Category Archives: Television industry

How will BBC revamp Match of the Day when Gary Lineker leaves?

Posted on by

Plan is forming for digitally focused show to expand and grow the brand in a fractured media landscape

When the BBC confirmed the news this week that Gary Lineker was leaving Match of the Day at the end of this season, the presenter’s official reaction was limited to a terse 21-word statement that he was “delighted” at signing a new contract to cover the FA Cup and 2026 World Cup.

The former England striker was – unsurprisingly – more expansive about leaving the BBC’s flagship football programme after 25 years on his own podcast, the Rest is Football, on Thursday. “All things have to come to an end,” he mused. “I think the next contract, they’re looking to do Match of the Day slightly differently. So I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.”

Continue reading...

The ultranationalist TV channel fast becoming Israel’s most-watched news source

Posted on by

Channel 14, which counts Netanyahu as a supporter, has denied allegations that its coverage has incited war crimes

An ultranationalist Israeli television channel backed by the government is fast emerging as one of the country’s most-watched news sources, despite allegations from liberal groups that it is inciting war crimes, and claims from the army that it is riling up hatred of its generals for not being far enough to the right.

Last month Channel 14, also known as Now 14, beat Israel’s principal mainstream news outlet, Channel 12, in viewer ratings when 343,000 Israelis watched Channel 14’s “Patriots” talkshow, known for its virulent rhetoric on Gaza.

Continue reading...

Ofcom fines GB News £100,000 for breach of impartiality rules over Sunak interview

Posted on by

GB News to challenge decision and watchdog will not enforce sanction until proceedings are concluded

Ofcom has fined the rightwing broadcaster GB News £100,000 for “breaking due impartiality rules” after an interview with the former prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year.

The media regulator said it chose to impose a fine over the programme titled People’s Forum: The Prime Minister because it considered the breach serious, and because of GB News’s track record of breaking impartiality rules.

Continue reading...

‘We leave viewers smarter’: fears over plans to close ‘world’s most highbrow’ TV station

Posted on by

Unique experiment in German-language public broadcasting 3sat faces pressure from populist right

In many countries around the world, breakfast TV means cele­brity interviews, soap operas and last night’s football highlights. On the German-language channel 3sat this Sunday morning, it means a one-hour philosophical discussion on trauma psychology, followed by a book review programme and a classical concert by the Munich Radio Orchestra.

The collaboration between public broadcasters in Austria, Germany and Switzerland is a unique experi­ment in pan-European broadcasting that has defied doubters for almost four decades: highbrow television.

Continue reading...

ITN criticised by its journalists after report on internal complaints

Posted on by

Law firm advises company to review use of non-disclosure agreements after allegations about their use


ITN has faced criticism from senior journalists and staff after a report on how it deals with internal complaints raised concerns about “low trust and psychological safety”.

The media company has been told to review its use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and improve its whistleblowing processes after allegations that it used NDAs to cover up gender pay discrimination, harassment and bullying.

Continue reading...

Sky News pulls out of Boris Johnson interview over recording ban

Posted on by

Beth Rigby’s withdrawal after not being allowed to record conversation follows BBC cancellation over notes gaffe

Sky News has pulled out of an interview with Boris Johnson after its political editor, Beth Rigby, was told she could not make an audio recording or transcript of the talk.

The former prime minister had promised to “reveal what really happened during my time as [London] mayor, foreign secretary and PM” during the conversation next week as he promotes his memoir Unleashed. Johnson’s interview with the BBC was dropped earlier this week after the presenter Laura Kuenssberg mistakenly sent him her briefing notes.

Continue reading...

Phillip Schofield says he will be ‘forever sorry’ on primetime TV return

Posted on by

Former This Morning presenter says he was ‘so, so close’ to taking his own life after scandal that saw him quit ITV

Phillip Schofield has said he will be “forever sorry” in his first television appearance in more than a year since his shock downfall.

Schofield, now 62, quit ITV and admitted to having lied about an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague at This Morning last May. His agent parted ways with him and he has stayed out of the spotlight since.

Continue reading...

Internet replaces TV as UK’s most popular news source for first time

Posted on by

Media regulator describes change as a ‘generational shift in the balance of news media’

Online platforms have overtaken TV channels as the most popular sources for news in the UK, according to figures described as a “generational shift” in viewing habits.

More than seven out of 10 UK adults (71%) consume online news, said the UK’s communications regulator, slightly ahead of TV, which is used by 70% of adults. Ofcom described the survey result, the first time websites and apps have moved in front of TV, as marking a “generational shift in the balance of news media”.

Continue reading...

Dutch broadcaster launches news bulletin in easy-to-understand language

Posted on by

Programme uses simpler sentences and explains topics slowly for people who struggle with Dutch language

The Dutch public broadcaster NOS has launched an evening news programme using “easy language” aimed at 2.5 million people in the Netherlands who struggle with the language.

English speakers may joke about “double Dutch”, but foreigners are not the only ones who sometimes fail to comprehend the west Germanic language of long words, convoluted sentences and guttural sounds.

Continue reading...

Blow to ESPN and Fox as US judge halts sports streaming venture

Posted on by

Fubo TV accuses Venu Sports – which also involves Hulu and Warner Bros Discovery – of anti-competitive practices

The launch of Venu Sports will be delayed after a federal judge granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the planned sports streaming venture by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery.

US district judge Margaret M Garnett in New York said in her 69-page ruling that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving during a trial that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws, and Fubo and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction”.

Continue reading...

BBC asks disgraced presenter Huw Edwards to return £200,000 of salary

Posted on by

Corporation says journalist brought BBC ‘into disrepute’ and requests return of money paid since his arrest

The BBC has asked Huw Edwards to return £200,000 that he was paid following his arrest in November last year, after the disgraced presenter admitted making indecent images of children.

A statement from the corporation said Edwards, who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, had “undermined trust in the BBC and brought us into disrepute” and they wanted him to repay his salary.

Continue reading...

Ofcom receives 8,000 complaints over Ed Balls interviews on Good Morning Britain

Posted on by

Complaints followed Balls’ interview with his wife, Yvette Cooper, and Labour MP Zarah Sultana on Monday

The media regulator Ofcom has received more than 8,000 complaints after an episode of Good Morning Britain in which the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, was interviewed by her husband, Ed Balls.

Balls, a former Labour cabinet minister and a regular presenter on the ITV breakfast programme, questioned his wife’s response to far-right riots during Monday’s edition of the programme.

Continue reading...

Plaque honouring Huw Edwards removed from Cardiff Castle

Posted on by

Mural featuring disgraced presenter also painted over in his home village of Llangennech, Carmarthenshire

A plaque honouring Huw Edwards at Cardiff Castle has been removed after the disgraced presenter pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

Cardiff council took away the wall-mounted plaque after Edwards admitted to having 41 indecent images of children, sent to him by another man on WhatsApp.

Continue reading...

‘Reputational car crash’: insiders rue BBC’s handling of Huw Edwards

Posted on by

Staff feel disillusioned with senior management and bitter that his pay had become an unstoppable snowball

For Huw Edwards, once the most trusted newsreader in Britain, now a convicted user of images of the most serious child sexual abuse, the disgrace is total – and nowhere more than in his home country of Wales.

Hours after he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children as young as seven, a plaque on a building at Cardiff castle commemorating its unveiling by Edwards had already been wrenched off; his voice was also deleted from its guide. He is likely to be stripped of honorary titles at Bangor and Cardiff universities. A mural of the newsreader’s face in his home village of Llangennech, Carmarthenshire has already been painted over by the artist.

Continue reading...

Don Lemon sues Elon Musk and X over terminated talkshow deal

Posted on by

Ex-CNN anchor alleges fraud and breach of contract after X Corp owner abruptly ended video series partnership

The former CNN anchor Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk and X over a cancelled deal with the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

His filing in California superior court in San Francisco includes claims of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness and breach of express contract.

Continue reading...

Fresh crisis at ‘toxic’ Strictly as ex-staff claim they faced sexualised comments and cruelty

Posted on by

Production workers at Strictly Come Dancing allege BBC refused to take their complaints seriously

Production staff who formerly worked on Strictly Come Dancing have complained of a toxic work culture and accused the BBC of failing to take their complaints seriously, in a fresh blow to the corporation’s primetime show, the Observer can reveal.

One former staff member alleged they had been subjected to sexist and sexualised comments, including intrusive questions about their sex life, while another claimed they witnessed “talented co-workers treated with cruelty”.

Continue reading...

Slow recovery from IT outage begins as experts warn of future risks

Posted on by

Fault in CrowdStrike caused airports, businesses and healthcare services to languish in ‘largest outage in history’

Services began to come back online on Friday evening after an IT failure that wreaked havoc worldwide. But full recovery could take weeks, experts have said, after airports, healthcare services and businesses were hit by the “largest outage in history”.

Flights and hospital appointments were cancelled, payroll systems seized up and TV channels went off air after a botched software upgrade hit Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Continue reading...

Lineker and Shearer v Keane and Wright: does BBC or ITV have the stronger Euro 2024 final lineup?

Posted on by

The two big channels prepare to slug it out for viewers for the climax of the tournament

Forget La Roja versus Three Lions. Sunday’s battle between the big two terrestrial channels, which will simulcast the action, looks set to be an equally tasty clash.

Last Wednesday, a peak of 21.6million viewers watched England’s nervy semi-final win over the Netherlands on ITV1. Ratings will rise even higher for the showpiece final, but this time fans must decide whose coverage to watch. ITV hoped to gain an early edge by scheduling its build-up to begin at 6.30pm, ahead of the 8pm kick-off. Initially BBC1 wasn’t slated to start until 7pm until the Beeb made a last-minute change to replicate its rival – the broadcasting equivalent of a late Jude Bellingham equaliser. Here’s how the TV teams will line up…

Continue reading...

Can Murdoch’s Tubi repeat its US success as it launches in the UK?

Posted on by

Ad-funded streamer wades into market with offering it says will appeal to those underserved by rivals

The Wes Anderson classic Moonrise Kingdom, the Channel 4 sitcom Fresh Meat, a reality TV series about adult content creators, some Bollywood hits and a handful of shark flicks: Tubi’s home screen is not short of viewing options, just like the British video-streaming market it waded into this week.

Tubi is taking on the likes of Netflix, Disney+, ITVX and the BBC’s iPlayer with a free, ad-funded service offering 20,000 films and TV episodes, and an ambition of repeating its success in the US, where it has amassed nearly 80 million monthly users. But will it have a similar impact in the UK, where rival platforms are already well established?

Continue reading...

UK political parties on track to spend £1m on election day online ads

Posted on by

Digital campaigning gets round media blackout rule restricting broadcasters’ coverage while polls are open

The UK’s political parties are on track to spend more than a million pounds on online adverts on Thursday, circumventing a media blackout rule that forces television and radio stations to stop their election coverage when polls open.

British parties have traditionally ceased top-level campaign activity when voting began as they had no way to get out their message out. This is because of a longstanding broadcasting rule, enforced by the media regulator Ofcom, that states: “Discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues must finish when the poll opens.”

Continue reading...