In The Frame – February ’15

Tom Pammenter Published: 28.02.2015 Industry news

BVE

With 4K plastered over everything at the recent BVE expo, wired.com offered an interesting read on the future of the UHD standard and how linear TV is lagging behind the big VOD platforms.

The show-stealer at the ExCel event, according to the-scope.co.uk, was a handy little camera. It goes on to suggest that, generally, broadcast tradeshows these days are “primarily about 4K and IP.”

Streaming / Online / Tech

Freeview is undergoing the biggest rebrand in its history with a new logo and a connected TV service called Freeview Play, reports The Guardian. YouView and Sky’s Now TV will be challenged as Freeview Play combines live TV with BBC’s iPlayer and other on-demand services.

Netflix, meanwhile, is on course to become the world’s second largest buyer of content (after ESPN), according to broadcastnow.co.uk, investing more than £2bn this year – more than the spends of HBO, Showtime, Starz and Amazon combined.

In the UK, Ofcom’s latest research suggests that more than half of 8-11 year-olds and three quarters of 12-15 year-olds watch YouTube, with a growing proportion of them saying they prefer YouTube to traditional TV

BBC News

The licence fee debate rumbles on: it is now, according to MPs – quoted in a 164-page report – “becoming harder to sustain”. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s (CMSC) document also recommends the BBC Trust be abolished, opening the way for more transparency – a move welcomed by the Commercial Broadcasters’ Association. The current BBC Charter runs until 31 December 2016.

On a lighter note, the 30th anniversary of EastEnders earlier this month, which saw a number of live scenes as well as a live episode, drew an overall reach of 20 million viewers, according to figures released by the BBC (and reported here by digitalspy.co.uk). Indeed, the live edition was the soap’s most-watched episode in four years.

Never mind the shock return of Kathy Beale or the heavily built-up revelation of Lucy Beale’s killer, a less well-known story behind the celebrations might just be that firefighters were called to Walford’s Elstree studios after part of the set caught light during a rehearsal for an on-screen fireworks display.

Staying with the BBC, and on to another on-screen institution, The Guardian reports on the announcement that this year’s Sports Personality of the Year is allowed to be sponsored again – eight years after a ban when the editorial integrity of the corporation was compromised by a commercial relationship with the drinks brand Robinsons.

Sports News

Last month, we reported that the BBC had retained the rights to broadcast football institution Match of the Day with a bid of £204 million. This month, the Premier League sold UK live broadcast rights for the three seasons 2016-2019 for an astounding £5.136bn (to Sky and BT). Sky Sports, meanwhile, has also bought the rights to show American soccer league MLS.

And finally…

ABC’s US coverage of The Oscars drew its smallest audience in six years (an average of 36.6 million viewers), according to Nielsen figures, in what critics deemed a long, lacklustre show and limited box office appeal among top nominees. The Oscars annually attracts the biggest non-sports TV audience in the United States, but the show this year drew the lowest viewership since 2009. (Source: Reuters). Compare that to the average of approximately 118.5 million people who saw Katy Perry’s half-time performance during this month’s Super Bowl.

The Brits awards show, on the other hand, was watched by a larger audience than last year – an average of 5.8 million viewers – as Ant and Dec replaced James Corden. (Source: The Independent)

Channel 4 could be sold off or turned into an employee-owned mutual company if the Conservatives win the next election, says The Independent – a move which could earn the Treasury more than £1bn.
YouTube has launched a new child-friendly app (YouTube Kids) in the US, offering a mixture of TV shows, educational videos, music and child-friendly vloggers. (Source: The Guardian).
Careful what you say: Samsung has warned owners of its “smart” television that its speech command technology may be capturing private information and sending it to an unidentified third party. (Source: The Times).