British television comes with some bizarre rules. The TV licence fee is one that always divides opinion, but there’s another that’s existed since the 1960s: the Saturday football broadcast blackout. If you live in the UK and want to watch a 3pm football match on a Saturday, you only have one option: join a legitimate […]
Larry Tanz, EMEA boss for Netflix, has told Series Mania that local European quotas “stifle creativity”. Tanz calling for “greater flexibility” given how many shows Netflix is currently making around the world. He pointed to Spain’s attitude; it has quotas in place but with “flexibility” so that Netflix can make Spanish-originated films and series but […]
A series of investigations by UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has concluded that five programmes on GB News featuring politicians acting as news presenters broke broadcasting due impartiality rules. Under the Broadcasting Code, news, in whatever form, must be presented with due impartiality. Additionally, a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, […]
The UK House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee is to hold an Evidence Session with senior BBC executives on March 20th as part of its regular scrutiny of the broadcaster’s work. The cross-party Committee is likely to ask about the Government’s Mid-Term Review of the BBC, including the review’s recommendations on the BBC’s […]
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules requiring cable and satellite TV providers to specify the ‘all-in’ price clearly and prominently for video programming service in their promotional materials and on subscribers’ bills. The FCC aims to eliminate the misleading practice of describing video programming costs as a tax, fee, or surcharge. This updated […]
Children first see violent online content while still at primary school and describe it as an inevitable part of being online, according to research commissioned by UK comms regulator Ofcom. All children who took part in the research came across violent content online, mostly via social media, video-sharing and messaging sites and apps. Many tell […]
The European Parliament has approved the first legal framework aimed at constraining the risks of AI. The AI Act works by classifying products according to risk and adjusting scrutiny accordingly. EU law makers said it would make the tech more “human-centric.” “The AI act is not the end of the journey but the starting point […]
Project Kuiper is planning its own mega-constellation and has already raised concerns about SpaceX’s proposed occupation of the 604 and 614 kms orbits. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has written to the FCC complaining about a SpaceX request to adjust the altitude of 7,500 satellites previously authorised to operate at altitudes of 525, 530 and 535 kms, […]
Netflix UK, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA) have signed a new deal on remuneration which will apply to UK writers on Netflix scripted live-action commissioned series. The deal became effective as of February 1st and is the first agreement between a streaming service, the WGGB and the PMA. Anne […]
Investigators are looking into the scandal that first surfaced in Portugal involving the Altice’s co-founder. French prosecutors are investigating potential corruption that could involve Altice, according to Bloomberg. In July 2023 the group’s co-founder, Armando Pereira, and other business associates were arrested in Portugal for running a suspected money laundering scam through procurement processes. Pereira […]