BBC Three to return to TV screens after Normal People and Fleabag success March 2, 2021 BBC Three will return as a broadcast TV channel next year after delivering a string of recent hits such as Normal People, Fleabag and Killing Eve. The youth-focused channel was made online-only in 2016 as part of a cost-cutting plan by the public service broadcaster. But after a run of popular shows over the last [...]
BBC World News banned in China in broadcast retaliation February 11, 2021 BBC World News has been banned from airing in China in an apparent act of retaliation after the UK withdrew the licence of the country’s state broadcaster. China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) today said it was pulling the service off air due to “serious content violations”, CGTN reported. The regulator claimed the BBC [...]
BBC makes editorial director Kamal Ahmed redundant in board overhaul February 10, 2021 The BBC has made editorial director Kamal Ahmed redundant in a major overhaul of its leadership that has also left the corporation in breach of its own diversity rules. Fran Unsworth, director of BBC News, today said the number of board members will be cut from 11 to eight as part of plans to “modernise” [...]
The show must go on: How UK film and TV ploughed through the pandemic February 6, 2021 From Tiger King to The Serpent, hit TV shows have become cultural currency in an era defined by lockdowns. With millions of Brits forced to stay at home, film and TV has been one of the few avenues for entertainment over the last year, providing a much-needed dose of escapism during the pandemic. But for [...]
Screenshot: How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine February 5, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought **How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine **Will BT look to the stars? Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought Anyone who thinks local politics is boring has clearly never attended a meeting of the Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee. Or [...]
BBC to slash programme spend by £400m amid funding squeeze February 3, 2021 The BBC has warned it will have to make significant cuts to programmes and services due to a squeeze on its funding and growing pressure from streaming rivals. The public service broadcaster said it expects to make roughly £408m in content cuts in the upcoming financial year in a bid to shore up its finances. [...]
Forget the BBC, as Ofcom chair Paul Dacre would get his teeth into tech February 2, 2021 Almost a year after Priti Patel vowed to make Ofcom a regulator with teeth, the government looks poised to appoint Fleet Street Rottweiler Paul Dacre as its new chair. No one could accuse her of underdelivering. For many, Dacre’s political leanings (characterised by some as so far to the right as to be almost horizontal) [...]
The New European bought by consortium of media veterans February 1, 2021 A consortium of media executives including former BBC director general Mark Thompson and ex-Financial Times editor Lionel Barber have led a buyout of weekly magazine the New European. The anti-Brexit title, founded in the aftermath of the referendum in 2016 on an initial four-week print run, was owned by regional publisher Archant. The takeover is [...]
Screenshot: Is it time for a music streaming reshuffle? January 22, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Elon Musk’s personal keyboard warrior **Music streaming royalties strike a bum note **The BBC screw turns again Media Moment of the Week Elon Musk is no stranger to social media spats. His indiscretions on Twitter have moved stock markets, led to a highly-publicised defamation suit and landed him [...]
BBC equal pay cases cost taxpayer £1m in legal fees January 22, 2021 MPs have hit out at the BBC over revelations the broadcaster spent more than £1m of taxpayer money on legal fees fighting equal pay and race discrimination cases against its own staff. In a letter to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, published today, the BBC said it had forked out £1.1m between July [...]