Spitting Image to return after 24 years following Britbox commission March 4, 2020 Spitting Image will return to UK screens 24 years after it was taken off air, as streaming service Britbox named the hit puppet show as its first original commission. The Bafta award-winning TV show, which first appeared in 1984, has earmarked a string of contemporary targets for its satire, including the Duke and Duchess of [...]
ITV holds talks with BT as it eyes Champions League broadcast rights January 12, 2020 ITV is said to be in discussions with rival BT as it looks to secure broadcast rights to Champions League football matches. The public service broadcaster is eyeing up a bid for a package of games held by the telecoms giant after losing out in an auction in November, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: [...]
Kantar poaches former ITV exec Ian Griffiths as new finance director January 7, 2020 Market research firm Kantar today said it has appointed ex-ITV bigwig Ian Griffiths as its new chief financial officer. Griffiths, who has served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer at the broadcaster before announcing his departure in 2018 , will take up the new role on 16 January. Read more: Kantar boss to [...]
Sky scuppers hopes of Britbox deal in blow for new streaming service December 15, 2019 ITV and the BBC have suffered a major setback to their plans for Britbox, as the chances of securing a highly sought-after distribution deal with Sky have all but disappeared. The streaming service, jointly run by the public service broadcasters, has already bagged partnerships with the likes of BT, Freeview and Samsung to deliver its [...]
General Election 2019: How to watch the results on live TV December 12, 2019 The UK has been plunged into a political broadcast blackout today, with channels forced to put their election coverage on hold as Brits go to the polls. But when voting closes at 10pm, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky will all fire up their cameras to provide rolling coverage until the UK’s next Prime [...]
BBC wins battle for social media buzz as streaming giants lag behind December 11, 2019 Traditional broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV are winning the battle to create a buzz around new shows, as they generate more social media chatter than their streaming rivals. Figures published today by market research firm Kantar revealed that the BBC generated more tweets than any other broadcaster in the year to the end [...]
Better together: How media firms are teaming up to take on tech November 30, 2019 The media industry is in flux and embattled publishers and broadcasters are banding together. But will it be enough to fend off the might of big tech? In Succession, the hit HBO show about a crumbling media dynasty, virtually every conversation is a power struggle. But for ageing patriarch Logan Roy, a thinly-veiled Rupert Murdoch, [...]
Top Sky exec calls for regulatory overhaul as he takes swipe at ‘anachronistic’ ITV November 26, 2019 A senior Sky executive has called for a radical overhaul of broadcast regulation to adapt to the streaming age as he took a swipe at ITV’s “anachronistic” business model. David Wheeldon, Sky’s group director of policy and public affairs, said regulator Ofcom’s approach was “not particularly radical” and would not help public service broadcasters fulfil [...]
BritBox launches in the UK – but can it challenge Netflix? November 7, 2019 BritBox, the new streaming service from the BBC and ITV, has launched in the UK this morning as broadcasters attempt to muscle in on the lucrative online television market. The platform, which announced this morning that it would also feature content from Channel 4 and Channel 5, is entering a crowded market, with market leaders [...]
ITV Hub hits 30m registered users as Love Island charms viewers October 23, 2019 ITV today announced that its on-demand streaming service ITV Hub has more than 30m registered users as Love Island and the Rugby World Cup helped to attract new viewers. The figure, which is up from 26m at this time last year, means the broadcaster has beaten its previous target of hitting 30m users by 2021. [...]