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Tuesday 11 February 2014, AM

BBC - Blogs - About the BBC - The BBC World Service's funding may change – standards will not

Everyone in the city knows that at any minute they might be dead. When the World Service started broadcasting in 1932, John Reith warned listeners to keep their expectations low. The World Service is the BBC our reputation is founded on it. From April, the World Service budget of 245m will be paid by the licence fee, not by Foreign Office grant-in-aid as it has been for decades. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - Media Centre - Janice Hadlow to step down as Controller of BBC Two

In her new role as Controller, Special Projects and Seasons, she will develop and originate high impact cross-platform series, seasons and other major television events. Janice will also advise Danny Cohen and the Channel Controllers on broadcast strategy. Janices new role will involve identifying ideas of scale and ambition which will work across BBC output to maximise quality and distinctiveness. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC News - Pirated Sky TV sold for £10 a month

Criminal gangs are selling hacked pay television services at a fraction of their true cost, a BBC investigation has revealed. Subscribers to satellite or cable TV can pay more than 80 a month to legitimately receive premium packages. Ahmed did not respond to a request for a comment. - bbc.co.uk

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Ofcom - Determination of financial terms for the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences

Published 110214 Introduction The Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences are due to expire on 31 December 2014. Each of the current licence holders has applied for a renewal of their licences. Ofcom has decided to renew the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences. - stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk

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YouView snubbed as broadcasters back Freeview Connect - informitv

The BBC must be currently considering whether its multimillion-pound commitment to YouView represents value for television licence fee payers. British broadcasters are instead expected to back yet another brand, Freeview Connect. The report was delivered to the BBC in November 2013 and has now been published and presented to the government. - informitv.com

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Janice Hadlow set to leave BBC2 - News - Broadcast

It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

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Tony Hall: The BBC World Services funding may change – standards will not - Opinion - Media - The Independent

Nomsa Maseko told BBC1 viewers she was 10 years old when Mandela finally left prison. Everyone in the city knows that at any minute they might be dead. When the World Service started broadcasting in 1932, John Reith warned listeners to keep their expectations low. The World Service is the BBC our reputation is founded on it. - independent.co.uk

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Monday 10 February 2014, PM

Calls for clampdown on drivers watching TV - Motors.co.uk

Road safety groups are calling for a clampdown on drivers who watch television at the wheel, in response to a growing trend that has been branded irresponsible and stupid by government ministers. To comply with the rules of the road which state that it is illegal to watch a screen other than one displaying driving information almost all turn themselves off when the car is in motion. Its very stupid for drivers to buy these devices - AA president Edmund King However, a growing number of companies are offering gadgets that bypass this safety mechanism, leaving drivers free to illegally watch their favourite programs while on the road. - motors.co.uk

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Ariel - BBC Trust to review network radio

The second review, due to begin in the summer, will look at speech stations such as Radio 4 and 5 live, plus their spin-offs Radio 4 Extra and 5 live Sports Extra. They will form part of the Trust's rolling programme of reviews, where the governing body assesses each BBC service at least once every five years. The Trust will also launch public consultations, inviting the views of licence fee payers, and conduct audience research. - bbc.co.uk

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BBC - BBC Trust - Trust to review BBC's UK radio stations in 2014

Notes to editors Further information about the Trust's programme of service reviews can be found here. The Trust's 2013 progress report on service reviews, published alongside the 2012/13 Annual Report, can be found here. - bbc.co.uk

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Monday 10 February 2014, AM

BBC iPlayer - Help - Why are you separating iPlayer and iPlayer Radio?

Since launching BBC iPlayer in 2007, we've gradually made lots of changes to improve it. Over time, it's become clear that what works best for watching TV doesn't necessarily match what is best for radio. Overall we think the experience of radio will be richer in iPlayer Radio, and more tailored to listening than watching. - iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk

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BBC News - BBC trials Instagram news service for 15-second bulletins

The BBC is trialling a new Instagram news service, Instafax, to deliver 15-second news bulletins. - bbc.co.uk

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DTG :: News :: Channel 4 to premiere new Freeview TV Ad

Freeview has agreed an exclusive deal with Channel 4 as part of its next TV advertising campaign. Starting from the 10th February a 10 second teaser film will introduce 'cat' and 'budgie' to viewers watching Channel 4 and its digital channels E4, More4 and Film 4. Media buying agency MEC brokered the deal with Channel 4 Sales. - dtg.org.uk

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Public service broadcasters join forces on catch-up service for smart TVs - Media - The Guardian

It was originally envisaged that YouView would be used as the future brand and technology for public service broadcasting, eventually replacing less advanced Freeview which is in more than 13 million homes. With as many as 3m households set to have a smart TV by the end of this year, and given that the user experience is controlled by the TV manufacturers, it has become increasingly important for broadcasters to secure their prominence. - theguardian.com

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Sunday 09 February 2014, PM

Advertising sales could transform as programmatic trading takes off - Media - The Guardian

Photograph David Levene for the Guardian Programmatic trading of advertising has been around for a decade or so, but advocates believe 2014 could be the year it breaks out beyond its online display roots and takes hold in other media sectors. A highly complex, computer auction-based system of buying ads with transactions taking fractions of a second programmatic trading is similar to how stocks and share are traded in the City. The trading, which takes the form of automated real-time bidding based on complicated algorithms, matches ads with audiences. - theguardian.com

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Bad week for BBC technology as DMI, Freeview and Trust review woes pile up - Media - The Guardian

Some iPlayer numbers are eye-wateringly large but ultimately it represents only 2.3 of BBC hours viewed. At the public accounts committee on Monday, even senior managers who had once been ardent supporters of the project coalesced around the view that the technology had failed to deliver effectively. Again, there were clear signs in both cases that the BBC's technology division was on the wrong end of a strategic tussle. - theguardian.com

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Sunday 09 February 2014, AM

Danny Cohen: 'TV panel shows without women are unacceptable' - Media - The Observer

Yes, it's high in the new Broadcasting House, and in a corner, so it comes with plenty of light and lovely rooftop views. But, were you to swing a cat in it something that would obviously contravene the BBC's no doubt extensive health and safety rules, things would rapidly become very messy. There are three of us here today me, him and the inevitable minder and it's, well, cosy. - theguardian.com

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Saturday 08 February 2014, PM

BBC - Blogs - About the BBC - What's on BBC Red Button, 8-15 February

If you arent able to keep up with the days action, dont miss the Red Buttons highlights of the best of the days sport at 8pm each evening. It's going to be a busy week, not least for our BBC Sport team We hope you enjoy week one of the games because we've got lots more coming up next week. - bbc.co.uk

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Friday 07 February 2014, PM

Feedback: Who sets the news agenda? 7 Feb 14

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Ofcom - Television Broadcast Licensing Update January 2014

Television services that have ceased to be licensed handed back or revoked in this period The following services are no longer licensed. The relevant licence is either no longer required by the licensee so has been handed back, or the service has been removed from a licence covering multiple services, or revoked as a matter of routine usually for non-payment of the annual licence fee. Other announcements Ofcom has varied the Channel 3 and Channel 5 licences to reflect the decisions set out in Ofcoms statement of 23 July 2013 on amendments to their programming obligations http//stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/c3-c5-obligations/statement/statement.pdf. - licensing.ofcom.org.uk

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To Grow, Netflix Must Learn From the Quietly Brilliant UI of Regular TVs - Wired Design - Wired.com

Smart TVs have failed because theyve always assumed more is better. The same problem plagues the services that power those smart TVs. Netflix offers thousands of options for what to watch, but instead of giving you a chance to skip through and sample them, it makes you evaluate each one, like a title on a video-store shelf. - wired.com

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Ariel - Five decades since Wales got its voice

It was on February 9 1964 that a small team of engineers gathered below the new Wenvoe transmitter just outside Cardiff and switched on Wales' first national TV channel. It was arguably the most important milestone in Welsh broadcasting since the very first radio broadcasts back in the 1920s. The launch of BBC Wales at last gave a nation the ability to see itself and to speak to itself on its own terms, about its own affairs and to do so in both its languages. - bbc.co.uk

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Abolition of retransmission fees on hold - News - Broadcast

It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

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Lisa Campbell: 10 Years in TV - In-depth - Broadcast

I joined Broadcast at the end of 2003, when all the talk was of the uninspiringly named Codes of Practice in the 2003 Communications Act. I wondered what sort of dry and dusty rag Id joined and when Id get to talk proper telly Brooksides last ep, after 21 years, perhaps The live version of The Bill, marking its 20th anniversary - broadcastnow.co.uk

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Friday 07 February 2014, AM

Cable television: News you can lose - The Economist

Every weekday at 9am he confers with his teams in New York, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and other bureaus to discuss ratings and web traffic, and to decide what news to cover. Previous bosses at the channel rarely attended morning news meetings, but Mr Zucker has been hands-on since January 2013, when he took over the role. However, he also believes that CNN cannot live by news alone. - economist.com

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Thursday 06 February 2014, PM

Vodafone eyes pay-TV as UK revenues tumble - Business News - Business - The Independent

Today, theres not an urgent need to be there. He would not comment on whether cash-rich Vodafone was considering specific moves, although analysts have speculated about a takeover of TalkTalk or an alliance with Sky. Colao said the convergence of mobile, broadband, home phone and TV meant it was increasingly important for Vodafone to offer all these services. - independent.co.uk

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Aereo Reopens New York Online-TV Service to New Subscribers - Bloomberg

Aereo Inc., the online-television company thats battling broadcasters in the Supreme Court, reopened its service to New York subscribers after regaining enough capacity to handle demand. People who were on a waiting list are being notified first before the company reopens its website for sign-ups, Virginia Lam, a spokeswoman, said in a statement today. The company had stopped accepting new users in New York about a week ago. - bloomberg.com

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Media Talk podcast: Rajars, The Bridge, Adam Boulton and more BBC woe

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Arqiva acquires Capablue Digital TV Europe

February 6, 2014 UK media and communications infrastructure supplier Arqiva has acquired connected TV, video-on-demand and content solution specialist Capablue. Capablue will join Arqivas Digital Platforms division. According to Arqiva, Capablue will strengthen its growing investment in IP and connected TV capabilities. - digitaltveurope.net

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Thursday 06 February 2014, AM

BBC urged to review investments in YouView, Freeview and Freesat TV - Media - theguardian.com

BBC must provide content in the way viewers want Trust vice chair Diane Coyle. The report noted that the BBC is finding the dual mission of saving money while needing to provide its content on all the platforms consumers use an increasingly difficult task. The report also criticises a scattergun approach to the management of the tens of millions of pounds of investments which the corporation holds in YouView, Freeview and Freesat. - theguardian.com

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RadioToday - Communicorp buys 8 Global Radio stations

Communicorp is wholly owned by Denis OBrien, subject to regulatory approval. Most importantly the conclusion of this deal solidifies Globals position as the number one commercial radio company in the UK, and enables our brands to continue to grow, extending their reach into all parts of the UK, making Globals offering truly national. Its clear that the UK advertising market is buoyant, and this move will make us the 4th largest commercial radio group in the UK from a standing start. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Decade of change at the ‘TV bible’ - Comment - Broadcast

In an ever-changing landscape, Broadcast has been at the forefront I didnt get the warmest of welcomes from one early contact when I joined Broadcast more than a decade ago. The Communications Act 2003 was my baptism of fire and, asked to analyse its impact, I called the great and the good, eventually getting to terms with the Terms of Trade thanks to a certain plain-speaking Scot. Not the drinking and debauchery I could handle that but the lack of TV glamour in the sweaty pit of the Palais, where shows were flogged like fridges. - broadcastnow.co.uk

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RAJAR Q4 2013 - good news, bad news, and winds of change

This quarter's RAJAR radio audience figures are almost totally good news for the radio industry. Somehow, we've added 1.3 million listeners to radio year-on-year, and we're up to 90.9 of the UK adult population listening to radio at least once a week. All sectors of the BBC and commercial radio are up. - mediauk.com

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BBC - Media Centre - RAJAR Q4 2013

BBC Radios share of listening remained steady at 55.2, from 55.3 last year and 53.4 last quarter as the overall radio audience grew. We are a nation of audiophiles and so, despite the ever-increasing competition for peoples time and the growing range of online audio providers, radio is thriving in the digital age. Its share of 12.5 was the same as last year and up on last quarters 11.8. - bbc.co.uk

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CNN Shutters CNN Latino - TVNewser

Mediabistro Course Were kicking off a brand NEW boot camp on February 18th - mediabistro.com

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BT Launches UK Pay-to-own Service for Films, TV Box Sets Coming Soon

Titles are available to download in standard definition or high definition and are prices from 5.99 and 8.99 respectively. Purchases are streamed to the YouView box and are as you would expect available to watch as many times as you like. The company added that TV box sets will be added to the roster of purchasable titles in the coming months. - thenextweb.com

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Wednesday 05 February 2014, PM

BBC - BBC Trust - Trust publishes report into BBC distribution

The Trust has today welcomed the findings of a report which shows that the BBC's distribution arrangements for its UK programmes and services are fit for purpose and offer good value for money for licence fee payers. Mediatique also looked at the governance structures in place covering the BBC's distribution activities, to review the effectiveness of the BBC's distribution arrangements in light of future potential challenges. The BBC Executive has published itsresponse to the report. - bbc.co.uk

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Media: DMI; Royals; media ownership; journalists in Egypt 05 Feb 2014

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BBC to be more transparent on distribution - News - Broadcast

It takes just 2 minutes and offers full, instant access to the Broadcast website along with a copy of the magazine delivered every week. - broadcastnow.co.uk

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Wednesday 05 February 2014, AM

play 90 years of the time pips

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'Ofcom's decisons too easily derailed by companies it regulates' - Media - theguardian.com

The latest round of cuts to the cost of calling a mobile was blocked for 14 months by legal challenges from network operators before being approved on appeal earlier this year. Ofcom, which is partly publicly funded, has faced 61 appeals over the last five years, with nearly all of its rulings challenged in the Competition Appeals Tribunal. The regulator says fighting these cases has cost between 2m and 4.5m a year. - theguardian.com

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BBC to slash YouView investment - Media - The Guardian

YouView's colourful history has involved repeated delays, more than 100m of costs and stand-up rows between Five owner Richard Desmond and former chairman Lord Sugar. YouView, which features digital video recording and catchup services from all the broadcasting partners, was originally billed as the internet-connected, on-demand version of the hugely successful Freeview service, which receives free-to-air channels via rooftop aerials. Of the more than 1m homes with YouView, just 3 are estimated to have bought one direct from a retailer. - theguardian.com

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BSkyB 'pay light' push targets Freeview households - Media - theguardian.com

Since hitting former chief executive James Murdoch's target of 10 million pay-TV subscribers in 2010, customer growth has slowed to a trickle, reaching just 10.5 million at the end of 2014, with a significant number of those new additions cheaper internet TV users. With Sky's cheapest basic channels package costing 21.50 a month and premium packages including sport and movie channels starting at more than 40, the broadcaster appears to have reached the limit of the pay-TV strategy that has served it so well over more than 20 years. However, with the boosters priced at 5, 15 and 30 respectively they have not proved overly popular with consumers who signed up for a cheap pay-TV service. - theguardian.com

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Tuesday 04 February 2014, PM

RadioToday - Smooth Radio to be removed from Digital 1

In the latest Ofcom update, Global Radio has also been granted permission to add a new station, with an unconfirmed name, playing music from the 70s, 80s and early 90s with particular appeal to audiences aged 35-54. Smooth Radio broadcasts nationally on DAB, enabling five regional stations to carry national programmes 24 hours a day. Its current format puts the station targeting those aged 50 plus with easy listening music including music influenced by jazz and soul, plus lifestyle oriented speech. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Sky television at 25: has it changed the TV landscape? - Telegraph

Today Sky offers dozens of its own channels and hosts hundreds more from other providers. In 1990, Murdoch has said, he remortgaged his New York penthouse to save Sky from bankruptcy. It has been in the vanguard of digital TV, high definition, and 3D, and has allowed viewers to timeshift its programmes using Sky and on-demand. - telegraph.co.uk

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Have 24-hour TV news channels had their day? - Media - theguardian.com

The 24-hour news channel has come of age. Citizen journalism ensures that pictures of demonstrations and the resulting crackdown are beamed directly to a global audience. Spin on to April 2013 and the Boston marathon bombings. - gu.com

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DTG :: News :: Google opens up Chromecast platform

Google have announced that it is releasing a software developer kit for its Chromecast TV dongle and thus opening it up to both developers and companies who want to launch content on the platform. For the rest of us, that means even more of our favourite movies, TV shows and music will become available on Chromecast as developers work with the SDK. DTG Staff 04.02.2014 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk

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Tuesday 04 February 2014, AM

RadioToday - Local radio praised in House of Commons

MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven Simon Kirby has urged small businesses in his constituency to recognise the potential of advertising on local radio. The Kemptown MP announced that in the last four years over six hundred businesses have benefitted from advertising on Brightons Juice 107.2 station. Mr Kirby, Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, has praised the role of local radio stations in supporting small businesses through advertising and promotional opportunities. - radiotoday.co.uk

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Nets, Stations Push Back On Retrans Via TVfreedom.org - Broadcasting Cable

Broadcast networks and their affiliate associations have teamed up with broadcast groups, mobile digital broadcasters and others to launch TVfreedom.org, which will advocate for broadcast retransmission consent rights in the ongoing battle with cable operators in Washington. NAB has taken the lead on pushing back against cable operator arguments that retrans blackouts are a growing trend and an example of an unfair system skewed toward broadcasters. Now broadcasters are launching an ATVA-like coalition to add more firepower on their side of the contentious fight. - broadcastingcable.com

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Ariel - Linwood blames Television over DMI

Speaking before the Public Accounts Committee on Monday, the former director of technology said there was a 'lack of engagement from the business side' with the technology project. The business did not take ownership of the project.' Linwood - who was sacked for the failure of DMI last July - argued that the system was 'ready to go live' in October 2012. The metadata archive - containing searchable information about all the programmes the BBC had made or broadcast in the last 20 years - had around 3000 users, he said, while the 'Production Tools' element had been piloted throughout 2012 and all 'showstopper bugs' had been removed. - bbc.co.uk

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