Advanced Television: Pluto TV expands NBCU content in UK

Story from Advanced Television:

Pluto TV has announced a partnership with NBCUniversal (NBCU) Global TV Distribution to bring an array of comedy, dramedy, action, and fan favourites content to viewers in the UK starting November 1st.

BBC News: Sturgeon paid £25k for ITV general election appearance

Story from BBC News:

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was paid £25,000 to appear on ITV’s general election results programme, it has been revealed.

Deadline: Ofcom Fines GB News £100,000 Over Rishi Sunak Live Show; GB News Boss Decries “Direct Attack On Free Speech & Journalism”

Story from Deadline:

Ofcom has fined GB News £100,000 over its People’s Forum: The Prime Minister live show with Rishi Sunak just prior to the UK general election, with the head of GB News calling the move a “direct attack on free speech and journalism.”

Sky Sports; WSL new broadcast deal: Sky Sports and The BBC to remain home of women's football in historic five-year deal from 2025/26 season

Story from Sky Sports & The BBC:

Sky has announced a historic five-year partnership with the Women's Professional League, securing the rights to show nearly 90 per cent of all Women's Super League matches from the 2025/26 season.

Advanced Television: ITV scores Ligue 1 highlights

Story from Advanced Television:

LFP Media and ITV have announced a deal that will see ITV broadcast the weekly Ligue 1 McDonald’s highlights magazine show in the UK during the current 2024/25 season.

Advanced Television: ITV extends Lionesses deal

Story from Advanced Television:

ITV has agreed a new four-year record deal with The FA as they will continue to be the home of the Lionesses from 2025-2029.

Media Guardian: No more international cricket live on free-to-air TV as ECB fails to agree deal

Story from Media Guardian:

The England men’s and women’s cricket teams are set to return fully behind the Sky Sports paywall next season after an extension to the BBC rights deal in which the ­corporation opted out of showing live internationals.

Advanced Television; Channel 4’s Katz: ‘No AI-generated drama’

Story from Advanced Television:

Ian Katz, Chief Content Officer at UK PSB Channel 4, has said the channel is not planning to follow the lead of fellow PSB ITV in seeking to recruit a Head of Generative AI to help create ‘shows, films and digital-first content’.

Advanced Television; Survey: Film & TV industry has government budget concerns

Story from Advanced Television:

Specialist film and TV PR consultancy Percy & Warren has revealed the findings of its pre-budget survey of UK film and television producers.

Variety; BBC Reports 10,000 Shows Viewed Online a Day, Compared With Netflix’s 4,800, Prime Video’s 2,400: ‘Everyone’s a Streamer, Even the Broadcasters’

Story from Variety:

The streaming platforms of European broadcasters are outgunning the global streamers when it comes to depth of content, research agency Glance reported in Cannes during TV market Mipcom this week.

Broadband TV News: Create and Craft confirms closure

Story from Broadband TV News:

Shopping channel Create and Craft has confirmed its closure, days after Sky removed the channel from its programme guide.

Advanced Television: Top cycling races remain on Warner Bros Discovery services

Story from Advanced Television:

Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe is extending its rights to show a large number of the world’s greatest cycling races until at least 2030.

Advanced Television: Asian channel boost for Virgin TV subs for Diwali

Story from Advanced Television:

From October 25th until November 8th and in celebration of Diwali, Virgin Media TV customers can enjoy access to 14 premium South Asian TV channels at no extra cost, bringing a wealth of world-leading South Asian entertainment into homes across the UK.

Broadband TV News: Virgin Media rebrands Stream product as Flex

Story from Broadband TV News:

Virgin Media has rebranded its Steam product as well as bringing in a new £5 monthly free for new subscribers.

Virgin Media: Virgin Media O2 to make multi-million-pound investment in new central Manchester office

Story from Virgin Media O2:

Virgin Media O2 has signed a commitment to invest in a new state-of-the art office space in central Manchester, agreeing a contract with Island that will see the new and innovative net zero carbon workspace become the company’s central Manchester office location from late next year.

Variety: ScreenSkills Teams With BBC, Channel 4 on Five-Year Plan to Boost U.K. Screen Industry Workforce

Story from Variety:

ScreenSkills, the U.K.‘s screen industry skills body, has unveiled an ambitious five-year strategy aimed at developing a robust workforce to support the nation’s £13.48 billion screen sector.

Advanced Television: ITV, Mattel announce Pictionary game show

Story from Advanced Television:

Mattel, the toy and family entertainment company, and ITV have jointly announced new game show Pictionary (25 x 30”) based on the popular drawing game. The show will be produced by Whisper North and hosted by Mel Giedroyc.

BBC News: Government intervenes over film studio proposals

Story from BBC News:

The government has intervened over planning proposals to build one of the UK's biggest film and TV studio complexes.

Virgin Media rebrand NDTV News TWO weeks after it rebrand

Virgin Media UK has rebranded NDTV 24x7 as NDTV World on Virgin UK Channel 621.

Media Guardian: Sky’s full-year losses double to £224m as revenue flatlines

Story from Media Guardian:

Sky reported a doubling of its annual losses last year as the media and telecoms company spent more on programming and costs relating to its broadband services and hardware such as mobile devices and Sky Glass TVs increased.

MTV Christmas back next month

Virgin Media TV Boxes has confirmed that MTV 90s will become MTV Xmas on November 1st.

Information was found by Media Boy UK on X Follower Kristian Burrows.

 

Advanced Television: 4creative appoints Wigglesworth as ECD & Creative Partner

Story from Advanced Television:

Channel 4 has appointed David Wigglesworth as Executive Creative Director & Creative Partner of 4creative, its in-house creative agency.

Rumour: Rewind TV ''To launch on Virgin Media soon''

''Popeye'' has told me on X that ''Rewind TV is coming to Virgin Media but no date has been set yet. I think January 2025 launch.''

Media Guardian: London Live profits plunged by 75%

 Story from Media Guardian:

In The Evening Standard financial accounts the company said London Live, the capital-focused TV station profits plunged by 75% because of the loss of an unnamed key customer. Pre-tax profits fell to £746,000 in the year to 30 September 2023, compared with £2.99m in 2022. Revenues almost halved from £7.2m to £4.1m.

Radio Today: More job cuts announced as BBC radio stations combine further bulletins and programmes

Story from Radio Today:

More programme and news sharing is coming to BBC Asian Network and 5 Live as the BBC announces proposals to cut dozens of radio jobs across the newsrooms.

Cable Forum: Virgin Media UK rebrand their Stream network as Flex

Cable Forum is saying that Virgin Media Stream is NOW known as Flex and comes with a £5 monthly charge for new customers (no change for existing Stream customers).

Broadcast: Channel 4 to overhaul streaming service

Story from Broadcast:

Channel 4 has kicked off a major overhaul of its streaming platform, as part of its Fast Forward strategy to transform into a “genuinely digital-first public service streamer”.

Advanced Television: Channel 4 to boost impact across Nations and Regions

Story from Advanced Television:

Channel 4 has unveiled what it calls its “biggest-ever intervention in the UK creative industries”, with a package of measures focused on three core areas – skills, content, and people – to serve and reflect the whole of the UK.

Advanced Television: That's TV 3 put it's Christmas tree up

Story from Advanced Television:

That’s TV has launched its annual Christmas entertainment channel That’s Christmas.

Eden channels rebrand

Here is a list of overnight changes on Virgin Media:

Virgin Go now on Apple TV devices

Media Boy UK has just been told by an Media Boy UK on X Follower that Virgin Go is now available on Apple TV devices.

But The Sky Channels are not available except:

• Sky History 2
• Sky Kids

Advanced Television: 10-year PSB licence for Channel 4

Story from Advanced Television:

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has published its decisions on a new broadcast licence for Channel 4, supporting its digital growth and securing public service broadcasting on the channel for a further ten years.

Deadline: BBC Axes ‘HARDtalk’ As Dozens Of Layoffs Hit News Division

Story from Deadline:

The BBC has axed investigative journalism show HARDtalk after nearly 30 years as part of a 130-person layoff program in its news division.

Deadline: Sale Of ‘Sherlock’ & ‘The Outlaws’ Studio Bottle Yard Given Go-Ahead Despite Union Protest

Story from Deadline:

The UK studio landscape is set for another shakeup with Bristol City Council pushing on with a decision to sell Bottle Yard Studios, where Sherlock, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and The Outlaws were filmed.

Today's Virgin Media UK changes

Virgin Media UK has make a following changes to their network overnight - NOT on TiVo boxes:

Advanced Television; UK Govt: Creative sector key to Industrial Strategy

Story from Advanced Television:

Sky Group CEO, Dana Strong said: “We welcome the decision to prioritise the Creative Industries in the government’s industrial strategy.

Deadline: BBC Boss Bans The Word “Talent”

Story from Deadline:

Don’t let BBC Director General Tim Davie hear you say the word “talent.”

Deadline: Former ITV Commissioner Nicola Lloyd Joins ‘The Apprentice’ Producer Naked As Creative Director

Story from Deadline:

Nicola Lloyd, the ex-ITV commissioner who used to oversee Gordon Ramsay, Gino D’Acampo and Bradley Walsh shows, has taken up the Creative Director post at The Apprentice producer Naked.

Media Guardian: Labour push for growth spurs Sky appeal against block on film studios expansion

Story from Media Guardian:

Sky is likely to appeal against a planning decision blocking the expansion of its film studios, amid signs that the Labour government is willing to allow building on the green belt to prioritise economic growth.

National World: Paddy McGuinness 'was paid £250,000 by BBC despite Top Gear and Question of Sport being axed' claim insiders

Story from National World:

A BBC star was given £250,000 even though two of the major programmes he worked on were taken off air, it has been claimed.

BBC News: BBC launches review into preventing abuses of power

Story from BBC News:

The BBC has announced details of a review into its workplace culture, focusing on "preventing abuse of power and ensuring everyone at the BBC conducts themselves in line with our values".

Broadband TV News: Paramount+ updates UK terms and conditions to include advertising

Story from Broadband TV News:

Paramount has told its UK subscribers that its updating its terms of use.

Advanced Television: Virgin Media launches digital payment systems

Story from Advanced Television:

Virgin Media has become the first major UK telecoms provider to enable digital methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay for recurring contract payments, providing an alternative to traditional direct debits.

U Media to rebrand Ailbi and Gold next month

U Media has confirmed the following things will happen on November 7th.

Broadband TV News: Netflix UK grows profits by £22m

Story from Broadband TV News:

Netflix has seen the profits for its UK subsidiary grow by £22 million in 2023, according to a Companies House return.

Advanced Television: More Disney titles coming to ITVX

Story from Advanced Television:

ITV has acquired Welcome to Chippendales and Culprits from Disney Entertainment. Both series will be available to stream for free on ITVX later this year.

Advanced Television: Channel 4 reports “resilient performance”; Ofcom approval

Story from Advanced Television:

Channel 4 has published its annual report for 2023 – later in the year than usual due to the General Election – and provided in-year update on 2024 progress.

Deadline: UK Government Reviewing Decision To Refuse Planning Permission For James Cameron-Backed £750M Film Studio

Story from Deadline:

An appeal against the refusal to give planning permission to a James Cameron-backed £750M UK film studio has reached the UK government.

Deadline: Stormy Daniels & Boris Johnson To Guest On Channel 4’s U.S. Election Night Coverage

Story from Deadline:

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has booked Stormy Daniels and Boris Johnson to feature as guests on its first live U.S. election night show in 32 years.

Deadline: Channel 4 Posts Record Deficit As Content Chief Ian Katz Snubs Bonus

Story from Deadline:

Channel 4 posted its biggest deficit of all time last year in what was a chastening financial year, with content boss Ian Katz deciding to reject his bonus.

Deadline: Channel 4 Content Boss Criticizes Channel 5 For Failing To Challenge Phillip Schofield On ‘Cast Away’

Story from Deadline:

Phillip Schofield‘s swift return to TV on Channel 5 over the weekend has generated plenty headlines and the move has clearly dominated chatter at rival broadcasters.

That's Media to start Christmas on October 16th

My Virgin Media's V6 box is saying That's TV 3 will become That's Christmas from October 16th.

 

Deadline: Spotify EMEA Sales Boss Heading To Channel 4 To Run Commercial

Story from Deadline:

The head of sales for Spotify in EMEA is moving to Channel 4 to run the commercial team.

Broadband TV News: GB News facing “substantial fine” after losing High Court challenge

Story from Broadband TV News:

GB News is heading for a substantial fine after the right-leaning channel failed in its High Court bid that would have blocked sanctions brought by the communications regulator Ofcom.

Deadline: ITV News Chief Michael Jermey Quits After 16 Years

Story from Deadline:

Michael Jermey, ITV‘s director of news and current affairs, has resigned after 16 years to chair the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Media Guardian: BBC cancels Boris Johnson interview after Laura Kuenssberg message gaffe

Story from Media Guardian:

The BBC has cancelled a prime-time interview with Boris Johnson after the presenter Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent the former prime minister her briefing notes.

Broadband TV News: GB News goes to High Court to block Ofcom sanctions

Story from Broadband TV News:

GB News has asked a High Court judge to prevent Ofcom from sanctioning the controversial order over a string of breaches of its programming code.

Broadband TV News: Sky Sports secures last minute deal for England’s cricket tour of Pakistan

Story from Broadband TV News:

Sky has made an eleventh hour agreement with the Pakistan Cricket Board to screen coverage of England’s tour of Pakistan.

QVC+ app launches on Virgin Media UK

Media Boy UK HQ can confirmed that ''QVC+'' app has today on Virgin Media UK boxes.

Virgin Media's TVGo app launches on Apple TV devices

Virgin Media's TVGo app is now available on Apple TV devices.

Deadline; BBC Boss Tim Davie To Urge The TV Industry To Put Sustainability Content Front & Center: “We Have A Huge Creative Opportunity”

Story from Deadline:

BBC Director General Tim Davie will get on the front foot when it comes to sustainability and climate change this week and urge the industry to put content speaking to these issues front and center. Speaking at the Climate Creatives event this Wednesday, Davie will say that focusing on content that addresses sustainability and climate change is a “huge opportunity.”

Advanced Television: Valentine named Director of BBC Scotland

Story from Advanced Television:

The BBC has appointed journalist and editorial leader Hayley Valentine as its new Director in Scotland.