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Policy

BBC commits £100m to diversity

The BBC is setting out the first in a new series of bold steps to transform its programming and better represent the public it serves. The BBC’s Creative Diversity Commitment – the biggest financial investment to on-air inclusion in the industry – will prioritise £100 million (€110m) of existing commissioning budget over three years (from […]

June 22, 2020

EBU members meet Covid-19 content challenge

Twenty-five public service media organisations from the EBU Member community have responded to an urgent TV content appeal by providing over 200 TV programmes, amounting to 1,300 hours of content, for use by all public service broadcasters. The EBU-facilitated appeal was launched following the disruption of production schedules and predictions of a crisis for the […]

June 19, 2020

WTO: Saudi state backed beoutQ piracy

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that the Government of Saudi Arabia has actively promoted and supported the beoutQ pirate operation since the beginning. The WTO’s final judgement – published on June 16th 2020 – declares  Saudi Arabia has wholly breached, and is breaching, its obligations under international law to protect intellectual property rights. […]

June 17, 2020By Colin Mann

Report: UK creatives face £74bn pandemic hit

The Creative Industries Federation has warned of a ‘cultural catastrophe’ as research from Oxford Economics reveals that the UK’s creative industries are on the brink of devastation. The UK’s creative sector was previously growing at five times the rate of the wider economy, employing over 2 million people and contributing £111.7 billion (€125bn) to the […]

June 17, 2020

Illegal streaming warning as EPL returns

The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and UK intellectual property protection body FACT are warning sports fans to use legitimate sources to watch the return of the Premier League as football comes back to our screens. In 2019, three individuals from the UK Midlands city of Coventry were jailed for 17 […]

June 17, 2020By Colin Mann

Mediaset merger plan gets court date

A commercial court in Madrid has set a July 1st hearing on Italian broadcaster Mediaset’s plans to merge its Italian and Spanish divisions under a Dutch holding, Mediaset Espana has declared in a filing with the Spanish regulator. The Spanish commercial court (Juzgados de lo Mercantil) suspended the merger in October 2019 as a precautionary […]

June 16, 2020From David Del Valle in Madrid

C-Band: 10 new US satellites

The C-band replacement satellite orders for US coverage are being confirmed. Intelsat has ordered up at least six satellites. Four are to come from Maxar Technologies and will be built at Maxar’s Palo Alto plant (the former Space Systems/Loral facility). Two others will be supplied by Northrop Grumman. There will also be an additional seventh […]

June 16, 2020By Chris Forrester

Openreach completes Salisbury full fibre build

Openreach has completed what they claim is the fastest city-wide network build in the UK – making ’Full Fibre’ broadband available to more than 20,000 premises in just under 12-months, starting in March 2019 and finishing in March 2020. Plans to announce the completion in March were postponed in light of the pandemic. Clive Selley, […]

June 12, 2020By Colin Mann

CityFibre jobs boost for UK full fibre roll-out

CityFibre, the UK’s third national digital infrastructure platform, is initiating a three-year recruitment and training programme to provide up to 10,000 people with jobs upgrading the UK’s digital infrastructure to full fibre. The Government has made the nationwide deployment of full fibre by 2025 a key target. According to CiyFibre, this critical initiative will underpin […]

June 11, 2020By Colin Mann

Spanish Police take down pirate service

The Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) has dismantled a large criminal network illegally distributing audio-visual content in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and laundering the criminal proceeds. The investigation, supported by Europol and Eurojust, also involved law enforcement authorities from Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, France, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the United […]

June 11, 2020By Colin Mann