Freeview finally overtakes SkyDigital in popularity, though Sky will attempt to hit back by offering a subscription package that includes a small number of high definition channels at a rock bottom price in time for Christmas. The BBC will secure...

Multichannel the ghost of Christmas future The media (in this case, MediaGuardian) for some reason still seems to be well and truly besotted with the concept of 'multichannel fragmentation', ie. Mum watches Strictly Come Dancing whilst Dad watches a documentary...

Roll up, roll up for multichannel television's latest moneyspinner Many of the numerous quiz channels that can now be found on digital TV may not exactly be breaking the law but some of their working practices are morally dubious to...

BBC audience share slides further These audience share figures are fairly predictable given the circumstances from which they are taken. ITV1's decline has slowed because what remains of its less discerning core audience loves watching what's left (ie. soaps and...

The Register: ITV favourite for Friends Reunited buy-out Why is ITV so interested in Friends Reunited to the extent that it has bid £150m for it? Surely local broadband TV services aren't worth *that* much, especially as ITV itself has...

Channel 4 set to overtake BBC2 It's no real surprise to discover that Channel 4 has been doing well recently, with ITV having fallen asleep on the job (it's only now finding some potential) and the BBC suffering more than...

Homechoice 'not for sale' BSkyB is belatedly trying to catch up with the whole idea of video on demand via broadband services, which is the technology that's best placed to seriously disrupt BSkyB's monopoly of pay-TV by satellite in the...

Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of independent (commercial) television in the UK. Initially only available in the London area, Associated-Rediffusion provided the Monday to Friday service whilst the confusingly-named ABC (a name that was quickly changed to...

Sky Three to launch on Freeview Sky has suffered significantly from the rise in popularity of Freeview despite all the noises made to the contrary. Indeed Sky is scared full stop about its future, hence the anti-European regulation tirade made...

Commercial broadcasters falter over BBC review The commercial television and radio sector might like to think that there's a united opposition to the BBC doing whatever it wants - or to the BBC full stop, for that matter - but...

Lygo: More4 can beat BBC4 There's a hole in the market for a Channel 4-style service that's aimed at older (and upmarket) viewers, and More4 looks as if it could fit the bill as long as it lives up to...

Didn't they do well? Lorraine Heggessey - the controller who introduced the hate-or-love 'dance and movement' idents that BBC One is currently using - comes last in a dancing contest amongst a group of six TV executives. Her dance was...

Keating: BBC2 has grown old It's interesting to compare Roly Keating's comments with Stuart Murphy's previous comment relating to the fact that Channel 4 has had more time to hone its skills at attracting a 'young' (18-30) audience compared with...

Tribal television Despite the loss of US imports such as Star Trek and the Simpsons, BBC Two has been doing very well recently with series such as Coast and Springwatch, plus Channel 4 has also had success with Time Team's...

MediaGuardian: BBC3 hounded over DOG article BBC: The article itself, in a heavily revised and updated version An online BBC article published in the BBC Three News section upset more than a few people yesterday even though it was presumably...

ITV takes advantage of new sponsorship rules OK, so Ofcom takes the next step in making life even easier for those poor and beleaguered commercial broadcasters (read: ITV) who keep on making bad commercial decisions therefore need some more 'support'....

MediaGuardian: Ofcom sees red over Richard and Judy plug Ofcom's ruling (PDF) Richard and Judy have been "at it again" - it seems - with a somewhat overzealous attempt to redress the balance after a previous report on the effects...

Independents lash out over BBC report To be honest, it's unlikely that an increase in the number of independent productions commissioned would risk killing off the BBC altogether as a production centre since there will always be people that are...

Jowell won't rule out 'top slicing' licence fee Although Tessa Jowell has declared that "top-slicing" the licence fee (ie. giving a portion of it to other broadcasters) is still an option that's under consideration, my opinion is that this is...

Key staff axed in BBC newsroom cuts If you were in charge of cutting back operations in BBC News, would you remove the positions of two of the most experienced journalists in the key fields of race relations and crime...

BBC plans for 'ultra-local' TV 'threaten regional press' In one sense you can tell that there is real anxiety amongst the proprietors of regional newspapers since the fortunes of newspapers in general have declined noticeably in recent years; some...

ITV boss admits summer schedule failings Tucked away in this article about ITV's summer schedule failures (Celebrity Love Island failed because we foolishly promised advertisers that we would target the 16-34 demographic during the 'quiet' season thereby losing everyone else...

BBC3 programming costs soar Since BBC Three is a core part of the BBC's digital strategy, it's not that surprising to learn that a lot of money has been invested in the channel's programmes in an attempt to establish the...

BBC Trust interviewees 'should face public grilling' Idea of the week so far: "In an era when everybody votes interactively via their TV, interviews [for BBC Trust appointments] should be webcast, so people can see who these individuals are, and...

ITV2 snaps at Sky One's heels Basically there are several processes at work here: firstly ITV2 has been doing well due to the endless cross promotions on ITV1 as well as cross-channel tie-ins, whilst programme promotions on Sky One are...

Jackanory turns the page after nine-year silence This article is fine but for one tiny detail: Jackanory was briefly revived for a single story shown on BBC Knowledge not long before it turned into BBC Four early in 2002. But...

Clampdown on 'easy' TV competitions Channel 4's Neil Pepin quite rightly states that this ruling is very likely to have a major impact on broadcasters that rely heavily on premium phone line revenue which must account for many of the...

Terrestrial TV to seek salvation in reality formats ITV is already heavily reliant on reality TV and drama, since it is no longer subjected to the regulation that used to tightly control its output and these forms of entertainment are...

'Ridiculous' ad rules threaten ITV, Ofcom warned The mention of product placement reminds me of a promotional clip for Ofcom's predecessor the Independent Television Commission, where a clip of a mock Australian soap finishes with someone placing a tin of...

Watchdog attacks BBC's commercial arm If anyone can clearly explain the phrase "commercially funded innovation on media markets" to me, as well as pointing out recent real world examples of this phrase provided by both ITV plc and BSkyB together...

Emmerdale props up flagging ITV schedule If it wasn't for the soaps and drama which are produced to a reasonably high standard, ITV would have probably sunk without trace by now. That is the stark fact that seems to elude...

The 'N-word' proves too much for BBC bosses As some media reports claim that if BBC management are to be clever in forcing the unions to back down in the dispute over job cuts they should try and split the...

Licence fee talks that motivated bosses' tough stance It's fairly obvious that the main reason for Mark Thompson's proposed changes to the BBC is less to do with saving money but more concerned with forcibly increasing the quota of independent...

Bragg tells politicians to stop 'penalising' ITV Lord Bragg is right when he claims that "ITV took its eye off the ball in the 90s" - indeed much can be blamed on the failed ONdigital/ITV Digital project, since 'ITV' at...

ITV pays £134m for SDN Now that ITV has a whole multiplex effectively to itself, this raises a number of very important questions. Although ITV will probably be able to place all of its services (and more) on what was...

More Freeview slots up for grabs Whilst the prospect of having extra Freeview channels may be a good thing - but of course it's also dependent on exactly who gets the slot(s) and what they are used for - I...

ITV faces fine after Central news 'emergency' Bit of a strange one, this. The director of a late evening Central News East bulletin supposedly had an 'emergency' to contend with, so an earlier five minute bulletin is repeated instead of...

Ofcom to vet programming promotion ban Having paid 'commercials' for programmes (as opposed to channels) might in theory benefit some of the smaller digital channels, but the smallest channels won't be able to afford as much cross promotional activity by...

Fincham outlines populist agenda The BBC has appointed Peter Fincham as the new controller for BBC One; a slightly controversal move in that it's an appointment made from the independent sector (ex-Talkback Thames) as opposed to a candidate with previous...

New research backs up old TV favourites Just because something doesn't last very long or is briefly watched doesn't mean that it isn't important or well-loved, with news bulletins being a prime example of this. (Analogy: Your doctor may be...

ITV plans to revive quiz classics for 50th anniversary ITV might surprise us all and revive World In Action and Armchair Theatre one day, but whilst we're waiting for hell to freeze over we're being treated to revivals of some...

BBC attacked for pushing Freeview The consumer electronics industry both likes and dislikes the BBC's Freeview promotional push for various reasons. It likes the fact that the BBC's big Freeview push is forcing many people to at least think about...

Is satellite TV fixed in Sky's orbit or heading for freedom? Despite it being essentially a BBC creation, Freeview has turned out to be (unsurprisingly) ITV's best friend; there are fewer channels compared to SkyDigital or cable so inevitably the...

ITV ratings slump 'nonsense', says ITV boss Well he would say that, wouldn't he? But what Charles Allen fails to mention is that the last "I'm a Celebrity..." didn't do quite as well as the previous one, and that ITV1's...

Carry on Doctor Firstly, a warning: this MediaGuardian review of the forthcoming first new Doctor Who episode contains plot revelations that are to be avoided if you want the episode to be a complete surprise when it airs later this...

Ulster TV profits up by half It may be the case that Irish viewers appreciate "local character" more than English viewers, but even that alone doesn't properly explain why UTV is doing so well in an even more competitive media...

C4 gets Friday night blues Some people said that Channel 4's decision to spend millions on the terrestrial rights for The Simpsons was a highly risky gamble that was possibly bordering on the reckless, and judging from the initial decline...

ITV and Channel 4 put in bids for Freeview slot On parity alone, Channel 4 ought to be given this spare Freeview slot - made possible courtesy of technical improvements - by default, since ITV already has four channels (two...

US TV boss steps down after gay cartoon row Regardless of whether or not the cartoon was truly suitable for its intended audience, and whether or not Pat Mitchell's departure had anything whatsoever to do with the ensuing row, this...

Channel 4 not to get instant cash, rules Ofcom To summarise, there's nothing revolutionary or unexpected about Ofcom's latest proposals. Channel 4 is currently in no financial crisis so alternative forms of funding will have to wait (though as usual...

Heggessey in frame for Talkback job The position of BBC One controller has always been a very high profile job that carries both prestige and a huge element of responsibility, since to many viewers BBC One IS the BBC and...

Warming to a shotgun wedding As well as recent cost savings, ITV plc is now benefiting from the combined ad income from the merged English and Welsh ITV franchises, enabling it to spend more money on programming. But whether it...

Freeview customers next target for Sky James Murdoch is right in one sense when he says that Freeview is 'no threat' to SkyDigital, since Freeview is currently being marketed as a basic system whereas SkyDigital has the potential to offer...

E4 'will be free to air by end of year' It was perhaps inevitable that E4 would go free-to-air at some point, since Channel 4 has not only lost the rights to show Joey (the Friends spin-off) but there is...

Handing PSP to C4 'would damage Five' Channel Five must be feeling rather vulnerable at this point of time. A byproduct of the last Conservative Government squeezing every last drop out of the analogue TV spectrum, Channel Five has always...

Media barons in £6bn plot to capture ITV Lord (Clive) Hollick must have realised that ITV plc would be too difficult to conquer without some form of additional assistance, hence rumours of a possible alliance with Stephen Hopkins Grabiner and...

Files show extent of Murdoch lobbying In retrospect we shouldn't be at all surprised at this sort of lobbying activity, but this helps to further clarify what seemed to be the new strategy when BSkyB announced a while back that...