UK competition watchdog launches probe into O2-Virgin Media merger November 19, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into the planned £31bn mega-merger between O2 and Virgin Media after the deal was referred from the EU. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month requested to take over the case, arguing the potential impact on competition would primarily affect the UK market. The watchdog has [...]
Screenshot: Is this the end for impartial TV news? November 13, 2020 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: How not the book the Four Seasons **Is this the end for impartial TV news? **UK protectionism: A tech takeover balancing act Media Moment of the Week This one’s [...]
UK regulator to ban telecom providers from selling ‘locked’ smartphones October 27, 2020 Mobile phone operators across Britain will be banned from selling ‘locked’ handsets, UK telecoms regulator Ofcom announced this morning. Most of Britain’s largest providers, including BT/EE, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone, sell mobile devices that cannot be used on other networks unless they are unlocked, a potentially complicated process which often costs around £10. Ofcom has now [...]
Tiktok expands hate speech policy as watchdog launches crackdown October 21, 2020 Tiktok has vowed to do more to remove harmful content as the media watchdog launches a crackdown on video-sharing platforms. In a blog post published today, the viral video app said it was expanding its policy to take into account coded language and symbols used to spread hateful ideologies. Tiktok already removes content related to [...]
UK watchdog ramps up pressure on tech giants as it sets one-year ultimatum October 19, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has urged the government to step up plans for a new digital regulator as it warned it is preparing to take action against tech giants such as Facebook and Google. Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said his organisation was “actively considering” potential enforcement cases in [...]
UK broadcasters call for new regulation amid threat from streaming rivals October 8, 2020 The UK’s public service broadcasters have doubled down on their calls for tighter regulation of the media landscape amid growing competition from deep-pocketed streaming rivals. The heads of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 were today united in their pleas to bring British broadcasting rules up to date to contend with modern viewing [...]
Media minister warns Channel 4 could be privatised in fresh broadcasting row October 6, 2020 Media minister John Whittingdale today said the government was mulling a sale of Channel 4 as he launched a fresh salvo on the publicly-owned broadcaster. Speaking at a virtual event during the Tory party conference, Whittingdale said ministers were debating the Great British Bake Off broadcaster’s future amid competition from streaming services such as Netflix [...]
ITV reaps the benefits of controversial Diversity performance September 30, 2020 TV’s Britain’s Got Talent has restarted its 14th series after taking a three-month break during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kicking off the semi-finals, judge Ashley Banjo and his dance group Diversity gave a special performance retelling the events of 2020, including references to coronavirus and the death of George Floyd prompting global Black Lives Matter protests. [...]
Right-wingers Dacre and Moore in line for top media posts under Johnson September 27, 2020 Two prominent right-wing media critics of the BBC are reportedly in line for jobs as the next president of the public service broadcaster and the head of TV regulator Ofcom. Former Telegraph editor, and official Margaret Thatcher biographer, Lord Charles Moore is in line to be the next BBC president, while former Daily Mail editor [...]
UK news website readership rises by a fifth amid Covid-19 crisis September 16, 2020 Readership of UK national news websites has jumped by a fifth as Brits flock to trusted sources for updates about the coronavirus crisis. The number of daily readers rose by 3.7m year on year to hit 22m in June, according to the latest figures from audience measurement body Pamco. Across print and digital, national news [...]