Leveson inquiry turns to TV reporting

The Leveson inquiry into media ethics is continuing its investigation, and recently heard evidence from some of the most important figures in British television. Among those who have appeared before Lord Leveson in the last few days are Mark Thompson, BBC director general, Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, John Battle, ITN’s head of …

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We each watch four hours of TV a day

New numbers show that television viewing figures in 2011 have matched the previous high recorded in 2010. Research carried out by BARB, the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, found that the average Briton watched just over four hours of TV each day, 90% of it at the time of the original broadcast, despite more and more …

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Noteworthy Events invite you to Experience Downton Abbey

There are millions of worldwide fans of the hit television period drama ‘Downton Abbey’, and they now have a chance to discover the truth about the building where the show is filmed,  Highclere Castle. This magnificent castle is the location for all the external scenes of the hugely successful and Emmy winning series. For £7900, …

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Richard Wilson brings out his inner Victor Meldrew

Victor Meldrew was the main character in One Foot In The Grave and in today’s automated world you could imagine him having a really hard time. You could picture a scene from the show were he would be struggling with an automated checkout, being outraged that you could do everything without the need for interaction …

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BBC say that Sherlock will return

The dramatic conclusion of the second season of Sherlock led to the announcement by the BBC that the television show will be returning for a third series. The creators recently confirmed that the BBC1 drama will be returning despite an initial statement that it might not be. The creator of the series is Steven Moffat …

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Leveson inquiry turns to TV reportingWe each watch four hours of TV a dayNoteworthy Events invite you to Experience Downton AbbeyRichard Wilson brings out his inner Victor MeldrewBBC say that Sherlock will return

Nov
18



British TV just not supplying what people want

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redbee British TV just not supplying what people wantRed Bee Media has recently conducted a survey that has shown the people in the UK are generally unsatisfied with the TV and radio options that are being broadcast. The company have recently announced that they are bringing together many groups of people to conduct think tanks and debates to see where broadcast media is heading over the next eight years and hope to draw up a picture of what it will look like by 2020.

The group expects that the amount of live television people watch will not decline over the next eight years and this is despite nearly 75% of people surveyed saying that they struggle to find anything good to watch on a weekly basis. There is also been a great deal of confusion among consumers about the different options for getting television into their homes. Overall, they seem confused by the number of devices available for receiving television broadcasts.

A great interest in non-live television has also been shown and over 70% of people have said that they want to be able to choose what they want to watch and when they want to watch it. Nearly half of those people surveyed said that they also wanted to be able to watch all of the past episodes of their favourite TV shows.

Consumers also expressed an interest in changing the way the television can be viewed in the home. Especially in the younger group surveyed, the demand for having wireless access to television on any screen in the house is growing rapidly. People have also said that they want to be able to watch the television they subscribe at home when they are abroad and some even went so far to say that it is frustrating that they cannot do so if they have access to a high-speed internet connection.

Well over half of all the survey participants said that they wanted to see movies and television broadcast on the same dates all over the world. Currently television is broadcast in some countries before others and consumers would like to see this equalised.

There is little doubt in the industry that consumers are willing to pay more for better content and this survey confirmed that. 20% of people said they expect to pay more for television in the next eight years. Less than 20% said they expected the amount they spend to decline. However, around a third of survey participants said that they would pay less for their television subscription if there was a cheap way for them to get access to movies.

The general consensus from the survey is that people are more engaged with movies and television than ever before and when you combine this with a significant level of change that is occurring in the industry people are coming to expect a lot more. There is no question that viewing habits are going to change significantly over the coming years as people demand a higher quality and more flexible viewing experience.

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Nov
09



BBC iPlayer may need a TV licence

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bbciplae 300x225 BBC iPlayer may need a TV licenceServices which might include BBC iPlayer at are now being considered to be brought in under the television licence fee. This decision is being considered by the Department of culture. Currently television viewers in Britain must pay a licence fee of over £145 if they want to record or watch television programmes broadcast. This includes whether they watch on a mobile phone, computer or television itself.

Over 150 million television programmes were broadcast in September on catch up services and currently they do not require people to have a television licence. It is likely that this issue is going to become even more of a problem next year when the YouView product comes onto the market.

Experts in the industry have said that services like this will mean that the iPlayer and other programs can be easily watched on a television set. This will increase the number of people who are claiming not to be watching television while it is broadcast. Instead they will simply watch streaming versions of the programme from the BBC’s website.

A spokesperson from the government has commented, “We are aware that technologies are changing how people watch television and it’s important that the BBC continues to get its funding.” The government have made no comment on what changes it is considering making to the licence fee.

Jeremy Hunt is the culture secretary and he is planning a new bill tackling communications and has said that a green paper is going to be published this December. Last year Mr Hunt commented that the government will not be adding a PC licence fee to the current system.

Figures from the BBC have suggested that less than 0.2% of homes watch catch-up television without watching the original broadcast. A spokesperson from the broadcaster said, “The current system is working efficiently and we don’t really see any need for it to be changed at present.” The BBC trust in 2009 ,however, found that if services that brought online television easily to people’s television sets then a rethink of how the licence fee works might be necessary.

About the change the BBC trust commented, “We don’t know whether people will be switching to the Internet as their sole method of viewing television but it is clear to us that this is already occurring to some extent in some segments.

Recent research has shown that nearly half of all university students are watching most of their television on their computer, rather than on a television set. We think that live events are the reason most people are not switching to Internet television entirely.”

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Nov
03



Now then, Now then, Jimmy Savile plays his final disc

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savile 125x300 Now then, Now then, Jimmy Savile plays his final discJimmy Savile the popular television presenter and DJ has died aged 84. During the 60s, 70s and 80s Sir Jimmy Savile was one of the most famous faces on British television. He passed away on Saturday and the police have said there is nothing unusual about his death. He is probably most famous for his television programme ‘Jim’ll Fix It’.

Currently details of his death are unknown but he had recently been hospitalised with pneumonia. Roger Foster, the nephew of the entertainer has said, “My uncle was a great man, for many people he was a famous face but for me he was a friend and loved uncle. He passed away peacefully in his sleep and he will be missed by all of those who were close to him.”

Tony Blackburn, the broadcaster, has commented about Saville, “He was a truly unique man, not like anyone else I know. He was respectful but always spoke his mind.” Dave Lee Travis, speaking to Sky News, said, “He is going to be missed and we all worse off now he is not around.” The royal family have also issued their condolences to his family, a statement released by Clarence House has stated that the thoughts of the royal family are with them.

Savile is also famous for being one of the first presenters on BBC’s Radio One, he was also involved with the launch of Top of the Pops in the 1960s. He had a very distinct persona on the television which generally involved smoking a large cigar and wearing oversized gold jewellery. He was also famous for his various catchphrases which have since been parodied numerous times.

Savile was born in West Yorkshire and started working as a coal miner during the war. After he became involved in broadcasting he also became known for its charitable efforts. In total he has raised over £40 million through running some 200 marathons. He was also involved as a volunteer at a hospital.

He was also raised a significant amount of money to help people with spinal cord injuries. He raised the money required to build the National Spinal Injuries Centre, which was built in Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury.

The NHS trust which is responsible for operating the Stoke Mandeville Hospital is Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust and a representative has commented, “Jimmy is going to be truly missed by all those at the hospital, both patients and staff. He was always looking for new ways to raise money for the hospital and has been integral in the formation of the Spinal Injuries Centre. He alone raised over £20 million to form the centre and this is an achievement that was remarkable.”

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Oct
27



Parky heading back to TV

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a1 240x300 Parky heading back to TVSir Michael Parkinson, “Parky” as he is known with great affection by multitudes of fans in the UK and elsewhere, is going to provide another great treat for UK audiences next year.  Though many reporters hail the move as “coming out of retirement”, the fact is that Parky never did retire from his career; he just changed venues.

In an interview with Graham Walker, digital editor of The Star, Sir Parkinson spoke briefly about his plans to host a ten-part series to be aired on Sky next summer.   He said that instead of the traditional three guests, there will be just one per show, and his ambition is to find out just what makes his guests as ‘special’ as they are.  He did not mention any names, but we can expect the sort of thing he’s done before with celebrities such as Elton John and Paul McCartney.

The talk show host, who is arguably the best in the business, said in the interview that watching David Frost was one catalyst that set him on the road to his 50-some year career.  He officially retired from television back in June of 2007, but he has been as busy as ever.  His book called Parky’s People is, according to Parky himself, 100 of his favourite interviews.  He said he regrets never having gotten Frank Sinatra as a guest.

Sir Parkinson was appearing at Sheffield’s Crucible to promote the new book, as part of the Star-backed Off the Shelf literary festival.  When asked which of the stars he has interviewed he would want to have back on his show, he mentioned Orson Welles, Shirley MacLaine, Billy Connelly and as a quick afterthought, Fred Astaire.

Certainly one secret of his own success is Parky’s conviction that it’s OK to ask anybody anything, as long as one does it diplomatically and in context.  He said that some stars refused to be interviewed unless they were given all the questions that would be asked in advance so they could prepare.  That, he said, is a no-go; it’s why he never got Barbra Streisand, and it took him 20 years to get Madonna on the show.

Sir Parkinson was and still is a dynamic personality with a charm all his own.  You can watch the whole interview at http://www.thestar.co.uk/

 

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Oct
21



Vacation, Vacation, Vacation takes a long holiday

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a 300x168 Vacation, Vacation, Vacation takes a long holidayVacation, Vacation, Vacation the Phil Spencer and Kristie Allsopp holiday show broadcast on Channel 4 was canceled after the station decided that it was not identifying enough with its viewers.  The eight part travel show started at the beginning of this year and attempted to ride off of the success of Spencer and Allsopp’s DIY and property shows, but its ratings ended up coming in much lower than the network expected.

When it hit the air at the end of March its debut raked in 2.1 million viewers, but near the end of the series its viewership was down to just 1.3 million.  This was a disappointing finish when compared to the duo’s Relocation, Relocation, Relocation show that pulled in 2.7 million before it was put on hold in the light of the recession.

However, the two stars will do just fine because even though Vacation, Vacation, Vacation has been scrapped the property duo have plenty of other shows in the works to try out on Channel 4.  A spokesman for Channel 4 said that the holiday show simply did not do as well as expected, but that they have several other series to try out that they think will do great.

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Oct
20



Game advert too racy for kids TV

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duke 300x180 Game advert too racy for kids TVA new television advert for a PC game that features a naked woman dancing on a pole and two girls kissing in school uniforms has been banned from the air until after 11pm.  The ad is completely animated and for a game titled Duke Nukem Forever and in addition to the above mentioned scandalous scenes also features a woman in a thong with patches over her breasts and bottoms as well as violent action scenes in which aircraft fire bomb a city.

However, the company behind the game, Take Two Interactive, seem to have been prepared to be met with opposition as they have two versions of the advert that are less racy that have been approved to run after 7:30pm and 9:30pm.  Despite this fact, the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) has already received 34 separate complaints that the current versions of the ad are still too offensive to air after 9pm because of the sexual explicit nature of the ads as well as the violent nature of the scenes that could harm children.

Take Two responded to the claims by stating that the cartoonish game is meant to be satirical and reference the many first person shooters that are out on the market and that they added in the sexual content in an effort to exaggerate their lead character as an eighties macho guy.  Only the strip club scenes were limited to airing after 11pm with the other scenes viewed as objectionable, but not over 18.

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Oct
13



Bono’s F word advert banned by TV

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onee 300x155 Bono’s F word advert banned by TVAn advert called The F Word has been banned from UK television. The advert is from a charity run by Bono and it deals with famine in Africa. The advert lasts for a minute and has been banned because it breaches rules about political advertising. The advert focuses on the Horn of Africa and features Bono, Kristin Davis, and George Clooney.

The theme of the advert is that famine is treated an expletive, and the various stars in the advert have their voices the bleeped out when they tried to utter it. The famous faces that we see on the advert also talk about the figures about famine in Africa. Colin Farrell, the famous Irish actor, is also involved in the advert.

The director of ONE for Europe is Adrian Lovett and he has said, “it is completely absurd that this advert cannot be shown on UK television, our charity does not have a political affiliation and we understand the need to keep propaganda off the television. Our advert highlights the struggle of people in Africa and does not intend to do anything more than this. If we do not bring attention to this crisis then people will forget about it and many more Africans will die of starvation.”

Hungry No More is a charity that is encouraging governments to focus on sustainable agriculture in Africa. The film is part of this campaign. The United Nations estimates that by the end of the year and additional three quarters of a million people in Africa could die of starvation.

Clearcast is the organisation responsible for choosing which adverts can go on television. A spokeswoman from the company has said, “we feel this advert may violate laws set out in the 2003 Communications Act. This prevents adverts being broadcast by groups who have a mainly political agenda. The reason this advert has breached these regulations is because the organisation responsible for its production have said their intention is to put pressure on governments.

“It also seems that some versions of this advert have a political element, which is another violation of the rules. We have requested that ONE give us more information about the adverts so that we can reassess the situation. Currently we are waiting from their response and once we have this we will be up to decide whether the advert remains a breach of the regulations.”

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Oct
05



Noah Fielding’s Luxury Comedy to give you more Boosh

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noel Noah Fieldings Luxury Comedy to give you more BooshThe creator of The Mighty Boosh, Noah Fielding is returning to the television with a new show that he has created called, Noah Fielding’s Luxury Comedy. The show is half animated and half filmed; it is a character based comedy and features music from Kasabian’s Sergio Pizzorno.

Show and Tell is a show that is presented by Chris Addison and takes place every week. It invites three comedians to come onto the programme to show and tell the audience about something. They are told to bring in an item from home and then make a stand-up routine based around that item.

The Midnight Beast is another show that is coming to E4 this season and is something that has already caused quite a storm on the internet with comedy songs – these have nearly forty million views combined. The show is about two musicians who are in a band together and are struggling to make enough money to get by. As well as detailing their musical lives it also focuses on the problems that they are facing in their personal lives as they try and impress girls and struggle to share a small flat. The show sees many famous comedy guests make appearances.

Dustin Demri-Burns and Seb Cardinal also are presenting a new comedy sketch show called Cardinal Burns. Some of the sketches are cartoonish and a bit silly, while other utilise intelligent and contemporary concepts. Combined this makes for a show that will appeal to a wide audience.

A show that is making a reappearance is Comedy Labs which has been previously known for starting the careers of such major comedians as Russell Brand and Jimmy Carr. The new show will include six, half hour episodes which will bring a new type of comedy to the show.

The successful comedy PhoneShop will also be returning for a second season in November and will see the staff of the shop suffering as their star salesman is still being detained. The staff are being pressured to make up for the fall in sales and the comedy promises to be as good as the first season.

A show that focuses on celebrity news is The Dirty Digest and is hosted by Michelle de Swarte and a panel of others who examine the weeks celebrity news and gossip. It will involve all things to do with the famous, such as looking at rumours about their personal lives as well as criticising their bad behaviour.

Other shows that are arriving this year include the first season of Sorority Girls where five girls who have come from a sorority in the US come to introduce it to Leeds University. The show features how students have to go through weeks of challenges to be accepted into the group. Made in Chelsea also continues and you can expect all the drama that we saw previously in the show that follows the lives of the elite socialites in south-west London. Expect all the priceless quotes and awkward pauses we saw in the first season.

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Oct
01



Rosie Webster the web-TV show

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rosie 300x285 Rosie Webster the web TV showRosie Webster moved to London in the hopes that she would be able to start a career as a model. It seems that things are not exactly going as she hoped as recent photographs show that that character, who is played by Helen Flanagan, is trying to make her move into modelling after getting a job working the morning TV show by Lorraine Kelly.

The new TV show which has been spun off from the Coronation Street soap from which the character originates. There is even a tied in website where ‘Rosie’ has commented about her setting out on a career as a model. She also tells fans of the character about her incidents while trying to become a model.

One of these involves a time when she was asked to pose topless but refused because it was not something that she was comfortable doing, she commented, “Some people might not know how to say know, but I do.” The character went onto say, “My advice to those who want to make it as a model is to learn how to say no to things that you don’t want to do.”

The new TV show sees Rosie Webster and her boyfriend move to the city to pursue her dream of becoming a model. As mentioned things don’t really go as the couple planned and this leads to some tensions between the two characters. It seems that everything will turn out all right in the end for their relationship though as Rosie has commented, “Jason and I are just meant to be together. We have so much in common; it was fate that we met.”

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Sep
28



The Fades new science fiction drama

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thefacdes 300x141 The Fades new science fiction dramaThe Fades is the new science fiction drama that has been written by Jack Thorne and the show, to be shown on BBC3, looks to be very promising. Thorne knows that any sci-fi drama that is going to be any good will always have a great deal of questions and very few answers and he employs this technique very effectively.

The Fades takes us into the world between that of life and death. We explore this world through Paul, a sensitive teenager. The show has elements of the Sixth Sense as Paul believes that he can somehow see dead people. Playing alongside the character of Paul is his friend Mac, who has a huge knowledge of movies and relates the situation of Paul to the famous Bruce Willis film.

Paul is played by Iain de Caestecker and Mac is played by Daniel Kaluuya and what makes The Fades better than your normal sci-fi drama is that the chemistry between these two characters is excellent. Sometimes it seems as if the plot is a bit over the top, and the audience can be left wondering what is going on but the two lead characters and the conversations between them will leave audiences enjoying the show.

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