BBC sells White City site for £87m to Stanhope and Japanese firm Mitsui Fudosan June 5, 2015 The BBC has announced the sale and sublet of its Media Village site in an £87m deal with Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan. Read more: BBC offers James May and Richard Hammond £1m to stay Following an 18-month negotiating process, four acres of freehold land will be sold and six buildings in White City leased as part [...]
Culture secretary says BBC licence free is “regressive” and hits poor hardest June 4, 2015 Culture secretary John Whittingdale has dubbed the BBC licence fee "regressive", saying that it hits the "poorest people" hardest. Speaking in Parliament, Mr Whittingdale told MPs that charging all viewers the same annual fee forced those on lower incomes to pay more for the BBC's television services. It is his most critical comment on the [...]
Top Gear: BBC offers James May and Richard Hammond £1m to stay June 4, 2015 The BBC is understood to have offered former Top Gear co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond a multi-million pound deal to stay on the show. Read more: BBC loses 5m viewers from Top Gear cancellation The pair have both been offered deals in the region of £1m a year according to The Times, contracts that would make [...]
Ukip crisis: The best reactions so far to the Nigel Farage infighting – and that BBC c**t slip up May 14, 2015 Ukip is in turmoil as some very public in-fighting grabs the headlines. We all love a real-life political drama, but this is no House of Cards and that means there may be some ridicule of the embattled party which appears to be imploding. Of course, photoshop (which surely must have become the thing most feared [...]
Sajid Javid’s busy first day as business secretary – here’s what he said on the BBC, strikes and the EU May 12, 2015 Not even 24 hours into his first day as business secretary in David Cameron's all-Tory cabinet, and Sajid Javid is on the front foot with a media blitz having appeared on three different morning TV and radio shows. Notably, the government's business secretary chose the BBC (appearing on BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live and Radio [...]
David Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle sets new government up for BBC clash as John Whittingdale named secretary for culture, media and sport May 11, 2015 David Cameron set his government on a collision course with the BBC yesterday, appointing John Whittingdale as the new secretary of state for culture, media and sport. Whittingdale, who chaired the culture, media and sport committee in the last parliament, has previously been highly critical of the licence fee system used to fund the public [...]
As licence fee critic John Whittingdale is made culture secretary, is this bad news for the BBC? May 11, 2015 Sam Bowman, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes John Whittingdale has described the licence fee as being “worse than a poll tax,” and wants to decriminalise non-payment. That is a good idea: 10 per cent of magistrate court cases are for licence fee non-payment. Every week that means 3,000 people are fined [...]
Nigel Farage, Nicola Sturgeon and Leanne Wood to face BBC audience questions: Here’s what you need to know April 30, 2015 As the three main party leaders prepare to spar with the public ahead of tonight's leaders' Question Time special, some may be wondering how the leaders of the minor parties are planning to spend their evening. While the leaders of Ukip, SNP, and Plaid Cymru may not be involved in tonight's premier event, they will [...]
Ukip takes on the BBC over Camilla Long’s mockery of Nigel Farage on Have I Got News for You April 30, 2015 Ukip is embroiled in a fresh conflict with the BBC, after it asked the police to investigate the corporation over comments made during the satirical programme Have I Got News for You. The complaint was made last Friday in relation to comments made by guest panellist Camilla Long. The party claims her suggestions could hamper [...]
Question Time election leaders special 2015: When is it, how can I watch, what’s the format, is the BBC audience biased? April 30, 2015 Tonight is the last set-piece TV event of the General Election for the three main party leaders. In a Question Time special David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg will face the public in a final push to change minds before polling day. The last TV leaders' debate failed to shift the polls significantly [...]