LATEST NEWS
Warner Bros to acquire 50% stake in Renegade
Warner Bros is nearing completion on a £5m deal to buy a 50% stake in Don’t Tell the Bride producer Renegade Pictures.
YouTube earmarks £10m for UK content
YouTube has earmarked a fund, understood to run up to £10m, to invest in UK-created content as it looks to roll out a range of entertainment, music and lifestyle channels.
I’m Spazticus pilot back as C4 series
A Channel 4 Comedy Lab pilot from 2005 featuring on and off-screen disabled talent is being dusted off to become a five-part series called I’m Spazticus.
Red or Black? tipped for weekly return
Simon Cowell’s roulette gameshow Red or Black? is being lined up to return to ITV1 in August as a weekly format.
Stella and The Cafe to return for Sky1
Sky1 has recommissioned Ruth Jones’ Stella and Ralf Little and Craig Cash’s The Cafe.
C4 commissioner quits for BBC Salford role
The commissioner of Made In Chelsea, Tool Academy and Playing It Straight is leaving Channel 4 to spearhead the BBC’s entertainment output in Salford.
Murphy injects ‘love’ into Sky 1 strategy
Director of Sky 1 Stuart Murphy has updated his channel strategy to offer “bigger, better, more loved” shows as it moves into its next phase of original programming.
ITV to turn Emmerdale into multiplatform brand
Emmerdale is to be transformed into a “multiplatform brand” as its cast and storylines are given a significant digital push by ITV to extend the soap’s off-air presence.
BBC mulls Poliakoff returner
BBC2 is considering developing Stephen Poliakoff ’s five-part drama Dancing on the Edge into a returning series, set in the offices of a 1930s music paper.
Dragonfly set to go West
Dragonfly is expanding its operations with the opening of a new office in Bristol later this month, after securing its first factual series commission for BBC2.
Choir creator Isaacs to head factual at Avalon
Studio Lambert’s former creative director Jamie Isaacs has resurfaced as the factual supremo at Avalon Television.
Windfall plans Colditz escape
Windfall Films will revisit Colditz Castle for Channel 4 in an ambitious attempt to recreate an escape glider and launch it from the roof.
Hill and McGowan team up for ITV1 sports review
Comedian Alistair McGowan is to front a primetime ITV1 sports entertainment show, executive produced by Harry Hill.
Zeebox trials click-to-buy service
Zeebox, the second-screen companion application, has started trialling a click-to-buy service for viewers through the use of video finger-printing technology.
Massie joins September to build slate
ITV Studio’s former head of entertainment Bob Massie has joined September Films to build the indie’s slate of reality and entertainment formats.
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BBCW merges acquisition teams
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Ecosse planning US expansion
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Bate joins ex-Box TV colleagues at Artists Studio
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Bigballs Films hires Conrad to build business
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Coronation Street moves to Sunday over football clash
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BBC News channel blunders same day Trust praises
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S4C restructure halves commissioning team
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Katie Piper doc draws 1.5m
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BBC’s Mistresses gets US remake
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Govt backs cameras in courts
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ITV lines up Dancing on Ice Olympics special
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Live Easter special moves from BBC3 to BBC1
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Lovefilm boss Calver quits
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Virgin Media records first-ever profit
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Indie bosses join Grierson board
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BBC, Sky and Al Jazeera battle for RTS award
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Charley Bear goes global
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C4 and NFM to help talent develop new projects
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Gerhard Zeiler quits RTL Group for Turner role
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C4's Bouncers sparks outrage in Newport
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Diamond Queen reigns with 6.2m
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Comedy Central requests another Threesome
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Spartacus threatens Skins
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BBC unveils Diamond Jubilee concert plans
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Gallows for Garrow's Law
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NEWS ANALYSIS
Ratings 2011: the year PVR came of age
We may be watching in different ways, but 2011 viewing figures show TV ratings remain robust. Stephen Price reports on the broadcasters’ fortunes and the impact of recording.
BROADCAST INTERVIEW
Moz Dee, TalkSport
Hiring Richard Keys and Andy Gray in the middle of a media storm showed that TalkSport’s programme director is not afraid to take a gamble – and it’s paying off.
OFF CUTS
MacLeod’s loud farewell
Peter Fincham’s press honcho, James MacLeod, didn’t leave ITV quietly last week, with what seemed like half of the company (including Peter Fincham) snapped clasping giant farewell messages, which were then plastered on the wall of MacLeod’s leaving drinks venue.
