Keep up with the daily developments that effect free TV in the UK. This list is updated often - you can follow
Briantist on Twitter for update Tweets, or use your RSS reader (such a Firefox or Google Reader) with this feed -
UK Free TV Zeitgeist RSS feed.
Podcasts
First, here are some podcasts to listen to - click the link for direct play.
Feedback: Complaining to the BBC Media Talk podcast: Greece\'s ERT under threat Media: Closure of Greek public service broadcaster; Apple\'s iTunes Radio; the BBC\'s lost… Recommended reading
And here are the daily recommendations for developments with Freeview, Freesat, Freesat from Sky, Digital radio, free HD and online viewing. Summaries are done by
Clipped-Your articles and documents summarizedMonday 20 July 2009, PM
Freeview HD boxes in shops by year-end - Digital SpyWith the increase of HD adoption, the market for Freeview HD will also most likely grow by around four million homes each year. - digitalspy.co.uk
Wyplay Wyplayer - Register HardwareIt is, in essence, a high definition Personal Video Recorder combined with a media streamer, in a single box. Wyplay's Wyplayer media player The Wyplayer is a slim unit, almost square, measuring 275 x 240 x 45mm. Theres a single UHF aerial connector, which feeds both tuners internally, and a pass-through output for the TV. - reghardware.co.uk
IP Visions Hybrid Freeview-OTT Device to Be Available in John Lewis Stores | InteractiveTV…The box also allows customers to access 1,500 hours of content from such providers as Paramount Pictures, National Geographic, and Cartoon Network on a pay-per-view basis. Our first retail deal for the box with John Lewis means that it will now be much easier for customers to buy one of our FetchTV boxes. The company says that it also offers home media center functionality, allowing customers to view their own digital pictures and home movies on the TV. - itvt.com
BBC - BBC Internet Blog: Radio and Telly? Thatd be Telio!Editor's note While our coverage on the Blog of the radio visualisation trials to date have focused almost exclusively on Radio 4 the truth is that our colleagues at Radio 1 have been putting in the hours too. Here's how their listeners have responded. 'Visualising Radio' is a clunky term. 'Visualising Radio' isn't very sexy and when I hear Chris Moyles or Aled say it on the radio it feels horribly corporate. - bbc.co.uk
Monday 20 July 2009, AM
Joint venture between BBC Worldwide and C4 imminent |Media |The GuardianIt is certainly not the first time a deal has been said to be close. Today C4's board will respond to those demands that its remit be changed - the first big rewrite of the broadcaster's remit since it started broadcasting in 1982, and one that will require deft legislative amendment. In its Next on 4 policy blueprint last year, C4 estimated a funding gap of 100m a year by 2012. - guardian.co.uk
Sunday 19 July 2009, PM
Landlady fined for Sky TV scam - Lancashire Evening PostA landlady has been fined for illegally receiving Sky TV programmes screened to punters in her pub. Traders who want to screen Sky programmes in such venues need a business subscription which costs anything up to 3,000. It is understood inspectors visiting the pub discovered the illegal broadcasts. - lep.co.uk
Saturday 18 July 2009, AM
When news people lose sense BuzzMachineFinancial Times editor Lionel Barber predicted that almost all news organizations will be charging in a year just because they need to. Meanwhile, former McClatchy news exec Howard Weaver thinks that news orgs should get, oh, say, 10 percent of Google et als revenue because they, oh, should. Would Barber ever suggest that GM would charge more just because it needs to, with no consideration of the market forces and its competition - buzzmachine.com
Amazon deleting 1984 from Kindle, but 99-cent ebook was illegal copy | BetanewsThe press loves a juicy story, and Amazon served one up on a silver platter this morning by automatically deleting certain copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customers' Kindles. Amazon was able to remove the titles because the Kindle is configured to automatically sync up with the user's Bookshelf via the electronic book reader's WhisperNet wireless service. When the company removed the unauthorized books from customers' accounts, they also disappeared from the Kindle. - betanews.com
BBC3 random documentary generator |Media |The GuardianSimply think of a four-digit number between 0000 and 9999, then pull the relevant ingredients from our four component pools Z-list celebrity presenter, style of reportage, subject matter and trite conclusion put them all together and hey presto Having unnecessary cosmetic surgery to look like subject 5. Basic sarcastic voiceover, no actual contact Edgy subject matter 0. - guardian.co.uk
Digital TV - News - IP Vision launches Fetch TV Freeview+ box - Digital SpyIt also offers pay-per-view access to films and premium content from Paramount Pictures, National Geographic and the Cartoon Network. - digitalspy.co.uk
Kay Burley accuses Sky News colleague of staggering sexism - TelegraphBurley, who anchors the afternoon programme on the rolling news channel, immediately challenged her colleague. Speaking before the tournament, Ross Fisher, 28, said he would abandon the tournament to attend the birth, which was due on Tuesday. - telegraph.co.uk
North Wales News - DIGITAL D-DAYCurrently programmes in Welsh on S4C are interspersed with English-language shows from Channel 4. Tudur, who trained as a plate spinner for the day, said Its important that people realise that Wales is going totally digital. The old-fashioned aerial TV signal will be switched off and in its place will be a digital only service. - dailypost.co.uk
Up to 70 job losses as Teletext closes news service From Hounslow Guardian) -
Friday 17 July 2009, AM
informitv - BBC paints Canvas as a television revolutionErik Huggers, the director of future media and technology at the BBC, presented the video at a conference organised by Intellect, the consumer electronics industry association. Short on any substantial detail, its consumer-friendly approach raises more questions about the role of the BBC in promoting such a platform. Once upon a time if you wanted digital TV you had three choices, says the video. - informitv.com
NorDig releases the specification for the NorDig Compliant DVB-T2 IRDs.1. NorDig specifications for Integrated Receiver Decoders and relevant parts of integrated digital TV-sets. 2. NorDig specifications for the use of transmit parameters in NorDig compliant networks. All specifications are based on DVB and the minimum performance sets that are specified for NorDig compliant networks. - nordig.org
Freeview in over a quarter of NZ homesFreeview New Zealand is now available in 255,048 homes across the country, according to the latest figures released by the platform operator. The latest sales figures for the three months ending June 2009 indicate that there are now 167,328 Freeview satellite homes an increase of 11,846 from the last quarter and 87,720 Freeview HD homes an increase of 17,061 from the last quarter. One of the key drivers for our growth in the last quarter has been the sharp deals available in retail, which is partly due to new brands coming into the market with Freeview approved products. - dtg.org.uk
Radio spectrum to be used for wireless home cinemaOfcom has given its permission for a small part of the radio spectrum to be used for wireless home cinema. Ofcom has now introduced regulations which will allow this technology to be incorporated in home entertainment equipment without the need for a licence. DTG Staff 15.07.2009 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk
Teletext to close news and information service - TV Radio, Media - The IndependentTeletext's news and information service is to come to an end in January next year - two years ahead of schedule - the service's owner said today. The group, which had intended to shut the service in 2012, said the closure decision followed indications from regulator Ofcom that it would not back state intervention to support the continuation of a public commercial Teletext service after 2014. However, its holiday service on Freeview and other commercial services will continue to broadcast. - independent.co.uk
PVR users watch far more live TV than they sayHomes with personal video recorders to do not use them as much as they think. That is the conclusion of researchers that found people claimed to watch recorded or time-shifted programmes much more than was actually observed. They also found that the availability of a personal archive of programmes reduced demand for video on demand. - informitv.com
BBC wants government help for DAB switch -
Now it's five channels for Freeview HD -
Thursday 16 July 2009, PM
Consultation on sustainable, independent and impartial news in the Nations, locally and in…The consultation period was 30 June- 22 September 2009 Responses to the consultation can be found online. Government response to the consultation on sustainable independent and impartial news in the nations, locally and in the regions. Government intends to trial this proposal first on a pilot basis in Scotland, Wales and one English region, with national roll out from 2013. - culture.gov.uk
BBC carries on licence fee fight in front of select committee MPs |Media |guardian.co.ukLyons conceded it was a decision for parliament to make, but said sharing the licence fee with other broadcasters would be a momentous change. Meanwhile, Thompson told the committee that he expected only about 45 to 50 of staff slated to move to the BBC's new northern headquarters in Salford to actually relocate. So far, official figures show that 42 of middle managers have agreed to move north, while 15 out of 32 senior executives have agreed. - guardian.co.uk
Teletext news to be pulled from TV |Media |guardian.co.ukTeletext owned by Daily Mail and General Trust. In a time Light years before the internet revolution, Teletext's clunky, often derided, television text news service reigned supreme as the interactive experience of choice in UK households. It will switch off in January, putting 70 jobs at risk. - guardian.co.uk
Thursday 16 July 2009, AM
118800 and a web revolutionThe controversial mobile phone directory launched last month, but has struggled to convince the great British public that it's a good idea to have your mobile number available for people to look up. For days now the website has been down, and the service has been unavailable. After the BBC's excellent Working Lunch programme gave prolonged coverage to the story before the launch, various e-mails began circulating, warning people about it. - bbc.co.uk
TiVo lawsuit explodes into billion-dollar stakes | Tech Policy Law News - BetanewsWhat is big is EchoStar's assertion that sanctions being sought against it amount to as much as 1 billion -- the first time the proverbial math has alluded to TiVo's potential jackpot. This in addition to the 104 million that the Supreme Court decided EchoStar was liable for, in its refusal to hear EchoStar's first appeal. A billion dollar grand prize, which is apparently what TiVo may seek in sanctions, is not outside of Marshall's ballpark at all. - betanews.com
Visualising Material World: the ins and outsBut, I've been around for a while and I often suspect that Cumulonimbus might be more appropriate - dark, thunderous and anvil shaped, ready to dump on you from a great height, like the endlessly doomed Wile E. shudders, visualisation is a window that can be added to a webpage or TV screen. The Console had been designed and the IP distribution had already been worked out, so despite only being a small part of the console, creating the video was going to involve the most work. - bbc.co.uk
Series catch-up for Radio 4 programmesMonday 13 July 2009, 1348 Sarah Prag Yesterday something small but significant happened. Which means that you can go back and listen to it before listening to Episode 2. Series catch-up means that all the episodes in a series are available until 7 days after the final episode is broadcast. - bbc.co.uk
Monday 13 July 2009, AM
HDTV UK: Virgin Media adding four new HD channelsA little ahead of schedule, Virgin Media has announced that four new channels will be available in high definition from the end of July. - hdtvuk.tv
MediaGuardian 100, 2009The criteria used A panel of experienced media watchers from the worlds of politics, journalism, advertising and the internet judged entrants using three criteria cultural influence, economic clout and political power of all candidates - guardian.co.uk
Sunday 12 July 2009, PM
DTG :: News :: TeamCast and BBC to develop DVB-T2 demodulatorThis firmware runs on TeamCasts Power4Cast platform, allowing the demodulator to support additional modes and features of the T2 specification through firmware upgrades. Using BBC's firmware as a starting point for developing our T2 demodulator is a reliable way to speed up our development. DTG Staff 12.06.2009 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk
Sky renews agreement with SES ASTRAIn total Sky is using 31 transponders on the ASTRA satellite system. Mike Darcey, Skys Chief Operating Officer, said Our success is driven by delivering high-quality content and services on a reliable and flexible platform. DTG Staff 30.06.2009 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk
BSkyB to fight premium channels plan - TV Radio, Media - The IndependentThe watchdog said the satellite broadcaster is thought to be charging high prices to competitors for the use of its premium content. BSkyB holds the rights to many top sporting fixtures and all major Hollywood releases and Ofcom said the satellite broadcaster kept a stranglehold on the wholesale supply of channels with this premium content. Ofcom said it was considering whether splitting rights for movies on demand from standard subscription rights would improve competition. - independent.co.uk
TV viewers taking greater control as nine million digital video recorders sold | OfcomIndependent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. 4G auction bidders announced December 20, 2012 Ofcom has today announced the bidders in the forthcoming 4G mobile spectrum auction the largest ever sale of mobile airwaves in the UK. npower fined for making abandoned calls December 6, 2012 The conclusion of an Ofcom investigation has today found npower, the gas and electricity supplier, to be in breach of rules on abandoned calls. - ofcom.org.uk
Ofcom tells Sky the Pay TV party is over -
Pay TV phase three document | Ofcom -
Sunday 12 July 2009, AM
RadioDNS Demo Application ReleasedThe code is written in Python and uses the wxWidgets user interface library. We are making this code available as part of our explorations with RadioDNS, and look forward to technical feedback. To download, please visit our RadioDNS project page here. - bbc.co.uk
British Telecom sacks bitterly unpopular Phorm ad platform | Tech Policy Law News - Betane…In an announcement this morning, British Telecom said it has decided to halt BT Webwise, its prospective targeted advertising platform, calling the move a cost-cutting measure as the company invests 1.5 billion in improved broadband deployments. In early 2008, BT, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media joined forces to build a single targeted ad platform for their respective subscribers. Unfortunately, after the service had been announced, BT admitted that it had already tested the service without telling users. - betanews.com
Visualising material world: studio set-upEditor's note - Mark Damazer has previously written about Material World and the visualising radio trial. My role as Operations Manager for AM Factual is to manage the technical resources for our in-house factual radio production base. I look after a team of fifteen studio managers sound engineers and dedicated recording facilities - studios, workshops and the bizarrely named 'woffices' - and endeavour to enable any project envisaged to make it to air by hook or by crook. - bbc.co.uk
Saturday 11 July 2009, AM
BBC NEWS | Technology | How well do DAB car radios work?A government-commissioned report has called for analogue radio to be switched off within six years and replaced by Digital Audio Broadcasting transmissions. - news.bbc.co.uk
Friday 10 July 2009, AM
BBC - BBC Internet Blog: BBC iPlayer now lets you link directly to your favourite scene in…You know how you're watching a programme on TV and there's a moment that's absolutely hilarious - so funny that you just have to tell your friends about it. If only you could send them a link that took them directly to the exact moment in the programme... Well, now you can, thanks to a BBC iPlayer feature we recently introduced which allows you to create links that jump directly to any time within a programme. - bbc.co.uk
Monday 06 July 2009, PM
With all these programmes online, why watch TV? |Media |The GuardianBritish TV viewers may scratch their heads when asked what Hulu is now, but later this year, if things go to plan, we will all be talking about the catchup service with the funny name. To do so it needs to overcome myriad rights issues with UK broadcasters, which are trying to come up with a homegrown alternative. This year, Project Kangaroo, the nearest UK equivalent to Hulu, failed because of competition concerns. - guardian.co.uk
Monday 06 July 2009, AM
Question of the week: How can ITV improve its ratings? |Media |The GuardianITV1 has sunk to its worst audience share since it started 54 years ago - 16.1 in the week ending 18 June. Peter Bazalgette, media consultant What a relief to discuss ITV's programmes rather than its debt, pension deficit, board or new chief executive. Peter Fincham has to perform the most devilish balancing act in TV history cut programme expenditure and increase ratings. - guardian.co.uk
Sunday 05 July 2009, PM
Geeks vs. journalists: A tale of two worldviews | Tech Policy Law News - BetanewsSome of the incurious double-digit-IQ nonsense I've heard in the newsrooms of old-line mainstream publications would make the average geek bite a mousepad in half. Frankly, a lot of people with journalism degrees are the last people who ought to become journalists. The idea of journalism as a white-collar profession, rather than a grubby old trade, is only a few decades old. - betanews.com
Tuesday 30 June 2009, AM
2010 will be the breakthrough year for Micro USB | Tech Policy Law News - Betanews - betanews.com
New TVs PVR can save video to SD chips | Tech Gear News - BetanewsLike Vizio in the United States, Cello has grown rapidly in the last four years because of its affordable, but feature-rich products. It is equipped with two tuners and two SD slots for simultaneous Freeview recording, a built-in electronic programming guide and DVD player. There, the SD card is shown, but not mentioned in the feature list. - betanews.com
What's happening with Freeview HD?The Editor In our recent open post we had several questions about the roll-out of Freeview HD. The plan has always been to roll Freeview HD out around the country following switchover and Winter Hill was selected as the first achievable transmitter. The March 2010 date in the Ofcom document is simply the last backstop date by when Winter Hill has to be on air to comply with our licence conditions. - bbc.co.uk
BBC R The latest product of their efforts is the ASTOR demonstrator - aka 'the world's heaviest laptop' which is currently being tested by the archive and network media research engineers. It's big, runs pretty hot, weighs close to half a ton, and can store dozens of hours of HD content, but perhaps most amazingly is that in its brief few months of existence, it's clocked up more than 10,000 miles. The story began three years ago, when RD started looking at the best ways to store large amounts of AV content in digital form. - bbc.co.uk
Cable DVRs are legal: Supreme Court denies appeal of Cablevision decision | BetanewsThat August 2008 ruling had overturned an earlier District Court ruling in March that had been a victory for the studios. Their argument was that when a cable service provider lets its customers record and play back shows at the headend -- using the provider's own storage rather than a local DVR -- that constituted a retransmission, which was contrary to the terms of service. In other words, they could only be replayed in the context of each customer's DVR service. - betanews.com
Wednesday 24 June 2009, PM
Caldbeck TV mast - a sneak look... - bbc.co.uk
Wednesday 24 June 2009, AM
Are ESPN and Sky friends or foes? |Media |guardian.co.ukDisney, whose TV assets include ABC, one of the big four American networks, has a market value of 42bn 25.7bn and operations in dozens of countries. However, all the talk from ESPN thus far is about partnership rather than rivalry as the company seeks to play down talk of a challenge to Sky. ESPN hasn't got the infrastructure or the expertise to set up its own UK subscription business, a costly exercise that hurt Setanta. - guardian.co.uk
Sky's illogical ad still misleading HD newbies?What's less clear is just how much true 720p or 1080i content you're getting, and at what quality. Yes, it says that there are 33 high definition channels available, but it doesn't say that only a modest proportion of programmes on those channels were made in high definition. No mainstream broadcaster can yet offer full 1080p high definition, which is what you expect from films on Blu-ray. - hdtvuk.tv
Tuesday 23 June 2009, PM
BBC Red Button now available via BBC HDHowever, you couldn't press red to access the BBC's interactive services from this channel. All the additional video inside the BBC Red Button service will continue to be in standard definition. Our code too is built in standard definition as the majority of set top boxes don't allow us to write HD versions of our software. - bbc.co.uk
Setanta goes into administration with loss of 200 jobs |Media |guardian.co.ukIrish pay-TV company Setanta has today been placed into administration after rescue talks designed to secure new funding collapsed. Accountancy firm Deloitte has confirmed it has been appointed as administrator for the UK part of the business, which employs about 200 staff. The broadcaster's other wholly owned channels, including Setanta Sports 1 and 2, went off air around the same time. - guardian.co.uk
Tuesday 23 June 2009, AM
Freesat - all you need to know - AVReview FeaturesIt has chalked up sales of over 400,000, the number channels has grown to over 145 and there's a wide range of Freesat-equipped hardware on the market catering for all budgets. A big part of Freesat's appeal is the lack of subscription costs, but the main reason why consumers are heading towards the service in their droves is the prospect of getting high-definition channels absolutely free. To belatedly celebrate its birthday, we're taking a look at the current state of Freesat how it compares to its rivals, the various ways of getting it and what the platform has in store for the future. - avreview.co.uk
Monday 22 June 2009, PM
Marquee opens BBC iPlayer despite Canvas problemsThe idea is part of the partnership proposals presented as part of the BBC contribution to Digital Britain and is seen by some as an attempt to avoid top slicing of the licence fee revenue. The BBC has previously said that it is ready to share the iPlayer technology and brand with other public service broadcasters who could use the same technology and user experience to support their own branded, independent on-demand services supported by advertising or other means. The only problem is that most major broadcasters have already made significant investments in their own broadband video platforms. - informitv.com
Digital Britain report disappointsThe Digital Britain white paper aims to set out the importance of the digital economy to the economic future of the nation, but some see it as disappointing, lacking vision, ambition and fibre. The ground that it attempts to cover is wide ranging but in many parts it descends into a commentary on general trends and vague observations about the digital landscape. What is lacking is any inspiring aspiration or groundbreaking initiative to invest in modern digital infrastructure. - informitv.com
ITV, C4 and Five rapped for pushing products | News | BroadcastIt 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
Monday 22 June 2009, AM
Eexpensive TV productions that need to sell thousands of DVDs to cover their costsA budgetary ice-age seems to be sweeping through UK television - raising fears about British broadcasting's delicate eco-stystem. The morning before Demons' fate was confirmed, the BBC instructed all six of its television networks to find record efficiency savings of 7.5 - over the next five years the channels will lose 1bn from their budgets. In March, head of programming Julian Bellamy said the broadcaster would like to commission more drama, but there was no money in the budget with which to do so. - guardian.co.uk
BBC - Radio 4 Blog: Reith 2009 in the TwitterverseAs I've explained in my previous blog posts, the 2009 Reith Lectures team was keen to extend the reach of the programmes beyond the traditional Radio 4 and World Service listeners. A key part of our strategy was social networking site Twitter. We wanted to find people already talking about Professor Sandel and his work, or related ideas, and establish a community of listeners which could start engaging with the lectures' themes before the programmes were even broadcast. - bbc.co.uk
Sunday 21 June 2009, PM
The BBC is serving younger audiences well but could do moreOur review shows that BBC Three, Radio 1 and 1Xtra are doing a particularly good job in serving young people. Nine out of ten young people use BBC services every week, and the BBC as a whole provides a good range of high quality content for this group. However the BBC faces growing challenges in engaging young people with its news provision and reaching teenagers on television. - bbc.co.uk
...the Digital Britain lock-in |Media |guardian.co.ukWith cameras rolling and the temperature soaring outside, a door had to be flung open to prevent any unfortunate fainting incidents. Monkey update it has been brought to our attention that it was in fact Gideon's Standard colleague, senior reporter Amar Singh, who made the dash for freedom. The soon-to-depart government minister has dispensed with tank tops and now sports a side parting that could be modelled on the business secretary's own and he sprinkled his presentation with a few witty asides. - guardian.co.uk
Millionaire cheque bounces | Media Monkey |Media |guardian.co.ukWho Wants to be a Millionaire is all about the money, so one contestant who won 10,000 in the ITV quiz was bemused to find the cheque bounced when she went to cash it in. To find out more information about driving traffic to your content or to place this widget on your site, visit outbrain.com. We welcome your feedback at userhelpguardian.co.uk or feedbackoutbrain.com. - guardian.co.uk
Channel 5 set for licence for high definition programmes on digital terrestrial television…Independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. 4G auction bidders announced December 20, 2012 Ofcom has today announced the bidders in the forthcoming 4G mobile spectrum auction the largest ever sale of mobile airwaves in the UK. npower fined for making abandoned calls December 6, 2012 The conclusion of an Ofcom investigation has today found npower, the gas and electricity supplier, to be in breach of rules on abandoned calls. - ofcom.org.uk
BBC Trust responds to Digital Britain reportOur review shows that BBC Three, Radio 1 and 1Xtra are doing a particularly good job in serving young people. Nine out of ten young people use BBC services every week, and the BBC as a whole provides a good range of high quality content for this group. However the BBC faces growing challenges in engaging young people with its news provision and reaching teenagers on television. - bbc.co.uk
Saturday 20 June 2009, PM
DAB Digital Radio in the UK, Italy, and Denmark - blog - James CridlandThen pointed out that Ofcoms forecasts in 2006 for digital listening said that wed be at 35 by now were actually at 20. Similarly, RadioCentres forecasts have been out of kilter with where we actually are. Then he goes through a few challenges to DAB in the UK. - james.cridland.net
Goodbye Sky - blog - James CridlandI got one of the first Sky Movies decoders, which was free for a Sky Pioneer like myself. I declined to buy a decoder card, when that became available. For me, the excitement was the large amount of foreign channels also on the platform nearly 32 channels, I think, including a rather peculiar comedy channel with an ident of a goldfish, I seem to remember. - james.cridland.net
Another exciting new sound for BBC RadioFlash Player is already installed in many corporate environments - and, since Flash is in use on many other websites including the video for BBC iPlayer, chances are you'll already have it. In the UK, we've taken this opportunity to greatly increase our audio quality doubling the bitrates for most live streams, and using a significantly more efficient audio codec which increases the audio quality yet further. For bitrate watchers - AAC is much more efficient than MP3 at the same bitrate, and thus gives a significantly better sound. - bbc.co.uk
Saturday 20 June 2009, AM
A carve-up of the licence fee would be sheer vandalism | Polly Toynbee |Comment is free |T…Just as the lottery was once plundered so the BBC will, before long, shrink away to something insignificant. Make no mistake, that isthe purpose of those malign forces that have pushed for this for years. This is not about the sum of money itself, because governments already decide how much the BBC gets when setting the licence fee in hard times ahead, no doubt the BBC will be squeezed like everyone else. - guardian.co.uk
Friday 19 June 2009, PM
BBC NEWS | Business | Setanta loses Premier TV rightsA potential rescue deal, led by a US investor who had proposed buying 51 of Setanta, had fallen through. The league will now put the rights to the 46 live matches for the 2009/2010 season out to auction, after Setanta missed Friday's payment deadline. Offers to buy the rights need to be made by Monday. - news.bbc.co.uk
Premier League ends Setanta deal |Media |guardian.co.ukSetanta's failure to meet the deadline for the next instalment of payments for the 46 live Premier League matches next season casts serious doubt over the company's future, after a fortnight in which it has been desperately seeking new funding to ward off the threat of administration. The Premier League will now re-tender the 46 live matches to other broadcasters in two packages of 23 live games. It is with considerable regret that we announce that Setanta has been unable to meet its obligations. - guardian.co.uk
Thursday 18 June 2009, AM
The corporation fixation | Comment | Broadcast - broadcastnow.co.uk
Setanta collapse could cost Premier League clubs 30m |Media |The GuardianSetanta must pay the Premier League another instalment of 10m by the end of Friday or face the possibility of going into administration. The Irish company faces yet another crucial day on Friday, when it is due to pay 10m to the Premier League. If it misses that deadline, its rights will revert to the League and Setanta is likely to go into administration. - guardian.co.uk
Ofcom to crack down on strong sexual content shown just after watershed |Media |guardian.c…Ofcom is concerned that these services are broadcasting sexually explicit content, including R18 material, that is only meant to appear on encrypted, subscription-only adult channels. In the past couple of years, the regulator has fined a number of babe channels for breaches of the broadcast code. In April Ofcom fined Playboy TV 22,500 for serious and repeated breaches of the broadcasting code for the unencrypted airing of explicit scenes in 2007 and 2008. - guardian.co.uk
Tuesday 16 June 2009, PM
Tip blocks TV and phone signalsResidents in Rhosaman, Carmarthenshire claim they have noticed interruptions after Celtic Energy's East Pit returned to full production. Some say they have had to change mobile companies and can no longer receive certain digital television channels. Neath Port Talbot Council said the tip operated within the approved height granted by planning permission. - news.bbc.co.uk
Digital Britain: Stephen Carters plans for broadband, web piracy, television, local media …9.10am After months of debate, bargaining and thinking deep thoughts, Stephen Carter's media baby, Digital Britain, will today be unveiled. The announcement is expected by the new culture minister, Ben Bradshaw, at about 3.30pm in the House of Commons. The unveiling of the report could be delayed, depending upon the parliamentary business it follows. - guardian.co.uk
Friday 20 March 2009, AM
BBC Red Button in the Freeview EPG : BBC - Press Red BlogIn our What's On post on Wednesday, we mentioned that one of the comments heard regularly is that people don't always know about some of the content we have on the red button. This data hasn't traditionally been held in the BBC's normal schedule database, hence it hasn't been available before. Getting the data isn't as simple as it would be for a normal TV channel. - bbc.co.uk
Monday 16 March 2009, PM
BBC HD Channel Up To Nine Hours Per Day : BBC - BBC Internet Blog:Those paying close attention may have noticed that for the first time today outside of a major event, the BBC HD schedule is up at 9 hours. That's the full service that we have permission for from the BBC Trust, and from now on until there is any extension to the service the channel we plan to deliver to you. We'll start daily at 4pm, and run through to between 12.30 and 1.30 7 nights a week although we will of course still extend the channel hours when there are sporting or other events that fall outside those hours. - bbc.co.uk
Barb TV ratings system to change |Media |guardian.co.ukThe multi-platform, timeshifted digital world means the percentage of programme's audience that watches it the first time it appears on the small screen is in rapid decline. Smith's more recent offering, The Pursuit of Happyness, had only 25 of its total audience watching its debut live on Sky Movies Premiere last year. In addition, viewers could watch via Sky Movies Premiere1 or a number of narrative repeats on the two channels over the next seven days. - guardian.co.uk
Grade s ITV is in a classic lose lose situation | Greg Dyke - Times Online - timesonline.co.uk
Friday 13 March 2009, AM
BBC NEWS | Science Environment | Campaign against snide online remarksThe internet has created a whole new language. That is the official word coined in the States for a snide remark made online. The web-based 'nastiness' has annoyed one New York writer so much he has started a campaign against it. - news.bbc.co.uk
RTL slashes Fives value by half and eyes merger with Channel 4 |Media |The GuardianThe owner of Five, RTL, yesterday slashed the value of the television company by more than half, blaming conditions in the advertising market. Gerhard Zeiler, RTL's chief executive, added that the worsening environment in the UK was forcing companies to consider consolidation. Five made a loss before financial and restructuring charges of 2m, compared with a profit in 2007 of 10m. - guardian.co.uk
Thursday 12 March 2009, AM
Ripping up the rulebook at ITVIt 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
Tuesday 10 March 2009, AM
BBC NEWS | Technology | The future of TV lies on the netAs its name suggests IPTV is all about getting the shows you like via the net rather than through the air. Viewers will be able to watch on-demand content through their television via a special set top box, expected to cost between 100-200. The service will run in addition to existing on-demand efforts such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD, and content on Canvas will require no extra subscription - just an existing broadband connection. - news.bbc.co.uk
DTG News: ASTRA 2C satellite to move to 31.5 Degrees EastIn the meantime, the services transmitted via 28.2 degrees East will continue to be broadcast from the other satellites co-located at this orbital position. DTG Staff 10.03.2009 Links open in a new window. - dtg.org.uk
BSkyBs Digital Britain response9 March, 2009 BSkyB's open letter responding to the Digital Britain report March 2009. 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
DTG News: DTG publish D-Book 6The specification is now published annually to keep pace with the UKs rapidly-evolving DTT platform. The DTG was established by the industry over a decade ago to protect consumers and safeguard the reputations of distribution platforms and receiver manufacturers. This has been achieved by defining the detailed interoperability specification for UK DTT, and by the development and implementation of test specifications and test regimes to measure product conformance against brand requirements. - dtg.org.uk
Freeview HD box spec published -
BBC iPlayer to go HD! -
Monday 09 March 2009, AM
Emily Bell: The biggest mistake of the past 10 years? Too much stuff |Media |The GuardianBear with me as we recap last week's 100-yard dash of media industry financial woe before breasting the tape of eternal doom. The ABCs for national newspapers recorded almost universal sales decline, with no sector growing and the Daily Sport yes, it is still going withdrawing from the audit altogether. The lack of any boundaries to bandwidth was only encouraged by a seemingly ever-expanding pool of advertising opportunities. - guardian.co.uk
Sunday 08 March 2009, PM
Microsoft adding HD to Windows-7 - Rapid TV NewsRead more Louise Duffy 04-01-2013 A Pakistani parliamentary panel has asked the government to ban all foreign content in any language during prime time on television. Read more Iaki Ferreras 04-01-2013 Madrid's regional public broadcaster Telemadrid is going through the worst time in its history the company has serious financial problems and is close to shutting... - rapidtvnews.com
Sky+HD Guide - www1.sky.com
Saturday 07 March 2009, PM
Fall from grace of Michael Grades ITV - TV Radio, Media - The IndependentAs the red-socked television impresario walked into its headquarters in London's Gray's Inn Road, staff left their desks in the hope of a glimpse of the returning hero and burst into a spontaneous cheer when he appeared. The staff who once cheered their new executive chairman to the rafters had to hear from him that 600 jobs about 13 per cent of the workforce would be lost. You had to feel a little sympathy for the former Channel 4 chief executive who could not, when he determined to return to the commercial sector, have foreseen the economic conditions he would inherit. - independent.co.uk
Friday 06 March 2009, AM
DTV broadcasters: Suddenly loss of signal could be a problem | Tech Policy Law News - Beta…Much more serious, they condend, is the real possibility -- one which broadcasters are apparently just now addressing -- that certain viewers including those on the outskirts of analog broadcasting signals' coverage areas may suddenly find themselves without service. A key problem, however, as Rehr told the FCC, is the possibility of signal loss -- that some viewers won't get the signals from the channels that used to serve them. During Hawaii's early switchover on January 17, the biggest issue consumers there reported to call centers, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, was the inability to get a picture. - betanews.com
Sport TV rights: Sky want sport belonging to terrestrial television |Sport |The GuardianThey will present evidence that they claim shows that broadcasting events exclusively on pay TV does not have a detrimental effect on live attendances or reach. Supporters of strengthening the list will also point out that following the switch to digital television in 2012, the number of broadcasters that satisfy the free-to-air criteria will increase. With Uefa and Fifa also lobbying to have the legislation relaxed, there is also speculation that England's bid for the 2018 World Cup may make it politically expedient to give the latter a sympathetic hearing. - guardian.co.uk
Thursday 05 March 2009, AM
C4 s Duncan: TV won t bounce back for years4 March, 2009 By Robin Parker Channel 4 boss Andy Duncan has warned of the threat to the future of the industry posed by the economic downturn. 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
Fall from grace of Michael Grades ITV - TV Radio, Media - The IndependentAs the red-socked television impresario walked into its headquarters in London's Gray's Inn Road, staff left their desks in the hope of a glimpse of the returning hero and burst into a spontaneous cheer when he appeared. The staff who once cheered their new executive chairman to the rafters had to hear from him that 600 jobs about 13 per cent of the workforce would be lost. You had to feel a little sympathy for the former Channel 4 chief executive who could not, when he determined to return to the commercial sector, have foreseen the economic conditions he would inherit. - independent.co.uk
Wednesday 04 March 2009, PM
ITV's headache is longer lasting than the recessionThe latest round of cost cuts at ITV come as little surprise. We were expecting a dividend cut, probable disposals of Friends Reunited and SDN, a cut to the programming budget and at least 500 job cuts. The commercial broadcaster has taken a 2.7bn write down on the value of its assets and the proposed cost cuts are unlikely to be enough to cover its losses. - blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Wednesday 04 March 2009, AM
ITV to focus on peak-time shows |Media |guardian.co.ukThe X Factor the sort of peak-time show ITV will focus on. Michael Grade, the ITV executive chairman, said the broadcaster was likely to cut its new original drama output from eight to seven hours a week as part of the cuts. The broadcaster has already announced plans to cut The Bill from two hours a week to one. - guardian.co.uk
ITV could shut Leeds and Manchester bases and create new northern HQ |Media |guardian.co.u…The future of ITV's base at Quay Street in Manchester is under review. The commercial broadcaster today confirmed it would close its main studio complex in Leeds, as revealed by MediaGuardian.co.uk yesterday, with the loss of 192 jobs. One of the centre's main productions, Countdown, which ITV makes for Channel 4, will move across the Pennines to the north-west. - guardian.co.uk
15:11
DTG :: News :: BT names Gavin Patte…
SES’ ASTRA 2E SATELLITE SHIPPED TO …
Freeview boss pins future on new HD…
Freeview and 4G at 800 MHz in Londo…