Harry Hill signs two-year deal with ITV

www.guardian.co.uk - Comedian will make two more series of TV Burp and You've Been Framed in multi-million pound dealHarry Hill has signed a multi-million pound two-year deal with ITV to make more series of TV Burp and You've Been Framed.The new agreement will see independent production company Avalon produce two series, each of eight episodes, of TV Burp for 2010 and 2011.ITV also has an option to extend the deal and order two more series of TV Burp, another one next year and one in 2012. The two new series of You've Been Framed will be produced by ITV Studios.The deal includes an agreement to develop new programme formats for Hill. He has already won several Bafta awards for the long-running ITV1 show TV Burp, which has developed into a ratings hit for the network."If you're a light entertainer there's really only one place to be on a Saturday night, and that's ITV," said Hill.You've Been Framed has averaged 4.7 million viewers across its current run on ITV1, according to ITV.ITVTelevision industryHarry HillMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

RTL '100% committed' to Channel Five, says Zeiler

www.guardian.co.uk - Five will be 'a valuable asset' for shareholders as UK TV market consolidates, says parent company chief executiveGerhard Zeiler, the chief executive of Channel Five's parent company RTL, said today that the group remained "100%" committed to the broadcaster despite last year's loss, noting that it will be a "valuable asset" in the expected consolidation of the UK TV market.Zeiler, who earlier today reported an overall loss of €41m (£37m) at Five last year, and an operating loss of £8m, added that backing the UK subsidiary remained in the best interests of RTL shareholders."As I have said before, not only for the the fourth and fifth [sized TV companies] but other players in the [UK] market, consolidation will come," he said. "To take part in the consolidation, as I'm 100% sure Five will, is a valuable asset. So it is the right decision and in the interests of shareholders to stay in the [UK] market."When MediaGuardian.co.uk asked for further clarification, Zeiler added that taking part in the consolidation process in the UK broadcasting sector did not equate to a concession that Five was not viable unless it was merged with another player."We stay 100% committed to Five, we believe in the standalone viability of Five," he said. "In the worst [advertising] crisis of 2009 the operating loss was [just] £8m. There is a standalone value to Five and in addition to that, a second chapter, is that there is also additional value in the consolidation process. There will be consolidation and we will take part in that, as will others - the endgame will be different in terms of numbers of players."Zeiler added that Five, which made savings of 19% or £65m last year through job cuts and reducing the programming budget, was at the end of its cost-cutting strategy."There is nothing planned [in terms of cost cutting]," he said. "When you see the market going up it is also good news for us. Our whole approach to costs in all markets over Europe is that we have to be flexible."But if there were not a sustained recovery this year, he added, then Five would have to look again at its cost base.Zeiler indicated that the UK was one market where RTL - which predominantly owns advertiser-funded, free to air commercial TV and radio networks across Europe - would not look to move into pay-TV, although it is looking at opportunities elsewhere."The stronger you are the better you are in a position to do so [exploit pay-TV opportunities]," he said. "The UK is very much crowded compared to other markets."Zeiler was also cautious about interpreting how much commercial broadcasters will benefit from the BBC's strategic review which is, in part, designed to leave more room for rivals to develop their businesses."We all will see if there are opportunities for commercial television broadcasters when the new government is in and the first discussions are had between the BBC and the government," he said. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".Channel FiveRTLTelevision industryMedia businessMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

FlashForward: more than just a flight of fancy? | Media Monkey

www.guardian.co.uk - Is everyone in the world about to black out for precisely 137 seconds? Monkey only asks after about 100 starlings died in unexplained circumstances in Somerset after tumbling from the sky for no apparent reason. Not unlike the incident in Channel Five's FastForward, when a whole load of crows kept simultaneously snuffing it, particularly this memorable incident in the Ganwar region of Somalia in, er ... 1991. Okay, so they're starlings not crows, so maybe the blackout will only last for 53 seconds. If only we had the FBI's Mark Benford to help us out. While you're at it, Benford, can you solve the even bigger mystery - when is FlashForward going to return to Channel Five?Channel FiveTelevision industryMonkeyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

The Pacific: No war on costs at HBO | Media Monkey

www.guardian.co.uk - Never let it be said that HBO doesn't know the meaning of the word "big budget". The Daily Mail reports that its new wartime series, The Pacific - cost £133m - ordered "3,000 manufactured uniforms of herringbone twill, specially woven in India on old-fashioned looms to replicate the 1940s weave". Monkey feels you might need an HD box to appreciate them in full, however.HBOUS television industryTelevision industryMonkeyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

RTL cuts value of Channel Five by half after tough 2009

www.guardian.co.uk - Pan-European group says UK broadcaster made loss of £37m last year as its revenues fell 30%The owner of Channel Five, RTL, has cut the value of its subsidiary by more than half as the UK broadcaster reported losses of €41m (£37m) last year.RTL, the pan-European broadcaster which also owns The X Factor producer, FremantleMedia, recorded an impairment loss of €140m against the value of Channel Five's assets "mainly due to the worse than expected downturn in the United Kingdom". The writedown values Five, and its digital channels Five USA and Fiver, at €112m. RTL made a €337m writedown in the value of Channel Five to €252m in its full-year results for 2008.RTL said that it planned expansion into digital pay channels to reduce reliance on TV advertising.However, the RTL Group chief executive, Gerhard Zeiler, said that despite a cash chest of €789m "we don't see a major acquisition target in the short term, the board has decided to recommend a gross dividend payout of €3.50 per share, on par with the 2008 fiscal year".Overall Channel Five group, which includes Fiver and Five USA, reported losses of €41m last year as revenues plunged 30% year on year to €303m. In UK currency the revenue fall was 21% year on year.Channel Five group's operating earnings before interest tax and amortisation fell from a €2m profit in 2008 to a loss of €10m last year. It should be noted that this represents half the €19m loss that the group was running at in the first six months of last year.This loss consisted of a 75% year-on-year fall in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation to €4m at the main channel and a loss of €14m at digital channels Fiver and Five USA.The operating loss was exacerbated by restructuring costs which widened year on year from a €4m loss in 2008 to a €9m loss last year. Channel Five's losses were compounded further by a €22m programme writedown "relating to revised revenue expectations for acquired US series, based on weak market conditions". Total losses associated with Channel Five were therefore €41m last year.RTL also said that after several years of growing its share of the UK TV ad market Channel Five's share dropped from 9.6% to 8.4%.RTL said that Channel Five had reduced operating costs, excluding restructuring costs and writedowns, by £65m or 19% "mainly as a result of significant programme cost savings".Zeiler said that although the revenue decline in the market had "slowed considerably" since last autumn it did not expect a quick recovery of ad revenues to previous pre-downturn levels."While the group remains cautious, it will also continue to invest in promising business opportunities, based on its strong brands and content," he said. "These include on-demand services, as non-linear TV viewing grows rapidly, digital pay channels, to establish a second revenue stream, content production and the company's broad range of diversification businesses."Overall RTL, which is majority-owned by German media group Bertelsmann, reported that its annual net profits rose by 5.7% to €205m. However, this compares with a net profit two years ago of €563m. Total underlying group revenue dropped 7.5% to €5.28bn, while earnings before interest, tax and amortisation fell 17.6% to €755m.RTL said its results were "satisfying" with the second half of 2009 a "record" in terms of earnings.FremantleMedia, the maker of The X Factor, saw revenue fall by 1.7% to €1.18bn, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation almost flat year-on-year at €160m. RTL said Fremantle's performance was solid, particularly in the US and UK.  To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".Channel FiveRTLTelevision industryMedia businessMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

RTL writes down value of Channel Five by half after tough 2009

www.guardian.co.uk - Pan-European group says UK broadcaster made loss of £37m last year as its revenues fell 30%The owner of Channel Five, RTL, has cut the value of its subsidiary by more than half as the UK broadcaster reported losses of €41m (£37m) last year.RTL, the pan-European broadcaster which also owns The X Factor producer FremantleMedia, recorded an impairment loss of €140m against the value of Channel Five's assets "mainly due to the worse than expected downturn in the United Kingdom". The writedown values Five, and its digital channels Five USA and Fiver, at €112m. RTL made a €337m writedown in the value of Channel Five to €252m in its full-year results for 2008.RTL said that it planned expansion into digital pay channels to reduce reliance on TV advertising.However, the RTL Group chief executive, Gerhard Zeiler, said that despite a cash chest of €789m "we don't see a major acquisition target in the short term, the board has decided to recommend".Overall Channel Five group, which includes Fiver and Five USA, reported losses of €41m last year as revenues plunged 30% year on year to €303m. In UK currency the revenue fall was 21% year on year.Channel Five group's operating earnings before interest tax and amortisation fell from a €2m profit in 2008 to a loss of €10m last year. It should be noted that this represents half the €19m loss that the group was running at in the first six months of last year.This loss consisted of a 75% year-on-year fall in earnings before interest, tax and amortisation to €4m at the main channel and a loss of €14m at digital channels Fiver and Five USA.The operating loss was exacerbated by restructuring costs which widened year on year from a €4m loss in 2008 to a €9m loss last year. Channel Five's losses were compounded further by a €22m programme writedown "relating to revised revenue expectations for acquired US series, based on weak market conditions". Total losses associated with Channel Five were therefore €41m last year.RTL also said that after several years of growing its share of the UK TV ad market Channel Five's share dropped from 9.6% to 8.4%.RTL said that Channel Five had reduced operating costs, excluding restructuring costs and writedowns, by £65m or 19% "mainly as a result of significant programme cost savings".Zeiler said that although the revenue decline in the market had "slowed considerably" since last autumn it did not expect a quick recovery of ad revenues to previous pre-downturn levels."While the group remains cautious, it will also continue to invest in promising business opportunities, based on its strong brands and content," he said. "These include on-demand services, as non-linear TV viewing grows rapidly, digital pay channels, to establish a second revenue stream, content production and the company's broad range of diversification businesses."Overall RTL, which is majority-owned by German media group Bertlesmann, reported that its annual net profits rose by 5.7% to €205m. However, this compares with a net profit two years ago of €563m. Total underlying group revenue dropped 7.5% to €5.28bn, while earnings before interest, tax and amortisation fell 17.6% to €755m.RTL said its results were "satisfying" with the second half of 2009 a "record" in terms of earnings.FremantleMedia, the maker of The X Factor, saw revenue fall by 1.7% to €1.18bn, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation almost flat year-on-year at €160m,. RTL said Fremantle's performance was solid, particularly in the US and UK.  To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".Channel FiveRTLTelevision industryMedia businessMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

T-Mobile flashmob wins TV ad of year

www.guardian.co.uk - Mobile phone commercial set in London railway station takes accolade at British Television Advertising AwardsT-Mobile's flashmob-style advert at London's Liverpool Street station won the TV commercial of the year accolade at the British Television Advertising Awards last night.The commercial, created by the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, beat competition including Comparethemarket.com's TV campaign featuring the meerkat Aleksandr Orlov.VCCP, the ad agency behind Comparethemarket.com's ads, won four gold awards for its work including the prize for best series of commercials.Bartle Bogle Hegarty won the coveted ad agency of the year award. BBH picked up a total of seven gold awards for work including the Robinson's Wimbledon sponsorship, which played on the chance of a first British men's singles champion in almost 75 years and a hard-hitting TV ad for Barnardo's about sexual abuse.The agency also won the award for best viral for the five-minute ad made using a single shot, called "The Man Who Walked Around the World", that featured Trainspotting actor Robert Carlyle walking down a mountain path in the Highlands to tell the story of Johnnie Walker whisky.Production company Rattling Stick won the award for best production company for the third year in a row. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".AdvertisingTelevision industryMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Five Days and MasterChef | TV matters

www.guardian.co.uk - Cheeringly, last week's ratings for BBC1 primetime challenge the assumption that cheap reality is more popular than expensive dramaAn obsession with ratings has been one of the wrecking-balls in British television. Once raw numbers become the qualification, populist formats will generally prosper at the expense of challenging material.Last week, though, brought a historic and optimistic exception to this rule, with Five Days securing around 6 million viewers each night at 9pm on BBC1, while MasterChef, recently expanded and translated to peak-time, was struggling to achieve half that audience in the previous hour.These figures challenge the conventional opinion that cheap reality is a better bet for schedulers than expensive drama. Although the BBC's recent promise to divert money to high-quality programming is widely assumed to be politically motivated, these statistics suggest - contrary to common cynicism about public taste - that it may also prove a popular policy.Though pleasing, the outcome of this fiction/kitchen stand-off also surprises me. Although Five Days was further evidence of the astonishing reserves of acting talent in Britain - in-demand younger stars such as David Morissey combining with veterans including Bernard Hill and Anne Reid - it failed to reach a satisfying resolution after the ambiguities and atmosphere that had been meticulously built up.This is the second time recently, after ITV1's Collision, that a drama stripped across the week has used a thriller format but a non-thriller denouement. It's healthy to resist generic cliches, but sometimes they deserve to be observed.There should, though, be another series of Five Days, and there might be a chance for the episodes to stretch to two hours because it's hard to believe MasterChef will still be there at 8pm.Having already destabilised one hit format - Strictly Come Dancing - through over-extension, the BBC has now done it again. MasterChef worked as a diverting half-hour. At an hour three times a week in BBC1 peaktime, it has become bland and overambitious.TelevisionTelevision industryMark Lawsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Let outsiders compete for BBC web work, says Ten Alps' Alex Connock

www.guardian.co.uk - Bob Geldof's business partner calls for BBC to open up at least 25% of its internet activity to an outside bidding processBob Geldof's business partner, Alex Connock, has called on the BBC to open up its £135m-a-year internet content budget to outside producers in the same way it commissions TV programmes from independent production companies.Connock, chief executive of independent producer Ten Alps, said the corporation should open up at least 25% of its total internet activity to a bidding process in which outside organisations would be able to compete with in-house producers for contracts. The BBC's total annual spend on web content is currently just under £135m.This would mirror the Window of Creative Competition (Wocc) provision in television, under which the BBC commissions a minimum of 25% of its TV programmes from independent producers and has another 25% which is open to both to external and in-house programme-makers.Connock, speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch today, said he was "genuinely excited" by BBC director general Mark Thompson's strategy review last week, in which Thompson said the corporation's "partnerships with other cultural and civic institutions should no longer be peripheral and ad hoc, but strategic and central to the BBC's idea of itself"."The Wocc has been a genuine success - people think it has really worked," said Connock. "Build on that success online. If the BBC is saying it is going to make a strategic move, it should take the Wocc online."You would have a situation where the BBC says we want a Shakespeare presence, let's tender that out to BBC drama and the Royal Shakespeare Company and may the best man win. It is a real strategic shift. If the RSC won then strategically put all of BBC Shakespeare into the RSC site not the BBC site."Connock also highlighted Thompson's pledges to double the monthly click-throughs from the BBC to external sites and its plan to open up its programme archive to make it "universally available" within 10 years."The National Gallery, Tate, Royal Opera House, the RSC - these institutions can become broadcasters in their own right. They are already taking tentative steps towards it. If they can get access to the resources and programme library of the BBC they can become real brands," he said."It's like top slicing but without the politics," added Connock. He said he would be interested in two of his own company's projects developing closer ties with the BBC, Teachers TV and its online science channel, Newton HD.Connock added that Teachers TV, which launched in 2005 and is currently available on digital TV, would go online only later this year."That is the way the market is going. By its nature it is not a mass appeal topic," he said. "It lends itself much better to an online database."Teachers TV is funded by the government and run by a consortium including Ten Alps and ITN. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".BBCIndependent production companiesDigital mediaTelevision industryJohn Plunkettguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

MSN Video takes on BBC iPlayer with ad-supported online TV offering

www.guardian.co.uk - Web TV service, with 1,000 hours of shows licensed from BBC Worldwide and production companies, launches on ThursdayMicrosoft's MSN Video is to launch a free catch-up TV service in the UK on Thursday to try to compete with the BBC's iPlayer - but including 30-second adverts before, during and after each programme.The iPlayer, which like the original BBC content has no ads, is one of the most popular websites in the UK, allowing people to view or listen to TV and radio programmes up to seven days after their transmission.Led by Ashley Highfield, formerly a key figure in the evolution of the BBC iPlayer, the Microsoft offering will have roughly 1,000 hours of programming - but will lack direct broadcaster deals. That means it will not be able to compete directly with the direct catch-up services offered by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Highfield is now the head of Microsoft's UK consumer and online business.Instead, last summer Microsoft acquired licenses for 300 hours of BBC Worldwide and All3Media shows for a trial service, getting access to BBC programmes such as Mock the Week, What Not To Wear and Hotel Babylon, and All3Media shows including Peep Show, Shameless and How To Look Good Naked, and series featuring the illusionist Derren Brown.From Thursday it will also add more shows from Endemol, maker of Big Brother, as well as RDF, Shed, Digital Rights Group, Raw Cut and Content Film, bringing the total available to more than 1,000 hours."The six-month pilot is going full commercial launch," MSN UK executive producer Peter Bale told paidContentUK, owned by the Guardian. "The pilot has worked. We've had a terrific response from our advertisers." He added that "We're having a very high number of people sit through the ads, because there aren't many."The move by MSN comes amid upheavals in the online video sector, where the BBC is still waiting for approval for Project Canvas, a planned joint venture with ITV, Channel 4, Channel Five, BT and Carphone Warehouse to provide on-demand video over the internet which could be played in internet-enabled TVs, rather than just computers - the present limitation of iPlayer. BSkyB and equipment makers have voiced objections to Canvas, suggesting that there is not proven consumer demand for it, and that it might not work with planned internet-enabled TVs.The iPlayer has enjoyed spectacular success since its launch at Christmas 2007, becoming an internet phenomenon that has provided the baseline for future broadband quality enshrined in the government's Digital Economy bill. The bill specifies a proposed minimum broadband connection for every household of 2 megabits per second - the minimum required for iPlayer viewing.Figures released last May showed that it was used to transfer 7 petabytes - 7m gigabytes - of data in a month. It has also recently added an "HD" option for higher-quality online viewing.But Highfield says that the MSN product is superior to the iPlayer. MSN's average viewer watched for 25 minutes, he said: "That is significantly higher than ITV and Channel 4's online TV services, which suggests we are hitting the mark with our choice of content for the service."The MSN system offers Microsoft's Silverlight technology to stream the video, automatically adjusting the screen quality to meet the speed of the connection. But it will be usable without Silverlight.However, without direct broadcaster deals, MSN's video offering won't necessarily pose a direct challenge to the likes of YouTube and SeeSaw, which have each won Channel 4 and Five shows by offering those broadcasters control of their own ad sales.Bale insisted that MSN is keen to sign such a deal. "We always talk to the broadcasters," he said. "It's publicly obvious that ITV and Channel 4 have made different decisions what their current video-on-demand strategy is."Online TVMicrosoftDigital mediaiPlayerTelevision industryBBCBBC WorldwideDigital videoCharles ArthurRobert AndrewsMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

TV ratings - 9 March: Famous, Rich and Jobless sets out with 4m viewers

www.guardian.co.uk - BBC1's recession-themed life swap show wins 9pm slot on debut with a 16.9% shareThe latest celebrities-slumming-it life swap format, BBC1's Famous, Rich and Jobless, launched with just over 4 million viewers last night, Tuesday 9 March.The show, in which Larry Lamb, Diarmuid Gavin, Meg Mathews and Emma Parker Bowles sample life on the dole, was the most-watched show in the 9pm hour with 4.01 million viewers and a 16.9% share, according to unofficial overnights.Later in the evening on BBC1, Brian Woods's more conventional observational documentary, Jobless, following several families with both parents out of work, attracted 1.76 million (14.2%) over 60 minutes from 10.35pm.In the 9pm hour Channel 4's maternity ward documentary series, One Born Every Minute, drew 2.81 million (11.9%). Another 390,000 (2.2%) watched an hour later on Channel 4 +1.Channel Five's CSI: Miami had 2.44 million (10.3%), while a Law & Order: UK repeat on ITV1 attracted 2.35 million (9.9%).Also in the 9pm slot, BBC2's Horizon documentary Is Everything We Know about the Universe Wrong? drew 1.85 million (7.8%).Lambing Live continued on BBC2 in the 8pm hour with 2.55 million (10.6%), against ITV1's Cops with Cameras, which attracted 2.64 million (10.9%), and Five's Ice Road Truckers, with 1.31 million (5.4%).Holby City won the 8pm hour, as usual, with 5.74 million (23.8%), while on Channel 4 Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance had 1.99 million (8.2%). A further 209,000 (0.9%) watched Frost's show on Channel 4 +1. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".TV ratingsTelevision industryJason Deansguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Stirring it up with Richard Woolfe | Media Monkey

www.guardian.co.uk - Never let it be said that Channel Five controller Richard Woolfe isn't game for a laugh, frequently taking to the stage at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. Comedy dancing? Freddie Mercury impression? Spoof Flashforward video with Dawn Airey? More comedy dancing? The Woolfemeister's yer man. Now he's taken to the kitchen, cooking a stir-fry for staff with TV chef Ching-He Huang, presenter of Five's Chinese Food in Minutes. Careful with that chopper, Woolfie! Presumably he was using lots of, ahem... Chinese Five Spice.Channel FiveTelevision industryMonkeyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Tories' media policy is their own, not Rupert Murdoch's, says Ed Vaizey

www.guardian.co.uk - Claim that Conservatives attacking BBC to fit in with a 'Sky agenda' is 'competely laughable', says shadow culture ministerThe shadow culture minister, Ed Vaizey, has denied that Conservative media policy is dictated by Rupert Murdoch and executives at his News Corporation media empire, dismissing the suggestion as "completely laughable".Vaizey told delegates at a Westminster Media Forum event in London that Tory policy on the BBC, in particular, has been "wilfully misrepresented".He singled out a column in the Guardian last week by Jonathan Freedland, which argued that the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, had decided to axe services in an attempt to prevent the Tories from making more swingeing cuts if they form the next government. Freedland also said Thompson was right to fear the Conservatives would do this because of "two words: Rupert Murdoch".Vaizey responded today: "If a Conservative has any kind of critique of the BBC then somehow this a 'Sky agenda'. I noticed that in Monday's Media Guardian James Purnell, a former BBC employee, said BBC2 should only broadcast in the evenings. Nobody has written that to understand where James Purnell is coming from you just have to understand two words: Rupert Murdoch."He added: "There is a legitimate debate to be had about the [size] of the BBC." The culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, had conceded as much, Vaizey argued.Conservative opposition to the BBC Trust's decision to close educational service BBC Jam demonstrated that the party did not have the corporation in its sights, he said."You shouldn't lose sight of the fact the BBC has massive public support," Vaizey said. "The idea that somehow there is any agenda to do down the BBC is completely laughable."Tory policy on the BBC was straightforward, he added. A Conservative government would replace the BBC Trust with an independent regulator and force it to be "more transparent about its finances".He said news organisations need to know how much the corporation spends on its news website in order to make judgments on how best to run their own online businesses.Vaizey reiterated that Tory media policy is dictated by a "de-regulatory approach" but insisted he "liked Ofcom".The Conservative leader, David Cameron, last year set out plans to reduce Ofcom's size and strip it of its policy-making powers."We felt there was a leadership vacuum from DCMS [the department of culture, media and sport] so Ofcom was driving policy. With a new and energetic Conservative government you would get leadership on media policy and Ofcom would return to its regulatory role," Vaizey said.He also said the Conservatives have no plans to privatise Channel 4 and defended the party's proposals to fund rollout of high-speed broadband to rural areas with licence-fee money currently earmarked to meet the cost of digital switchover as "a perfectly sensible and intellectually coherent proposal".Vaizey added that the principle of using licence-fee money to fund other projects was now well-established. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".BBCRupert MurdochTelevision industryOfcomConservativesJames Robinsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Sky News brought to book | Media Monkey

www.guardian.co.uk - Coming soon to a bookshop/website/Kindle near you soon - former Sky News presenter Juliette Foster's newsroom bonkbuster, Breaking News. Foster's former colleagues will be keen to spot if any of the characters in any way resemble them (concern that they might be in it will be nothing to the crushing disappointment if they are not). Let's start with the heroine, TV journalist Sally Wozniak, who 'ruthlessly claws her way to the top of the career ladder' and has an explosive relationship with her co-anchor, Gerald Hewitt, according to a sneak preview in today's Independent. Think of any female Sky News anchors who had, how do you say, difficult relationships with their co-presenter? Monkey's mind's gone blank.Sky NewsTV newsTelevision industryMonkeyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Alice in Wonderland's box-office triumph masks a grim portent | David Cox

www.guardian.co.uk - The rocky road to cinemas for Tim Burton's 3D adventure shows cinemas will suffer as their grip slackens on the right to show films firstAfter its lacklustre reviews, few would have expected Alice in Wonderland to break box-office records. Yet in spite of the bounty it's appeared to bestow, this film has cast a shadow over the picture-house. It's shown cinemas to be threatened by a tide of change whose origins run deep. To hear the Iliad or a Beethoven symphony, you used to have to turn up. Gradually, successive inventions fed cultural sustenance into our homes. Digitisation, the internet and hardware advances have accelerated this process and extended it to personal gadgetry. Now, most of our amusements come to us; if we venture into the cold, it's usually to seek relief from print and electronic entertainment in an occasional fix of the physical.Music venues, festivals and theatres tempt us with flesh-and-blood action. Cinemas, however, have no live bait to offer. To get us out of the house, they have to rely instead largely on the box-freshness of the films they show. To sustain this, DVDs, downloads, pay-TV, free-to-air, in-flight and the rest are all required to wait in line. Yet the big screen enjoys no divine right to that first bite, and its claim on it is weakening.These days, box-office is buoyant, but distributors and exhibitors have high costs and therefore have to collar most of the take. For the studios, DVDs are more profitable, but their sales are falling. So why waste the thrill of novelty on the theatrical release? Why not unleash films on electronic platforms before, or at least as soon as possible after, the cinemas get their turn?Understandably, the big screen is now being squeezed. Five years ago, the gap between theatrical and video release was cut from six months to four. Since then, studios have tried to reduce this window further for particular films; cinemas have responded by threatening not to take them. Sadly, the outcome of the showdown over Alice in Wonderland suggests that cinemas now need films more than films need cinemas.When Disney told them it was tightening their window, Britain's three biggest exhibitors threatened a boycott. Then, one by one they crumbled. New arrangements were agreed, reportedly permitting further breaches of the four-month rule. In future it seems, cinemas can expect to enjoy less and less of a head-start. Their pitch may therefore have to depend rather more on the experience that they offer.Once, this might not have seemed too challenging a prospect. The combination of a big screen, 35mm picture quality, comfy seats and the Kia-Ora lady used to be hard to beat. Now though, home cinema provides ever bigger screens and even surround sound. Resolution keeps improving, and Blu-ray ensures that the movies get the benefit.Of course, cinemas retain one unique selling proposition: it's the fabled communality that they alone can provide. Only in their immersive and darkly comforting embrace can we be emotionally as one with a like-minded multitude. Only there can we share our titters, gasps and groans, locked in joyous communion with our fellow human beings. Or so they say. Unfortunately, it doesn't always seem like that.Our unsolicited companions sometimes prove keener than we'd wish on crisp-crunching, popcorn-munching, Coke-slurping, texting and chattering. We may be glad that some bloke in a mackintosh has crossed the auditorium to sit next to us; or we may not. Maybe we don't mind the empty cartons around our feet, or the latecomers pushing past us. If the projector's out of focus we may be forgiving at first, but after a bit it can prove tiresome.There are those who see 3D as the cinemas's trump card. Tim Burton's use of it in Alice, however, perhaps shows that it may not always add very much. Anyway, even this thrill is on its way to your home.Alice basked in plenty of advance buzz. It cost a huge amount to generate, but it seems to have paid its way by over-riding those tepid reviews. Suppose, however, that the DVD had been due to appear while that expensive buzz was still fresh. Fewer tickets would doubtless have been sold, but perhaps many more DVDs. If this is to be the shape of things to come, cinema may benefit; but not cinemas. Sooner or later, the back row seems set to find itself having to take a back seat.Tim BurtonJohnny DeppHelena Bonham Carter3DFilm industryTelevisionTelevision industryTelevisionDavid Coxguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

BBC turns down Gordon Brown as Match of the Day 2 guest

www.guardian.co.uk - A Downing Street request was denied after the BBC decided it would be inappropriate this close to a general electionGordon Brown is a sports fanatic whose passion for Raith Rovers, the football team he has supported since childhood, is a matter of public record. But the BBC has barred the prime minister from appearing on its Sunday night Premier League highlights programme Match of the Day 2, saying it is too close to an election to have him on as a guest.Downing Street asked if Brown could appear in the MOTD2 studio alongside the presenter, Adrian Chiles, and pundits, who include Lee Dixon, towards the end of last year. The prime minister's advisors wanted him to talk about England's bid for the 2018 World Cup, but after taking advice, the show's production team declined.A BBC spokeswoman said: "We made the judgment it wouldn't be appropriate in the runup to the election".The BBC must adhere to strict guidelines about impartiality in the months before a general election, giving equal airtime to representatives of the main political parties. Brown's appearance was part of a No 10 campaign to soften his image in recent months by encouraging him to extend his media appearances beyond the news bulletins. Brown's confessional ITV1 interview with Piers Morgan last month was regarded as a success by his advisers.Tony Blair was the first prime minister to appear regularly on TV outside news and current affairs programmes, agreeing to be a guest on ITV's This Morning on several occasions.That approach has since been aped by the Conservative leader, David Cameron, who regularly appears on breakfast TV and has given ITV unprecedented access to his private life for a Sir Trevor McDonald documentary to be shown on Sunday.In November 2005, Blair was a guest on Football Focus, BBC1's Saturday lunchtime show.A BBC insider said Football Focus is regarded as a lifestyle show with a wide range of guests and pointed out it is highly unusual for anyone who is not a pundit to be invited on Match of the Day or its Sunday spin-off show. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".BBCTelevision industrySport TVGordon BrownGeneral election 2010James Robinsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)

Microsoft rolls out video-on-demand service across the UK

www.guardian.co.uk - MSN Video Player goes nationwide after seven-month pilot with shows including Skins, Kingdom, Faking It and Peep ShowMicrosoft is to launch its UK video-on-demand service today with hundreds of hours of programmes, including Skins, Kingdom, Faking It and Waterloo Road, and has promised that online high-definition viewing will follow.The service, called MSN Video Player, has been in test phase since last summer with around 300 hours of shows from BBC Worldwide and the independent producer All3Media, including Peep Show, The Young Ones, Shameless and Midsomer Murders.MSN Video Player, which was beaten to full public launch last month by its rival VoD service SeeSaw, has increased the number of hours of programming on offer to 1,000.Microsoft has struck deals with Shed Media, the independent producer behind Supernanny and Waterloo Road; Wife Swap producer RDF Media; Digital Rights Group, which distributes shows such as Doc Martin and Kingdom; Endemol and Raw Cut.All the content on the MSN Video Player is available free. SeeSaw intends to launch a paid-for version to add to its existing free content before the end of June.Microsoft said it also intends to start making programmes and films available in high definition this year using its proprietary Silverlight technology.The US software company is also using the launch as an opportunity to bring together its short-form video service, MSN Video, so web users can watch everything from full-length TV shows and films to trailers, news and clips.Ashley Highfield, Microsoft UK's managing director of consumer and online, would not reveal the number of users the service has attracted but said viewers are watching an average of 25 minutes of video content a month. In the first 11 days of the pilot launch, the service attracted 170,000 views of shows."That is significantly higher than ITV and Channel 4's online TV services which suggests we are hitting the mark with our choice of content for the service," Highfield added. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".Online TVTelevision industryDigital mediaMicrosoftTelevisionDigital videoInternetMark Sweneyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds More... (Film & TV)