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Broadcast
17 February 2012

View all stories from this issue.

  • 13 Feb '12

    “It seems to be a case of people inventing things because they can.” Read on for the verdict on the weekend’s TV.

  • 14 Feb '12

    “I was sympathetic, without being surprised by the treatment dished out.” Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

  • 15 Feb '12

    “They come out of it as they come out of their carriages - fabulously. Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

  • 16 Feb '11

    “Absentee fathers are a genuine social issue and well worth investigation, but Daddy Daycare managed to avoid anything of any depth.” Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

  • 17 Feb '12

    “By concentrating exclusively on the male experience, director Kira Phillips produced something genuinely new.” Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

  • 6 Music signs Serafinowicz

    Comedian, writer and actor Peter Serafinowicz is to present a series of six shows in Adam & Joe’s old slot on BBC 6 Music.

  • A timely pot of Gold for comedy

    UKTV has followed Sky 1 in investing in mainstream comedy - now it’s time for the terrestrials to follow suit.

  • Absolute Radio kicks off Twitter campaign

    Absolute Radio has become the first radio broadcaster to advertise using Twitter’s promoted trend spot.

  • An issue worth ‘banging on about’

    As Broadcast kicks off its Expert Women campaign, Lis Howell explains why it’s needed.

  • Animation tax break lobby grows

    Animation UK has signed up a further three companies to its lobby group, which is calling for tax breaks for British animators.

  • Arsenal defeat peaks with 6.5m

    WEDNESDAY: Arsenal’s Champion’s League defeat against AC Milan netted a peak audience of nearly 6.5m, as Channel 4’s new series Daddy Day Care stuttered.

  • Bafta to screen Stephen Lawrence film

    Bafta is holding a special screening of the recent Panorama Special – Stephen Lawrence: A Time For Justice next month, in aid of the charity set up in his name.

  • Barb chief executive to quit

    Barb chief executive Bjarne Thelin is to step down at the end of 2012 to pursue other interests.

  • Barlow travels the Commonwealth for BBC1 doc

    BBC1 is to follow Gary Barlow as he travels around the Commonwealth writing a special song for the Queen’s jubilee.

  • Barrowman fronts ITV1 comedy pilot

    John Barrowman has fronted an ITV1 comedy panel show pilot that put his life under the spotlight.

  • BBC and Sky debate future of classical music TV

    The future of classical music on TV will come under the spotlight as part of a two day conference organised by the Incorporated Society of Musicians.

  • BBC confirms 3D Olympics broadcast

    The BBC is to broadcast three key events from the London Olympic Games in 3D.

  • BBC doubles Neighbourhood Blues

    BBC Daytime has ordered a double-length run of crime ob doc series Neighbourhood Blues.

  • BBC excludes former staff from World Service party

    Former BBC World Service staff have complained about being “contemptuously” excluded from an 80th anniversary party.

  • BBC exec lands C4 deputy head of factual role

    Channel 4 has made two senior hires to its factual team, poaching talent from the BBC and Current TV.

  • BBC Showcase to be biggest yet

    BBC Worldwide’s annual Showcase event, which is moving to Liverpool for the first time, is set to become its biggest to date.

  • BBC staff plan second Birmingham strike

    BBC Birmingham staff are to hold a second strike over plans to relocate all factual production to Bristol and Salford.

  • BBC warns over spikes in Olympic web use

    The BBC has provided ISPs and mobile operators with a “heat map”, which will alert them to an anticipated huge spike in traffic around “four or five” London 2012 Olympics events.

  • BBC1 draws biggest Baftas audience since 2004

    SUNDAY: The British Academy Film Awards walked away with its biggest audience in eight years as silent movie The Artist swept the board.

  • BBC3 reboots Snog, Marry, Avoid

    BBC3’s make-under show Snog, Marry, Avoid is being refreshed for its fifth series with comedian Ellie Taylor as presenter.

  • BBCW inks Japan deal with Hulu

    BBC Worldwide has signed a multi-year agreement with Hulu to licence content in Japan, making it the first British distributor to do so.

  • BBCW teams with HBO for atomic bomb drama

    Jane Tranter’s LA division of BBC Worldwide Productions is working with HBO to develop a high-profile dramatisation of Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

  • Broadcast Indie Survey: last call for entries

    Broadcast urgently need indies to return their complete forms for our annual indies survey.

  • C4 acquires Black Cab Sessions

    Channel 4 has picked up online music format The Black Cab Sessions USA, which has been adapted into a longer form for TV.

  • C4 boosts fact ent commissioning with two hires

    Channel 4 has bolstered its fact ent commissioning team, responsible for some of the broadcaster’s biggest hits – including Big Fat Gypsy Weddings – with two appointments.

  • C4 Gypsy ad stirs protest

    Ads for C4’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings have sparked complaints from the London Gypsy Traveller Unit and two London Assembly Members.

  • C4 to air Secret Policeman's Ball

    Amnesty International’s annual Secret Policeman’s Ball will be shown on Channel 4 days after the event takes place in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on 4 March.

  • C4 to rework SFTW as Sunday Brunch

    Channel 4 has effectively picked up axed BBC2 magazine show Something for the Weekend, after commissioning Princess Productions to make a Sunday morning series.

  • C4 to spotlight Secret Eaters

    Overweight families will be put under 24-hour surveillance for a Channel 4 series that aims to examine the psychology and science of eating habits.

  • C5 places double order and eyes wider genres

    Channel 5 has ordered a personal history World War II series and an in-house-produced Jedward show for 5*, as it gears up to move beyond its popular factual and fact ent core.

  • C5 spins-off Cowboy Traders

    Channel 5 has ordered Ricochet to make Cowboy Traders, a series exposing dishonest tradesmen including bridal-shop owners and car dealers.

  • CBeebies develops kids’ number skills

    CBeebies has ordered a multiplatform series to help children learn numeracy, as part of its new Love To Learn programming strand.

  • Celebrity Juice loses half a million

    THURSDAY: Celebrity Juice lost around half a million viewers after its record breaking performance last week.

  • Channel 5: the Big Brother effect

    The acquisition of BB and its Celebrity sibling has been a major boon for C5, delivering some of its highest ratings and the all-important 16-34 audiences it craves.

  • Comedy Blaps delivers first C4 TX pilot

    The Rubberbandits is the first Comedy Blap to earn a broadcast pilot for Channel 4 following a successful online debut.

  • Countryfile's Thorman to leave BBC

    Andrew Thorman, named as having contributed to the discrimination and victimisation of Miriam O’Reilly during last year’s tribunal, is leaving the BBC after 35 years.

  • CRR set to stay for Comms Act

    ITV is unlikely to be handed relief from its advertising trading restrictions, the Contract Rights Renewal scheme (CRR), in the government’s new Communications Act.

  • Current plans Spurlock Sunday

    Current TV is dedicating an entire day to Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock built around his award-winning expose into fast food giant McDonalds.

  • Darlow to make Concordia film

    Darlow Smithson Productions is producing a new documentary about the Costa Concordia disaster for Discovery Networks International.

  • DCD Media acquires Sequence Post

    DCD Media has acquired the brand, assets and senior management of post facility Sequence.

  • DCD promotes Nourmand to chief exec

    DCD Media has promoted Sammy Nourmand to chief executive, moving David Green into the new role of executive chairman.

  • DCD takes post in-house after Sequence buyout

    DCD Media has revealed plans to complete all post-production work in-house after the super-indie acquired struggling facility Sequence this week.

  • Deltatre in nine-year BBC deal

    Deltatre has signed its longest-ever contract, agreeing a nine-year deal to supply BBC Sport with a new scheduling system in time for this year’s Olympics.

  • Demographic Focus

    Explore the ratings breakdown demographically across the main terrestrial and multichannel broadcasters 6-12 February.

  • Diamond Queen loses 700k

    MONDAY: The Diamond Queen lost 700k viewers and its victory crown as Whitechapel took the honours.

  • Diamond Queen sparkles

    BBC1’s celebration of 60 years on the throne shines in a week when the clock was turned back.

  • Discovery orders history triple

    Chinook helicopters, World War II artefacts and the Titanic are to be investigated by Discovery in three historical orders for the channel.

  • E4 acquires Suburgatory

    E4 has acquired the broadcast rights to new ABC comedy Suburgatory, bolstering its line-up of American sitcoms.

  • Electric Sky investigates mega systems in 3D

    Electric Sky Productions is making a 3D series for US channel 3net which will focus on complex systems such as New York’s Grand Central Terminal and John F Kennedy Airport.

  • Embarrassing apps push self-diagnosis

    The second series of Embarrassing Bodies: Live from the Clinic will be supported by a set of groundbreaking mobile apps that draw on audio watermarking.

  • Empire / White Van Man / Clinton

    LoveLive’s Toby L and MTV’s Steve Regan on British rule, white vans and Clinton’s life.

  • Entertainment One halts sale plans

    Peppa Pig distributor Entertainment One has pulled the plug on a potential sale and is instead focusing on acquisitions.

  • Final flourish for the Boys

    BBC1 comedy Mrs Brown’s Boys finished its second series by breaking a few of its own records.

  • Finding an alternative to tape

    Adrian Pennington weighs up the options, from high-end media like SR and Redmag, to robust memory cards such as SxS and P2, and the latest prosumer options including XQD.

  • Formats go native but UK drama is in a golden age

    There are barriers to enter reality TV, so look instead to drama, says Ben Silverman.

  • Genre Overview

    Browse the top ten children’s, factual, drama, entertainment, sport and current affairs programmes from 6-12 February.

  • Geoff Hill, 5 News

    As ITN gears up to take over 5 News next week, its editor-in-waiting tells Jake Kanter about the ‘white-knuckle ride’ he’s been on since it picked up the contract from rival Sky News.

  • Good Food to follow hunt for Roux scholar

    Good Food is to revisit the Roux family for a one-off doc tracking its hunt for a new culinary scholar.

  • Graham Norton tops 4m mark

    FRIDAY: A guest appearance from Dame Judi Dench helped The Graham Norton Show to its biggest ratings of the year.

  • Grimm debuts with 386k

    MONDAY: US fantasy crime drama Grimm launched with nearly five times the usual audience for Watch.

  • Gypsy Weddings returns with 4.8m

    TUESDAY: C4’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings returned with more than 4.8m viewers - around 800k down on last year’s series launch.

  • Hannah Demidowicz, Nat Geo

    Head of commissioning and acquisitions, National Geographic Channels Europe.

  • Hellish high school show heads to Syfy

    A supernatural comedy about a teen who unleashes hell in his high school has been acquired by Syfy.

  • Inside Men suffers against football

    THURSDAY: BBC1 drama Inside Men lost another half a million viewers in the face of stiff competition from Europa League football on ITV1 and Channel 5.

  • ITV1 eyes Jonathan Ross panel show

    Jonathan Ross is gearing up to pilot an ITV1 comedy panel show inspired by Twitter.

  • ITV1 lines up Dwain Chambers doc

    ITV1’s Tonight strand has secured exclusive access to shamed British sprinter Dwain Chambers ahead of a legal ruling that will dictate whether he can compete in the London Olympics.

  • ITV2’s Juices really flowing

    In 2008, Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice debuted with a not spiffing 279,000/1.6% and nowhere near the terrestrials.

  • ITV4 nets 1.3m with Africa football final

    SUNDAY: Zambia’s dramatic penalties victory over the Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations final netted a peak of 1.35m viewers for ITV4.

  • Jeff Ford, Channel 5

    Since Richard Desmond took over, Channel 5 has been the butt of snobbish jokes. But there’s nothing wrong with fun and positivity, its controller tells Chris Curtis – the viewers love it.

  • Junior Doctors dips to 800k

    TUESDAY: BBC3 ob doc Junior Doctors drew its lowest audience to date in the face of stiff competition from C4’s Gypsy Weddings.

  • Luton extremists to feature in C4 doc

    English Defence League co-founder Tommy Robinson and Sayful Islam, who has disrupted the homecoming parade of British troops, are to feature in a new Channel 4 documentary.

  • Midwife exec to head drama for BBC Scotland

    Chris Aird, executive producer of BBC1 hit Call the Midwife, has been appointed head of drama for BBC Scotland.

  • MirriAd strikes Viasat product placement deal

    UK digital product placement firm MirriAd has signed a deal with Viasat Broadcasting to place ads on TV3 shows in Sweden and Norway.

  • Mrs Brown bows out with 8.3m

    CONSOLIDATED: The series finale of Mrs Brown’s Boys was recorded by 2m viewers, helping the BBC1 comedy pull an audience of 8.3m.

  • Next TV Fast Train lined-up

    The next TV Fast Train, offering a day of free training to television freelancers, will be hosted by the BBC in May.

  • Nuttall returns to BBC as marketing chief

    Lindsay Nuttall is returning to the BBC to head up marketing for drama and flagship channel BBC1.

  • Off Cuts: Poo-pooing Valentine’s

    Nothing says ‘Valentine’s Day’ quite like a trip to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. That’s where the Embarrassing Bodies team launched the new series of the hit Channel 4 show on Tuesday.

  • Parthenon Media Group lands new chairman

    Parthenon Media Group has named former LoveFilm chairman Charles Gurassa as non-executive chairman.

  • Pixel: new office will showcase technology

    Playout systems provider Pixel Power has opened a new office in Chiswick Park.

  • Police Interceptors sold into Europe

    Channel 5 series Police Interceptors has been sold into Europe and Australia by Target Entertainment.

  • Pratchett off to Borneo for BBC2

    Fantasy novelist Sir Terry Pratchett is to travel to Borneo and track down an orangutan king as he contemplates the meaning of mankind’s existence for a new BBC2 documentary.

  • Radio 4 hunts 'New Elizabethans'

    BBC Radio 4 is kicking off a hunt to find the 60 public figures who have had the greatest impact on life in the UK during the Queen’s reign to mark the Diamond Jubilee and create “a radio portrait of our age”.

  • Rastamouse back for second series

    A second series of pre-school stop-motion series Rastamouse has entered production following a recommisison from CBeebies.

  • RIG plans online radio sales hub

    Industry trade body Radio Independents Group is to announce a proposal to launch an online content sales hub for programmes.

  • Shock investor plans growth at DCD Media

    DCD Media is set for a major overhaul that could coincide with a surprise investor’s plans to turn the super-indie into a multimedia player.

  • Signs of Zodiak’s next move

    Debt restructuring gives super-indie room to grow, says Kate Bulkley.

  • Sky Living looks to give concerned celebs a platform

    Sky Living is considering a strand called Cause Celeb in which celebrities explore a different cause or issue that is important to them personally.

  • Sky1’s Stella pulls 630k

    FRIDAY: Comedy drama Stella nearly doubled Sky1’s usual audience figures as it continues to draw followers.

  • Steps returning to Sky Living

    Reformed pop group Steps are to feature in a second series for Sky Living, tracking their 22-date comeback tour around the UK.

  • Swimming With Crocodiles, BBC2

    We had no prior experience in wildlife filmmaking, just a cracking idea. And it soon became a very human story, says Gillian Wilson.

  • T4 Sundays set to move to E4

    Youth programming strand T4 will move to digital channel E4 on Sundays for the first time to make room for the new Sunday Brunch magazine show.

  • Take Me Out pulls 5m

    SATURDAY: Take Me Out lured its biggest audience of the series for the second consecutive week.

  • Target Entertainment in sales talks

    Target Entertainment, the international distributor of Fifi and the Flowertots, is up for sale just 18 months after being bought by Metrodome.

  • Top 100 network programmes

    Find out who topped the ratings league table for network programming from 6-12 February and browse the top 100

  • Top 30 BBC2, Channel 4, Channel 5

    Find out the top 30 programmes on BBC2, Channel 4 and Channel 5 from 6-12 February as well as the performance of all the terrestrials across week 6.

  • Top 30 multichannel programmes

    Find out the top 30 multichannel programmes for 6-12 February as well as the share of viewing across digital homes.

  • Top consolidated programmes

    Find out which programmes gained the biggest audience through recording from 30 January to 5 February and browse the top titles.

  • TOWIE recorded by 400k

    CONSOLIDATED: ITV2’s The Only Way is Essex was recorded by 400k viewers to take its total audience close to 1.3m.

  • TV Guide adds mobile remote control

    EPG mobile app TV Guide has increased its functionality, allowing Samsung connected TV and Virgin Media Tivo viewers to use their mobiles to change channels.

  • Twofour hires Educating Essex editor

    Twofour has appointed the series editor of Educating Essex to the new role of head of documentaries.

  • UKIE lobbies for relaxation of laws around crowd funding

    The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) is planning to lobby the government to relax laws surrounding crowd funding, making it potentially easier for indies to finance projects.

  • UKTI looks for indie input into three-year plan

    UK Trade & Investment is embarking on a tour of UK indies, film-makers and games developers as it pulls together a fresh three-year plan to ensure it is spending intelligently.

  • UKTV seeks fresh comedy Gold

    UKTV’s Gold is to inject millions into original content for the first time as it adds a raft of commissions to its “crown jewels” archive schedule.

  • Viewers miss 10 O’Clock start

    The Coalition is very keen to tell us that there is no Plan B. Well, they’re wrong, there is; I saw him on Sunday’s Top Gear (4.9 million/16% including BBC HD).

  • Vision TV puts foreign channels on Freeview

    Foreign-language broadcasters Hellenic, Polska Plus, TeleFrance and TeleTurk have launched in the UK via internet-connected Freeview HD boxes.

  • Wild India, Nat Geo Wild

    Working with local crews can take a production to the next level, writes Icon Films’ Harry Marshall.

  • World Productions bought by Marcus Evans Group

    World Productions, the indie behind dramas This Life and United, has been bought by Marcus Evans Group, the owner of talent agency Ken Mcreddie Associates.

  • Yesterday sends vets to Falklands

    UKTV history channel Yesterday has co-produced a documentary following two British service men as they visit the Falklands 30 years after the conflict started.

  • Zig Zag to produce Whitney Houston doc

    The downward spiral of US singer Whitney Houston, who died on Saturday, will be chronicled via a fast turnaround doc from Zig Zag Productions and US magazine The National Enquirer.

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