BBC

Purnell: BBC must ‘change faster’ to compete against global players

The BBC needs to “change faster” in order to reach more young people and compete against powerful online video and audio providers like Netflix and Spotify, according to James Purnell. Speaking at the EBU’s ‘Truth and Power’ conference this week, the BBC’s director of radio and education said that the BBC’s goal is not to […]

BBC and Channel 4 urge action over PSB prominence

The heads of the BBC and Channel 4 have come together to call for new legislation that will protect the prominence of UK public service output in today’s changing and increasingly digital media landscape. Speaking at a parliamentary event yesterday, BBC director general Tony Hall and Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon said action was needed […]

Commercial broadcasters challenge BBC & C4 prominence plea

In response to calls by the BBC and Channel 4 for greater prominence for their digital services, the Commercial Broadcasters Association (COBA) has fired back – warning that intervention should not include changes to traditional linear TV, as doing so could damage much-needed investment in UK children’s programming. According to COBA, its multichannel members invested £23m in first-run, UK-made […]

Tony Hall: UK needs strong BBC ‘more than ever in our history’

The UK needs a strong BBC “more than ever in our history” to counter fake news, carry Britain’s voice and nurture home-grown content in the face of global media competition, according to Tony Hall. Speaking at the Prospect National Conference in Birmingham this week, the BBC’s director general said that he is “very bullish” about […]

BBC to run ‘first-come, first-serve’ UHD trial during World Cup

The BBC has announced two “cutting edge” trials that will see it bring this summer’s FIFA World Cup live to viewers in ultra high definition (UHD) and virtual reality (VR). All 29 World Cup matches that the BBC is due to broadcast on BBC One will also be available in UHD and high dynamic range […]

Ordeal by Innocence leads strong month for BBC iPlayer

Agatha Christie murder mystery Ordeal by Innocence was the most-watched programme on the BBC iPlayer service in April, according to the latest statistics from the public broadcaster on its catch-up and on-demand offering. The first episode of Ordeal by Innocence attracted two million requests on iPlayer, with the second episode securing 1.2 million requests. Overall, […]

ITV considering £1bn joint buyout plan for UKTV with BBC

ITV is considering entering a joint venture with the BBC for £1 billion (€1.1 billion) to buy out UKTV, according to reports. The BBC, which currently owns half of the business with Discovery, has the right to buy out its US partner at a set price before the end of the week, according to The Telegraph. […]

YouTube reveals royal wedding streaming numbers

The live-stream of last weekend’s UK royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was viewed 11.2 million times on YouTube while live, according to the streaming platform. At peak viewership, during the couple’s exchange of vows, some 1.29 million people watched the even simultaneously, making the wedding the fifth most popular event ever streamed […]

BBC breaks online records with royal wedding

The BBC reported record-breaking online stats on Saturday thanks to high audience figures for the royal wedding and FA Cup final. The BBC said that Saturday was “the biggest ever day for BBC Online” with audiences consuming 11.9 petabytes (11.9 million gigabytes) of data, peaking at 2.8 terabits per second when people got their first […]

YouView data reveals changing UK TV usage habits

UK hybrid digital-terrestrial and IPTV platform YouView has unveiled the findings of analysis of viewer behaviour that reveals some surprises about the changing ways in which viewers are interacting with services. YouView has delivered eight billion streams of content since the rollout of the updated platform a year ago. Some 73% of users have recorded […]

1 2 3 … 72