| British TV & Radio News March 2011 |
| BBC global iPlayer to cost less than $10 |
| Wednesday, March 2 2011 |
BBC director general Mark Thompson has revealed that the international BBC iPlayer iPad app will cost less than $10 (£6.13) a month when it launches later in the year.
Speaking at the FT Digital Media & Broadcasting conference in London today, Thompson also confirmed that global iPlayer will launch on iPads "definitely this year". |
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He said that overseas consumers will be able to subscribe to the app for "a small number of dollars per month, definitely fewer than 10", reports The Guardian.
Alongside catch-up TV services, the international iPlayer app - being developed by BBC Wordwide - will also offer the opportunity to browse and watch archive BBC programming.
Thompson added: "We're exploring internationally what the right pricing and models are. The most important thing is the consumer pricing is right."
The director general said that the iPlayer app will enable the BBC to "sell directly to consumers" without having to reformat or rebrand its programmes, as usually happens when content is syndicated to international broadcasters.
BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, has recently seen an upsurge in its digital programme sales around the world, including the amount of video on-demand hours it distributes increasing 38%, with the US a major market.
Asked what impact the launch of international iPlayer would have on Worldwide's digital revenues, Thompson said that the corporation has learnt from the Hollywood studios to use "a series of windows" to maximise the value of its content "across that lifecycle".
This strategy typically involves making digital rights available at the same time as DVD, followed by subscription or pay-TV services and finally free-to-air TV.
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| Hunt approves News Corp's Sky News plan |
| Thursday, March 3 2011 |
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has approved a plan from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to sell off Sky News, paving the way for the company's proposed bid to take full control of Sky to be approved.
Under the deal, the loss-making rolling news broadcaster will be "spun off" as a new publicly-listed company called Newco, with independent funding for the next ten years.
News Corp will licence the Sky News brand to the operation for seven years, offering an incentive for the company to pitch for a second funding deal. Murdoch will retain a 39.1% stake in the company, with the remaining shares held by existing shareholders in Sky.
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To ensure editorial independence and integrity for Sky News, the company would have a board made up of independent directors, including an independent chair, as well as a corporate governance and editorial committee.
News Corp would also be prevented from increasing its shareholding in the company without first getting permission from the Secretary of State for the next ten years. Hunt's decision will now go out to a 15-day consultation, expiring on March 21.
"Informed by advice from the regulators, I believe that these will address concerns about media plurality should the proposed News Corporation/Sky merger go ahead," said Hunt.
"The undertakings offered would ensure that shareholdings in Sky News would remain unchanged, and indeed offer it more independence from News Corporation than it currently has."
The move paves the way for News Corp to complete its £8 billion purchase of the 60.9% of Sky that it does not already own, bringing together the UK's biggest newspaper group with its largest pay-TV broadcaster.
However, opponents of the takeover, including the owners of the Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, have vigorously opposed the deal on grounds that it would reduce the plurality of voices in the British media.
Hunt said that he is "very aware" of the controversy around the proposed merger, but feels that his handling of the approval process has reflected that.
"Throughout this process I have been very aware of the potential controversy surrounding this merger. Nothing is more precious to me than the free and independent press for which this country is famous the world over," he said.
"In order to reassure the public about the way this decision has been taken I have sought and published independent advice at every step of the way, even when not required to do so by law. And I have followed that independent advice." |
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| STV joins Channel 6 local TV network bid |
| Thursday, March 3 2011 |
STV has joined a bid submitted by Richard Horwood's Channel 6 group to adopt Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's new UK-wide channel for delivering local TV services.
Last month, Channel 6 submitted an expression of interest to Hunt about running the new national channel on Freeview, providing a "backbone" for local services around the UK.
STV, the holder of the ITV licences for STV and Grampian, has teamed up with Channel 6 to boost its own local media operation in Scotland, including the STV Local network of hyper-local websites.
Horwood, a former Trinity Mirror executive, said that STV is "trusted" across Scotland as a provider of news and programming with a local focus.
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"STV has pioneered local services with the rollout of its hyper-local internet sites, which currently cover one third of Scotland and will eventually cover the whole of the nation," said Horwood.
"Our partnership with STV will enable us to deliver a truly relevant service right across Scotland, and will define the template for our local services in the other devolved nations."
He added: "STV is the one UK network broadcaster that has shown real ambition in local programming. We are delighted that they have chosen to work with us as our first major broadcast partner.
"Both Channel 6 and STV share Jeremy Hunt's belief that the time has come for the United Kingdom to experience the transforming power of local television, and we look forward together to helping the Secretary of State fulfil his vision."
Rob Woodward, the chief executive of STV, said: "STV is delighted to be working with Channel 6 as its partner supporting its vision to make local television a reality.
"In Scotland our 'STV Local' initiative already provides unique content for communities across the country. Our television heritage and local resources mean we are ideally placed to deliver expertise to support Channel 6 and targeted, local TV programming to Scottish viewers as part of the Channel 6 offer." |
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| Information TV bids for local TV network |
| Thursday, March 3 2011 |
Independent broadcaster Information TV has joined the bidders vying for culture secretary Jeremy Hunt's proposed new national channel for delivering local TV services in the UK.
In its submission to Hunt, Information TV claimed that it is the only bidder to have "already made local TV happen", and without the need for "excessive funding, new legislation or regulatory changes".
The company operates channels on Sky, Freesat, Freeview and IPTV, providing a platform for a range of niche content providers, including 'local' services such as Lakes TV, Liverpool City of Culture and Man United Fans TV.
Information TV feels that it is therefore well placed to take on Hunt's proposed "backbone" channel on Freeview for delivering local content and services to major British cities.
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In total, 11 bidders are known to have submitted local TV proposals to Hunt's Department for Culture, Media and Sport before the deadline expired on March 1.
Confirmed bidders include Richard Horwood's Channel 6 group, Element TV and a Scottish consortium, along with former ITV News editor Nigel Dacre and Welsh independent production company Tinopolis.
Also in the running is the Local Television Network, led by Greg Dyke; the Local6 group backed by former Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson; TripleSee, an IPTV joint venture fronted by former BBC executive Simon Walker; and local media operator Six Television, backed by commercial radio group UKRD.
In a statement, Information TV chief executive Fred Perkins warned that "big companies with big ideas" may not necessarily be able to "deliver the aspirations of the local TV providers".
"The government wants to create the Big Society - empowering individuals and local communities to work with and for one another. But Big Society will not be served by the reinvention of regional ITV, run by big companies and even bigger egos, spending tens of millions of pounds on a new national TV channel," said Perkins.
"Local TV is not about mass audiences or massive spending, it's about bottom-up engagement with local capabilities, where the stakeholders in local TV are the entire local community. And it doesn't require millions of pounds of funding, particularly the £40m from the BBC - which, in these times of austerity, could be better deployed."
He added: "The top-down approach is one which patently does not address the aspirations of the many local stakeholders who, for several years, have been campaigning for local TV across multiple fronts."
The successful bidder chosen by Hunt will get access to the hugely valuable sixth slot on Freeview electronic programme guides from 2013. |
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| Freesat G2 Specifications |
| Thursday, March 3 2011 |
Freesat's next-generation G2 spec will include DiSEqC, single cable routing and core support for iPlayer-style hybrid TV services.
In the works for more than a year, G2 is set to bring Freesat some features we've been looking forward to for some time.
It's essentially a gathering of new standards which will be supported by the wave of digital TV chipsets expected from manufacturers like ST and Broadcom in the next 12 months.
James Strickland, Freesat's director of product and technology development, explained that G2 is similar to HbbTV, the European standard which combines both broadcast and broadband-delivered TV technology.
'If you see what’s going on with HbbTV in Germany, that’s a roll-up of all the standards work that’s been going on with different bodies. |
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'G2 is basically a hybrid between HbbTV and the MHEG world we have in the the UK. 'You get the best out of all the international standards that all the manufacturers are working on, rather than rolling out our own.
'We want to encourage in the next generation all the best elements that are already being worked on, to get the best hybrid of broadcast and broadband TV.'
There's no launch date yet for the G2 spec or G2 products, although some - like Samsung's forthcoming Freesat HD box - will have the potential to be upgraded to G2 via software downloads.
Some manufacturers, like Panasonic, are waiting for the G2 spec to be ready before they launch new Freesat products.
Exact details of what's in G2 only come with some direct questioning at this stage, but we did discover that it will include:
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•MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) support, which potentially enables a whole host of advanced media streaming and multiroom features that manufacturers might use.
•Single cable routing as part of the MoCA standard (Multimedia over Coax Alliance). SCR lets a PVR take multiple tuner feeds through a single cable, but so far there have been several competing methods.
•DiSEqC switching, as part of SCR, with DiSEqC 1.2 for motorised sat still a possibility for the final version of the spec.
•HTML, Javascript and CSS: internet technologies that should make it a lot easier to add broadband-delivered interactive services.
•DRM for online content, and potentially for non-subscription broadcast channels who want some sort of encryption.
•Payment mechanisms for broadband services like LoveFilm.
'It will be easier to write apps and easier to launch online services,' adds Strickland. 'The barriers to entry, the time and the cost of launching new services, will be less than they are currently on other platforms and on this platform. It’s not just about the receiver, it’s about a whole end to end thing.
'The core of the technology is internet-based technology. Use of new presentation environments like HTML, Javascript, and CSS that come from the internet, that now we can apply to STB technology.
'And not for pay-TV but for free-to-air TV, we are making it easier for people to put their content on the platform by promoting certain DRM elements. It can easily be for free-to-air content, free to the user within the platform, but not necessarily pay-TV.
'We are still very cautious about pay-TV and the effect it would have on the platform if we were to allow any pay-TV services on board. It’s a watching brief, and they would be complementary service.
'The potential is there for services like LoveFilm to come to the platform and it’s not there today. If you had something like LoveFilm, to be able to transfer your account to the main screen from the PC, that would make sense.' |
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| YouView chief defends 2012 delay |
| Friday, March 4 2011 |
YouView chief executive Richard Halton has today defended the delay to the BBC-led joint venture, claiming that the new IPTV platform will be "worth the wait".
Speaking at the Digital TV Group (DTG) Summit in London, Halton reiterated that the project, which aims to upgrade the Freeview and Freesat platforms to support video on-demand and internet services, will have a product ready this year for "extensive" testing.
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Under the new plans, YouView will go into full consumer launch in 2012, backed by a range of branded set top boxes, personal video recorders and integrated TVs.
YouView, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva joint venture previously known as Project Canvas, was initially scheduled to launch in the second quarter of this year, before being pushed back amid reported disagreements over technical specifications.
Halton, who took charge of YouView last September, said that the delay was all about "taking the time to get the consumer launch right".
He added: "It was a choice between rushing something out to meet a date, or getting it right first."
Halton noted that many successful consumer products have come after the manufacturer took the time to get the technology right. He pointed to BBC iPlayer, Apple's iPhone and Nintendo's recently-launched 3DS handheld as examples of products that were "worth the wait".
The chief executive also stressed that YouView is "trying to solve problems that are quite common to the industry, and problems that are coming down in the track", including security and standardisation issues.
"Working these problems out in the context of the horizontal market is very challenging and I hope that we can contribute to that," he said.
YouView's consumer proposition will offer all of the linear TV channels currently available on the Freeview and Freesat platforms. It will also carry a variety of VOD services, including the on-demand players offered by the public service broadcasters, including BBC iPlayer and ITV Player.
The YouView electronic programme guide will blend linear TV with on-demand via a backwards functionality, enabling users to browse seven days forward to set recordings or go seven days back to access catch-up. An active search engine will enable users to navigate the wide range of content across all providers.
Halton stressed that YouView will be compatible with any ISP, not just project partners BT and TalkTalk. He noted that Sky and Virgin are "rightly focusing" on developing their own customer bases, but YouView in contrast will be "platform agnostic", meaning any ISP, manufacturer or content provider will be able to use it to launch services.
YouView also aims to enable content providers to have a more direct relationship with their consumers, including direct billing and branding of services.
"We see a lot of end user excitement around that, not just from our partners but from other providers," said Halton.
YouView recently joined the DTG as part of an overall strategy to increase its openness with the digital TV industry. At last year's DTG Summit, Halton faced a grilling from members of the organisation about the perceived lack of openness in YouView's technical development.
Those concerns have consistently dogged the project, but Halton believes that the recent publishing of 14 separate technical documents was clear evidence of YouView's increased engagement with the industry.
On April 14, the venture will publish a final core technical specification on the DTG's member-exclusive website. The document will also later be published on YouView's own site, which is open for public access. YouView has also worked closely with the DTG on the development of the new D-Book 7 technical document for connected TV devices.
YouView's technical documents are designed to give manufacturers a blueprint for developing a range of devices, but also help content and application developers to create new services for the platform.
After publishing the documents, Halton said that YouView will work with the industry to help develop a range of products for when the platform launches next year. For content providers, he said, the project's aim is to standardise the way that their services are published on multiple devices, freeing them up to focus on innovation.
Halton added: "Its the ability to publish on one YouView device, and so publish on all YouView devices. The consistency of experience is what you need." |
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| UK Radioplayer to launch on March 31 |
| Tuesday, March 8 2011 |
UK Radioplayer, the new online platform bringing together all of the BBC and commercial radio stations, will launch at the end of this month.
On March 31, the BBC-backed Radioplayer will go live with around 150 stations hosted on a specially-designed online platform, including the major BBC and commercial networks. More stations will be added in the weeks after launch.
The service aims to eventually offer the vast majority of the UK's radio stations, between 200 and 300 individual services, including national, local and community stations, delivering thousands of hours of live and on-demand programming to listeners.
Radioplayer, officially unveiled in November 2009, will also mark the first time that the BBC and commercial radio station have come together to develop a single online player.
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The service was initially expected to go live last December, but that was pushed back to March 31, when a launch event will be held in London.
UK Radioplayer will find and play live streams, listen-again programmes and podcasts. All BBC Radio shows currently offered in iPlayer will be available on the service. Commercial and community stations will also offer listen-again programmes and podcasts via the Radioplayer search engine.
The online player has been designed for use on computers using Flash, but the project said in a message on its website that possible versions for "mobile devices like iPhones, tablets, and Android handsets" will be explored after launch.
Radioplayer will also have functionality to be integrated into social networking sites, such as Facebook, while there is speculation that it will have a presence on connected TV platforms, such as the BBC-backed YouView, which is to launch next year. |
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| FetchTV - BBC's iPlayer approach is wrong |
| Thursday, March 10 2011 |
The one-size-fits-all iPlayer strategy is bad for consumers and the BBC says the maker of hybrid Freeview box FetchTV.
The approach - also under fire from Sky and Ofcom - makes for a poor consumer experience and will restrict use of the catch-up service, claims Netgem.
The BBC Trust wants to restrict the iPlayer to three 'standard' applications which manufacturers must find a way to integrate into their own products. |
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Netgem supplies more than a million hybrid broadcast/broadband products to retailers and TV platforms worldwide annually, and provides software for the FetchTV Freeview hybrid PVR in the UK.
Netgem's latest interfaces combine both broadcast and on-demand TV in a single interface which blurs the line between broadcast TV, recordings, catch-up and on-demand.
Yann Courqueux of Netgem said platforms which move to a single user interface have seen on-demand usage triple in some cases.
'Some content owners don't get it,' he said. 'The BBC UI is not the most innovative in the marketplace. 'I would say the BBC's approach is a mistake if they are trying to get the most uses of the iPlayer.'
His comments were echoed by David Bloom, commercial director of FetchTV manufacturer IP Vision, which features the iPlayer in its standard Big Screen application.
'It's not actually true to say that the best thing for the consumer is for the broadcaster's content to be provided through the same user interface on every product,' he said.
'It may be easier and cheaper for the BBC, but that's not necessarily in the best interet of the public. Staying within the look and feel of whatever platform they are most used to is good for the user.'
Under the BBC Trust's provisional proposals, the BBC will only produce bespoke versions in 'exceptional' circumstances.
And it won't let manufacturers or platforms connect directly into its servers to provide BBC content through their own interfaces.
Sky has accused the BBC of denying iPlayer to more than five million homes with Ethernet-ready Sky+HD boxes if the new policy goes ahead.
Ofcom's competition partner Stuart Mcintosh has also said the online syndication policy might not deliver the best results for the consumer.
'This appears not to allow for the possibility that there might be instances where a better consumer proposition and greater public value could be delivered through bespoke development,' he said.
The BBC Trust is expected to make a final online syndication policy decision this summer. |
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| TVonics releases 500GB Freeview HD PVR |
| Friday, March 11 2011 |
TVonics' latest Freeview+ HD PVR comes with a 500GB hard drive and twin tuners for dual recording. An 8 day EPG is supported by full Freeview+ functionality including series link recording. The manufacturer has also issued a software update for all its HD recorders that enables keyword searching of the EPG and recordings library using an onscreen virtual keyboard which can be downloaded from the support forum on the TVonics website.
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The DTR-Z500HD can upscale broadcasts to 1080p via HDMI and has two HDMI inputs and one output enabling it to be used as a hub for connecting other HDMI-equipped devices to your TV. Other connectors include two USB ports for picture display from external storage and software updates and an Ethernet port.
Priced at £224.99, the DTR-Z500HD comes with a two year warranty. |
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| Arqiva to uplink 4HD |
| Thursday, March 17 2011 |
Arqiva has secured a satellite distribution deal for Channel 4 HD. The new arrangement facilitates transmission of Channel 4 HD for the first time on Freesat (from April 2011) while maintaining the channel's presence on the Sky platform. Arqiva provides encoding, teleport services and satellite capacity to enable Channel 4 HD to be uplinked simultaneously to both platforms via one transponder.
The service, which began on the 18th February 2011, takes advantage of Arqiva's technologically advanced DVB-S2 MPEG-4 encoding platform on Eurobird EB1. This enables Channel 4 to more efficiently deliver the high quality HD signal. Arqiva has also installed the necessary compression equipment at Channel 4's Playout Centre and is providing the necessary Sky adaptation and Freesat EPG insertion. |
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Barrie Woolston, Commercial Sales Director at Arqiva Broadcast & Media, said: "Arqiva provides Channel 4 with all its multiplexing systems and its terrestrial broadcast transmitter network, and this agreement means we now also provide Channel 4 HD's satellite distribution. We launched our state-of-the-art DVB-S2 MPEG-4 platform on EB1 to meet the growing demands for high definition channel distribution. The exceptional efficiencies and superb UK coverage it offers makes this the ideal platform for a major national broadcaster like Channel 4."
Channel 4 HD was launched on Sky+ HD in 2007, Virgin Media in 2009, and Freeview in 2010. The channel carries the same programming as the Channel 4 SD service, making it the UK's first high definition channel from a terrestrial broadcaster. Alongside American favourites such as 'Ugly Betty' Channel 4 HD will also show original programming in HD such as 'Hollyoaks' and 'Skins'.
Kevin Burrows, CTO Broadcast and Distribution at Channel 4, added: "We have a long and excellent relationship with Arqiva and we are delighted to entrust this final and important element of our transmission network to their care. Their ongoing support has been invaluable in enabling even more UK viewers to enjoy their favourite Channel 4 programmes in spectacular high definition." |
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| Switchover begins in Anglia TV region |
| Wednesday, March 30 2011 |
The digital television switchover has today begun in the Anglia TV region, bringing the Freeview service to thousands more homes.
Shortly after midnight, analogue BBC Two was switched off permanently at the Sandy Heath transmitter serving Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, to be replaced by digital channels on Freeview.
Around 45,000 households in the Anglia TV region will be able to receive Freeview for the first time, but existing digital terrestrial television viewers will need to retune their receiver equipment following the transition.
The remaining analogue channels will be switched off in the region on April 13 to complete the switchover process. On this date, further Freeview channels will become available to Anglia TV homes, including the digital networks offered by ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
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Viewers in the Nottingham area who receive TV signals from the Waltham transmitter near Melton Mowbray will not see analogue turned off until August 17.
Eligible older and disabled people can get assistance in converting to digital TV from the BBC-administered Switchover Help Scheme, which has so far helped more than 500,000 homes in the UK.
Peter Monteith, regional manager for Anglia at switchover body Digital UK, said: "Switchover in the Anglia region is now under way, and many people are receiving Freeview channels for the first time.
"We're now encouraging any viewers who still don't have the necessary equipment to get ready in time for April 13, when all the analogue channels will be permanently switched off. Anyone who needs advice during this period should contact Digital UK or sign up for the Help Scheme if they are eligible."
The UK's digital switchover is rapidly moving towards completion, with Wales and the majority of Scotland, along with the West, South West and North West of England already having made the switch to digital TV.
Digital UK also confirmed today that London's switch to digital will be completed in time for the Olympic Games next summer, when the Crystal Palace transmitter permanently switches off analogue signals. |
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