BBC chairman hits back at suggestions of Netflix-style subscription model November 20, 2019 Replacing the BBC’s licence fee with a Netflix-style subscription model would destroy its ability to serve everyone, the corporation’s chairman has said. Sir David Clementi urged advocates of a subscription service to be “realistic” and recognise that the broadcaster’s “principle of universality would be lost”. Read more: BBC signs on-demand deal with Sky as it [...]
Labour hasn’t factored BT’s pensions black hole into its nationalisation plan November 16, 2019 Here’s a riddle: how do you spend several billion pounds of taxpayers’ money and get nothing but a bunch of smiling accountants in return? The answer: tear Openreach out of BT, as Ofcom attempted a few years ago and Labour now proposes as part of its plan to nationalise the provision of ultrafast broadband. Read [...]
Four reasons to fear Labour’s plan to part-nationalise BT November 15, 2019 British businesses today poured scorn on Labour’s plans to provide Brits with free broadband and part-nationalise BT, slamming the policy as a major setback for the UK’s digital economy. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has set out plans to nationalise BT’s full-fibre arm, Openreach, along with other divisions, funding it by taxing multinational tech giants. Read [...]
General Election 2019: Tory candidate throws in the towel after backlash from ‘unacceptable’ rape comments November 7, 2019 A Conservative election candidate who said that women should “keep their knickers on” during a conversation about rape has stood down from the contest. Nick Conrad, a BBC Radio Norfolk host, made a series of comments during a live debate about footballer Ched Evans, who was convicted of rape five years ago, before the sentence [...]
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 [...]
O2 steps into 5G driverless car testing in London as it grows mobile customer base November 5, 2019 O2 will have a hand in an ambitious project to trial driverless cars on London roads, using its 5G network to help test the vehicles in Greenwich. The mobile phone network, which this morning announced it had hit 34m customers following its 5G rollout last month, said using the technology on the roads could reduce [...]
BT keeps dividend alive despite heavy network spending October 31, 2019 BT kept its dividend alive despite a hit to earnings and revenue in the first half of new boss Philip Jansen’s first financial year due to hits from regulation and legacy product declines. The telco posted a flat profit and interim dividend as it pushes to try and roll out fibre broadband to 4m premises [...]
BBC ‘may not be sustainable’ in current form, media watchdog warns October 24, 2019 The BBC may not be sustainable in its current form as it struggles to win over the attention of younger audiences, the media watchdog has warned. In a damning report published today, Ofcom said the corporation was at risk of a “lost generation” as young people increasingly tune out of its services. The reach of [...]
Louis Theroux leaves BBC Studios to launch his own production company October 23, 2019 Louis Theroux has parted ways with BBC Studios to set up his own production company, sparking speculation that the documentary maker could be eyeing deals with streaming rivals. Theroux, who has worked with the broadcaster’s commercial arm for two decades, has set up a new firm called Mindhouse Productions alongside his executive producer Arron Fellows. [...]
Samira Ahmed takes BBC to court in row over unequal pay October 21, 2019 Top BBC presenter Samira Ahmed is taking the broadcaster to an employment tribunal over claims she was paid less than her male colleagues. Ahmed is due to appear at a central London tribunal on Monday next week over an alleged “failure to provide equal pay for equal work”, filings show. Read more: Government must reach [...]