Wednesday 04 February 2015, PM
BBC Trust to look into ?100m bid to save BBC3 channel | Media | The Guardian
With negotiations around the BBC's royal charter and licence fee due to begin in earnest after May's general election, Fairhead called on the BBC to be extricated from the next government spending review. Fairhead said the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, headed by Tim Davie, had to generate more revenues and return more income to the licence fee payer. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comWednesday 04 February 2015, AM
Cable TV viewing declined by more than 12 percent in January
So why is live TV struggling DiClemente pointed the finger at streaming services as the reason for the decline quotNetflix, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu, continue to siphon viewers away from linear TV,quot he concluded. Disney on the other hand only faced ratings declines of 7.5 percent, thanks in part to great ratings for ESPN. - gigaom.comgigaom.comTuesday 03 February 2015, PM
BBC Trust chair warns government over political interference
BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead has warned the government there is no public appetite for political interference in the BBC in a bid to avoid a repeat of the quotShotgunquot licence fee deal of 2010 that ushered in a new era of cuts at the corporation. With negotiations about the BBC's new royal charter and licence fee set to begin in earnest after May's general election, Fairhead said it quotOught to be crystal clear what the BBC has agreed to do as part of its public service remitquot following a quotProper public debatequot. - gu.comgu.comDigital Two applications published by Ofcom
Sound Digital plans to co-site transmitters for D2 with Digital One and the BBC national networks to avoid adjacent channel interference to existing digital radio services, and use the same dual satellite distribution feeds that are used by the Digital One network. Some of the services proposed are already available on Digital One, but Sound Digital says it will still broaden listener choice as the transfer of Planet Rock, Premier Christian Radio and Absolute Radio 80s to the new multiplex would support a further future extension in the choice of distinct national digital radio services available in the UK. Listen2Digital were the secret bid by Orion Media, partnering with Babcock Communications Ltd and other companies offering to bring even more choice to the digital radio scene. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukBroadcast and Screen International publisher sold by Top Right Group
Media Business Insight, which publishes the industry magazines Broadcast and Screen International, has been sold by Top Right Group to the private equity firm Mobeus Equity Partners, which backed a management buyout. Duncan Painter, CEO of Top Right Group quotWe believe Mobeus is an excellent partnership for the MBI business. Their investment will enable the management team to further develop the valuable information MBI provides to its customers across multiple platforms. We wish them every success with their plans for the future. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comTuesday 03 February 2015, AM
RNIB's Insight Radio confirms closure of Sky service
RNIB's Insight Radio station has announced that it will cease transmission on Sky channel 0188 on Monday 9th February 2015. On air and on social media platforms, it is encouraging listeners to make the switch to Freeview channel 730, where the station has had a presence since 1st April 2014.Alternatively, the station continues to be available mobile and online platforms. - www.a516digital.comwww.a516digital.com
In Net Neutrality Push, F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating Internet Service as a Utility
The Internet Association, whose members include Amazon, Facebook, Google and Netflix, applauded Mr. Obama and urged the F.C.C. to follow his lead to quotEnsure a free and open Internet. Mr. Farber helped design parts of the Internet, served on the board of the Internet Society and is a former chief technologist of the F.C.C.quotMy fear,quot Mr. Farber said, quotIs that regulating the Internet like a telecommunications service potentially opens a Pandora's box. - www.nytimes.comwww.nytimes.com
Fairhead: BBC charter renewal bigger than a 'small elite'
Rona Fairhead will today warn that the job of renewing the BBC’s charter for the next decade should not be handled by a “small elite” if it is to deliver value for licence fee payers. In a carefully worded message for the government, the BBC Trust chairman will argue that renewing the broadcaster’s charter and agreeing its licence fee settlement must be subject to “proper public debate”. Taking to a stage at the British Museum this evening for her first speech since taking office in October last year, Fairhead said charter renewal will provoke a “very real debate about the future, size and shape” of the BBC. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukMonday 02 February 2015, PM
Heart TV in breach for too many adverts
Ofcom noted during monitoring that the Global-owned pop music channel exceeded the permitted advertising allowance in a clock hour on 27 October by 72 seconds. Global explained the error occurred due to the automatic movement of a break to the end of a clock hour, which pushed some commercials intended for the 1000 clock hour into the 1100 clock hour. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukMonday 02 February 2015, AM
Absolute Radio 70s test spotted on satellite
Absolute Radio 70s has been spotted testing on satellite in a major distribution boost for the offshoot of Absolute Radio. Data for Absolute Radio 70s has been seen on the Eutelsat 28A satellite via the transponder on frequency 11680, vertical polarisation, label 55392, symbol rate 27,500. - www.a516digital.comwww.a516digital.comFollow the money and you'll find the future of news
Every waking moment, note how social media - especially Facebook and YouTube, at least for the moment - have taken over as massive platforms for news in words and in viral pictures. With James Harding and his ambitious, two-stage Future of News report, begin to glimpse how the digital tsunami of information - some of it going global in an instant, some of it leaving gaping holes in the coverage local communities require to help them navigate life - needs a trusted friend to guide the way. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Rural broadband: BT attacked on broadband costs
In response BT said that its initial cost estimates were quotBased on our initial view of how much it would cost to deploy fibre in rural areasquot. He felt vindicated by the findings, saying quotThirty-eight per cent excess costs have been confirmed in the cost models used to calculate the milestone payments. Those monies - and there will be more - need to be used to extend the fibre rollout further. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukFriday 30 January 2015, PM
it's time for a proper, factual inquiry
Are reporters nowadays confined to their desks, relying on phone and email contacts In a digital world, is the decline in shoe-leather reporting problematic Some suggest a readiness to sacrifice quality reporting by obliging reporters to churn out articles without adequate checks. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFriday 30 January 2015, AM
Two bidders for D2 here s what we know
If Sound Digital win, three stations would be removed from D1, allowing extra services to join the first national multiplex, or giving the remaining stations the opportunity to offer a stereo service. Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio UK is happy with the bids quotWe welcome both bids for the second national commercial DAB network - it's great news for radio and for listeners. The additional capacity on DAB will enable greater innovation, more competition and a wider choice of stations for listeners. We look forward to the launch of new stations in early 2016.quot. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.uk
BBC retains Premier League rights for ?204m | News | Broadcast
The BBC will keep hold of Premier League football until 2019 and launch a mid-week Match of the Day on BBC2 as part of a £204m deal. The corporation has retained the football highlights package for another three seasons, from 2016/17 to 2018/19, after it was reported that ITV decided against bidding. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukChildren's TV and current affairs unlikely to be involved in BBC competition revolution
Senior sources at the BBC say that the business case is quotLess clear cutquot for childrens' production, a market the BBC dominates. The two BBC channels commission many independent producers as well as the BBC's own The Dumping Ground, Hackertime and Sam and Mark's big Friday Wind Up. Greg Childs, who headed the launch team for BBC Children's channels, CBBC and CBeebies, and is now director of the children's media foundation, said quotThe BBC is the only game in town, certainly the only big player in town. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Two bidders for second national DAB multiplex
Listen2Digital's bid also includes RTEacute Radio 1, which is the Irish public service broadcaster's speech and music station, Share Radio, the financial broadcaster that launched in London last year, two Christian stations from Premier Christian Radio, and a number of confidential partners including a new sports talk station, a top40 station, a modern rock channel, a specialist jazz/blues/soul station, and a channel devoted to food. The multiplex will also add national coverage to Sunrise Radio, UCB Inspirational and to Premier Christian Radio, the only station to publicly appear in both bids. - media.infomedia.infoThursday 29 January 2015, AM
TV advertising needs to measure up to the challenges ahead
With smart TV advertising targeting, it means that not only is the consumer watching different things at different times in different places, they're also being served different ads depending on their demographic data and viewing habits. In the US, universal use of gross rating points is more commonplace, largely because organisations such as Nielsen measure multiple media formats, including press, TV and out-of-home TV. The main point is that planners need an effective way of combining the quotOverlappingquot media that fall between different media categories in a way that doesn't detract from the accountability their clients demand. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com#22 - The Future of News, Radio Academy woes, Page 3 - The Media Podcast with Olly Mann
feedproxy.google.com
Muddled thinking clouds BBC3 bid
So little of Avalon and Hat Trick’s BBC3 bid adds up. What’s their long-term goal, asks Stephen Arnell. So Avalon and Hat Trick are sticking to their guns with their proposal to buy BBC3. Unfortunately though, with each further detail they reveal, there are more questions than answers. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.uk
UK Digital TV penetration falls
Among the old there has been a decrease in Freeview ownership and it is no longer the case that Freeview ownership is higher in rural locations. In 2014 there was a decrease in Freeview-only ownership among consumers aged 65-74 and also among those aged 45-64. - www.broadbandtvnews.comwww.broadbandtvnews.com
Radio 2 goes country with DAB station
The pop-up DAB radio service - Radio2Country - will air from March 5 to 8, midday to midnight, with a line-up of archive documentaries, live broadcasts and special shows, including coverage from the UK's largest country music festival C2C from London's O2. Artists scheduled to perform include Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Lee Ann Womack and Lady Antebellum. Sax Appeal Ivy Benson's All Girl Band is a sister programme to a documentary about the bandleader which aired on Radio 4 in October and is available on iPlayer Radio. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukSky News to merge digital and TV staff in newsroom shakeup
A Sky News spokesman denied the plans were about cutting costs quotSky News is reorganising its newsroom to fully prepare for its future in a fast changing industry. We believe the changes proposed will fundamentally transform our newsroom so we can continue to be a leading news organisation in a digital world. Sky's move comes as BBC News looks at how it and the industry will adapt to the changes in the ways news is viewed and gathered in its report The Future of News. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/01/heres-how-the-bbc-disrupted-by-technology-and-new-habits-is-thinking-about-its-future/
As part of that process, the BBC today released the first part of a report entitled quotFuture of Newsquot that examines the changing news industry and how the BBC plans to adapt to evolving technologies and new ways that the broadcaster's massive audience - both locally in the U.K. and globally - consumes the news. As many countries in the world limit free speech and press freedom, BBC News could seize on an opportunity to further position itself as an arbiter of independent news quotWe find ourselves increasingly reflecting on the position of the media in Russia and Turkey,quot the report said, adding that the BBC is looking at how it could develop a news service for North Korea. - www.niemanlab.orgwww.niemanlab.orgFuture of News
59 of UK online news users said they had glanced at the news headlines online in the past week, compared to 43 who said they had read longer stories online. Last year, an academic experiment looked at how Facebook had manipulated the news feed of 700,000 users for a week, to see how viewing different types of news might affect the users' moods. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukWednesday 28 January 2015, PM
Wednesday 28 January 2015, AM
Consultation on local DAB coverage published
The Local DAB Expansion Plan is designed to improve the coverage of local DAB multiplexes around the UK. The plan is funded by Government, local radio multiplex operators and the BBC and would see local DAB coverage rise from around 76 of homes at present to around 91 of UK households by late 2016, with a corresponding increase in road coverage. The proposed changes would allow the extension of local DAB coverage into some currently unserved areas and would not affect listeners' existing reception of local DAB services. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukTuesday 27 January 2015, PM
A guide to the Sky v BT Sport Ofcom investigation and Competition Appeal Tribunal Decision
Equally important to the way in which sports content is made available to TV viewers are the various quotOff the pitchquot legal battles that BT Sport and Sky have been fighting, in particular following Ofcom's decision to impose quotMust offerquot obligations on Sky to make available its Sky Sports 1 and 2 channels to other broadcast platforms. Three years later, Ofcom decided that Sky should be forced to make available its core sports channels to competing broadcast platforms, a remedy which has become known as the quotWholesale Must Offerquot or quotWMOquot.3 Ofcom's decision was based on the perceived importance of those channels in enabling pay-TV operators to compete for subscribers with Sky and the fact that, absent regulatory intervention, Sky might not necessarily be incentivised to make them available to its competitors on reasonable commercial terms. - www.lawinsport.comwww.lawinsport.com
BT Mini YouView Box review
BT MINI YOUVIEW BOX SET UP. Size-wise, the BT Mini YouView Box is a small square box that's a little larger than the Apple TV, although still small and discrete enough to tuck neatly out of the way. BT MINI YOUVIEW BOX TV. One of the main uses of the BT Mini YouView Box is for watching TV. Given that this isn't a PVR that may seem a little pointless, doubling up on the features that your TV no-doubt already has. - www.expertreviews.co.ukwww.expertreviews.co.uk
BBC boss Tony Hall questions TV watershed and The Archers
Radio 4 boss Gwyneth Williams recently denied the show had become too sensational, telling Radio 4 quotIf you look back, there have always been extraordinary things going on in The Archers - kidnaps, arsons, all kinds of things. quotA Radio 4 spokesperson saidquotAs Tony Hall says, The Archers is an extraordinary drama and, alongside other long-running shows, evolves with the times. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukTuesday 27 January 2015, AM
Catching up with online viewing figures
The most common screen for viewing catch-up services was the television, for 53 of respondents, followed by laptop or desktop computers at 33, with tablets at 22 and smartphones at 10. The report suggests that although young adults were most likely to have watched catch-up services quotThis cohort is turning away from the television as the preferred means of viewing programmesquot. For some reason the BBC does not publish figures for online viewing by duration, but usage of the BBC iPlayer across all platforms can still only amount to one or two per cent of television viewing at most. - informitv.cominformitv.comNetflix accelerates global expansion
Netflix nevertheless faces increasing competition on all fronts, from standalone services and those associated with existing television services, as well as from unauthorised distribution. Cable companies lost television customers, but telco television services continued to make considerable gains. - informitv.cominformitv.comMonday 26 January 2015, AM
Why It's Risky Business for Publishers to Build Their Own CMS
A new wave of publishers running custom software gained traction, while established news organizations continued to embrace open-source technologies. For startup news organizations, the primary way to get the money to build your own platform is venture capital, which is rightly skeptical of news startups regardless of their technology. - www.pbs.orgwww.pbs.orgBBC3 bid: 'We're trying to say that there is another way'
What neither the trust nor BBC management acknowledged is that a pound100m windfall, for a channel the BBC plans to close anyway, would be remarkably good value for the public. Total budget, including distribution and overheads, 2013/14 pound109.3m. Content budget pound81 m. Share of linear TV viewing, 2013 1.48. Amount BBC says it can save annually by taking BBC3 online only pound50m. Amount BBC intends to reinvest into BBC1 drama pound30m. Amount bid by Hat Trick and Avalon to buy the BBC3 TV channel pound100m. Annual content budget predicted by Hat Trick and Avalon post-sale pound100m. Annual predicted ad revenue post-sale pound120m to pound150m. Annual predicted profit post-sale pound10m to pound30m.. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFriday 23 January 2015, AM
BBC Trust launches consultation on independent production
A review and public consultation has been launched by the BBC Trust looking at the way that BBC programmes and content are supplied to the BBC by either independent production companies or BBC in-house production. At the moment, the Trust requires the BBC to commission at least 10 per cent of radio production from independent suppliers, with a further 10 per cent open to competition between the BBC and independent sector. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.uk
Scotland to get BBC charter renewal role
The UK government has published draft legislation which will hand the Scottish government and parliament a formal role in BBC charter renewal. The legislation, titled Scotland in the United Kingdom: An Enduring Settlement, is expected to make up the Scotland Bill which will pass through parliament following this year’s general election. It is made up of proposals recommended by The Smith Commission, which was established last year to devolve more powers to Holyrood following the Scottish referendum in September.. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukThursday 22 January 2015, PM
Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP
Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, also known as MPEG-DASH, is an adaptive bitrate streaming technique that enables high quality streaming of media content over the Internet delivered from conventional HTTP web servers. Within website DASH can be used via the HTML5 Media Source Extentions and JavaScript-based DASH players. - en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.orgDTG :: News :: DTG's 4k Plugfests turn spotlight on HEVC streams
The DTG's UK UHD Forum has held its second 4k Plugfest with a focus on content streamed in 4k over satellite, IP and DTT to UHD TVs and set-top boxes. quotSimon Gauntlett, chief technology officer at the DTG, saidquotThe DTG would like to thank all the participants and observers who made our second 4k plugfest a busy and productive day. - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.ukRegulation of music in local radio to be reviewed
The radio regulator is wanting opinions from the industry to see if there should be a No change to Formats, b Simplification of the Formats of stations playing quotMainstream popular musicquot or c Ofcom could allow licensees to request to change the music element of their Format to be either Genre led or Audience led. Ofcom has a statutory duty to ensure a range and diversity of local radio services, and at the moment, a wide range of different descriptions are used in radio Formats to specify the selection of music from popular music, to specific genres and the target age range for the service. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukThursday 22 January 2015, AM
Streaming overtakes radio use for US teens: but UK fares better
quotWhile AM/FM Radio listening leads by a significant margin among all other age groups, much of teens' listening time has shifted to pureplay Internet audio services like Pandora and Spotify and others,quot said Larry Rosin, President of Edison Research. Info from RAJAR, the UK's radio research body - above - give a different picture for the UK. Jerry Hill, CEO of RAJAR, points to the strong presence of the BBC and Radioplayer, as well as a lack of a strong Pandora-like service in the UK. Methods of measurement are different between the two pieces of research and the Edison figures are more recent but the UK has a number of strong national youth radio brands like KISS, Capital and BBC Radio 1, that are without a clear equivalent in the US. Additionally, services like Pandora are unavailable in the UK. Audiomonitor report that consumption via streaming overtook radio for the first time for 15-19s with 22.9 of all audio consumption ocurring on a radio receiver. - media.infomedia.infoWednesday 21 January 2015, PM
Media: End of Page 3?; Josie Cunningham's agent; Sir Alan Moses on press freedom.
downloads.bbc.co.ukRunning costs of BBC's London headquarters are triple UK average
quotNAO head Amyas Morse saidquotThe BBC has made good progress in upgrading its estate but it will need to press ahead with its plans to make better use of space to achieve value for money. quotBBC Trust value for money committee chair Nick Prettejohn saidquotThe BBC has reduced the size of the estate by almost a third while at the same time adding new TV channels and radio stations, and modernising its buildings. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comWednesday 21 January 2015, AM
BBC Trust upholds NSS complaint
21 January 2015 Last updated at 0922 The BBC Trust has upheld a complaint from the National Secular Society about a news item on Asian Network Reports. The Asian Network's head of news, argued that the word 'white' was used to make it clear that the parents objecting to the school were 'not Asian'. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukBest digital radios under £100 - Digital radio reviews - Audio - Which? Technology
See all the radios we've tested by reading our latest digital radio reviews. At Which we test digital radios from the big brands you know, like Roberts and Pure, as well as brands you may not have heard of, such as Magicbox and Revo. - www.which.co.ukwww.which.co.ukOur 'impartial' broadcasters have become mouthpieces of the elite
After CBC tried to dismiss the scandal as quotHalf-truths based on anonymous sourcesquot, Kathy Tomlinson, the reporter who had broken the story about the bank, bravely spoke publicly to the website. A study by academics at the Cardiff School of Journalism examined the BBC Today programme's reporting of the bank bailouts in 2008. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comTuesday 20 January 2015, PM
DAB splits in Herts, Beds, Bucks and Northants
The change means BBC Radio Northampton will be removed from the Herts, Beds and Bucks service whilst BBC Three Counties Radio is removed from the Northamptonshire multiplex. Commercial stations BOB fm and MKFM will no longer be available on DAB in Northants but Adventure Radio's Connect FM and Sunrise Radio will continue to broadcast across both areas. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.ukBBC3 'not for sale' says corporation in response to planned bid for channel
The BBC initially declined to comment, but then put out a statement via its press office Twitter feed late on Tuesday morning quotBBC Three not for sale because it's not closing - proposal to move it online is part of bold move to reinvent BBC's offer for young people. Point one stated quotBBC Three is not closing and BBC Three is not for sale. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comTuesday 20 January 2015, AM
BBC strikes deal with PBS to create factual programmes
The BBC has struck a deal with US public service broadcaster PBS to develop up to 10 factual shows a year, with Sir David Attenborough's Waking Giants one of the first to air. The partnership, struck between the BBC, commercial arm BBC Worldwide and PBS, will see eight to 10 specials created per year, with around 20 hours of programming content. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comnews conferences streamed live
It's Democracy Day at the BBC, where the corporation will stream live coverage of its biggest morning news meetings, including the one chaired by its director of news and current affairs, James Harding. Perhaps it will be bought by these chaps for pound100m instead Want to save BBC3 Vote now Now that really would be a democracy day at the BBC.. - www.theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Derbyshire show gets BBC Two slot
19 January 2015 Last updated at 1554 Victoria Derbyshire is to host a new daytime news show that will be simulcast on BBC Two, the News Channel and online. BBC News is also preparing to launch a new breakfast business programme, presented by Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock. - www.bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukpick a page