Tuesday 24 May 2022, PM

BBC boss Tim Davie ‘open-minded' about demise of licence fee funding – TBI Vision
Davie, who led commercial arm BBC Studios for almost a decade before taking the top job at the BBC in 2020, has been more open than some of his predecessors about alternative ways to fund the organisation. In his first speech as director general of the BBC two years ago, Davie pointed out that BBCS would be central to the domestic broadcaster's future as questions of funding and value for money circled, something that seems only to be increasing since his arrival when those same questions were posed. - tbivision.comMonday 23 May 2022, PM

Arqiva inspects 48 transmitter sites following Bilsdale fire incident – RadioToday
Investigations are ongoing following the fire at the radio and television transmitter at Bilsdale in August 2021. Arqiva has carried out inspections of 48 key transmitter sites around the UK to check for any issues as a result of the incident. - radiotoday.co.ukMonday 23 May 2022, AM

Goodbye to the age of rage: why Piers Morgan's outrage journalism is flopping
Thanks partly to an anarchic, amateurish spirit that seems truer to its Brexity values than the slickness of Murdoch's new offering, GB News might just about endure though its ratings are not exactly mass-market, they seem significantly higher than Talk TV's, and the channel exerts a much bigger influence through the clips it endlessly circulates online. Its polar opposite is exemplified by the insane levels of attention paid by orthodox news outlets to such people as Farage and Laurence Fox, and the comically mouthy pundits - from both left and right - who endlessly appear on TV news channels, and aim to sooner or later make it on to BBC One's Question Time. - www.theguardian.comFriday 20 May 2022, PM
Wednesday 18 May 2022, PM
Friday 13 May 2022, PM
Wednesday 11 May 2022, PM

Zero-rated? The rise and rise of TV that absolutely no one is watching
The UK analysis firm Digital TV Research this year predicted that 1.4m British households will bail on their pay TV subscriptions by 2027, possibly because we will have figured out that we're paying through the nose to not watch 99 of what is on our TVs.Just dig through your EPG and you'll see. If people aren't watching talkTV, they also aren't watching hundreds of other shows. - www.theguardian.com
What next for Channel 4?
Friday 06 May 2022, PM
Thursday 05 May 2022, PM

Channel 4 offers to sell London HQ under alternative plan to privatisation
Channel 4 research estimates that government plans to scrap its unique publisher/broadcaster model, in which programme rights revert to makers allowing them to commercially exploit them after they air, could cost 4,000 jobs and hundreds of millions annually for production companies. On Thursday Mahon ruled herself out of any potential involvement, stating that the future of Channel 4 would lie with the government and UK Government Investments, which oversees the state's ownership of the broadcaster. - www.theguardian.comWednesday 04 May 2022, PM
Tuesday 03 May 2022, AM

EPG Accessibility Annual report on improvements to the accessibility of Electronic Programme Guides
Electronic Programme Guides Ofcom's powers in relation to EPGs 2.4 The EPG Code sets out the practices to be followed by EPG providers to secure that people with visual impairments can use EPGs in the same way that people without such disabilities use them. 11 More needs to be done to make people aware of where EPGs are accessible and where they are not 3.12 Paragraph 24 of the EPG Code states that EPG providers should offer information for people with disabilities on how to use the EPG and the access services accompanying the programmes. - www.ofcom.org.ukFriday 29 April 2022, PM
Wednesday 27 April 2022, PM

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover

Tory MPs attack plans to privatise Channel 4
Conservative MPs have queued up to criticise plans to privatise Channel 4, raising doubts over whether the government has the parliamentary support required to sell the channel. Many MPs said the government was misguided in its belief that Channel 4 needed to compete with the likes of Netflix, especially given the streaming service has recently seen a fall in its subscriber numbers and was heavily indebted. - www.theguardian.com
BBC to cut number of programmes it makes, says director general
The BBC will cut the number of programmes it makes and consider turning more television and radio stations into archive services, according to the corporation's director general. Tim Davie is preparing to announce deep cuts to BBC output in the coming weeks, with staff nervously wondering whether their programmes or channels will be axed. - www.theguardian.comFriday 22 April 2022, PM
Wednesday 20 April 2022, PM
Friday 15 April 2022, PM
Wednesday 13 April 2022, PM
Wednesday 06 April 2022, PM
Tuesday 05 April 2022, AM

Is Talent In Control? – Matt Deegan Writes
The BBC's inflexibility to create easily manageable ways for talent to profit from their shows makes it hard for them to stick around. The more competitive nature of today's audio sector makes what was a somewhat staid world into more of a replica of television, where format-owners, be they talent or production companies, move shows network to network. - www.mattdeegan.comFriday 01 April 2022, PM
Friday 01 April 2022, AM
Why is TV signal down in Hove?
Viewers with these services, who also watch free to view TV through an aerial, can receive a free Restore TV filter. Any viewers who experience new interference to free to view TV should contact Restore TV on 0808 13 13 800. - www.theargus.co.ukThursday 31 March 2022, PM

Michael Grade the cultural warrior goes peacenik before MPs
Dorries might soon be shedding a few more tears because, on the basis of his performance at the pre-appointment session of the culture select committee, Grade might not be the culture warrior she had hoped. So why had Grade chosen to apply for the job, asked the committee chair, Julian Knight. - www.theguardian.com
BBC faces $375m budget cut by 2027, as licence fee decision bites – TBI Vision
BBC Studios is increasingly being seen as one way to offset falling licence fee payments, with exports hitting 800m in 2021/22. The broadcaster, led by former BBCS CEO Tim Davie, pointed to upcoming highlights such as Frozen Planet II and Conversations With Friends, adding that it continues to play a vital role in representing the country to viewers. - tbivision.comWednesday 30 March 2022, PM
Monday 28 March 2022, PM

'Some of our greatest fans were pub landlords'
Newsround's success proves that children are interested in the world around them, especially if it's explained in ways they can grasp. My four-year presence on Newsround in the 1970s was important for another reason - I was the first female British Asian reporter on a nationwide news programme. - www.theguardian.comFriday 25 March 2022, PM
Thursday 24 March 2022, PM

Michael Grade's Ofcom appointment seals long career in broadcasting
Michael Grade, the Tory peer who has been put forward as the government's choice to chair the broadcasting regulator Ofcom, is one of the most familiar behind-the-scenes figures in British TV.Lord Grade was born into a royal family of UK showbusiness. His father, Leslie, was an agent who booked stars such as Bob Hope, his uncle Lew was one of the founders of ITV and his uncle Bernard - a Delfont - was a theatre mogul and one-time boss of the record business EMI.Once known for his red braces and fat cigars, the 79-year-old's appointment as Ofcom chair follows a long stint of top broadcasting roles in a career spanning four decades. - www.theguardian.comWednesday 23 March 2022, PM
Monday 21 March 2022, AM

UKTV s W preps Alex Jones Rochelle Humes shows as channel goes FTA TBI Vision
BBC Studios-owned multichannel service UKTV is taking its female-skewing entertainment channel W free-to-air and making it available on its DTC VOD service UKTV Play from next week. In a move that was first reported last month, W will go FTA and will launch on 28 March in Freeview slot 25 in the UK. Viewers will gain access to a range of free shows, including the upcoming Alex Jones Making Babies, Rochelle Humes Interior Designer in the Making, Nurses on the Ward and Dating With My Mates. - tbivision.comFriday 18 March 2022, PM
Wednesday 16 March 2022, PM
Tuesday 15 March 2022, AM

Big Tech Always Fails at Doing Radio - Matt Deegan Writes
Every time they launch these types of services they fail to hire one of the many bright people from the radio sector who could actually explain the appeal of radio - and even perhaps suggest how it could help make these services work. What won't work is assuming how you and your colleagues consume radio, and the fact you've heard a load of radio shows over your lifetime sets you up to be able to re-invent the medium. - www.mattdeegan.comMonday 14 March 2022, PM

State of the Nation 2022: Industry Survey
The State of the Nation is the DTG's annual data-driven analysis of the digital TV industry. Your responses, along with those of more than 2,000 consumers across all TV viewing demographics, will set the benchmarks, set the trends and set the direction of future innovation, technologies and policy. - www.surveymonkey.co.ukwww.surveymonkey.co.ukMonday 14 March 2022, AM

proposals to increase available spectrum and simplify our approach to licensing
We intend to make more efficient use of limited coverage spectrum to increase the overall spectrum resource available for restricted radio services. We also want to simplify our licensing approach for restricted services and to make the application process more straightforward. - www.ofcom.org.ukFriday 11 March 2022, AM

Digital Radio UK industry body to be merged into Radioplayer â RadioToday
The move follows the Government Industry Digital Radio and Audio Review and will see Digital Radio UK CEO Ford Ennals leave the organisation. We'd like to personally thank Ford Ennals and all the team at Digital Radio UK for all their extremely hard work at pushing digital radio. - radiotoday.co.ukThursday 10 March 2022, PM

Bucking the trend: Debunking digital radio's biggest myths – RadioToday
DAB is the most listened to digital platform, with 42 of all digital radio listening and 53 of all in-car listening. The government has signalled its support for digital radio with the recent DCMS Digital Radio and Audio Review. - radiotoday.co.ukWednesday 09 March 2022, PM
Tuesday 08 March 2022, AM

'Cable cutters' wonder whether cheaper alternative is over as Netflix raises price
The cost of streaming is rising Subscribing to the standard plans of Disney, Hulu, Netflix and HBO Max can cost over 50 - about the same price as some basic cable plans. Cost-savvy Netflix subscribers may be tempted to turn to cheaper streaming services like Peacock or Paramount, whose most expensive plans cost 10 a month, but analysts say the prices subscribers see now are likely to only increase over time. - www.theguardian.comSaturday 05 March 2022, PM

ITV, BBC agree to continue funding YouView until 2024
ITV, the BBC, BT, Channel 4, TalkTalk and Channel 5 have agreed to keep YouView running until March 2024, after the shareholders reached an agreement on the service's governance and funding arrangements. Both ITV and the BBC have each committed to contribute 750,000 to YouView each financial year from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024. - www.tvbeurope.comWednesday 02 March 2022, PM
Sunday 27 February 2022, PM

BBC's grip on news programming shaky as commercial outlets pick off journalists
Combined with an industry-wide skills shortage, this has made it easy for commercial outlets to pick off experienced BBC journalists who can put together shows that appeal to the high-end wealthy listeners beloved by advertisers. BBC staff can get substantial pay rises and faster career progression by applying for jobs at the likes of Rupert Murdoch's TimesRadio or the forthcoming Piers Morgan-fronted talkTV. Commercial radio is also less concerned by impartiality - which led to Maitlis being ticked off repeatedly by the BBC over her social media posts. - www.theguardian.comFriday 25 February 2022, PM

Deloitte: terrestrial TV will be here in 15 years
The opportunity for the BBC to be funded via subscription appears to be at least 15 years away, after Deloitte's Paul Lee set out his minimum expectations for terrestrial TV's lifespan. The prediction, set out as part of the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee's first public session as part of an inquiry into BBC future funding, is significant because the government would only be able to fund a universal BBC via subscription following terrestrial switch-off. - www.broadcastnow.co.ukWednesday 23 February 2022, PM
Wednesday 16 February 2022, PM
Friday 11 February 2022, AM

Media planners question whether media habits between generations are converging
Senior media planners do not believe that younger and older demographics are easier to reach on the same platform despite a new report that suggests their media habits are starting to converge. The IPA's report may indicate that media consumption habits by device are converging between generations, but how advertisers can effectively reach different demographics is becoming increasingly nuanced and complex. - www.campaignlive.co.uk
Ofcom sets out initial views on the future of mobile markets and spectrum
Ofcom has today set out our initial thinking on how mobile markets might develop and how networks might need to evolve to meet future demand. So we are considering possible future demand for mobile services and implications for spectrum. - www.ofcom.org.ukWednesday 09 February 2022, PM
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