In The Frame – June ’16

Streaming / Online / Tech

With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games just around the corner, virtual reality (VR) is positioning itself as the new way to watch major sporting events. Picking up where 3D left off (having failed dismally), VR enjoyed a boost this month when Fox Sports offered VR streams from the US Open golf tournament. In the UK, Sky continues its push into VR programming with a behind-the-scenes special following Team Sky’s cyclists “during a gruelling training regime and final race day preparations”.

A significant difference between the industry’s VR offering compared to 3D is that the technology is not intended to replace HD broadcast on screens that people are already satisfied with. Rather, it’s being positioned as an enhancement, to be used for replays, analysis, behind-the-scenes footage and brief moments of live action.

The Ericsson Mobility Report expects the Internet of Things (IoT) to surpass mobile phones as the largest category of connected devices in 2018 and reveals “a dramatic shift in teen viewing habits”. A Zuora/YouGov study, meanwhile, has found that 40 million Brits (78 per cent of the adult population) are now subscribing to at least one product or service.

Elsewhere, Yahoo! has launched a free sports app for Apple TV 4, the online video platform.

BBC News

BBC Director of Strategy James Purnell has told MPs that the corporation is looking at encoding the iPlayer, so that licence fee payers need to log in to use the service. Watching BBC services only via the iPlayer doesn’t currently require payment of the licence fee, which the BBC calls the “iPlayer loophole” – and the broadcaster wants to close it. Requiring licence fee payers to log in to use the service would effectively remove the loophole, although Purnell did admit that there were some “technical and legal complexities” which would have to be overcome if it were to be implemented. A decision is expected by October.

At the same hearing – in front of MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee – Tony Hall, the BBC’s Director General, said that the corporation has cut the amount it pays its top talent by £8 million. Talent earning more than £500,000 have seen their salary drop by a quarter since 2014. Lord Hall added: “We absolutely get this is an important issue for the public to be aware of how we spend our money.”

Government plans for the BBC were published last month in a white paper, and include key points such as the required disclosure of stars who are paid more than £450,000. Salaries must be published too, albeit in broad bands. Around 10 presenters and performers are expected to be named as a result.

In other BBC news…

• Prior to their abysmal display against Iceland, which resulted in Roy Hodgson’s team exiting Euro 2016, England’s game with Wales was watched live on the BBC Sport website by a record 2.3 million people and a peak audience of more than 9 million on BBC1.
• Gary Barlow, Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc – presenter of The Great British Bake Off – will front Let It Shine , a new Saturday night show, as they search for a group to join Mamma Mia-style stage production The Band, featuring the music of Take That.
• The BBC said it was “very sorry” for the “severe distress” caused to Cliff Richard by its live coverage of a police raid on the singer’s house.

And finally…

• Clearly, Brexit has dominated the news recently. We have a separate blog post dedicated to that subject – and how it relates specifically to the UK broadcast industry – coming soon.
• The inaugural Media Production Show has been hailed a success by exhibitors and those among the almost-5,000 who attended the free two-day event, which took place at the Business Design Centre in Islington. Next year’s show takes place at Olympia.
• Dave is continuing to push into scripted comedy with Zapped!, a three-part fantasy sitcom starring Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) and The Inbetweeners’ James Buckley. Steve Coogan, who will executive produce the show, makes a guest appearance. It will be broadcast on Dave in the autumn, launching off the back of the new series of Red Dwarf.
• Perform Group are launching a multi-screen OTT subscription service for sports fans in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

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