Regulator says it may change ad rules in light of growing competition from online streaming platforms
Ofcom has said it may extend the time and frequency allowed for advertising breaks on UK television as part of a review of broadcasting rules.
The regulator said it would consider changing advertising regulations amid market developments including the increasing influence of online streaming services.
Continue reading...Open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures urges end to entertainment industry’s ‘entrenched’ ageism
Actors including Juliet Stevenson, Meera Syal, David Tennant and Zawe Ashton have called for better onscreen representation of women older than 45 to fight against the “entrenched” ageism of the entertainment industry.
In an open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures, the Acting Your Age Campaign (AYAC) called for equal representation in the UK between men and women over 45 and urged immediate action on a “parity pledge”.
Continue reading...When journalists faced jail for reporting on Ukraine, Viktor Muchnik closed down his Siberian TV station and left for Armenia
On the ninth day of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, editor-in-chief Viktor Muchnik gathered the staff of TV2 for a meeting at their small newsroom in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
New wartime laws meant the whole newsroom risked jailtime for reporting on the conflict, Muchnik told them, and TV2 had just been officially blocked by Russia’s communications watchdog, along with many other independent media outlets.
Continue reading...Israel claims the Al Jazeera journalist was killed during a battle between its soldiers and Palestinian militants
A Palestinian investigation into the shooting of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh has concluded that she was deliberately killed by Israeli forces as she tried to flee, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced.
The conclusion echoed the results of a preliminary investigation announced nearly two weeks ago and was widely expected. Israel rejected the findings, with the defence minister, Benny Gantz, calling them, “a blatant lie.”
Continue reading...BBC Comedy development drive to fuel search for ‘relatable British characters’
The BBC will double the number of half-hour comedy pilots it makes and invest an extra £10m in the genre in a bid to find the next Fleabag or Motherland.
Sharing plans for the future of comedy at the corporation, the director of BBC Comedy, Jon Petrie, said his department was investing in its “development process”.
Continue reading...Presenter will return to broadcaster for first time since 2018 to oversee weekend of programming
The radio and TV presenter Kirsty Young will return to the BBC for the first time since 2018 to lead the broadcaster’s platinum jubilee coverage.
Young, who presented BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs for 12 years, stepped back from the programme in August 2018 because she had a form of fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.
Continue reading...The TV couple are to appear in Australia’s long-running soap opera as production ends after 37 years
They were one of television’s most popular couples, and now they’re getting back together, especially for you – or at least for viewers of Neighbours. Scott and Charlene, played by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, will return after more than 30 years for the show’s finale.
Jason Herbison, executive producer of the Australian soap, said the pair were “the ultimate Neighbours couple and it would not feel right to end the show without them”.
Continue reading...Former Four Corners presenter has won five Walkley awards in a career with the ABC stretching back to 2008
Investigative reporter Sarah Ferguson will replace Leigh Sales as the presenter of ABC nightly current affairs flagship, 7.30, in July.
Ferguson, who has been reporting from Washington DC for two years, is a forensic long-form reporter and a tough interviewer whose work made headlines when she fronted 7.30 for six months in 2014.
Continue reading...ESPN anchor Sage Steele is suing the network after claiming it curtailed her right to free speech over remarks she made last year.
Steele attracted criticism after remarks she made on a podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler last September. During her appearance, the SportsCenter host called ESPN’s vaccine mandate “sick”, said female reporters should change the way they dress to avoid inappropriate comments from male athletes and questioned whether Barack Obama is Black.
Continue reading...Request for reimbursement from Kerry Stokes’s private company not made until after court told of network’s legal financing
The Seven Network was paying the legal fees of several SAS witnesses for Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation trial until one of them revealed the payments in the federal court, contradicting Seven’s claim last week that the former soldier’s evidence about the source of the payments was “not correct”.
When the former SAS soldier, known as Person 5, told the court last week that his solicitor and barrister are being paid for by Seven, the network said another arm of the empire owned by Seven West Media chair, Kerry Stokes, was footing the bill.
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Continue reading...It disrupted the market and has more than 200m subscribers. But with slower growth, some say Netflix must change its game
Twelve years ago Jeff Bewkes, then chief executive of Time Warner, compared Netflix to the Albanian army. “It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world? I don’t think so,” Bewkes told the New York Times, disparaging the streaming service’s ability to take on the established media players.
Well, the Albanian army won. Time Warner followed Netflix into streaming, NBCUniversal and Disney came after and so it carried on. In Britain, BBC and ITV invested in their streaming portals. Media was now living in Netflix’s world.
Continue reading...Most broadcasts fail to attract more than 100,000 viewers, according to official ratings
When BBC Three relaunched as a live television channel earlier this year, the corporation hoped its counterintuitive punt on a youth-focused broadcast outlet would help it reach new audiences. Instead, the channel’s shows are consistently being beaten in the ratings by repeats of old history programmes featuring the deceased steeplejack Fred Dibnah on BBC Four.
Most of BBC Three’s programmes have so far failed to attract more than 100,000 viewers on live television, according to official viewing figures, while some shows are lucky to get a tenth of that. Even the programmes that do perform relatively well – such as episodes of MasterChef Australia – are rarely the original distinctive in-house shows that the channel exists to provide.
Continue reading...Logan says network ‘does not want independent thinkers’ as Fox stays quiet on reports it dropped her after November remark
The former CBS reporter Lara Logan, who compared Dr Anthony Fauci to the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, has claimed she was “pushed out” at Fox News because the conservative network does not want “independent thinkers”.
“I was definitely pushed out,” Logan told Eric Metaxas, a conservative radio host, this week. “I mean, there is no doubt about that. They don’t want independent thinkers. They don’t want people who follow the facts regardless of the politics.”
Continue reading...Analysis: why ministers are risking political capital pushing ahead now with privatisation plan is unclear
According to one key individual involved in the battle for Channel 4’s future, the broadcaster is a “wonderful company doing a fantastic job”, it is performing well financially and plays a crucial role in supporting the British television ecosystem.
Curiously, that individual is Stephen Parkinson, a government minister arguing that the only solution to secure Channel 4’s future is to rapidly privatise it and sell it off to a commercial owner, possibly one based overseas.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. You can find our latest stories on Channel 4 below:
DCMS select committee chair Julian Knight has questioned if the government’s plans to forge forward with the privatisation of Channel 4 are “revenge”, adding that many Tories believe the move is “payback time” for “biased coverage”.
Knight said Channel 4 could succeed if it was privatised and managed well, but it’s “a big risk” and “must be done as part of a thorough overhaul of all public service broadcasting”.
It is certainly true that Channel 4 will have greater freedom to compete once privatised and if managed well it should be able to continue to innovate and crucially appeal to young audiences - a real USP in today’s broadcast landscape.
However, this is a big risk. The question has to be, do you think a restricted but brilliant small state broadcaster will part compete with the likes of Apple and Amazon or does it need to be able to borrow and grow in a way only privatisation can unlock?
Continue reading...As the government presses ahead with the sale, what is the broadcaster worth and who would buy it?
The industry player most likely to buy Channel 4, with the least regulatory hurdles, is Discovery. The big US pay-TV company, which is merging with WarnerMedia, the parent company of CNN, HBO and the Hollywood studio behind the Batman and Harry Potter franchises, expressed interest the last time the broadcaster faced privatisation in 2016.
Continue reading...Ministers hope to raise £1bn from sell-off ending broadcaster’s 40 years in public ownership
The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, is pushing ahead with controversial plans to privatise Channel 4, with the government backing proposals to sell off the broadcaster after 40 years in public ownership.
The government hopes to raise around £1bn from the sell-off, making it one of the biggest privatisations since Royal Mail went public a decade ago. Ministers have suggested they could spend the proceeds to boost creative training and independent production companies, essentially funding their levelling up agenda.
Continue reading...Bosses said to have been unhappy with choice of candidates after all-female shortlist was produced
BBC bosses have readvertised the job of political editor after being unhappy with the choice of candidates to replace Laura Kuenssberg in one of the most influential roles in British journalism.
Following weeks of interviews and an extensive recruitment process, the corporation had produced an all-female shortlist for the role, with ITV News’s Anushka Asthana and Sky News’s Sophy Ridge believed to be the final two candidates. An announcement on which of them would get the job had been expected to coincide with Kuenssberg stepping down last week.
Continue reading...Former BBC chair will lead watchdog even though report said his knowledge of social media and online safety clearly lacked depth
Michael Grade has been confirmed as chair of the communications watchdog despite MPs warning that he has a “clear lack of depth” of knowledge about social media and online safety.
The former BBC chair will lead Ofcom, which will play a key role in regulating large social media platforms and search engines in the UK, as the body charged with implementing the landmark online safety bill. However, the digital, culture, media and sport committee said on Friday that it was concerned by Lord Grade’s admission this week that he does not use social media but is aware of how it works thanks to his children.
Continue reading...Journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service after nearly 20 years with the right-leaning cable channel
Chris Wallace has said working at Fox News became “increasingly unsustainable” before he jumped ship to CNN last December after almost 20 years with the right-leaning cable channel.
His departure dealt a blow to Fox’s news operation at a time when its opinion side had become preeminent. The veteran journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service this week and the 74-year-old spoke to the New York Times.
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