John Whittingdale is surprised by defensive BBC after green paper published July 19, 2015 Cukture secretary John Whittingdale said yesterday that he was surprised by the BBC’s defensive response towards a governmental review of its remit. Whittingdale published a green paper in the Commons last week, posing questions regarding the future of the BBC, which parliament will debate before the renewal of the network’s soon-to-expire Royal Charter. Following the [...]
BBC shows the strain over Tory reform plan: “Aunty has very much pulled up her sleeves” July 16, 2015 The BBC ramped up its fight with the government yesterday as a groundbreaking Conservative review threatened the broadcaster’s size, funding, content and regulation. Culture secretary John Whittingdale revealed a green paper on the future of the corporation, questioning whether it should aim to be “all things to all people”, attacking its “regressive” licence fee scheme [...]
Ofcom communciations review: What next for BT, Openreach, Sky and the telecoms market? July 16, 2015 While Ofcom’s latest move is no doubt being celebrated as a win by BT’s more than vocal rivals, it’s by no means a foregone conclusion that BT is heading for a breakup. Last time Ofcom reviewed competition, BT was forced to create Openreach in order to give access to its broadband network to rivals, something Ofcom [...]
BBC charter review panel: Meet the eight people deciding the broadcaster’s future July 12, 2015 The government has selected a panel of independent advisors to lead a review of the BBC's royal charter, which will shape the future of the public broadcaster. An eight-person team of media professionals and experts, with backgrounds in broadcasting, production, technology and media regulation, have been chosen by the culture secretary John Whittingdale to conduct [...]
ITV and BBC to share Six Nations coverage in £300m deal July 9, 2015 The BBC will share Six Nations coverage with ITV from 2016, keeping the European rugby tournament on free-to-air television until 2021. Read more: BBC loses Olympic broadcast rights as Eurosport signs £922m deal The deal, thought to be worth around £50m a year, will mean England's home matches are broadcast on ITV and their away fixtures [...]
ViralNova bought by ITV-backed Zealot Networks in $100m deal July 9, 2015 ViralNova, a website which publishes shareable content with titles such as "You probably didn't know that raccoons getting baths would be this cute", has been bought up by the US publishing startup which picked up $5m (£3.2m) backing from ITV last year. Zealot Networks has bought the website in a deal understood to be worth around [...]
German media merger still has many challenges to overcome July 7, 2015 Shares in Axel Springer, the German media giant, ended today up over 2 per cent, on the back of escalating rumours of a media mega merger. The publisher of Europe’s best selling tabloid newspaper, Bild, had yesterday failed to quash rumours that are swirling that it is in merger talks with Germany’s top broadcaster [...]
James Naughtie: Veteran BBC radio presenter to leave Radio 4’s Today programme after 21 years July 7, 2015 BBC radio presenter James Naughtie will leave Radio 4's Today programme after 21 years. The veteran broadcaster will instead become the station's special correspondent. The BBC says that he will follow key political and constitutional debates such as the EU referendum and elections, present documentaries, and act as a roving reporter for the station. Naughtie, [...]
BBC Trust fires shot over the bows of government over licence fees for over 75s July 7, 2015 BBC director general Tony Hall insisted that the broadcaster had achieved “the right deal” yesterday, after it was confirmed that the broadcaster would start paying the licence fee for Brits over 75 from 2018. However, Rona Fairhead, the chairman of the BBC Trust, which represents licence fee payers, appeared to be less happy about the [...]
John Whittingdale confirms the BBC will pay for over-75s license fees from 2018 July 6, 2015 The culture, media, and sport secretary John Whittingdale has confirmed that the BBC will pay for free television licences for those aged over 75 from 2018. Whittingdale confirmed the move in response to an urgent question posed in parliament by his Labour shadow, Chris Bryant, following widespread reports over the weekend that the costs would be passed on to [...]