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Tag: TV

  • Champions’ League on BT

    Since I had a look at the Europa League viewership the other day, I thought it was only fair to consider the Champions’ League Final – particularly as some every-so-slightly misleading press information seems to have escaped. First off, it’s worth saying that this year’s final was one of the worst directed finals I’ve seen…

  • Do You Know What Product Placement Is?

    Ofcom has just produced a slightly dry sounding report on “UK Audience Attitudes Towards Broadcast Media” based on some of its Media Tracker findings. If you work in UK commercial radio, then the good news is that most people don’t think you’re running too many ads right now. 51% of commercial radio listeners say that…

  • Satire, Parliament and Dennis Skinner

    Last week Labour stalwart Dennis Skinner was ejected from the House of Commons for the rest of the Parliamentary day for calling the Prime Minister “Dodgy Dave” during his statement on his father’s off-shore affairs to Parliament. The Speaker, John Bercow, didn’t like it, and Skinner was forced to leave. Skinner regularly entertains with his…

  • Unconvinced by Virtual Reality

    Last week Oculus Rift finally started shipping consumer units, two and a half years after it first appeared on Kickstarter. This week the HTC Vive has been launched, part of a system that includes motion tracking. Sony is readying a VR PlayStation add-on for imminent release. And then we’ve had both Google Cardboard and iterations…

  • F1 to Follow Cricket Into Obscurity

    Here’s how F1 and Bernie Ecclestone do business: 21 December 2015 – Channel 4 wins terrestrial rights to Formula 1, after the BBC hands them back. There was rumoured to be a fight with ITV for them. Bernie Ecclestone, Chief Executive Officer of the Formula One group said: “I am sorry that the BBC could…

  • Virgin Media and the Premier League

    Judging from recent interviews across the media, Virgin Media CEO Tom Mockridge is out and about shouting loudly about his company’s complaint about how the Premier League sells its UK TV rights. His complaint is broadly that the league only sells 168 of the 360 fixtures each season, artificially limiting supply to keep prices high.…

  • The Joys of Online Streaming Sports

    Picture the scene. You’re travelling and Twitter tells you that the final rugby World Cup quarter final is a tight affair. There are just minutes left, and a single score could send the match either way. The final “northern hemisphere” side are fighting to stay in the competition. You fire up ITV Player on your…

  • Come on News TV – Use a Satellite!

    A couple of years ago, I moaned on this blog about the growth of streaming video in place of satellite links in news programmes. In short, as services like Skype have grown, news desks are getting their correspondents to utilise broadband or 4G and smartphones instead of sending camera crews and satellite trucks. Now this…

  • Channel Scheduling

    In a couple of weeks’ time BBC Three is going to be showing the new third season of Orphan Black. The programme comes from BBC America, and although not a massive ratings hit, garners a lot of critical acclaim, particularly for its star Tatiana Maslany. The show actually aired in the US between April and…

  • Hunted

    When I heard that Channel 4 had commissioned a new series where people attempt to go “on the run” and outwit a crack team of trained hunters, I knew I’d have to watch. I’ve always been a sucker for these shows. Although not all quite the same, this follows in the footsteps of programmes such…

  • Current TV

    No, not Al Gore’s ill-fated network, but what I’m enjoying on TV currently: Show Me A Hero – A drama series about housing policy in an upstate New York city doesn’t sound like it’s going to be compelling television, but it really is. It’s based on a non-fiction book and tells how some of Yonkers’…

  • Broadcasting Cricket

    There are two stories worth talking about in the world of broadcast cricket – a subject I’m only marginally less interested in than in broadcasting football. (See this recent piece for example.) First of all, Jonathan Agnew interviewed the ECB’s Chief Executive Tom Harrison last Thursday during lunch in the final Ashes Test. There is…

  • BT’s Advertising

    As the new football season rapidly approaches (even though it’s still only July), so the marketing spend of the various pay-TV operators ramps up. Sky is showing some fairly well-received adverts highlighting their Premier League heritage and super-imposing Thierry Henry into the video. On the other hand, BT is busy trying to let the British…