digital radio. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukWednesday 15 April 2015, PM
Monday 13 April 2015, PM
Job cuts in News on hold until June
13 April 2015 Last updated at 0942 The BBC has extended its moratorium on compulsory redundancies in News until the end of June, after signing a deal with the unions. A BBC spokesperson said 'We've agreed to extend the moratorium on compulsory redundancies for staff in BBC News, BBC Scotland and BBC Wales until the end of June. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukBig increase in cars with DAB digital radio
Ed Vaizey, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy, says quotOver 61 of new cars with digital radio demonstrates the welcome commitment of the car industry to providing drivers with the full range of radio available today. Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio UK, says quotDigital radio in car is on a roll - 450,000 new cars with digital radio in a single quarter is a significant milestone, and the introduction of DAB across most models of the UK's best-selling car will ensure the growth of digital radio in car continues. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukMonday 13 April 2015, AM
TV industry faces its 'ketchup' moment: 'Mobile is now the first screen'
Among the trends picked out by Scherer was the emergence of quota new syntax, a new grammar, a new vocabularyquot for news, particularly when delivered through quotThe new kids on the blockquot in the form of apps including Instagram, Snapchat and Periscope. quotThese are the kids now ruling the entertainment, and it's just the beginning of it. Again, new grammar, new syntax, new vocabulary. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFriday 10 April 2015, PM
Feedback: Stand-in presenters: 10 Apr 15
downloads.bbc.co.uk#27 - Seiken’s legacy, Periscope up... Snapchat down - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
feedproxy.google.comThursday 09 April 2015, PM
Engineering a more flexible and efficient BBC for the future
UPDATEAt BBC Engineering, when we talk about taking advantage of internet technologies or being 'internet first' we aren't talking about the BBC doing more with online content or only putting content and programmes online. My role is to make sure that the BBC's technologies that underpin everything we do - from our newsroom infrastructure and new in-the-field production and editing tools, to how we keep the BBC on air and online - are set up in the best possible way, and take advantage of new internet-based technologies. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukpick a page