Advanced Television: EFL seeks broadcast rights bids

Story from Advanced Television:

The EFL, which runs the three football leagues below the Premier League, has issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) for interested parties in respect of its broadcast rights from season 2024/25 onwards, with speculation suggesting that they are set to double in value to over £200 million a season.

Radio Today: Strike action coming to Local BBC Radio following official ballot

Story from Radio Today:

NUJ members working for BBC England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

Advanced Television: ITVX adding StudioCanal Presents

Story from Advanced Television:

ITV has announced a partnership with StudioCanal to carry its StudioCanal Presents service, which will bolster ITVX Premium, the streamer’s subscription tier, giving ITVX subscribers access to hundreds of titles from StudioCanal’s catalogue.

Media Guardian: BBC to suspend licence fee for King Charles coronation ceremony

Story from Media Guardian:

The BBC is to suspend the licence fee as part of a one-off dispensation for the king’s coronation weekend.

Broadband TV News: Young people now prefer to watch TV with the subtitles on

Story from Broadband TV News:

Close to three in ten Britons (28%) watch TV or films with the subtitles on – even when the content is in their own language.

Broadband TV News: Sky News restructures senior roles

Story from Broadband TV News:

Sky News has announced changes to its leadership structure following the December announcement that John Ryley is stepping down as Head of Sky News after 17 years in charge.

The Mirror: Bangers & Cash star Derek Mathewson 'leaves wife for co-host 26 years his junior'

Story from The Morror:

A top car auctioneer from the hit TV show Bangers and Cash has reportedly left his wife for his programme co-star, 26 years his junior.

Media Guardian: Ken Bruce says BBC has hastened his Radio 2 exit

Story from Media Guardian:

Ken Bruce has suggested he has been forced to leave the BBC earlier than he intended with his final Radio 2 show scheduled for next week rather than at the end of March.

Daily Mail: DAZN prepare to rival Sky, BT and Amazon for Premier League TV rights

Story from Daily Mail:

There could be another broadcaster for English football fans to subscribe to after DAZN confirmed securing rights to Premier League football is a 'high-priority' for the company.

Media Guardian: Vernon Kay confirmed as new host of Ken Bruce’s BBC Radio 2 slot

Story from Media Guardian:

Vernon Kay is returning to the BBC to replace Ken Bruce on his Radio 2 mid-morning weekday show, the broadcaster has confirmed.

Deadline: ‘Walking Dead’ Star Steven Ogg Boards BBC ‘Boiling Point’ Sequel

Story from Deadline:

The BBC’s small screen Boiling Point sequel has found a sous chef.

Deadline; “It’s Clear That Richard Sharp Has Lost The Dressing Room”: BBC Chair Urged To Quit By Vast Majority Of Respondents To NUJ-Organized Staff Survey

Story from Deadline:

BBC Chair Richard Sharp has been urged to resign by almost all the plus-1,000 respondents to an National Union of Journalists (NUJ) -organized survey at the corporation as pressure ramps up following the Boris Johnson loan scandal.

Advanced Television: Watson appointed CCO at DAZN

Story from Advanced Television:

Following DAZN Group’s announcement that it has completed the acquisition of Eleven Group businesses and US-headquartered social media creative agency Team Whistle, Marc Watson has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer.

Broadband TV News: Virgin Media O2 announces plans for new multi-million-pound London offices

Story from Broadband TV News:

Virgin Media O2 is to close its two main sites in Hammersmith and Slough in favour of a new state-of-the-art UK headquarters in Paddington Central.

Media Guardian: Eurosport and BT Sport will disappear after TNT Sports rebrand

Story from Media Guardian:

Eurosport is to disappear from UK television after more than three decades after the new pay-TV home of sports including Premier League, Champions League and Olympics rebrands as TNT Sports.

Media Guardian: Ofcom writes to Sky and ITV after complaints by Nicola Bulley’s family

Story from Media Guardian:

Ofcom has contacted Sky and ITV about complaints made by the family of Nicola Bulley that the broadcasters intruded on their grief when they had asked for privacy after her body was found.

Hollywood Reporter: TNT Sports to Launch in U.K., Ireland as Warner Bros. Discovery, BT Joint Venture Sets Rebrand

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

The U.K. and Ireland sports joint venture of Warner Bros. Discovery and telecom giant BT Group has unveiled TNT Sports as the name for the premium sports brand that it will launch later this year to bring together the partners’ collection of sports rights under one service.

Deadline: BBC News Review Says Journalists’ “Lack Of Understanding Of Basic Economics” Brings “High Risk To Impartiality”

Story from Deadline:

BBC News’ journalists failure to understand “basic economics” is bringing a “high risk to impartiality,” according to a BBC-commissioned report.

Deadline: BBC Promotes ‘Tonight With Target’ Commissioner Yasemin Rashit To BBC One Portfolio Editor While Reviewing iPlayer & Channels

Story from Deadline:

The BBC has promoted Tonight with Target commissioner Yasemin Rashit to temporarily take on the BBC One Portfolio Editor role while it “continues to review the best shape of the iPlayer and channels team.”

Deadline: BBC News Says Presenters Can Relax Formal Dress Code As “Sweaty & Dirty” Look Is More Trustworthy

Story from Deadline:

BBC News presenters have been told that they can relax their formal dress code in the pursuit of more authentic reporting as the broadcaster seeks to reinvent its 24-hour news channel.

Naja Nielsen, BBC News’ Director of Digital, told staff last week that the more rugged “sweaty and dirty” look certain journalists adopt when away from the studio can be more trustworthy.

Nielsen was speaking as the BBC steps up plans to merge BBC World News with its domestic news channel in an effort to cut costs and make its rolling news output more appealing to online audiences. Managers argue it is a chance to create the best news channel in the world.

Nielsen told a wide group of journalists: “It’s a bit like, be as sweaty and dirty as when we’re in the field is actually more trustworthy than if we look like we’ve just stepped out of an awards ceremony or a fine dinner party.”

Some presenters took this as a signal to ditch suits and dresses. One source said dress code changes were already happening on screen, pointing to weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker wearing a jacket and T-shirt on at least one occasion. Other insiders said Nielsen’s comments were simply her expressing a desire for increased authenticity.

Her ambition is to encourage more smartphone camera reporting from journalists as the channel seeks to engage the TikTok generation. She told journalists that her mother is impressed by studio presentation, but her children are less so.

The relaunched channel will feature more links hosted from the heart of the newsroom and, as one insider put it, “presenters standing in front of giant iPads to show how we verify footage.”

The BBC News channel will have a team of eight journalists who will serve as both correspondents and studio presenters. Recruitment is underway for the roles.

Deadline revealed earlier this month that 10 of the BBC’s most seasoned anchors face an uncertain future after being told they will not be Chief Presenters on the channel.

Martine Croxall, Ben Brown, and Annita McVeigh were among those who were not successful. The channel’s lineup will comprise: Matthew Amroliwala, Yalda Hakim, Christian Fraser, Lucy Hockings, and Maryam Moshiri. They will earn as much as £230,000 ($276,000).

• The BBC hopes to launch the new channel on April 3, though insiders said changes will be phased in over an unspecified period of time. Pilots are underway, with a dry run of the new schedule taking place on March 6.

One senior source said: “The single channel operation will be a phased launch over months, with different elements being introduced over time. No-one should get hung up on April or expect to see everything change at once.”

Paul Royall, the BBC’s acting Editor of news channels, said he has high hopes for the relaunched service. “My aim, my objective is that we will have the best global news channel in the world,” he told staff.

The channel will carry more international news, but will split up for big UK news, so that domestic audiences will receive bespoke output. It will be anchored from London during UK daytime and evening, and from Washington D.C. and Singapore overnight.

One source said that the BBC is yet to get its technical setup in Washington right and that people on the ground think the operation is a “shambles.”

There remains a great deal of anger about the treatment of presenters with decades of experience. “People are furious about it,” said one insider. “Producers think the presenters have been treated brutally.”

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