Tuesday 23 September 2014, PM
Should the BBC Trust be renamed the Licence Fee Trust? | The Big Ideas | theguardian.com
BBC governance is in crisis, not due to opaque management or a lack of leadership, but because of a growing distance between the corporation and its viewers, according to the shadow culture minister Helen Goodman. Her comments came as the BBC faces criticism for being run by a metropolitan elite, remote from the people it services. James Heath, BBC director of policy and charter, admitted that the corporation would have to make more effort to reflect its viewers and listeners. - theguardian.com
www.theguardian.comDoctor Who: the Guardian is Clara’s constant companion | Media Monkey | Media | theguardian.com
Is the Guardian the newspaper of choice on Doctor Who At least two Whovians seem to think so, lodging complaints with Ofcom that the Guardian has been given an unfair amount of promotion in the hit BBC1 show. The scene that so incensed the complainants featured the Doctors companion Clara, a teacher, carrying a clearly identifiable Saturday edition of the Guardian. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comAlan Bennett attacks repellent reality TV shows from Big Brother to The Big Allotment Challenge - TV Radio - Media -
The playwright, who said there was no longer a television producer he could trust to put his work on screen without interference, revealed that he had once been an unlikely Big Brother viewer. Asked if he watched reality shows, Bennett told Radio Times Very few. Maybe the first Big Brother but I thought God, theyre all repellent. - independent.co.uk
www.independent.co.ukTuesday 23 September 2014, AM
BBC iPlayer Help - BBC iPlayer closing on some connected TVs and Blu-Ray devices
- iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk
iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.ukSunday 21 September 2014, PM
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/opinion/scottish-independence-its-a-yes-for-the-way-the-referendum-was-reported-
Bias, undiluted propaganda and outright lies from broadcasters and newspapers denied the separatists their destiny, the narrative went, as the Scottish news machine was operated by shadowy figures pulling levers south of the border. Only one Scottish newspaper the Sunday Herald had the courage to back independence and as for the British Broadcasting Corporation, well, the clue was in the name. On the upside, an exercise that drew 85 per cent of the electorate to the ballot boxes may encourage a wave of young Scottish news junkies, counter to trends elsewhere. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.ukMedia Monkey’s Diary: Evan Davis, Radio 3, Neville Thurlbeck | Media | The Guardian
Monkeys attention is drawn to a name in the list of new members in the latest issue of the Society of Authors journal Neville Thurlbeck, the former News of the World news editor and chief reporter, who received a six-month jail sentence for phone-hacking. Perhaps fortunately for him, though, he wont be required to re-interview Rachel Reeves celebratedly called boring, snoring in a Katz tweet after a party conference grilling by Paxman a year ago and thereby put the new, gentler style potentially even more boring to the test of direct comparison. With peculiar timing, Davis will only come on stream for the Tories conference, having missed the Labour one. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comBBC royal charter renewal: Scottish no vote could lead to a federal corporation | Media Network | Guardian Professional
The BBCs royal charter and agreements that underpin the BBCs existence specify the corporations public purposes, size, scale, scope, governance and funding mechanism. When the charter comes up for renewal by convention every 10 years coinciding as it does with the need for a new licence fee settlement the BBC must find a convincing narrative about itself to avoid losing complete control of the public debate to others with well-worn agendas bent on radical change. Although its programmes and services are by and large doing well and remain highly appreciated by the licence-paying public, the BBC corporately has been through a pretty torrid time. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFriday 19 September 2014, PM
Ariel - DG hails 'superb' referendum coverage
19 September 2014 Last updated at 1202 Tony Hall has thanked staff who worked through the night to bring the BBC audience news of the referendum result. 'I have been up all night and have witnessed first-hand our live coverage of the vote and had the chance to talk to and listen to staff. The programme presented by Huw Edwards - who was trending on Twitter on Friday after his well-received, marathon broadcasting stint - took a 25.6 average audience share. - bbc.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk
Talking TV: Bake Off Rising Star
www.broadcastnow.co.ukFriday 19 September 2014, AM
Is second-screening a genuinely effective marketing phenomenon? | Media Network | Guardian Professional
The living room has become a hotbed of connected devices used in conjunction with watching TV with smartphone in hand, tablet on lap, smartwatch on wrist, were quickly running out of body parts that can accommodate the range of gadgets on the market. Consequently, second-screening has become a marketing phenomenon, enabling brands to enhance ad experiences across a number of platforms, from sponsoring companion apps such as Beamly formerly Zeebox to running promoted activity through social viewing services like Twitter. We have sought to squeeze every last second of attention span out of our TV viewers and why shouldnt we - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comFuture of the BBC survey: the licence fee should not be cut | Media Network | Guardian Professional
These are the views of the majority of 580 media professionals recently surveyed by the Guardian. The results are set to inform a series of Guardian fringe debates about the BBC at this years party conferences, ahead of the 2016 royal charter renewal. Rhetoric on the licence fee has become increasingly aggressive over recent months with prominent critics and public surveys suggesting it should be scrapped altogether, and others saying it should be cut and revenue diversified. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comWhite Paper Report September 2014
Ultra High Definition, Video to Mobile, Spectrum, Connected TV, Digital Terrestrial - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.ukDTG :: News :: Cox pleas broadcasters to expose audiences to something else.
I don't want a society when you are 15 years old you can sit in their bedroom and watch the computer games channel 24 hours a day because I want that 15 year old to be exposed to ideas. Prof Cox said despite the fragmentation, television remained the dominant cultural force. It's only in the 1860s that we discovered electromagnetic waves and within 40 years you had radio and then shortly afterwards television. - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.ukThursday 18 September 2014, AM
Review: Humax DTR-T2000 YouView box | SEENIT
There are two ways to get YouView from TalkTalk or BT who both offer a selection of additional pay channels and a subsidised box, or subscription free from a high street or online retailer. Its performance is equal to BTs new G4 model unsurprising given that under the hood the two boxes are rumoured to be identical, though neither Humax nor BT will confirm this. Like the BT branded box this one uses an external power adapter which should help keep ir relatively cool and prevent overheating. - seenit.co.uk
www.seenit.co.uk
Android phones to have FM chips as standard - media.info
Google have announced Android One, a new, low-cost smartphone for developing countries and, unlike other flagship models, all Android One phones include an FM tuner. Android One phones are a new departure for the internet giant specifically designed to run on relatively cheap hardware, Google assists local manufacturers in building the phone and take care of all software upgrades for at least two years. We also added features that people in India will find particularly useful, like dual SIM cards, a replaceable battery and built-in FM radio. - media.info
media.infoDTG :: News :: EU signs off BSkyB deal for multinational network
The executive commission didn't feel as though the transaction wouldn't hinder competition because the companies are serving currently serving separate markets with a language barrier. - dtg.org.ukdtg.org.uk
Ladbrokes ads banned for 'irresponsible attitude towards gambling' | Media | theguardian.com
The ASA agreed that most people would not interpret the ads to imply that gambling would confer admiration or enhance personal qualities. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comSTAVRA Bill Passes Senate Commerce | Multichannel
A number of cable-unfriendly amendments, and some broadcasters didn't like, had been proposed by a variety of senators that would have delayed the ban on integrated set-tops, gotten the FCC more deeply involved in enforcing customer service, probed sports perograming costs, and more. But one by one those were withdrawn after their sponsors got to take the floor and make their case, and the bill, S. 2799, The Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act, passed by voice vote. - multichannel.com
www.multichannel.com
BuzzMachine
These supposed bastions of conservative thinking are running to the government they all disdain to try to get unfair advantage on Google because simply put they have failed in the marketplace on their own. - buzzmachine.com
buzzmachine.comWednesday 17 September 2014, PM
Media: Mike Darcey, CEO of News UK; the role of the press in Scotland; Ofcom on London Live
downloads.bbc.co.ukTuesday 16 September 2014, PM
London Live was always a leap in the dark without a safety net | Media | theguardian.com
Ofcom's rejection of London Live's application to change the primetime broadcasting of local programming is a severe blow to its enthusiastic owner, Evgeny Lebedev. Ofcom must have been aware that at least one of them, maybe all of them, would protest at such a radical change. Despite market research, and the former culture minister Jeremy Hunt's convictions about the merits of local television, there was no real demand for it. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
Ariel - DG is made honorary Doctor of Arts
He was appointed a CBE in 2005 and became a life peer five years later with the title Lord Hall of Birkenhead. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukRomance languages - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
They form a branch of the Italic languages within the Indo-European language family. The Romance languages evolved from Latin from the sixth to the ninth centuries. Its proponents claim written Interlingua is intelligible to anyone who speaks a Romance language indeed, this was the goal of the creators. - en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.orgMonday 15 September 2014, PM
Ofcom: very unlikely all local TV channels will succeed
15 September, 2014 By Jake Kanter Ofcom has admitted that it is very unlikely that all local television stations will survive after the Birmingham operator went bust last month. In a progress update marking two years since it first started awarding the broadcasting licences, the media regulator said failure will be part of the ecology of local television. “The nature of awarding licences for a new type of service in a competitive media market means that it is very unlikely that all channels will succeed,” Ofcom said. “This is an inherent feature of the nature of awarding a large number of licences for a new service across very different parts of the UK.” - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukBBC2 mockumentary W1A to return in 2015 | Media | theguardian.com
The new four-part series of W1A will begin with a 60-minute episode, followed by three 30-minute ones. W1A claims to operate in a parallel universe to the actual BBC but the first series like Twenty Twelve was notable for coming up with situations in which life imitated art. We cant wait to see what dysfunctional madness lies ahead for Ian Fletcher and colleagues in this sly fiction. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comMonday 15 September 2014, AM
Ariel - Is Birmingham back on the BBC map?
15 September 2014 Last updated at 1003 It's been a difficult few years for the BBC in Birmingham. The workforce at the Midlands base was depleted after key factual productions, such as Countryfile, moved to Bristol in 2012 because of Delivering Quality First plans. BBC Birmingham staff also held a strike against the move but it didn't stop programme teams being relocated mainly to Bristol, with a few to Salford, leaving an array of empty desks and low morale among those remaining at the Mailbox. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk
Kia joins the "DAB as standard" family
Kia has committed to moving to digital radio as standard across most of its Kia models in the UK. The Kia Soul has been launched with digital radio as standard and the company says other Kia models will be upgraded as soon as possible within the product life-cycle. The Kia Sportage, the brands best-selling car in the UK, will get digital radio when the all-new version is launched this year. - radiotoday.co.uk
radiotoday.co.ukSunday 14 September 2014, PM
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/opinion/ian-burrell-idealism-still-exists--in-public-service-broadcasting--as-th
His masterpiece The Civil War, a nine-part epic of more than 11 hours watched by 40 million people in 1990, has left a lasting impression on the national psyche. Series such as Baseball 18.5 hours long and made in 1994 and Jazz 10 episodes, each of two hours, made in 2000 help Americans to understand the role of sport and music in their national culture. Burns is both a symbol of the essential value of non-commercial television and an example of what can be achieved in terms of quality and ambition. - independent.co.ukwww.independent.co.uk
New financial radio station to launch on DAB - media.info
All this might change, with a promised new radio station called Share Radio. - media.infomedia.infoIf ITV is sold to a foreign mogul, a vital bit of our culture is threatened | Will Hutton | Comment is free | The Observ
Photograph Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images It takes guts for politicians to stand up to powerful business moguls in general, and powerful media moguls in particular. Moguls trade commercial favours for political support, and media moguls have the media power to make their support or lack of it - much more telling. Now the drama is playing itself out in the media industry itself. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
TV spectrum is under threat | Comment | Broadcast
Broadcast RF’s Nick Fuller calls on Ofcom to safeguard the radio frequencies used by broadcasters As a specialist wireless camera provider to the TV industry, we at Broadcast RF are heavily reliant on the availability of suitable frequencies for our wireless systems. Unfortunately, the section of the frequency spectrum most suited to wireless cameras and mobile links is ideal for a variety of other uses – the most popular being mobile phones. Rising demand inevitably leads to increasing prices as the licencing authority (the UK government) realises there is money to be made from the frequency spectrum. Broadcasters have gradually been squeezed out of the band as the demand for mobile phone spectrum has increased, and the deeper pockets of the phone companies have enabled the acquisition of swathes of spectrum previously reserved for programme-making and special events (PMSE).. - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukSunday 14 September 2014, AM
Could the licence fee double in Scotland? We have no idea, say BBC - Telegraph
The position is directly contradicted by claims the BBC has quietly drawn up reports into the implications of independence. The Guardian has reported Scotland faces a doubling of its licence fee if viewers wish to continue watching and listening to the same programmes. According to sources close to the corporation, preliminary calculations showed the annual licence may need to rise from 145.50 to nearly 300 per household to reflect the cost of running services in Scotland. - telegraph.co.uk
www.telegraph.co.ukFriday 12 September 2014, PM
#11 - Save Our Sources, Next Radio Conference - The Media Podcast
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Talking TV: BBC Arts Made in Chelsea
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Talking TV: Broadcast Awards special
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Talking TV: Benefits Street and Henry Winkler
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Talking TV: Doctor Who, Derren Brown and diversity
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Talking TV: BBC1 gymnastics and The Wrong Mans
www.broadcastnow.co.ukFriday 12 September 2014, AM
Freesat and SeaChange to Debut Connected TV Platform at IBC2014 - MarketWatch
To ensure rapid rollout and optimal performance, the platform offers the concept-through-commercialization capabilities of SeaChange Professional Services for customer integration, deployment and post-launch service monitoring and management. Freesat's Freetime UI and applications are proven solutions for a superior experience for television viewers. Freetime is also a key driver of the growth of Freesat in the UK with consumers choosing to purchase Freetime enabled-boxes and smart TVs to access the superior experience this delivers. - marketwatch.com
www.marketwatch.comIndependent Scotland 'faces doubling of BBC licence fee' | Politics | The Guardian
According to sources with close knowledge of the matter, a BBC paper drawn up three years ago compared the total amount Scottish viewers paid towards the licence fee with the value of the services they received from the corporation. It is understood that the figures which suggested raising the annual licence fee paid in Scotland to almost 300 for each household from the current 145.50 were seen by some of the most senior BBC executives under the tenure of the then director general, Mark Thompson. Sources say that one of the most expensive elements is the transmission of radio and television programmes in Scotland due to its more widely dispersed population and topography. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.comhttp://www.ses.com/4233325/news/2014/20101788
The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements. Please visit www.smardtv.com for more information. - ses.com
www.ses.comThursday 11 September 2014, PM
Ariel - NUJ calls off journalist strike threat
The NUJ had been concerned that the plan to cut 415 full-time posts in the next two years would create 'overwhelming workloads' for remaining staff. Following Thursday's meeting, the union said that a recruitment freeze across News had been agreed until the end of March at least, with exceptional appointments to have NUJ approval. There would also be a moratorium on compulsory redundancies across the division, with volunteers for redundancy not permitted to leave before the end of December. - bbc.co.ukwww.bbc.co.uk
C5 poised for profile boost | Comment | Broadcast
Thanks to Viacom’s scale, the broadcaster will be parking its tanks on Channel 4’s lawn, says Stephen Arnell There was a distinct feeling of complacency in Jay Hunt’s Meet the Controller session at the Edinburgh TV festival, when she declared: ‘If anything I’m actually less worried about Channel 5 than I have been at any point in my career.’ A career, lest we forget, that has included an eight-month sojourn actually running C5. A calculated position worked out for industry consumption? Maybe, but if she’s at all serious in this view, it signifies a worrying lack of attention to the potential threat a supercharged Viacom-funded C5 could well pose - not only to C4, but especially to E4, which often picks up the slack in C4’s general ratings decline - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukTV ad buying will soon be fully automated | Media Network | Guardian Professional
At 74bn, television is still the largest and most powerful advertising market out there. Now, programmatic advertising companies are close to cracking this huge marketplace, meaning ads will be bought automatically with minimal human interaction. According to the IAB, 28 c500m of the UK digital display market was traded programmatically last year, and by 2017 this could rise to between 60 and 75. - theguardian.comwww.theguardian.com
RadioToday | Finance radio station to launch on DAB
A new radio station all about finance is launching on DAB in London this autumn. Share Radio will be dedicated to providing information on handling money and investments, and will primarily talk-based. It says it will have programmes to inform and empower listeners with the information they need to help them make better financial decisions. - radiotoday.co.ukradiotoday.co.uk
TVPlayer: Watch Live TV Online For Free - Channels
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www.tvplayer.com
Viacom closes ?450m deal for Channel 5 | News | Broadcast
We have recently launched our new Broadcast subscription packages, which means theres an option to suit everyone. Learn more about the new packages here and choose the one that best suits you. Subscribing takes just 2 minutes and offers instant access to the website. - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.uk
Radioplayer reveals hybrid digital adaptor for cars - media.info
The point is that radio listeners really don't care too much about how the radio station gets to them - whatever the platformists might say - as long as they can keep listening. I look forward to seeing one in the flesh - and to the technology behind it also being placed into kitchen-top radio sets too. Press release Radioplayer, the online listening platform run by the BBC and commercial radio, today Sept 8th unveiled a prototype hybrid car adaptor which enables listeners to get maximum choice of radio stations, with minimum tuning fuss. - media.infomedia.infoThursday 11 September 2014, AM
Another consultation, anyone? | Comment | Broadcast
Im calling for a consultation on the number of consultations facing the TV industry over the next few months, into 2015, and beyond that into the next Parliament. Certainly, James Purnells Whitehall background shone through. There was plenty of squabbling about retransmission fees, which has quickly become one of the most important/ soporific debates in the sector Ill leave you to delete as appropriate. - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.uk
UKTV boosts content budget | News | Broadcast
Dave to be key beneficiary as the broadcaster reveals record revenues of almost £280m UKTV is to increase its programming budget to around £150m next year, with Dave set to benefit from a 70% rise in spending by the end of 2015. The multichannel broadcaster revealed this week that it spent £125m on original commissions in the 12 months to the end of December 2013, up from its initial target of £100m. This helped it generate record revenues of almost £280m. Chief executive Darren Childs told Broadcast he believes there is a “huge amount of growth left” in UKTV’s content spend and said the broadcaster will continue its commissioning drive across Dave, Watch and Gold. “We’re already in the process of increasing those budgets quite significantly,” he said, detailing the 70% spending increase on male-skewing service Dave. - broadcastnow.co.ukwww.broadcastnow.co.ukpick a page