In The Frame - December '22

Streaming/Online/Tech

The government’s Intellectual Property Office, in conjunction with Meta, has published new piracy guidance in which it states: “…accessing films, tv series or live sports events through Kodi boxes, hacked Fire Sticks or apps without paying a subscription is an infringement of copyright and you may be committing a crime.” Netflix estimates that more than 100m households access its services for free globally via password sharing, including up to four million subscribers in the UK. Netflix and HBO have previously encouraged password sharing.

Simon Cowell is to join Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Sheryl Crow and Alesha Dixon as playlist curators and business partners in the UK music streaming service Roxi. The service is launching in the US in 2023.

The National Football League has announced an agreement with Alphabet, Google’s parent, worth roughly $2 billion annually over the course of seven years. The deals give YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels exclusive rights to distribute Sunday Ticket to US consumers from the 2023 NFL season.

Sky has minted a collection of Gangs of London NFTs, available exclusively to members of the Sky VIP loyalty programme.

The World Cup drew record streaming audiences for the BBC and ITV.

Research shows social media creators have become an essential marketing tool for Netflix, Prime Video and Peacock.

BBC News

Sir Damon Buffini, the former head of private equity company Permira, has been appointed as the deputy chair of the BBC board. It’s hoped the appointment will boost the BBC’s commercial expansion as the government seeks to revamp the “completely outdated” licence-funded model by 2027.

The BBC’s director-general, Tim Davie, says the corporation could move towards an internet-only model within the next decade. “We must work together to ensure that everyone is connected, and can get their TV and radio via the internet,” he said. “This isn’t something to resist. A fully connected UK has very significant benefits for society and our economy. It would unleash huge opportunities for innovation. A switch-off of broadcast will and should happen over time, and we should be active in planning for it.”

The BBC has committed to improving the on-screen representation of disabled people, and their access to its productions.

And finally…

• Michelle Donelan, the culture secretary, is discussing alternative business models with Channel 4, suggesting privatisation is no longer the government’s preference. “I’ve been looking at the other options for sustainability and discussing those with Channel 4 as to how feasible they are,” she said.
• Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! drew more complaints than any other programmes this year. ITV has announced duty-of-care measures for Love Island in 2023.
• King Charles’s broadcast was the most-watched Christmas TV address by a monarch on record.
• Amazon Studios has bought the global rights to the Warhammer 40,000 game from Games Workshop. The agreement encompasses rights to TV series, film, games and animation.
• ITVX has launched what it describes as “the world’s first” British Sign Language channel.
• BT Sport has launched Sign Up, an initiative aiming to raise the profile of the deaf community within sport, help make its programming more accessible, and create opportunities.
• Ealing Studios is opening a new net-zero-carbon stage and making renovations to create workshops and offices.
• ITV is to broadcast four matches in next month’s FA Cup third round.