Advanced Television

Policy

Chinese ban BBC channel

On February 4th, UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom revoked the transmission licence of China’s CGTN news channel alleging that it had not held a lawful licence. February 11th saw the Chinese retaliate. A statement from China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said BBC World News’ reporting on China had “seriously violated” regulations, including that news […]

February 12, 2021By Chris Forrester

KTV fined £50K for serious broadcasting breaches

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has imposed fines totalling £50,000 (€57,000) on Khalsa Television Limited (KTV) for serious breaches of its broadcasting rules. KTV broadcasts a range of cultural, religious and educational programmes to the UK’s Sikh community. Ofcom’s first investigation found that KTV aired a music video on three separate occasions, which indirectly encouraged Sikhs […]

February 12, 2021By Colin Mann

SiriusXM loses ‘Lifetime Sub’ lawsuit

US pay-radio broadcaster SiriusXM has lost a Class Action lawsuit. The action was heard before a California federal court where SiriusXM was accused of misleading subscribers about the terms of a ‘lifetime subscription’. The action said that listeners signed up on ‘Lifetime Plans’ or ‘Lifetime Subscriptions’ deals and yet had not received the promised services. […]

February 11, 2021By Chris Forrester

Samba TV privacy controls for Smart TVs

Samba TV, a global player in television data and omniscreen measurement, has announced the rollout of The Smart TV Privacy Manager, featuring progressive consumer protections within Smart TVs. The integration of the Privacy Manager, featuring the globally accepted IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), is being rolled out in partnership with major global brands, publishers, […]

February 10, 2021

TV licence fee increase confirmed

The UK Government has confirmed that from April 1st 2021, the cost of the annual television licence fee will increase from £157.50 (€178.90) to £159.00. The Government, which is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee, announced in 2016 it would rise in line with inflation for five years from April 1st 2017. […]

February 9, 2021By Colin Mann

European Court suspends Galileo contract signings

The European Court has suspended a massive $1.8 billion (€1.47bn) manufacturing contract with Airbus and Thales Alenia for production of Galileo sat-nav satellites. The Court is looking at allegations of trade secret thefts. An objection to the Court from Germany-based satellite builder OHB-System which had pitched with the UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) on construction […]

February 8, 2021By Chris Forrester

Smartmatic file $2.7bn suit against Fox News

Smartmatic has filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News owner Fox Corp, alleging Fox conducted a disinformation campaign against the election technology company. Smartmatic cited Fox news reports it said had repeated false claims that Smartmatic had “fixed and rigged” the 2020 election. “The Earth is round. Two plus two equals four. Joe […]

February 5, 2021

Ofcom revokes CGTN broadcast licence

Broadcast regulator Ofcom has withdrawn the licence for international English-language satellite news channel CGTN to broadcast in the UK, after its investigation concluded that the licence is wrongfully held by Star China Media Limited. In the UK, broadcasting laws made by Parliament state that broadcast licensees must have control over the licensed service – including […]

February 4, 2021By Colin Mann

Tencent polices supply chain corruption

Tencent, the South African and Chinese-backed web-giant, says it has fired staff and named and shamed 37 supplier companies in an anti-corruption drive. Tencent Holdings is China’s biggest social media and videogames company, said in a statement February 3rd that it had reported 40 staff to the authorities since it commenced its anti-corruption drive in […]

February 4, 2021By Chris Forrester

Ofcom consults on PSBs and indie production

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom is inviting evidence on the relationship between public service broadcasters (PSBs) and the independent TV production sector. In December 2020, Ofcom published Small Screen: Big Debate (SS:BD), a consultation looking at how to strengthen and maintain public service media in the UK for the next decade and beyond. The current regulatory […]

February 2, 2021By Colin Mann