The privately owned New York Times has appointed BBC DG Mark Thompson as the President and CEO to lead them to the digital age. It is the kind of ‘outside the box’ thinking only a private company can try; no public company would reach so far from ‘the norm’. For, while Thompson may come from […]
IHS Research reports that US pay-TV subs are being lost to Netflix users and other OTT providers. This is always an eye catching headline in our sector, and I confidently predict it will rise close to the top of our most-read parade in coming days. However, like a lot of similar reports, it is a […]
In the latest issue of Euromedia we publish our annual STB Survey taking the temperature of the segment. Casual observers might think ‘cooling’ would be the obvious answer as Smart TVs become the norm in the replacement market and more and more Apps developers and content companies make provision deals with the various manufacturers. Nonetheless, […]
Rupert Murdoch said in evidence to the Leveson Inquiry that an unhinged Gordon Brown phoned him and said he would make war on News Corp. Brown, in evidence, claimed the call never took place. Whose relationship with the truth is closer? My guess is both have only had a nodding acquaintance with veracity for some […]
Ofcom has come out in favour of ‘plurality checks’ of the UK news media every four or five years. And it believes the reviews should include the BBC and online news. So far, so interesting. But Ofcom doesn’t regulate the BBC – it would like to as this policy suggestion indicates – and certainly someone […]
The rise of international markets and the global reach of the Internet and broadband connectivity are forcing US content creators and distributors to confront several difficult challenges. The BBC World Service radio broadcasts have a knack for making almost any issue appear to take on great gravitas, no matter how arcane. I recently caught […]
Is it a Mad World? It seems so. Four examples from the last couple of weeks: One. BT has joined in the mad house of Premier League rights. Fair enough, this means BSkyB has to pay more than otherwise and it satisfies the politician’s need for Sky not to have a monopoly. I don’t want […]
Jeremy Hunt, the beleaguered Culture Secretary, is hanging on after his day-long appearance before Leveson. There have been many descriptions of Hunt, none flattering, as he seeks to dig himself out of the many holes he so thoughtlessly jumped into. The most accurate one is that he is PM David Cameron’s human shield; given Cameron […]
I can truthfully testify that trying to listen to the Leveson Inquiry while doing anything else is a recipe for doing both things poorly. The testimony and, more disappointingly, the questioning is soporific in the extreme. Mr Jay QC, counsel for the Inquiry, has mostly been given the benefit of the doubt – surely he’s […]