tagged w/ BSkyB
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On the 11th of January 2012, Current UK announced that BSkyB had withdrawn support for the channel and that we are now very likely to stop broadcasting by mid March 2012.
In her article in Broadcast magazine our Cheif Executive Jane Mote asks: "what channel will give producers the freedom to be bold now?"
New doc voices need an outlet
The barrier to entry has come down firmly against fresh documentary voices in the British TV industry with Sky’s decision to pull funding from Current TV at the 11th hour, with no notice or negotiation.
The UK’s only dedicated documentary channel – which is rooted among nearly 300 new storytellers nurtured over many years – is almost certain to close.
There’s no point in whingeing. Of course Sky has the power to do this and, frankly, independent channels like ours remain small, leaving us helpless to take it on. So much for plurality.
But what happens next to the new voices that struggle to get a platform on the hundreds of remaining channels in the UK? Morgan Spurlock will be okay; he’s a big enough name to get a job with McDonald’s – sorry, I mean Sky Atlantic – and I’m certainly not going to judge. He needs to earn his crust after all.
But those Brits starting out will have to try to get in on the reduced strands on the PSBs, where competition is so fierce and format freedom so rare that is hard to get your story heard – especially for the outspoken and opinionated, who may not be commercially valuable and are too problematic for those worried about igniting political interference.
Our supporters, viewers and producers alike are worried that there is nowhere left for (using their words) “brave, challenging, thought-provoking, unbiased and risk-taking TV”. No doubt Sky will create or buy an ‘off-the-rack’ channel that purports to do something similar. But Current’s roots run deep in the British documentary ecology and supporters believe it cannot be replicated at a stroke.
Andy Glynne, chief executive of the Documentary Filmmakers Group, the biggest UK collective of documentary film-makers, says he’s turned from being a loyal supplier to Current to being an advocate – for two reasons. First, unlike many broadcasters, we don’t pay lip service to new talent.
“Current supports rather than intimidates, trusts rather prescribes, and allows genuinely new film-makers from all walks of life to get started,” he told me. Second, he believes Current takes risks with form and content, allowing a freedom to both explore and defy convention with docs.
“It’s this risk-taking, and the inclusion of authorial voices, that seems to be ebbing slowly out of the genre, especially in today’s leanings towards the format,” he says.
His views are echoed in so many different voices and styles on our message boards. There is a real sense of grief here. Viewers and producers have lost a home, a place where they were guaranteed a gem of a story or a sympathetic ear to listen to them and nurture their stories.
Their grief offers hope. We are down but not out because we’ve sown seeds of belief that TV can be truly open to new voices, ideas and opinions.
We have 20,000 Twitter followers and some very loyal supporters and viewers – revolutions have been won with less. The important thing is, as Bob Helvey says in Ruaridh Arrow’s film How to Start a Revolution: “As long as we don’t surrender, we never lose.”
It’s not over until the fat lady sings and I am willing to put on a few pounds if it means regaining the ground pulled from under democratic TV’s feet.
//Ends
Subscribers to Broadcast magazine can read the article here.
On the 11th of January 2012, Current UK announced that BSkyB had withdrawn support... more
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By Tom Geoghegan
BBC News, Washington DC
The phone-hacking story has brought down a newspaper that few in the US had heard of. But the implications could yet be felt across the Atlantic.
The closure of the UK's News of the World newspaper made headlines in the US, despite the paper being little-known.
There was outrage at the methods used by British journalists to get a story - the hacking of phones and payments to police officers.
And there have been questions about how much this could hurt Rupert Murdoch's huge media empire, News Corporation, which suffered a 7% drop in its share price on Monday in New York.
Even before he closed the News of the World, Mr Murdoch's UK newspaper operations formed only a small part of his huge global business, much of which is in the US.
Even if they don't know it, millions of Americans are consumers of Murdoch-owned media.
More than half of Mr Murdoch's profits come from his Fox TV operation in the US, which produces hit shows like American Idol and encompasses no fewer than 27 local Fox networks.
The Fox News Channel is available to more than 100 million US households and is dominant on the media landscape, arguably eclipsing long-established broadcasters like CNN.
Fox's right-wing stance and strong links to the Republican party have often drawn criticism, but its popularity is unquestioned.
Beyond news, Mr Murdoch also has huge influence in the film industry, through his Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox, behind a string of recent blockbusters including 3D pioneer Avatar.
Despite all those assets, could his grip on the American media be weakening, given the setbacks he has suffered elsewhere?
"So far, most of this has been focused on London and hasn't had any impact for his US media organisations," says Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Felix Gillette.
"But at a certain point, it's going to raise more scrutiny for his US properties, particularly for News Corporation's flagship tabloid, the New York Post."
The venerable Post was first bought by Rupert Murdoch in 1976 and has remained perhaps the best-known of America's brash city tabloids.
Many are now questioning whether the relationship between Murdoch's media outlets in London and the UK political establishment is an improper one, and the same issue is likely to be asked in the US, Mr Gillette says.
"Particularly with Fox News and its relationship with the Republican party and the conservative establishment," he adds.
Already, a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) has called on the House of Representatives and Senate to investigate whether journalists working for News International have hacked into the voicemail of Americans.
"If Mr Murdoch's employees can be so brazen as to target the British prime minister, then it is not unreasonable to believe they also might hack into the voicemails of American politicians and citizens," says Crew executive director Melanie Sloan.
The US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, said on Tuesday that it has no plans to investigate News Corporation.
But there is speculation about the impact the scandal could have on Mr Murdoch's heir-apparent, his son James, currently chief executive and chairman of News Corporation in Europe and Asia.
The younger Murdoch fielded media questions last week and spoke about his shock at the allegations. He also said, in a statement announcing the closure of the paper, that he approved out-of-court settlements with hacking victims when he did not know the "full picture".
"This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret," he added.
But at the weekend, former UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson said this made James Murdoch possibly liable for prosecution in the UK under the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act (Ripa).
"Section 79 talks about the role of company directors etc, and talks about consent, connivance, neglect.
"So even if you weren't involved, even if you weren't conniving, there is some issue where you did not know what you should have known, that brings you into the terms of the act. I think that is significant."
James Murdoch is not the only individual based in the US who could find himself under pressure.
Les Hinton, the former chairman of News International, and now one of Mr Murdoch's most trusted aides, is facing questions over how much he knew about the hacking and when. A Murdoch employee for 52 years, Mr Hinton is now the boss of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, which Mr Murdoch acquired for $5bn (£3.15bn) in 2007.
Mr Hinton was approached by the BBC on Monday but refused to comment.
Some legal experts have raised the possibility of action against News Corporation under US federal law. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) outlaws the bribery of foreign officials.
Butler University law professor Mike Koehler, who for 10 years took part in FCPA investigations, says: "Given what is known at this point, I think it's likely that the Justice Department and the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] would investigate the conduct at issue here and potentially have an enforcement action.
"Police officers are foreign officials under the FCPA and the business purposes [in question] would be to help get information to help the News of the World to write stories and sell newspapers."
An investigation under FCPA takes several years and is usually preceded by an internal review of the company's global operation, a very costly exercise paid for by the business, says Mr Koehler.
Avon Products has disclosed that it spent £100m on reviewing its operations after an FCPA issue was raised in China in 2008, he says.
But other lawyers are more sceptical. Tony Woodcock, of law firm Stephenson Harwood in London, says the possibility of an FCPA investigation into News Corporation is a "long shot".
There is already one US lawsuit related to the current scandal. News Corporation is being sued by a group of shareholders who allege a failure of corporate governance.
The lawsuit was filed in Delaware by Amalgamated Bank and a group of pension funds, and is an updated version of a previous action.
The BBC asked News Corporation to comment on the current issues, but has received no reply.
A lot has happened in the past week, and the firm now finds itself in the unusual position of making the news, rather than writing it.
The Murdochs will be hoping that the phone-hacking scandal remains one British story without trans-Atlantic appeal.By Tom Geoghegan
BBC News, Washington DC
The phone-hacking story has brought down... more
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Last week Jeremy Hunt said he'll allow Murdoch to own all of BSkyB. Now a series of reports of criminal and indecent Murdoch journalism are coming out -- hacking murdered Milly Dowler, the Soham girls, and the 7/7 families! We have a few hours to flood the BSkyB public consultation and stop the deal.
We've done it before -- in the last consultation Hunt said our avalanche of 40,000 messages delayed the deal as his officials had to read each email carefully, fearing a legal challenge. Now our voices could halt the deal and get a full inquiry into this vile hacking.
Murdoch's media tramples standards and ignores ethics, and the whole country is horrified. But the government is pushing to give him full control of our largest commercial broadcaster. It's an outrage and threatens the very pillars of our democracy! The official consultation ends today. Send a message now calling on Hunt and Cameron to refuse Murdoch's BSkyB deal until there's a full Competition Commission review and a full public inquiry into phone hacking:Last week Jeremy Hunt said he'll allow Murdoch to own all of BSkyB. Now a series... more
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Woe is he. Media baron Rupert Murdoch is said to be depressed over setbacks to his compulsive efforts to acquire ever more media platforms from which to spew his international rightist propaganda. The news of Murdoch’s depression comes from a trusted ally, Andrew Neil, founding chairman of Sky TV and former editor of Murdoch’s Sunday Times in London.
Neil describes Murdoch’s dismay that criminal activity by his newspapers may frustrate his attempt to assume control over the 60% of satellite network BSkyB that he doesn’t already own. It seems that his minions at News of the World were caught hacking into the phones of politicians and celebrities to obtain information for salacious stories. That behavior may have an impact on Britain’s regulators approving the Murdoch acquisition.
According to Neil, Murdoch is now taking radical steps to salvage the deal. Though years have past since the hacking was first discovered and reported, Murdoch is only now attempting to hold anyone accountable. So he fired an assistant editor. That’ll show ‘em. And this new demonstration of hardball tactics comes after he previously paid millions in hush money to prevent the scandal from being exposed. So his first instinct was to sweep it under the rug and, now that the deal is teetering, he shifts to punishing low-level scapegoats.
The BSkyB deal has also been criticized by media watchdogs because it would give an unprecedented degree of control over the British media to one man. And that one man has made it clear that he would exercise editorial control over the Sky News division of BSkyB. He told a parliamentary inquiry that “Sky News would be more popular if it were more like the Fox News Channel.”
That’s what British news consumers have to look forward to if Murdoch is successful. For their sake, I hope he is not. And if that only makes him more depressed I suppose he’ll just have to live with it.Woe is he. Media baron Rupert Murdoch is said to be depressed over setbacks to his... more
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After an intervention from Vince Cable, Ofcom is now set to investigate the 61% buyout News Corp wants to make on BSkyB. The concern over the take over is about what would happen to media plurality in the UK after the deal.
"Mr Cable's move follows pressure from rival media groups who wrote to him last month urging him to block Mr Murdoch's move, which they said could reduce diversity in the industry."-BBC
According to the article, Ofcom will send it's findings to the Business Secretary by 31st December, which then may or may not then be refereed to the Competition Commission.After an intervention from Vince Cable, Ofcom is now set to investigate the 61% buyout... more
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The Guardian reports on a number of papers, from both sides of the political spectrum, writing to Vince Cable about vetoing a take over of BskyB by News Corp. They say the take over would damage UKs media plurality if the £8bn take over took place.
"The letter, signed by Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive of Telegraph Media Group, Sly Bailey, chief executive of Trinity Mirror, owner of the Daily Mirror, and Andrew Miller, chief executive of Guardian Media Group, was sent to Cable today. The signatories argue against a combined Murdoch multimedia empire that would have a turnover of £7.5bn compared with the BBC's £4.8bn.
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Under a merged company Sky News could be brought more closely into line with the company's UK newspapers."-Guardian
Non print news owners have also signed the petition, including cheif Exec of BT, BBC, Channel 4 and a leading law firm.The Guardian reports on a number of papers, from both sides of the political spectrum,... more
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Mark Thompson was interviewed on a US interview show where at one point he discussed his concern over News Corps proposed take over of BSkyB.
The guardian reports, News Corp is looking to buy the over 61% of BSkyB which Thompson states there "might be a significant loss of plurality in our media market."-Guardian
According to the article, Thompson looked to the Business secretary Vince Cable to look into the takeover, since Cable could veto the take over. The post also points out the current debates between the BBC and Sky over how the media industry should work in the UK, both seem to accuse the other of being too powerful.Mark Thompson was interviewed on a US interview show where at one point he discussed... more
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2010/aug/27/mgeitf-mark-thompson-mactaggart-2010
Mark Thompson, the BBC director general, has launched a scathing attack on Rupert Murdoch's media empire, warning that BSkyB is too powerful and threatens to "dwarf" the BBC and its competitors.
Delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture at the Mediaguardian Edinburgh television festival, Thompson rounded on Sky's chairman, James Murdoch, who used the same speech last year to attack the corporation.
"A year ago, James Murdoch fretted aloud about the lamentable dominance of the BBC," he said. "He was able to do that only by leaving Sky out of the equation."
Thompson said Sky was "well on its way to being the most dominant force in broadcast media in this country".
He said that News Corp, in effect controlled by the Murdoch family, now enjoys unprecedented industry power in the UK. News Corp owns 39% of Sky and is in the process of buying the part of the broadcaster it does not already own.
"If News Corporation's proposal to acquire all of the remaining share in Sky goes through, Sky will not just be Britain's biggest broadcaster, but a full part of a company which is also dominant in national newspapers as well as [being] one of Britain's biggest publishers," Thompson said. That would be "a concentration of cross-media ownership that would not be allowed in the United States or Australia".
In a sideswipe at the Murdoch press he also criticised newspaper coverage of the BBC, claiming: "Some newspapers appear to print something hostile about the BBC every week … the scale and intensity of the current assaults does feel different."
Thompson also attacked Sky's content, conceding that it had spent heavily on news and sport but saying it had failed to invest enough of its £4.8bn subscription revenues in British programming. He said Sky should be forced to pay ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 a fee for carrying their channels on its satellite platform through a "retransmission" charge.
That money could be used to invest in original UK programming, plugging a £300m funding gap that Thompson said had emerged since 2006 as advertising revenue has plunged.
He said Rupert Murdoch had argued in favour of a similar levy in the US, where News Corp owns the Fox channel. "He's winning the argument," Thomson said. "Fox is now receiving distribution fees from the cable companies. So why not introduce retransmission fees in this country as well?"
That could raise approximately £75m for commercial terrestrial channels whose revenues are under pressure because of an advertising recession.
"James may quibble with Rupert's logic," Thompson said. "I find it strangely compelling."
In last year's MacTaggart lecture James Murdoch accused the BBC of mounting a "land-grab" and described its ambitions as "chilling".
Thompson responded by insisting that the BBC had never been so popular, citing research which showed that British television in general is highly valued by licence-fee payers.
"The purists have spent a generation making the free market case for abolishing the licence fee," he added, in a thinly veiled reference to the Murdochs. "The British public agree with them less now than they did when they started."
He continued: "Across the UK population, 71% of people say they're glad the BBC exists." Those figures were the same for readers of the Murdoch press, he said. News Corp owns the Times and the Sun as well as the Sunday Times and News of the World. He said the figure for Times readers was 83% and for Sunday Times readers 85%.
"I believe that the reason they have little traction on this subject is because their readers are able to compare what they read about the BBC with their own experience of the BBC's services, week in, week out."
Thompson also signalled that recent proposals to close the BBC's generous pension scheme to staff would not be reversed, insisting that the corporation was "not afraid to shed the last vestiges of its bureaucratic past".
He said he would remain in his post to negotiate the next licence fee settlement with the government next year. "Do I have the commitment and the energy to lead the BBC to where it needs to get to next? My answer is an unequivocal 'yes'." He added that he was "up for the fight".
A spokesman for News Corp said: "Mark Thompson has had a year to reflect on widespread and legitimate criticism of the governance of the BBC, its value for money and the effect its size is having on commercial competitors.
"He has failed at any point to address the impact that the scale and scope of the BBC's activities is having on an all-media digital marketplace, which is worrying for the future of independent journalism."http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2010/aug/27/mgeitf-mark-thompson-mactaggart-2010... more
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After 3 years (replacing their travel channel), BskyB had closed down Thursday its female-oriented station, Sky Real Lives (that's two main SD channels, +1 channel and HD channel).
Head of the channel, Barbara Gibbon, said "There will be no compromise on screen, nor in satisfying Sky Real Lives viewers, who'll continue to enjoy a rich diversity of high-quality pay-TV programming.". Programming budget from the channel is now allocated to Sky1 and Sky2.
Source: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/news/a264260/sky-shuts-down-sky-real-lives.htmlAfter 3 years (replacing their travel channel), BskyB had closed down Thursday its... more
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Rupert Murdoch's News America Inc has donated $1m (£637,000) to the Republican Governors Association ahead of November's US mid-term elections.
The donation from News America Inc, the parent company of Fox News, helped the RGA more than double its fundraising in the second quarter of 2010.
The association helps elect Republican candidates to US governorships.
Democrats said the donation meant Fox News had "crossed a bright line" regarding impartiality.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11014504Rupert Murdoch's News America Inc has donated $1m (£637,000) to the... more
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BskyB's rights on their movies is to be probed by the Competition Commision after Ofcom feared about the dominance for the pay TV market on their movie channels.
They are also concerned about the pay-per-view rights for the films, a spokesperson for Ofcom said "We are concerned that Sky will maintain and exploit its market power by restricting the distribution of its movies channels and exploitation of SVoD (Subscription Video-on-Demand) rights".
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5ilU2f6oppfECu5LWPj2LnVCX6ClQBskyB's rights on their movies is to be probed by the Competition Commision after... more
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News Corporation has increased its offer to take full control of BSkyB, which has again been rebuffed by the broadcaster, but the two companies have agreed to hold talks to find a mutually agreeable price and tackle regulatory issues.
It emerged last night that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation had made a bid of 675p per share in cash to take control of the 61% in BSkyB the company does not already own. The offer was rejected by BSkyB's independent directors as undervaluing the company.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/15/news-corp-bskyb-rupert-murdoch*
News Corporation has increased its offer to take full control of BSkyB, which has... more
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BSkyB's 'Sky Player' is coming to Xbox 360 next month according to the October edition of Sky's customer magazine.
The streaming TV and on-demand service will be available to Xbox Live Gold members. Those that also happen to have Sky's film or sports packages will benefit the most, having premium content on their 360's without incurring additional charges.
Image from Cnet's Crave (who've got a bunch of screenshots in a gallery - note this was back in May, things might look different when it actually appears).
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,39029441,49302415,00.htmBSkyB's 'Sky Player' is coming to Xbox 360 next month according to the... more
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BSkyB is close to sealing a deal to produce all Premier League match coverage for ESPN, Broadcast understands.
The contract has not yet been finalised but is seen as a done deal and is expected to cover just the live match coverage. A second contract to produce pre- and post-match analysis is up for grabs for indies...
From BroadcastBSkyB is close to sealing a deal to produce all Premier League match coverage for... more
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Ofcom has proposed that BSkyB should be forced to make its premium sports and film channels available to rival broadcasters.
Ofcom stated a move like this would be "most appropriate way of ensuring fair and effective competition".
Of course BSkyB has already immediately rejected the proposal, clamming it will "use all available legal avenues", and that it "fundamentally" disagreed with Ofcom.
Ofcom has asked interested parties to respond to the proposals by 18 August and that the BSkyB would have to offer the subscription channels to its rival broadcasters at "regulated prices".Ofcom has proposed that BSkyB should be forced to make its premium sports and film... more
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Satellite broadcaster BskyB, has issued an apology after competitions on three occasions from Sky Sports' programmes, Soccer AM (on two occasions) and Cricket AM (on one occasion) last year, only the problems didn't occur from the UK, but from Ireland, affecting over 1,600 SMS from viewers totaling €600.
They'll air an on-air statement during Saturday's 'Soccer AM', even though the outcome didn't affect the outcome, BskyB is working with phone operators to refund the affected users. They also noted this problem to OFCOM.Satellite broadcaster BskyB, has issued an apology after competitions on three... more
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In a move that's no doubt made Rupert Murdoch do one of those evil 'muhahaha' laughs, it's been announced that BSkyB have managed to hold onto four of the six broadcast rights for Premiership football in the UK for the next three years.
Setanta are expected to bid for the remaining two other broadcast packages in the coming months, leaving them with a total of 46 games to show out of the 138 games in the season.In a move that's no doubt made Rupert Murdoch do one of those evil... more
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Here is something that won't pick up on an SD camera, during the World Darts Championship, rude messages were picked up from Sky Sports high definition cameras from placards, these includes a rumour about Helen Chamberlain's relationship with James Wade (who is a young darts player).
Surprisingly, it's the first time Sky filmed the darts tournament in HD (oops!)Here is something that won't pick up on an SD camera, during the World Darts... more
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Satellite broadcaster, BskyB, is to take a significant step by bringing 3D broadcast to UK and Ireland screens.
Sky has recently filmed 3D broadcasts over the past several months. It requires a 3DTV (even though they ain't yet available) and a HD set box box.
Sky says it's not a product launch, but producing a technological demonstration.
What do you guys think? Excited, or an expensive gimmick?Satellite broadcaster, BskyB, is to take a significant step by bringing 3D broadcast... more
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This is the moment a man with motor neurone disease kills himself at a suicide clinic in Switzerland.
The shocking scene, to be broadcast on British television tomorrow night, shows Craig Ewert, 59, setting a timer to switch off his ventilator before drinking a lethal dose of sedatives.
Less than 45 minutes later the retired university professor from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, passes away with his wife Mary by his side.
Mr Ewert's assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland was filmed for a documentary called Right To Die - The Suicide Tourist, which airs on the Sky Real Lives channel on Wednesday at 9pm.
His death will be the first time an assisted suicide has been screened on British television.
Does he have the right to end his own life? And is this appropriate for television?This is the moment a man with motor neurone disease kills himself at a suicide clinic... more
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