ITV

Tag: BBC

  • BBC takes tough measures to address editorial breaches

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC is to take a package of tough measures to address the discovery of further serious breaches of editorial standards across some areas of programmes and content.

    The breaches, which were revealed following a BBC-wide search of around one million hours of output since January 2005, were reported by BBC director general Mark Thompson to the BBC Trust. He announced the new measures in response to demands for action from the Trust.

    The measures include a total suspension of all competitions. Phone-related competitions on BBC television and radio ceased at midnight, and interactive and online competitions will be stopped as soon as possible.

    An unprecedented programme of editorial training focussing on the issue of honesty with audiences will also be implemented. All 16,500 programmes and content staff will attend a new mandatory training programme, safeguarding trust, from Autumn. It will emphasise the absolute imperative to understand and comply with all of the BBC’s values and editorial standards.

    Thompson said, “Nothing matters more than trust and fair dealing with our audiences. The vast majority of the 400,000 hours of BBC output each year, on television, radio and online, is accurate, fair and complies with our stringent editorial standards.”

    “However, a number of programmes have failed to meet these high standards. This is totally unacceptable. It is right that we are open with the public when we have fallen short and that we demonstrate that we take this very seriously indeed. The behaviour of a small number of production staff who pass themselves off as viewers and listeners must stop. We must now swiftly put our house in order.”

    He added, “Our values and our editorial guidelines must take precedence over everything else. There is no excuse for deception. I know the idea of deceiving the public would simply never occur to most people in the BBC. We have to regard deception as a very grave breach of discipline which will normally lead to dismissal. If you have a choice between deception and a programme going off air, let the programme go. It is far better to accept a production problem and make a clean breast to the public than to deceive.”

    The DG also outlined to the BBC Trust further measures in addition to the suspension of phone-related competitions and the unprecedented editorial training programme, in response to public concern over breaches of editorial standards.

    In some cases, editorial leaders will be asked to stand back from their duties, pending reviews of why it took so long for a number of historical incidents to come to light.

    The BBC will revise the standard contracts both for BBC staff and BBC suppliers and make changes to ensure that responsibility for upholding the BBC’s editorial standards and consequences of breaching those standards are understood by everyone.

    Steps will be taken to ensure that promotional materials, such as launch tapes, trails and publicity materials meet the same standards that the BBC expects from its broadcast output.

    A separate communication programme is to be started for independent producers who work with the BBC. The programme of action announced on 29 May 2007 following concerns over the use of premium rate telephony at the BBC will continue.

    “We intend to invite ITV, Channel 4, five and all other leading UK broadcasters to join us in a workshop focusing on training and editorial standards across the industry. Our first priority will remain putting our own house in order,” Thompson said.

    Thompson updated the BBC Trust on six further instances in which production staff have passed themselves off as genuine viewers or listeners, or invented a fictitious winner, which had been uncovered since his original report to the Trust in May.

    Comic Relief, transmitted on Friday 16 March 2007 on BBC One: In a section of the appeal programme, viewers were invited to donate money to Comic Relief and were informed that by calling in they could win prizes which belonged to a famous couple. The first two callers taken on air gave incorrect answers. The other waiting callers were lost and a third caller was heard on air successfully answering the question. This caller was in fact not a viewer but a member of the production team.

    TMi, transmitted on 16 September 2006 on BBC Two and CBBC: Following a production problem with a live competition, viewers were led to believe that a member of the audience was involved and won a competition open to the public. In fact, the caller was a member of the production team. The programme team failed to seek proper advice before running the competition.

    Sport Relief, transmitted on 15 July 2006 on BBC One: Viewers were led to believe that a member of the public was involved in and won a competition open to the public, whereas the caller was in fact a member of the production team. The BBC has found evidence that this action was planned as a contingency in advance and that the physical infrastructure of the competition meant that it would have been impossible for it to be run as was described on air, and warnings about potential difficulties in conducting the competition were ignored. This incident was not referred up nor was it declared to a BBC audit in March.

    Children in Need, transmitted on 18 November 2005 on BBC One Scotland: In a segment called Raven:The Island in the BBC’s Children in Need appeal’s Scotland broadcast in 2005, viewers were led to believe that a phone-in competition, open to the audience, had been won by a viewer, when in fact, due to a communications breakdown, the names of callers were not forwarded to the production team and the name of a fictitious winner was read out on air.

  • BBC to celebrate British cinema with new series

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC will celebrate British film heritage on BBC Two with The Summer Of British season. The seven-part series is dedicated to home grown British encompassing all genres from thriller and comedy to the kitchen sink drama.

    Jessica Hynes (Shaun Of The Dead) will guide viewers through the series examining British film by genre, with highlights from over 200 exclusive interviews from actors and directors including Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet, Ewan McGregor, Gurinder Chadha and Richard Curtis.
    The series is being made with the support of the British Film Institute and the UK Film Council.
    As well as being a romp through the greatest films and stars, the series looks at what makes British films unique and what they reveal about British culture.

    To complement British Film Forever, BBC Two will screen around 70 British films.

    From the premiere of A Cock And Bull Story, through to favourites like Billy Elliot, Gregory’s Girl and From Russia With Love, to classics and rediscoveries, from The 39 Steps, This Sporting Life, Whistle Down The Wind and Witchfinder General.

    To celebrate the season, the UK Film Council, in partnership with the BBC, is backing the release of
    seven of Britain’s greatest films, which will play cinemas across the UK on Tuesday’s from 31 July to 11 September.

    Playing on screens across the UK Film Council’s Lottery funded Digital Screen Network, the season
    kicks off with the 007 classic Goldfinger on 31 July, followed by David Lean’s Brief Encounter (7 August), John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar (14 August), Laurence Olivier’s Henry V (21 August), Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (28 August), Michael Anderson’s The Dam Busters (4 September) and Bruce Robinson’s Withnail And I (11 September).

    People also have the chance to celebrate British cinema by creating their own versions of classic
    films. Users can submit their films through the BBC Mini Movies group www.youtube.com/group/ bbcminimovies with favourites being showcased on the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk/britishfilm.

    Other users can rate and comment on the films and pick up tips on creating their own mini movies, the best of which will feature on BBC Two during the season. From mid-July the website will also feature video clips from British Film Forever, background information about the films within the season and listings for films shown on TV and in cinemas across the UK.

    CBBC began celebrating earlier this summer with CBBC me and my movie, a new children’s film-making project with free online resources and summer events taking place across the country.

    Children can enter their home-made films into a special CBBC ‘Me and my movie award’, in association
    with Bafta where short-listed nominees will be invited to attend the prestigious Children’s Bafta Awards ceremony on 25 November. Children’s films are available to view online in the CBBC me and my movie gallery.

  • ‘We are an urban metro player and will be operating in seven crucial markets’ : Vishnu Athreya – Radio One VP programming and brand

    ‘We are an urban metro player and will be operating in seven crucial markets’ : Vishnu Athreya – Radio One VP programming and brand

    Radio One has changed its positioning from a niche to a mass station. With help from BBC which picked up a 20 per cent stake in the venture, the focus now is to have a presence in seven big markets – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad.

     

    Introducing the ‘masti fatafaat recipe,’ Radio One has introduced a 20-20 format with the promise of quick masti delivered through 20 minutes of infotainment.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Nasrin Sultana, Radio One VP programming and brand Vishnu Athreya elucidates that this is not a mere ‘winning the number’ strategy but would provide differentiation from rival stations.

     

    Excerpts:

    Why did Radio One shift its position from being a niche to a mass station?
    We were the single station providing only English music. It allowed Radio Mid-Day (later renamed Radio One) to be the niche and differentiated station in the market. But we were catering to only a segment of the listeners and were operating only in Mumbai. When we acquired license for seven stations, we thought why not go for the mass station positioning so that we can cater to the needs of all the people.

    What does Radio One stand for now?
    We are an urban metro player and will be operating in seven crucial markets. And we have built the young, fun element to it. We were well received in Mumbai. In Bangalore, we were the first station to have a Kannada platform and tasted great success. We took some amount of time in Delhi which is a different market and has a high rate of loyal listeners, making it difficult for new entrants.

    How has BBC helped in evolving a strategy for Radio One?
    They have contributed at multiple levels – as investors with 20 per cent stake and in providing content. They are also involved strategically with the venture.

    What has BBC’s contribution been in terms of content?
    BBC content definitely acts a push-up for us. They provide us BBC Ek Minute and BBC EK Mulaqat. While BBC Ek Minute provides infotainment every 20 minutes in the new 20-20 format that we have introduced, BBC Ek Mulaqat has Sanjeev Srivastava, the Hindi news editor of BBC, conduct interviews of famous personalities who are not just Bollywood celebrities.

    Could you tell us more about how you arrived at your current format?
    We conducted a detailed study of the market and found out that listeners know how to differentiate between qualitative and quantitative content. We designed the format according to the requirements of the listeners’ information, humour, music and RJ talk/contest. The new 20-20 format with the tagline ‘Masti Fataafat’ is really a mixture of fun, information and music. Listeners will get to hear two to three hit songs (including a classic), humour capsules of Lallan Talkies, Ehsaan Faramosh and Hema Aunty Ke Tips and a one-minute break away of infotainment news from BBC. Besides, there is the regular jock talk and contest. What we promise is a 20 minute of refreshment. We are not saying that this is the best format. But, yes, we are experimenting with the format based on our research. We are clearly differentiated.

    Why is it that all the FM stations are suddenly hooking on to the fun element?
    I think we are all stressed out in our work. What everybody needs is refreshment and fun. When somebody tunes into FM, he expects to get refreshed.

    Do you think listeners tune in to a particular station because that station provides him a particular format?
    Listeners get accustomed to the kind of music and content that a station provides. This is the biggest differentiator. We, for instance, got Srivastava to interview Rahul Dravid during the cricket match in BBC Ek Mulaqat. And we got good response from all over the place.
    ‘The new 20-20 format with the tagline ‘Masti Fataafat’ is a mixture of fun, information and music. With this positioning, we are confident that the growth cycle will be good for us‘

    Has BBC’s participation made a difference to Radio One in terms of listenership and ad revenues?
    The industry is still at a nascent stage and the market has just started to grow. But I am not the right person to comment on our revenues. We are definitely growing as a product and this is getting reflected in our rapid growth in listenership base. With the new format and the `Masti Fataafat’ positioning, we are confident that the growth cycle will be good for us.

    Could you elaborate on your popular shows BPO Nites and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki?
    BPO Nites and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki introduced in Delhi station got us huge listeners. BPO nites is a late night show. The RJ visits a particular spot in Delhi and hosts the show live. The Delhi-Gurgaon -Noida belt is inundated with BPOs and call centres. Our show caters to these listeners. It gives them this feeling that somebody is still awake to talk and listen to them.

     

    Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki was initially launched to meet the need of estate-agents. Now our contracts with the agents, who were sponsoring the show, are running out. But we will continue with the show. It is unique in that it talks about the current real estate scenario in Delhi. Real-estate agents give tips on when to invest and when to sell property.

    Do you think that the music industry is charging too high for the content?
    Till date, we have no complaints.

    Almost all the FM stations are positioned as CHR (contemporary-hits-station). Do you think this boosts up the sales of music industry and music gadgets like ipod?
    People of the music industry claim that FM stations have eaten up their market because we provide them with the contemporary hits. But I do not agree to this. In fact we boost up their sales. Films like Jhoom Barabaar Jhoom, Tara Rum Pum have performed badly at the box office but the music has done good business. The credit for this should also go to the FM radio stations. We conduct contests, air songs and promos and have hot interviews with celebrities which pull listeners to the music of the film. The music industry in India is tremendously benefited by us.

     

    FM stations have made youth develop a liking for Indian music. Earlier the college goers and music lovers would always go back to the western music. Now FM stations provide an option. Music lovers are contended with Bollywood music. Why go to Britney or Jlo when they get a better option? FM stations should be credited for popularising Bollywood music in India.

    Do you agree that the programming in all the radio stations is cluttered?
    There is a great need for differentiation in the content. What all of us are providing is music. The listener is not even bothered about the station he is listening to. Down south, when I asked a couple of people which FM station they were listening to, they weren’t able to say which one. So it is the broadcaster’s responsibility to create differentiated and unique content.
    The current ILT (Indian listenership track) report by MRUC says that the listenership growth has stagnated. What do you think of this?
    I am aware that the growth is not so high. Please consider that this is a completely new industry in India. We are just five-six years old. Some of us are much younger than that. We will need some time to grow and mature. You can’t compare it with the robust TV or the film industry in terms of consumers.

     

    If you go through the ILT report and compare the last two waves, you will notice that Radio One has gained listeners as compared to other stations. We have lost a good amount of listeners when we had to shift our frequency to 94.3 FM. Now we are gaining as the ILT data shows.
    When are you launching your three remaining stations?
    We will soon launch in Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Pune to complete our network of seven stations.

  • Audiences want BBC to be more innovative

    MUMBAI: The BBC Trust has published the BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2006/2007 and highlighted demands from the UK public for more innovation as a priority for the BBC to address.

    In line with the new Charter requirements, this year’s Annual Report is in two parts with the Trust’s commentary on the BBC’s performance separate from the detailed analysis and financial accounts prepared by the BBC Executive Board.

    In advance of implementing in full the new governance frameworks of Purpose Remits and Service Licences, the Trust limits its assessment this year to provisional conclusions, but these are based on evidence gathered during the Trust’s first six months.

    This evidence includes the findings of its first major audience research project on BBC priorities and performance, and responses from the public and the commercial sector to consultations about the draft Purpose Remits and the new Service Licences. All of these are published by the Trust today. The public ranks education and news as its top two BBC priorities and awards its highest performance scores to both genres. Entertaining programmes are the public’s third priority and there is clear recognition for the wide range of programmes provided.

    But both audience research and the majority of respondents to the Trust’s Purpose Remit consultation highlighted the provision of innovative and distinctive content as the area they wished to see the greatest improvement from the BBC: 72 per cent of audiences rated innovation as important, but only 51 per cent agreed that the BBC is performing well in this area.

    BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons said, “The Trust works for the public which owns and pays for the BBC. We listen to a wide range of voices, seeking to understand all opinions and expectations to inform our judgements.

    “The Trust’s assessment of the BBC this year is necessarily provisional and incomplete, but some messages are already coming through strongly: the public trusts the BBC and values much of what it produces, but audiences want the BBC to be more innovative. Whilst public approval of the BBC remains stable, audiences have also told us that fresh and new programme ideas must be a high priority and more effort is needed.

    “This message, alongside a desire for high quality – which need not necessarily mean high cost – is consistent across all groups who have participated in our consultations and it is one of the key factors we will consider when deciding the BBC’s strategic priorities in the autumn.

    “The BBC’s unique system of funding provides the necessary security for creative risk-taking that few other broadcasters can afford. Essential to the BBC’s success are the desire to be distinctive, bold ambition for trying new things, respect always for the public’s money, and confidence amongst the creative teams. As Trustees we prize the professionalism and creativity of BBC staff and fully recognise that, in truly seeking to meet these aims, occasional failures will inevitably feature alongside great successes.

    “One of our early priorities has been to focus on impartiality and we have published a number of studies. Accuracy and independence are essential to public confidence in the BBC and we will continue to promote active debate both within and without the corporation.

    “Our objective as the BBC’s sovereign body is to ensure that the BBC adds significantly to the creative and economic vigour of the UK. This requires a robust system of governance, a clear strategic framework with a focus on quality and value for money for all UK communities, and recognition that the BBC must be careful not to use its considerable economic power in ways that might stifle enterprise or innovation from elsewhere. The Trust looks forward to meeting this objective in the years ahead.”

    In the Annual Report, the Trust notes that the BBC is becoming more efficient and highlights the £228 million in savings achieved in the last two years as part of the three year plan. The efficiency drive continues, with a further target of £127 million for the current financial year (2007/2008) and a commitment by the Trust to set future efficiency targets for the BBC in discussion with the National Audit Office.

    There is greater transparency of spend by BBC service in this year’s document, with each service’s proportion of spend on items such as rights and news gathering costs identified. Information on distribution and infrastructure costs such as marketing, on-air trails and market research is also allocated to each service. The report includes a new metric which helps inform assessments of value-for-money – Cost per User Hour (CPUH) which combines service spend and consumption of a service. BBC Parliament has the highest CPUH at 24 pence per user hour, and Radio 2 the lowest at 0.4 pence per user hour, and BBC One is 7 pence.

    The Trust has also published its forward workplan for the remainder of 2007/2008. In addition to deciding the BBC’s six year strategic plan and completing implementation of the new governance framework which will ensure the Trust is equipped to hold management to account for meeting the public’s priorities, the workplan includes an external study into the BBC’s major role in the talent market, and the Trust’s first full service review, which will be on bbc.co.uk.

    BBC DG Mark Thompson said, “This has been a momentous year. We secured a strong 10-year Charter and Agreement, a secure, but challenging, licence fee settlement, created a new Executive Board with five non-executive directors, and began working with the new BBC Trust. It has also been a year of continuing change to ensure the BBC is in strong creative shape to provide real value to audiences over the next 10 years.

    “We launched Creative Future outlining our editorial blueprint for the on-demand world and continued to try and make the BBC a simpler, and more open organisation. Saturday nights on BBC One were completely revitalised thanks to Dr Who, Strictly Come Dancing and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria. Drama had a real injection of energy, Planet Earth continued to inspire awe, and factual content captured broad new audiences through programmes like Springwatch, The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den. News 24 was put at the heart of our journalism and Panorama moved back to primetime on Monday nights. BBC Radio continued to grow while strengthening its reputation for excellence through initiatives like the Electric Proms and our online and interactive sites broke one record after another.

    “There were bumps along the way. Editorial mistakes around phone lines, while unintentional, went to the heart of our contract of trust with audiences and we are taking steps to minimise the chance of it happening again.”

  • Iran launches English news channel

    MUMBAI: Iran’s state broadcaster has launched an English news channel Press TV, aiming to break the stranglehold of the West over the world’s media. Its competition ioncludes BBC, CNN, France 24 and AL Jazeera.

    The channel will focus on Middle East news. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been quopted in reports saying that the network should stand behind oppressed nations but not make up news in their favour.

    The channel would, thus, pave the way for people’s acquaintance with an alternative voice and view. Press TV programmes hover on half hour news bulletins, reports, live talk shows and documentaries.

  • BBC, Discovery to jointly explore `Oceans’

    MUMBAI: The hidden stories of our planet’s oceans are to be told in a new BBC commission, Ocean, a documentary series for late 2008/early 2009. This is a co-production with Discovery and will be filmed in HD.

    The proposed team of intrepid adventurers – explorer Paul Rose, maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue and marine biologist Tooni Mahto – will take a journey to explore the oceans of planet earth. Hidden in these unknown depths are stories that reveal new truths about our past, our planet and the life within it.

    In Ocean, the international team of underwater explorers brave the dangers of the deep to unravel these mysteries.This series will tell stories from the world of underwater archaeology, geology, marine biology and anthropology.

    It will take in everything from great white sharks to lost cities buried undersea to divers who try to fathom the mysterious life forms of the deep. Filming starts in June 2007 in the Mediterranean and will finish in June 2008.

    The show’s executive producer Anne Laking said: “It took us nearly a year to find the right people to present such an exciting new series. They needed to have the right balance of robust scientific knowledge, first-class diving skills as well as genuine drive, passion and thirst for high octane adventure.

    “The series will show the ocean as it’s never been seen before. We’ll use cutting-edge techniques to delve into this unknown world of our wonderful planet.

  • Navratilova, Rusedski join BBC’s Wimbledon commentary team

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that record, nine-time Wimbledon Women’s champion Martina Navratilova and former World no.4 and US Open finalist Greg Rusedski are the latest recruits to the BBC’s television commentary team for this year’s Wimbledon Championships.

    Navratilova and Rusedski join viewers favourite John McEnroe who returns this year, alongside fellow Wimbledon champions, three-time victor Boris Becker and two-time winner Jimmy Connors, who will be combining his TV work with coaching Andy Roddick.

    Also back this year is Virginia Wade, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her win over Betty Stove in the 1977 Wimbledon Women’s Singles Final during the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

    Tracy Austin also returns for a fifth year behind the microphone. A winner of the mixed-doubles title at Wimbledon with her brother John in 1980, Tracy also won the US Open twice, in 1979 and 1981.

    With live and exclusive coverage beginning Monday 25 June on BBC One and BBC Two, BBC Radio Five Live, interactive through BBCi, and bbc.co.uk/sport, you can follow all the action from SW19 wherever you are.

    Once again, Sue Barker will present the BBC’s live coverage from the All England Club, with John Inverdale fronting the nightly highlights programme, Today At Wimbledon.

    Britain’s Davis Cup captain John Lloyd also returns and joins the regular team of Andrew Castle, Annabel Croft, Pat Cash, Peter Fleming, Michael Stich, Mark Cox, Sam Smith and Liz Smylie – all adding their expertise to the BBC’s coverage.

    David Mercer, Barry Davies, Simon Reed and Chris Bradnam will also be back in action in the commentary box and will be joined by Andy Murray’s former coach, Mark Petchey.

    Adding colour and atmosphere as roving reporters will be Hazel Irvine, Garry Richardson, Phil Jones and Rishi Persad.

    The BBC will again be using the unique ball tracking system, Hawk-Eye.

    Jason Goodall will be giving viewers an in-depth analysis of the intricacies of a players’ game and highlighting patterns of play.

    In addition to this the umpires on Centre and No.1 Courts will, for the first time, use Hawk-Eye as an official umpiring tool to assist with contentious line call decisions and illustrate whether or not a ball was in or out. Players will receive three unsuccessful appeals per set plus an additional one during a tie-break.

    Wimbledon will be broadcast in High Definition (HD) for the entire two weeks of the tournament. HD coverage will be available on the trial BBC HD Channel to digital satellite and cable viewers who have HD set-top boxes and televisions.

    BBC Radio Five Live will bring listeners all the action live from Wimbledon with Simon Mayo and Clare Balding presenting coverage daily.

    The interactive TV service will be once again offering digital viewers a whole host of extra features. In addition to terrestrial coverage, satellite and cable viewers have the chance to choose live action from up to five courts of play, and Freeview viewers have access to four extra courts, plus all the latest news, scores and results.

    The service will also include text pages offering news, live scores and results. The interactive TV service will also replay Today At Wimbledon throughout the night and early morning for viewers to catch up on the day’s play.

  • BBC demonstrates new Web 2.0 prototype possibilities of radio

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC’s Jason DaPonte who is the executive producer of bbc.co.uk demonstrated at the MIX07 conference in Las Vegas a prototype technology showing how the BBC Radio 1 website – bbc.co.uk/radio1 – could evolve by using Web 2.0 technologies.

    The prototype shows how Radio 1 audiences could create, personalise and share their music playlists and related content via an easy-to-use service in the future.

    DaPonte says, “The exciting prototype illustrates how we could enable audiences to enhance their online identity by receiving and creating content packages or ‘badges’. These could include music video, pictures and exclusive BBC interviews from their favourite bands or music events.

    “Users could then share them directly with their friends and online communities as well as linking with other picture or social networking-based services. It would allow users to watch streamed media together during a conversation in instant messenger.

    “As the user’s online footprint expands, Radio 1 would be able to recognise their tastes and offer them even more of what they like. Prototypes such as this illustrate the BBC’s commitment to providing online services that are more open, personal and participatory than ever before, using the latest technologies to engage younger audiences.”

    The project was developed using Microsoft Silverlight software and the new Windows Live Messenger application in conjunction with Siemens, AKQA and Ioko.

    The prototype is part of the BBC’s move to work with a greater mix of external production companies and strategic partners to be at the forefront of web innovation.

    bbc.co.uk claims to have achieved a record 30.7 million weekly unique users last month (April 2007) and for the first time moved up to third place on the Nielsen panel of the top UK websites

  • BBC, ITV to launch a free-to-view satellite proposition

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has been given approval by the BBC Trust to launch a free-to-view satellite proposition as a joint venture with ITV in the UK.

    Freesat, as it is currently known, will provide a Standard and High Definition (SD and HD) enabled digital satellite proposition with launch anticipated for Spring 2008.

    Consumers will be offered up to 200 channels plus full digital satellite interactivity and high definition capability, without the need to pay a subscription.

    Consumers will also have a choice of equipment (including both SD and HD receivers, an HD personal video recorder and an integrated digital television), together with a range of installation options.

    BBC DG Mark Thompson said, “The BBC’s objective in launching Freesat is to support Digital Switchover by providing another way for licence payers to receive digital television channels and radio services, subscription free from the BBC and ITV. Its primary purpose is to drive digital take-up in analogue homes, particularly in those areas which are out of digital terrestrial coverage.

    “Freesat also offers a trusted free-to-view digital upgrade path that gives licence payers all the benefits of digital television (notably high definition capability) guaranteed free of subscription.”

    ITV executive chairman Michael Grade said, “Freesat will build on the success of Freeview by offering viewers a simple and cost effective way of upgrading to digital TV. By filling in the current gaps in Freeview coverage, Freesat will ensure that a free-to-air, no strings attached option for accessing digital TV is available to the whole of the UK ahead of digital switchover. By offering HD capability we will future proof Freesat if, as expected, high definition television continues to capture the imagination of UK viewers.”

    The BBC and ITV have been working with selected manufacturers, retailers and installers to develop an innovative consumer proposition.

    The proposal for a nationally available free satellite platform offered by the BBC working with other public service broadcasters was supported in the Government’s White Paper on the BBC Charter.

    It said: “The Government is keen to ensure that consumers have as wide a choice as possible of how they get digital TV. We welcome the plans being developed by the BBC and ITV for a free-to-view satellite service alongside Sky’s offering and we hope that the other public service broadcasters will join them in this endeavour. This promises to enhance further both consumer choice and competition in the television market.”

  • BBC Trust announces Public Value Test into BBC HD Channel

    MUMBAI: The BBC Trust in the UK decided to apply a Public Value Test (PVT) to the BBC Executive’s proposal for a permanent high definition (HD) television channel.

    The Public Value Test will begin on 21 May 2007. Documentation – including the BBC Executive’s application for approval of the new service, terms of reference for Ofcom’s Market Impact Assessment and a timetable for the process – will be published at that time. That week will also see the start of a 28-day consultation period for both the Public Value Assessment by the Trust and the Market Impact Assessment by Ofcom. The Trust expects its final decision will be published by 21 November 2007.

    The BBC Trust’s Public Value Test has three components. The first is a Public Value Assessment, carried out by the Trust. The second is a Market Impact Assessment, carried out by Ofcom to terms agreed jointly by the Trust and Ofcom. These run concurrently. The third is the Trust’s consideration of both assessments: the Public Value Test, resulting in the Trust’s provisional conclusions which it publishes for consultation before reaching its final decision.