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  • Broadcast Greenlight

    The results of the Indie Survey 2012

Broadcast
Robin Parker

Robin Parker is features editor of Broadcast.

  • 56 Up, ITV1

    24-May-2012

    Every seven years, the production crew behind Michael Apted’s doc come together to recreate the magic. Robin Parker talks to the director and his team as they complete 56 Up.

  • Neal Street Productions

    19-Apr-2012

    Film and theatre have been fertile ground for Neal Street in recent years, but the success of BBC1 drama Call the Midwife has focused attention back on its third arm – TV.

  • C4 battles BBC at South Bank awards

    2-Apr-2012

    Channel 4 dramas This is England ’88 and Top Boy will square off against BBC1’s Sherlock at this year’s South Bank Sky Arts Awards.

  • David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik

    29-Mar-2012

    The Hollywood couple who have found themselves making a sitcom in the UK about a UK couple making a sitcom in Hollywood tell Robin Parker about blurring fiction and reality.

  • Indies: the global revolution

    22-Mar-2012

    Independent producers’ expansion into international markets is laid bare in Broadcast’s 2012 Indie Survey, which reveals that for one in five companies, at least half of their revenues come from outside the UK.

  • Broadcast Indie Survey 2012

    20-Mar-2012

    Broadcast’s annual Indie Survey is out now and subscribers can browse the league tables on Broadcast Greenlight.

  • Making money from TV

    15-Mar-2012

    VoD, drama investment, branded entertainment and funding masterclass.

  • From bands to brands

    15-Mar-2012

    Gary Davies has teamed up with the brains behind Foster’s Funny to bring brands and content creators together.

  • MPs back creative skills scheme

    25-Jan-2012

    A Skillset-backed report calling for better training across the creative sector has won the backing of culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and business secretary Vince Cable.

  • Axed BBC shows win at British Comedy Awards

    19-Dec-2011

    Recently axed BBC2 comedies Shooting Stars and Psychoville had the last laugh at the British Comedy Awards picking up three prizes between them.

  • Film-makers attack Frozen Planet over polar bear welfare

    16-Dec-2011

    The BBC’s decision to film a sequence of Frozen Planet in a Dutch zoo was “an abuse of film-makers’ rights” that risked endorsing inhumane conditions for animals, the producers of long-running series Wildlife SOS have claimed.

  • Lesley Douglas named Lime CEO

    12-Dec-2011

    Lime Pictures, the indie behind Hollyoaks and The Only Way is Essex, has appointed former BBC Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas as its new chief executive.

  • Chris O'Dowd teams with Coogan for Sky 1 comedy

    6-Dec-2011

    The IT Crowd star Chris O’Dowd is to adapt his short film for Sky 1’s Little Crackers into a full length comedy series.

  • Sue Perkins: ‘I can’t even read an autocue’

    1-Dec-2011

    You won’t find the Great British Bake Off presenter embarking on a TV ‘journey’, but her light-touch approach to factual can still shed light on big subjects.

  • BBC3 trials long-form online push

    1-Dec-2011

    BBC3 is trialling long-form online comedy as part of a major push in the genre that includes a Jack Whitehall sitcom and recommissions for Pramface and Him & Her.

  • BBC3 eyes The Voice US

    1-Dec-2011

    BBC3 is close to securing the rights of the US version of The Voice, to air after the UK version debuts on BBC1 next year.

  • Whitehall bags BBC3 sitcom

    30-Nov-2011

    Jack Whitehall is to get his own BBC3 sitcom as part of a major comedy push that will include six 30-minute online pilots.

  • BBC3 reveals diverse factual slate

    30-Nov-2011

    BBC3 is to challenge young fathers to deliver their partners’ babies, while Radio 1 DJ Reggie Yates will go inside Britain’s gangs as part of a major crime season.

  • Sue Perkins launches indie; developing comedy-drama

    30-Nov-2011

    Great British Bake Off presenter Sue Perkins has teamed up with Red Productions to develop a comedy-drama with her own new indie.

  • Gannon adapts Swiss Family Robinson for ITV1

    24-Nov-2011

    Veteran drama writer and Soldier Soldier creator Lucy Gannon is developing a modern take on Swiss Family Robinson for ITV1.

  • Fresh One: expanding TV horizons

    24-Nov-2011

    Fresh One has just passed a tipping point: less than half of its turnover now comes from Jamie Oliver shows. But his values permeate all its output, the senior team tell Robin Parker.

  • Linehan turns off The IT Crowd

    21-Oct-2011

    Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd will not be returning for a fifth series but will wrap up with an extended special, creator Graham Linehan has confirmed.

  • BBC1 orders Citizen Khan sitcom

    21-Oct-2011

    Comic performer and broadcaster Adil Ray is to take his Down the Line character Mr Khan to BBC1 for a studio sitcom.

  • Peter Richardson and Nick Smith, The Comic Strip

    13-Oct-2011

    From their Devon base, Great Western Features has recreated cinema’s golden age on a comedy budget. Robin Parker finds The Comic Strip creative forces enjoying a new lease of life.

  • Derren Brown to train celebrity assassin for C4

    7-Oct-2011

    Derren Brown is to attempt to hypnotise a member of the public into ‘killing’ a celebrity in his new series.

  • Unions: "DQF will destroy the BBC"

    6-Oct-2011

    Unions have accused Mark Thompson of “destroying” the BBC and “diluting” its programmes through the DQF proposals.

  • BBC4 cuts drama, keeps comedy

    6-Oct-2011

    BBC4’s comedy investment is to be ringfenced despite a scaling back of drama on the channel under today’s proposals.

  • BBC4 buys two Scandi dramas

    4-Oct-2011

    MIPCOM: BBC4 hopes to pick up on the success of The Killing with another Scandinavian crime drama centred on the discovery of a dead woman’s abandoned body.

  • BBC launches Salford apprenticeship scheme

    30-Sep-2011

    The BBC plans to recruit 100 apprentices from disadvantaged backgrounds to work at MediaCityUK over the next three years.

  • Top 20 dealmakers 2011

    29-Sep-2011

    Broadcast crowns the top 20 international dealmakers of the past 12 months, from the top floor to the coal-face.

  • Battle lines drawn in comedy

    1-Sep-2011

    Comedy has emerged as a key battleground after this year’s Edinburgh festival, as BBC1 and ITV1 unveiled new initiatives to fend off Sky’s latest offensive in the genre.

  • First look: The Comic Strip / Fresh Meat

    30-Aug-2011

    Robin Parker casts his eye over two of Channel 4’s latest comedies.

  • Elstein: Sky to exceed BBC/ITV quality

    27-Aug-2011

    EDINBURGH: Sky’s growing investment in UK productions is shifting the debate about its impact on competition in the TV industry, according to a former director of programmes.

  • BBC1 boss unveils comedy/drama plans

    27-Aug-2011

    EDINBURGH: BBC1 controller Danny Cohen has revealed a third series of Luther, a doc with comedian Kevin Bridges and a live natural history series as part of a raft of new commissions.

  • Katie Piper signs two-year deal with Channel 4

    26-Aug-2011

    Channel 4 has signed up former model Katie Piper to a two-year exclusive deal and has also revealed some details of new projects for Derren Brown and Jimmy Doherty.

  • C4 lining up major entertainment projects

    26-Aug-2011

    Channel 4 is planning to launch a major entertainment show in January, with six shows currently in consideration.

  • Fawlty Towers producer dies

    23-Aug-2011

    Veteran comedy producer/director and former head of BBC comedy John Howard Davies has died from cancer at the age of 72.

  • Seven Dwarves / The Marvellous Mrs Beeton with Sophie Dahl / Wilfred

    19 August 2011

    Broadcast’s Robin Parker and Jake Kanter on ambitious dwarves, culinary history and a talking dog

  • Burnistoun heads to BBC2

    20-Jul-2011

    BBC Scotland sketch show Burnistoun has won a repeat run on BBC2.

  • Peep Show writer teams up with Brooker

    8-Jul-2011

    Peep Show writer Jesse Armstrong is to pen an episode of Charlie Brooker’s forthcoming Channel 4 series Black Mirror.

  • C4 to strip This is England follow-up

    8-Jul-2011

    Channel 4 is to strip This is England ’88 over three nights in the run-up to Christmas.

  • Isle of Wight 3D, Sky Arts

    9-Jun-2011

    Having covered live sports and even opera in the past, Sky is taking its 3D trucks to the Isle of Wight this weekend for the first big music festival of the summer.

  • John Cassy, Sky 3D

    9-Jun-2011

    Sky has filmed more than 100 live events in 3D and its dedicated channel has a burgeoning arts and factual slate. But the story has to come first, its 3D head tells Robin Parker.

  • The Comedy Unit

    19-May-2011

    With a series of hits under its belt north of the border, including Burnistoun and Gary: Tank Commander, The Comedy Unit has its sights set on the rest of the UK.

  • BBC3 picks up Scottish sitcom

    17-May-2011

    BBC Scotland comedy Gary: Tank Commander has secured a network slot on BBC3 - the first such move for a Scottish sitcom in seven years.

  • Revealed: TV’s freelancer training gap

    27-Apr-2011

    Financial pressures, employer cutbacks and the time-consuming task of job-hunting have led to almost a quarter of TV freelancers having had no training at all in the past four years.

  • Ofcom clears raunchy X Factor performances - just

    20-Apr-2011

    Ofcom is to revise the rules governing family entertainment shows after ruling that The X Factor final performances by Rihanna and Christina Aguilera were “at the very margin of acceptability”.

  • C4 orders three more runs of Million Pound Drop

    20-Apr-2011

    Channel 4 is to air 29 further episodes of The Million Pound Drop Live this year after awarding producer

  • David Flynn, Remarkable Television

    20-Apr-2011

    With Channel 4’s Million Pound Drop and BBC2’s daytime series Pointless under his belt, the Remarkable boss has hit two of his personal targets. So, asks Robin Parker, what next?

  • FX UK snaps up rights to Spielberg’s alien invasion

    7-Apr-2011

    FX UK is to air Steven Spielberg’s new alien drama Falling Skies three weeks after its US broadcast, after snapping up the UK rights from Turner Broadcasting System International.

  • BBC2 orders Adam Curtis series

    5-Apr-2011

    Bafta-winning film-maker Adam Curtis has unveiled details of his first TV series in four years.

  • Indie survey records first fall in revenues

    17-Mar-2011

    The value of the UK independent production sector tumbled by almost 10% to £1.74bn in 2010 - the first time it has fallen since Broadcast’s Indie Survey began in 2003.

  • Fast Show duo tackle Alzheimer’s for R4

    16-Mar-2011

    Comic writer/performers Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson are to tackle the challenging subject of Alzheimer’s for a Radio 4 series.

  • Ruth Jones: keeping everything Tidy

    17-Feb-2011

    Sky 1 asked for ‘the British Roseanne’, but Tidy Productions’ first major commission snowballed into something bigger. Ruth Jones tells Robin Parker about taking control.

  • The pitfalls of network TV

    10-Feb-2011

    Want to work in network TV in the US? Veteran comedy producer Mitchell Hurwitz, creator of cult series Arrested Development, has some words of warning. Robin Parker reports.

  • Skins (series five), E4

    27-Jan-2011

    E4’s acclaimed drama is entering its fifth series with its third-generation cast, while a US remake is kicking up a fuss on MTV. Robin Parker hears how the team keep it fresh.

  • Bedlam, Sky Living

    27-Jan-2011

    A series of ghost stories set in a former asylum will be Living’s first step into original scripted content. Robin Parker hears how the show came about.

  • Indie Survey 2011: Have your say

    24-Jan-2011

    Broadcast is once again inviting indies to take part in its annual survey of the independent TV production sector.

  • 10 O'Clock Live: the verdict

    21-Jan-2011

    Channel 4’s 10 O’Clock Live nearly broke Twitter with mixed audience reaction. Robin Parker gives the Broadcast verdict.

  • Discovering star quality

    20-Jan-2011

    New documentary faces are top of every controller’s wishlist - and sometimes they are right there in established shows. Four programme-makers tell Robin Parker and Alex Farber how they spotted non-professional talent and developed ideas that played to their strengths

  • TV faces freelancer brain drain

    6-Jan-2011

    More than half of TV freelancers expect to have quit the industry in 10 years’ time, according to a major survey of the sector by Broadcast.

  • This Morning reprieved over f-word in daytime

    20-Dec-2010

    ITV1’s This Morning has escaped censure from Ofcom after a presenter was caught swearing live off-camera.

  • John Pilger: still fighting the fight

    9-Dec-2010

    John Pilger’s latest project - looking at media coverage of the ‘War on Terror’ - marks a return to serious investigative journalism for ITV1. Broadcast hears from the veteran film-maker.

  • Alumni: Building up Street credibility

    2-Dec-2010

    In its half a century on British TV, Coronation Street has employed a host of talented writers, directors and producers. From fights and pints to photo calls, Robin Parker hears their stories.

  • Double Band secures funding as part of NI development push

    18-Nov-2010

    Belfast-based factual indie Double Band Films has secured £100,000 in development funding from regional bodies as part of a broader push to develop network shows.

  • C4 themed nights honour Father Ted and Peep Show

    18-Nov-2010

    Channel 4 will air themed nights celebrating Peep Show and Father Ted over the Christmas period.

  • Game on for indies in Northern Ireland

    18-Nov-2010

    HBO’s decision to shoot fantasy epic Game Of Thrones in Belfast is just the boost the local production sector needs, says Robin Parker.

  • Sam Collyns: No constraints, no spin

    4-Nov-2010

    The producer of contemporary histories from Loyalists to Secret Iraq tells Robin Parker about the art of seizing the moment, the chaos of filming in a war zone - and curious attitudes to what’s off the record.

  • Ruth Phillips, Zeppotron: serious about comedy

    21-Oct-2010

    Having pulled off C4’s Alternative Election Night, Zeppotron’s head of comedy is taking the plunge into live TV.

  • The Walking Dead, FX

    21-Oct-2010

    Shot on 16mm with little CGI and an eerily silent soundtrack, this adaptation of a cult graphic novel series is groundbreaking TV, says Robin Parker.

  • Now Show comedian sings praises of BBC

    15-Oct-2010

    Comedian Mitch Benn has set out to give the beleaguered BBC a morale boost with a song listing everything he thinks is great about the corporation.

  • Presentable wins order for C4 cost-cutting series

    14-Oct-2010

    Zodiak-owned indie Presentable TV has won a 20-part daytime commission from Channel 4 - the latest in a string of network shows for the Welsh producer.

  • C4 unveils interactive marketing push

    8-Oct-2010

    Channel 4 is to give viewers the chance to assemble on-air messages featuring clips from its biggest stars in its latest marketing campaign.

  • Mipcom 2010: Hot picks

    7-Oct-2010

    As Cannes prepares to play host to Mipcom, Robin Parker and Michael Rosser select some of the most promising programmes that buyers will be eyeing up on the Croisette.

  • C4 axes 4iP fund

    7-Oct-2010

    Channel 4 is to axe its £20m 4iP digital fund and fold its activities into its broader online operations.

  • Mipcom 2010: Scripted

    2-Oct-2010

    Comedy, action and cartoon horror.

  • Mipcom 2010: Kids

    2-Oct-2010

    Alien rabbits, robots and legends.

  • Indies pilot Old Harry’s Game for Sky

    30-Sep-2010

    Hat Trick and Waddell Media have teamed up to develop an animated version of long-running Radio 4 sitcom Old Harry’s Game for Sky 1.

  • Comedy Central UK seeks British comedies to sit with Friends

    23-Sep-2010

    BROADCAST COMEDY FORUM: Comedy Central UK is hunting for two British comedies to pair with Friends as part of a push for UK commissions to make up one third of output by 2013.

  • Caroline Aherne developing ITV1 sitcom

    22-Sep-2010

    BROADCAST COMEDY FORUM: ITV1 is eyeing a sitcom from Royle Family writer Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope as it seeks to broaden its scripted comedy output beyond Benidorm.

  • Justin Gorman, entertainment, Channel 4

    16-Sep-2010

    C4’s head of entertainment plans a series of bold, risky and live shows for next year as the end of Big Brother presents an opportunity to refresh the schedules.

  • C4 to air week-long extreme sports live event

    16-Sep-2010

    Channel 4 is to put celebrities through a series of extreme sports challenges in a week-long live competition next spring.

  • Channel 4 unveils Britdoc initiatives

    10-Sep-2010

    Channel 4 has stepped up its commitment to documentaries after injecting £50,000 into its Britdoc Foundation and partnering with sportswear brand Puma for a range of grants and awards.

  • John Smithson, Darlow Smithson

    9-Sep-2010

    Darlow Smithson’s co-founder talks to Robin Parker about joining Endemol and how technology is changing documentary-making.

  • C4 to use 'Chat Nav' on Seven Days doc

    9-Sep-2010

    Channel 4 is to launch a ‘Chat Nav’ website for upcoming documentary series Seven Days, which will collate social media conversations about the show and help determine which of the on-screen characters the producers prioritise.

  • C4 teams with History for Herzog 3D doc

    2-Sep-2010

    Channel 4 is funding its first 3D movie, a Werner Herzog documentary about the world’s oldest cave paintings.

  • This is England '86 / Answer-dodging

    2-Sep-2010

    Robin Parker and Lisa Campbell love the new Shane Meadows drama and loathe politician-style answers to the TV jobs merry-go-round.

  • Compliance: the debate hots up

    2-Sep-2010

    Film-makers have rallied to support Brian Woods’ claims that “self-censorship” is creeping into BBC docs after the Bafta-winning director confronted Mark Thompson over compliance.

  • C4 to air Trinny and Susannah comedy

    1-Sep-2010

    A spoof reality show starring stylists Trinny and Susannah has become the first scripted web show to transfer to a UK terrestrial broadcaster.

  • Marple beats Donovan

    31-Aug-2010

    Jason Donovan’s trawl through his family history and the latest Miss Marple mystery put BBC1 and ITV1 neck-and-neck last night, securing audiences of around 5m to each channel.

  • Next Doctor Who series split in two

    29-Aug-2010

    EDINBURGH: The next series of Doctor Who will be split in two, with blocks of episodes airing in the spring and autumn.

  • BBC3 zombie drama to be reshot

    28-Aug-2010

    EDINBURGH: BBC3 is to reshoot supernatural drama pilot Touch after fast-tracking it to series.

  • C4's Comedy Showcase to return

    28-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 is planning a third Comedy Showcase season next year – but plans to enter production on full series much earlier than previously.

  • Bellamy defends Beauty and the Beast

    28-Aug-2010

    EDINBURGH: Channel 4 acting chief creative officer Julian Bellamy has defended forthcoming show Beauty and the Beast as part of the broadcaster’s history of “ballsy” programmes.

  • Grade: What is C4 for?

    28-Aug-2010

    EDINBURGH: Michael Grade has accused Channel 4 of losing its sense of purpose through over-reliance on Big Brother.

  • Mitchell and Carr in talks for C4 live show

    27-Aug-2010

    Endemol-owned indie Zeppotron has won a 15-week order from Channel 4 for a live topical comedy show that builds on its Alternative Election Night.

  • C4 Pope series to feature Sinead O'Connor

    27-Aug-2010

    Singer Sinead O’Connor is to give her personal views on the Pope in a series of Channel 4 programmes marking his UK visit.

  • Downton Abbey, ITV1

    26-Aug-2010

    ITV1’s lavish new period drama will be a major weapon in the Sunday night ratings war. Robin Parker meets its creators.

  • Producers: red tape kills creativity

    26-Aug-2010

    Broadcast’s survey of 40 top indie producers reveals concerns over compliance and a lack of understanding of Project Canvas, but confidence about the quality of output and opportunities overseas.

  • Kinetic strikes third UK deal with start-up Nerd

    26-Aug-2010

    US start-up Kinetic has struck its third development deal with a UK company after teaming up with new indie Nerd.

  • C4 hands ‘female Kenny Everett’ peaktime series

    26-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 has given a primetime slot to an unknown comedienne described as “Kenny Everett without the beard”.

  • C4 delays decision on chief creative officer

    26-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 staff will have to wait until at least next month to discover who will be taking on the key role of chief creative officer at the restructured broadcaster.

  • Internet-enabled TV wins the youth vote

    25-Aug-2010

    Almost half of all young people would interact with shows like The X Factor on internet-enabled TVs, a YouGov survey of attitudes towards social media reveals.

  • BBC4 picks up AMC drama Rubicon

    25-Aug-2010

    BBC has picked up the UK rights to acclaimed US conspiracy thriller Rubicon, which airs alongside Mad Men on the AMC cable network.

  • Big Brother final draws 4m

    25-Aug-2010

    The final episode of the regular Big Brother format fell short of former glories last night, with an average audience of 4m – but had the lion’s share of viewers from 9pm.

  • Channel 5 returns to Canvas

    24-Aug-2010

    Channel Five has rejoined Project Canvas, just over six weeks since it pulled out of the broadband-on-TV platform amid cost concerns.

  • Food giants lose battle over Dispatches claims

    23-Aug-2010

    Cereal manufacturers Nestle and Kellogg’s have lost their challenge against an edition of Dispatches that they claim unfairly portrayed them as targeting children with unhealthy foods.

  • ITV cleared over World Cup goal gaffe

    23-Aug-2010

    Ofcom has rejected 823 complaints from ITV1 HD viewers who missed England’s first World Cup goal due when the channel aired a sponsorship bumper.

  • C4 orders £1m of Scottish commissions

    23-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 is to turn the spotlight on Scotland’s burgeoning computer games industry in a three-part series that it has greenlit as part of £1m of cross-platform commissions from the nation.

  • Secret Britain gallops ahead of Clunes

    23-Aug-2010

    ITV1 lacked the horsepower to derail BBC1 in last night’s 9pm battle, with Secret Britain holding on to 5.3m viewers (21.5%).

  • Celebrity Masterchef whips up 6m

    20-Aug-2010

    ITV1’s last-minute scheduling of Liverpool’s low-key tie against Turkey’s Trabzonspor helped Celebrity Masterchef to pull in its biggest ever audience of 6.2m last night.

  • C4 to stream events in Paralympics drive

    19-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 plans to stream a raft of key disabled sporting events on a dedicated website over the next year to build viewer appetite for the 2012 Paralympics.

  • Indie peaktime share soars

    19-Aug-2010

    Indies commanded more than half of peaktime spending by public service broadcasters for the first time in 2009, but their share of daytime TV spend was at a 10-year low.

  • Ad revenues surge for online TV

    19-Aug-2010

    Advertising has overtaken paid-for content as the key generator of online TV revenues, fuelled by growth in commercial video-on-demand.

  • Hawking’s Universe heads to C4

    19-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 has bought Darlow Smithson’s Stephen Hawking’s Universe, a 4 x 60-minute science series that originally aired on Discovery in the US and the UK.

  • Mongrels / Home Movie Roadshow

    19-Aug-2010

    Emily Booth and Robin Parker share their love and loathing of two of the week’s shows.

  • CBBC wildlife show moves to Longleat

    17-Aug-2010

    Remarkable Television has won another two-series order for its CBBC wildlife show Roar, which will now be filmed at Longleat Safari Park.

  • "Merciless" C5 cuts stun suppliers

    12-Aug-2010

    The “merciless” senior job cuts imposed by Channel Five’s new boss Richard Desmond have shocked its programming suppliers, who now expect more changes to follow.

  • CNBC appoints Euro digital head

    11-Aug-2010

    CNBC has hired the executive behind The Guardian’s iPhone and iPad apps to head up its European digital operations.

  • Hollyoaks set for Top Model crossover

    11-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 has lined up a special edition of Hollyoaks featuring contestants from this year’s series of Living’s reality show Britain’s Next Top Model.

  • Fremantle execs set up US indie

    11-Aug-2010

    The producers behind late-night ITV1 gameshow Quizmania have teamed up with US TV veteran Syd Vinnedge to set up an LA-based indie.

  • Big Brother special for 8 out of 10 Cats

    10-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 is lining up a Big Brother-themed edition of 8 out of 10 Cats to kick off the tenth series of the panel show.

  • Sherlock creators in final talks on series two

    10-Aug-2010

    The BBC will confirm details of a second series of Sherlock this week, following strong ratings for the drama’s first run.

  • C4 holiday for Kirstie and Phil

    6-Aug-2010

    Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer are to lift the lid on holiday deals in the first commission for their indie, Raise the Roof.

  • C4 orders Saturday night nostalgia

    5-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 is eyeing a nostalgic entertainment show as a returning format for Saturday nights.

  • Webb tackles the web in first solo outing for C4

    5-Aug-2010

    Peep Show star Robert Webb is to take a humorous weekly look at the internet for Channel 4 in his first solo presenting gig.

  • C4's Sex Education draws 163 complaints

    4-Aug-2010

    Channel 4 viewers have once again made themselves heard about the merits of The Sex Education Show, with complaints outnumbering messages of praise by four to one.

  • Faith school doc to launch More 4 Dawkins season

    4-Aug-2010

    More 4 is to kick off a season of Richard Dawkins documentaries with a new film in which the biologist and atheism advocate investigates faith schools.

  • Rev bows out with 1.7m

    3-Aug-2010

    Press coverage of the religious community’s embracing of BBC2 sitcom Rev helped the series finale to reach 1.7m (8%) at 10pm – its best overnight performance since its launch.

  • BBC lines up Pope season

    3-Aug-2010

    The BBC has lined up Ann Widdecombe and documentary-maker Mark Dowd for a season of programmes to coincide with the Pope’s visit to the UK next month.

  • IT Crowd ends on 2.3m high

    2-Aug-2010

    The IT Crowd cemented its place as Channel 4’s most bankable sitcom on Friday night after series four bowed out on a 2.3m high.

  • C4 restructures sales team

    30-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 has appointed media agency veteran Mick Perry as head of airtime sales as it completes its restructure of its 175-strong sales team.

  • CBBC meets ballet boys

    30-Jul-2010

    Real-life Billy Elliots and children trying to overcome a stammer will feature in a series of documentaries for CBBC.

  • HBO's Treme confirmed for Sky

    29-Jul-2010

    David Simon’s Treme will come to Sky as part of its HBO deal, the broadcaster has confirmed, with back catalogue shows likely to be offered mostly via on-demand.

  • Coast walks away with 2.6m

    29-Jul-2010

    BBC2’s second trip to the Coast this week earned the channel 2.6m (11.2%) at 9pm last night.

  • Liberty Bell’s Prebble founds new venture

    29-Jul-2010

    Liberty Bell co-founder and creative director Stuart Prebble, and head of production David Buckley, have left the indie to start a new company.

  • Industry in disbelief as Film Council axed

    29-Jul-2010

    The industry has reacted with shock at the government’s decision this week to axe the UK Film Council, which has invested in broadcaster-backed films from Man On Wire to This Is England.

  • BBC2 to look at Victoria’s Upstairs Downstairs life

    29-Jul-2010

    Bargain Hunt presenter Tim Wonnacott and School For Cooks’ Rosemary Shrager are to step into Queen Victoria’s shoes for a 20-part BBC2 daytime series.

  • C4 picks up NBC’s 24-style conspiracy thriller

    29-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 has picked up the UK rights to The Event, a conspiracy thriller with echoes of 24 and Lost that has been touted as one of the biggest US dramas of the year.

  • Robinson explores Britain’s creation for Nat Geo

    29-Jul-2010

    Time Team’s Tony Robinson has been signed up by National Geographic Channel and Channel 4 for a series that will explore the physical creation of Britain.

  • STV tests sketch comedy online

    28-Jul-2010

    STV’s digital and on-air teams have joined forces to use the web as the testing ground for the broadcaster’s first sketch comedy commission in almost 20 years.

  • QVC to move to Chiswick Park

    27-Jul-2010

    Shopping channel QVC is to uproot from Battersea to join fellow broadcasters Discovery Channel, CBS and Paramount at Chiswick Park.

  • One in four Australians watch MasterChef final

    27-Jul-2010

    MasterChef has broken its own ratings record in Australia, with one in four of the population watching the final at its peak.

  • C4-backed doc gets BitTorrent release

    27-Jul-2010

    Renegade Pictures’ documentary The Yes Men Fix the World has had an ‘official’ release on peer-to-peer site BitTorrent after the activists featured in the movie became embroiled in a legal spat with the US Chamber of Commerce.

  • Industry condemns Film Council axe

    27-Jul-2010

    Trade bodies Directors UK and the Film Distributors’ Association have joined the chorus of criticism for the government’s “catastrophic” decision to axe the Film Council, which appears to have come out of the blue.

  • Film Council axed in DCMS cull

    26-Jul-2010

    The UK Film Council, which has funded broadcaster-backed films as varied as Man on Wire and This is England, has fallen victim to the government’s drive to cut costs and improve transparency.

  • John Bishop brings 3.9m to BBC1

    26-Jul-2010

    BBC1’s new entertainment show John Bishop’s Britain debuted with 3.9m (19.6%) on Saturday night.

  • Sherlock charms 7m

    26-Jul-2010

    Sherlock, BBC1’s contemporary update of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mysteries, gripped 7m viewers at 9pm last night – making it the channel’s third biggest Sunday night drama in the past year.

  • Gisby to leave C4 following restructure

    23-Jul-2010

    Channel 4’s new media head Jon Gisby is the latest executive to exit the broadcaster in David Abraham’s reshuffle.

  • Format fatigue - where's the viewer choice?

    23-Jul-2010

    Formatted factual is a key plank in all broadcasters’ schedules - but when it’s on four out of five of the PSBs, it does viewers a disservice, writes Robin Parker.

  • Meek confirmed as Canvas chair

    23-Jul-2010

    Ingenious Media director Kip Meek is to stand down to become non-executive chairman of Project Canvas.

  • The X Factor to get spin-off magazine

    22-Jul-2010

    The X Factor has joined forces with Tesco to launch a branded magazine that will initially be sold exclusively in the retail giant’s stores.

  • C4 opens up later slots for docs

    22-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 has pledged to air more documentaries outside of 9pm as it prepares for a new-look schedule after the demise of Big Brother.

  • Holler joins Studio Lambert's Notting Hill doc

    22-Jul-2010

    Digital agency Holler is to produce the web content for Channel 4’s forthcoming documentary series Notting Hill.

  • E4 hunts Britain's best hairdresser

    22-Jul-2010

    E4 has fired the starting gun on potential Big Brother successors with a search for Britain’s best new hairdresser.

  • Jamie cooks his way into Channel 4 daytime slot

    22-Jul-2010

    Jamie Oliver has landed a mammoth 40-part order for his first daytime commission from Channel 4.

  • CTVC/Green Inc win One Show order

    22-Jul-2010

    London indie CTVC and Belfast-based Green Inc have scored their first joint commission: nine short films for The One Show.

  • C4 fact ent reshuffle sees Pegg move to Blast!

    22-Jul-2010

    North One head of factual entertainment Tina Flintoff is to join Channel 4’s factual entertainment team in a reshuffle that also sees commissioner Alistair Pegg move to Blast! Films.

  • Edgar-Jones set to depart Endemol

    22-Jul-2010

    Big Brother executive producer Phil Edgar-Jones will stand down from Endemol UK after a decade when the reality show comes to an end in the UK.

  • Damages saved for two more series

    21-Jul-2010

    US legal drama Damages has been saved from the axe after satellite station DirecTV bought the show.

  • C4 names new head of online

    20-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 has promoted head of online products Richard Davidson-Houston to a new role that will encompass all web activity including commissioning.

  • Hollyoaks debuts trio on web

    15-Jul-2010

    Lime Pictures is to use the web to introduce three Hollyoaks characters in an online series that will later transfer to E4.

  • Lakes chef presents first AFP show in C4 3pm slot

    15-Jul-2010

    Chef Peter Sidwell is to cook his way around the Lake District in Channel 4’s first advertiser-funded show to air in the pre-Countdown slot.

  • C4 to put model agency under the spotlight

    15-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 is to extend the fixed, multi-camera set-up of The Family and One Born Every Minute to a model agency’s office - with Maverick lined up to produce.

  • Electric Sofa seeks content for new entertainment channel

    15-Jul-2010

    The backers of a new entertainment channel are looking to commission up to 10 hours a week from UK indies, including a weekly gossip show.

  • Princess triumphs in pitch for next 11 O’Clock Show

    15-Jul-2010

    Princess Productions has won a competitive pitch from Channel 4 to find the successor to The 11 O’Clock Show and is working on a pilot.

  • Berbridge exits Leopard

    15-Jul-2010

    Leopard head of programmes Dan Berbridge has left the Cash In The Attic indie after two years.

  • BBC2 bucks trend as PSBs cut spend on new shows

    14-Jul-2010

    BBC2 was the only PSB channel to increase its spend on new shows last year, when more than £150m was stripped from the total pot for first-run programmes.

  • C4 to air British basketball

    14-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 has picked up the rights to broadcast highlights from British basketball championship Standard Life Game on 2010 Eurobasket.

  • Criminal Justice creator pens new legal drama

    13-Jul-2010

    Criminal Justice creator Peter Moffat and star Maxine Peake are to reunite for a six-part legal drama series on BBC1.

  • ITV youth project wins award

    12-Jul-2010

    An ITV-backed project to help young people produce their own programmes has won a national media award.

  • Al Murray fronts topical ITV comedy pilot

    9-Jul-2010

    Al Murray is piloting an “apocalyptic, yet upbeat” ITV1 show that aims to take a comic look at the week’s events.

  • Frontrunners emerge for BBC commissioning role

    8-Jul-2010

    Watchdog editor Jeff Anderson and BBC executive producers Lisa Edwards and Alison Kirkham are thought to be in the running to succeed Jo Ball as commissioning editor for features for BBC1 and BBC2.

  • C4 plans follow-up series to My Beautiful Face doc

    8-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 is to turn its Bafta-nominated Cutting Edge documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face into a four-part series.

  • Producers slam Trust’s support for online cuts

    8-Jul-2010

    Multiplatform producers campaigning for the BBC to rethink its online strategy have given short shrift to the BBC Trust’s backing for the proposed 25% budget cut.

  • Endemol secures US drama order

    6-Jul-2010

    Endemol USA has made its first foray into scripted drama after securing a pilot for a western from cable network AMC.

  • Call for more "recognisably Scottish" drama

    6-Jul-2010

    BBC Scotland has been urged to find new ways of ensuring there is more “recognisably Scottish” drama on screen - and has recommissioned three comedy series.

  • Ex-C4 marketing chief resurfaces at Comedy Central

    6-Jul-2010

    A former Channel 4 head of marketing has returned to TV after a five-year absence to take up a post at Comedy Central UK.

  • Katona doc attracts 64 complaints

    6-Jul-2010

    A documentary about Kerry Katona received more complaints than any other Channel 4 show last month, the broadcaster has said.

  • 6Music saved: DJ reactions

    5-Jul-2010

    BBC 6Music DJ Lauren Laverne cued up songs called Radio and Digital Love this morning as she joined colleagues in celebrating the station’s reprieve.

  • C4 Sales wins UKTV deal

    5-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 Sales is to take over all advertising for UKTV’s portfolio in a ten-year deal.

  • Ex-BBC producer loses cancer battle

    2-Jul-2010

    Former BBC news and current affairs producer and publicist Janine Thomason has died after a long battle with cancer.

  • League of Gentlemen reunite for R4

    2-Jul-2010

    Comedy troupe The League of Gentlemen will reunite for the first time since their 2005 movie for a Radio 4 documentary.

  • Sky defends sports price hike

    1-Jul-2010

    BSkyB has defended hiking its prices for Sky Sports packages, which it says are needed to fund the £100m-a-year extra it now has to pay the Premier League.

  • Canvas boxes set for Easter debut

    1-Jul-2010

    Set-top boxes that provide Project Canvas services are due to go on sale next Easter for about £200 - but questions remain about access and the BBC’s role in the venture.

  • Sky warns BT: don’t pin hopes on Sports

    1-Jul-2010

    As BT Vision unveils its £16.99 pricing structure for Sky Sports 1 and 2, BSkyB has warned it against pinning its hopes on sport to drive take-up.

  • C4 Wannabe enters talent show battle

    1-Jul-2010

    Channel 4 is planning a move into the TV talent show battleground with a format that replaces celebrity judges with votes from a studio audience.

  • Sky raises prices for BT - and its own customers

    1-Jul-2010

    BT is to make a £2 monthly loss on its new £16.99 Sky Sports 1 and 2 package after BSkyB bumped up its wholesale prices - and what it charges its own customers.

  • 5 Live orders male response to Woman’s Hour

    1-Jul-2010

    BBC Radio 5 Live has commissioned a male-oriented companion to Radio 4’s weekday institution Woman’s Hour - with Pineapple Dance Studios’ Louis Spence set to be a regular fixture.

  • Film writer pens Hackney drama for C4

    1-Jul-2010

    The indie behind Poppy Shakespeare and Ronan Bennett, who wrote Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies, are working together on a Channel 4 drama set among the gangs of a Hackney estate.

  • Five pleads with Ofcom for full TV market review

    1-Jul-2010

    Five has made an impassioned plea for Ofcom to launch a full market review of TV advertising, as potential buyers circle the broadcaster.

  • BBC plans new salary benchmark scheme

    28-Jun-2010

    The BBC is to pay senior managers “tens of percents” less than commercial rivals in a bid to stave off criticisms of executives’ salaries.

  • Drama veteran Plater dies

    25-Jun-2010

    Dramatist Alan Plater, whose TV career spanned Z Cars to Lewis, has died at the age of 75.

  • Easter launch likely for Canvas

    25-Jun-2010

    Project Canvas is set for an April 2011 launch following the BBC Trust’s approval for the BBC’s involvement in the project.

  • Keo makes digital hires

    25-Jun-2010

    River Cottage producer Keo has staffed up its digital division with three hires in a bid to strengthen its web community project Landshare.

  • Princes attract 4.1m to ITV1

    25-Jun-2010

    ITV1’s Tonight special with Princes William and Harry delivered 4.1m (21.6%) at 7.30pm last night, but the early stages of Denmark v Japan on BBC1 proved a bigger draw.

  • Project Canvas gets greenlight

    25-Jun-2010

    The BBC Trust has formally approved Project Canvas after more than a year of consultations, brushing aside objections from the likes of BSkyB and Virgin Media.

  • Female duo win BBC2 sketch series order

    24-Jun-2010

    BBC2 has ordered a full series of comedy duo Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver’s sketch show following a pilot.

  • C4 plans £50m budget boost

    24-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 expects to return close to £50m to its programming budget this year, but has warned that it will not quite return to pre-downturn levels.

  • Nick Knowles to front BBC2 quiz

    24-Jun-2010

    BBC2 has ordered a new stripped BBC2 daytime quiz show from 12 Yard and has handed an extended ordered for Remarkable Television’s quiz Pointless.

  • Lennon Naked strips away competition

    24-Jun-2010

    BBC4’s latest biopic Lennon Naked pulled in 792,900 (4%) from 10.30pm last night.

  • England victory delivers 74% share in big day for sport

    24-Jun-2010

    Three out of four viewers were watching England’s victory over Slovenia at its peak on BBC1 yesterday afternoon, while John Isner and Nicolas Mahut’s record-breaking Wimbledon match built to 4.2m (17.2%) on BBC2 last night

  • Six to Start hires CEO as Dan Hon departs

    24-Jun-2010

    Dan and Adrian Hon, the brothers who co-founded digital agency Six to Start, have parted company as Dan takes on a new role at advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy.

  • E4 lines up first Lime sitcom as female pal for Inbetweeners

    24-Jun-2010

    E4 is eyeing Lime Pictures’ first sitcom as a female-centred companion to The Inbetweeners.

  • Trio win double orders in latest run of C4’s First Cut

    24-Jun-2010

    Century Films, Minnow Films and Lambent Productions have each won two commissions for Channel 4’s emerging-directors’ docs strand First Cut.

  • Twofour doc to follow GB Paralympic selection

    24-Jun-2010

    Channel 4’s build-up to the 2012 Paralympic Games has stepped up, with Twofour making a 10-part series following the selection process for the British team.

  • Jane Root, Nutopia

    24-Jun-2010

    Jane Root’s indie Nutopia has had a channel-defining hit with The Story Of Us. She talks to Robin Parker about cracking America.

  • Abraham: nurture new talent

    23-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham has used his first public speech since taking up the role to back new moves forging closer links between the creative industries and the education sector.

  • Film24 operators call in Canis Media

    22-Jun-2010

    Canis Media is weighing up a sale of free-to-air channel Film24 after its operators entered liquidation.

  • C4's King on leave to pursue mayoral bid

    22-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 head of diversity Oona King has agreed to take unpaid leave from the broadcaster while she pursues her bid to become Labour’s candidate for London Mayor.

  • C4 orders daily religion strand

    22-Jun-2010

    Belfast-based Waddell Media has won a nightly religious slot on Channel 4 – part of more than £1.5m worth of new commissions from Northern Ireland.

  • Shine hires BBCW's Chugani

    18-Jun-2010

    BBC Worldwide chief financial officer Neil Chugani, who helped usher in landmark deals with a string of indies, is to join Liz Murdoch’s Shine Group.

  • BBC sitting on full series of Bellamy's extras

    17-Jun-2010

    The producers of BBC2 comedy Bellamy’s People had an entire series’ worth of material in the can when the show was axed, Broadcast has learned.

  • September Films UK wins primetime MTV order

    17-Jun-2010

    September Films has won its first US commission from MTV Networks for a high-profile documentary about teenage pregnancy.

  • Eyre heads back to Off The Fence after Target stint

    16-Jun-2010

    Off The Fence has hired Target manager Georgina Eyre as head of acquisitions.

  • Hislop champions role of Victorian 'do-gooders'

    16-Jun-2010

    Private Eye editor Ian Hislop is to explore the role of Victorian reformers in changing social attitudes for a BBC2 series.

  • Harry & Paul to lose laughter track

    16-Jun-2010

    Harry Enfield is planning for his forthcoming sketch show to air without a laugh track - a first for the sketch shows that have made his name.

  • BBC weighs up vuvuzela-free red button World Cup option

    15-Jun-2010

    The BBC is toying with a red button option to reduce the noise from vuvuzela horns during World Cup matches after receiving 545 complaints from viewers.

  • Glee dances off with 1.8m

    15-Jun-2010

    Glee ended its 22-week run on E4 with 1.8m (7.4%) last night, capping a strong run for the import, which has consistently scored ratings above 1m.

  • Unions attack BBC pay offer

    15-Jun-2010

    Broadcasting unions have slammed the BBC’s offer of up to 1.2% pay rise for rank-and-file staff as “out of step” with the public sector.

  • Disney brings Canadian comedy to the UK

    14-Jun-2010

    Disney Channel UK has picked up Canadian older children’s comedy How To Be Indie.

  • C4 lines up Friday night topical comedy

    14-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 has lined up a Friday night home for a new topical stand-up show hosted by Patrick Kielty.

  • Studio Lambert forced to defend village life series

    11-Jun-2010

    Studio Lambert has defended the nature of its upcoming constructed factual series The Village after concerned residents of the planned filming location forced a public ...

  • C4 creative director steps down

    11-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 creative director Brett Foraker, who oversees the broadcaster’s branding and idents, is to leave the broadcaster after seven years to pursue a career in the US.

  • Drop exec takes on senior digital role

    10-Jun-2010

    Endemol UK has promoted the executive behind the web arm of Channel 4’s The Million Pound Drop Live to a new senior role.

  • C4 to subtitle all programming output from 2011

    10-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 aims to offer subtitles on all programmes and fi lms across TV and online by next January as part of a package of measures to improve its access services.

  • Silver River hires Lion’s Rosen to replace Adamson

    10-Jun-2010

    Former Lion Television senior executive producer Hilary Rosen has joined Silver River to replace creative director Dan Adamson, who has moved to Twofour.

  • McGregor brothers take to the skies in BBC1 doc

    10-Jun-2010

    The BBC has enlisted Ewan McGregor and his RAF pilot brother Colin to recreate the experience of World War II fighter pilots for a major season to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

  • C4 secures Pillars Of The Earth

    10-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 has picked up epic historical mini-series Pillars Of The Earth - the first major US acquisition to premiere in the UK on the core C4 channel since Dirty Sexy Money two years ago.

  • Rayner and Richardson to team up for C4 food show

    10-Jun-2010

    The Observer food critic Jay Rayner is to join forces with Supersize vs Superskinny’s Anna Richardson for a topical food magazine show for Channel 4.

  • FX sinks teeth into The Walking Dead

    10-Jun-2010

    FX has picked up the UK rights to zombie thriller The Walking Dead, the first series to be wholly produced by US cable network AMC.

  • Big Brother to crown Ultimate Champion

    9-Jun-2010

    Big Brother producers are planning one final hurrah for the reality show with a two-week ‘Ultimate Champion’ face-off.

  • Hunt: IFNCs officially axed

    8-Jun-2010

    The government has officially axed pilot schemes for Independently Funded News Consortia, redirecting the money into the roll-out of superfast broadband.

  • Abortion ad draws 600 complaints to C4

    8-Jun-2010

    Channel 4 received more than 600 complaints over its decision to air an advert for Marie Stopes, the charity that offers advice on issues surrounding abortions and sexual health.

  • Highflyer retains C4 horse racing deal

    8-Jun-2010

    Highflyer TV is to continue to making Channel 4’s horse racing coverage until December 2012 after winning the first tender for the production in more than 25 years.

  • Twofour hires former Apprentice producer

    7-Jun-2010

    Silver River’s creative director is to stand down after five years to become director of programmes at Twofour.

  • C4 revives Big Brother web feed

    4-Jun-2010

    Big Brother will be streamed around the clock for its final season – but for a fee.

  • Tatchell takes on the Pope for C4

    4-Jun-2010

    Outspoken human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell is to take a confrontational look at the Pope in a one-off documentary for Channel 4.

  • Back2Back wins Madagascar order

    4-Jun-2010

    UK indie Back2Back Productions is making a fast turnaround documentary for Al Jazeera International on the social and political upheaval in Madagascar.

  • First specialist factual course to launch

    4-Jun-2010

    Indie Mandrake Films is backing the first UK university course dedicated to specialist factual documentary production.

  • C4 faces diversity criticism

    3-Jun-2010

    Historian Dr Robert Beckford has launched a stinging attack on Channel 4’s “pathological” attitude towards ethnic-minority content, while a raft of producers have voiced fears that the broadcaster is moving backwards in terms of multicultural output and working relationships.

  • TV Burp repeat wins at 9pm

    3-Jun-2010

    ITV1’s hastily-scheduled TV Burp repeat drew 6m (25.4%) at 9pm last night – almost 4m less than Coronation Street enjoyed in the same slot the previous night.

  • C4 plans 13-week run for final Big Brother

    28-May-2010

    Big Brother is set for its longest run for its swansong, with Channel 4 and E4 broadcasting this year’s series for 13 weeks.

  • Supersize spin-off tackles children’s food issues

    27-May-2010

    Channel 4 features series Supersize vs Superskinny is to follow Embarrassing Bodies in putting children centre-stage of a spin-off series.

  • Cutting Edge doc to give glimpse into life of Brucie

    27-May-2010

    Bruce Forsyth is to open up for an intimate documentary portrait for Channel 4’s Cutting Edge strand.

  • Skins movie takes shape

    27-May-2010

    The Skins movie has got the greenlight, with a screenplay from regular writer Jack Thorne.

  • C4's Oona King in mayor bid

    27-May-2010

    Channel 4 head of diversity Oona King is bidding to revive her political career by entering the race for London mayor, raising questions about her long-term future at the broadcaster.

  • BBC first for Plum as Reef returns to fold

    27-May-2010

    The BBC has commissioned its first daytime series from James May’s Toy Stories producer Plum Pictures, and handed Reef TV its first order since it was suspended over a string of fakery incidents.

  • iPlayer to link direct to rivals’ VoD services

    27-May-2010

    After the failure of Project Kangaroo and the scrapped plans to share iPlayer technology, the BBC has found a third way to partner with other PSBs online - and has invited Sky to join the fray.

  • The IT Crowd gets fifth series and new writers

    26-May-2010

    The IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan plans to pull together a team of writers for a planned fifth series of the Channel 4 comedy.

  • Miralis named More4 head

    25-May-2010

    Australian TV commissioner Anna Miralis is moving to the UK to join Channel 4 as editor of digital channel More4.

  • Crouch to front World Cup special

    25-May-2010

    England footballer Peter Crouch is to make his presenting debut as part of BBC3’s World Cup season.

  • 5 Live rapped over Islam Channel comments

    24-May-2010

    A BBC Radio 5 Live discussion unfairly suggested that the Islam Channel helped to fuel radicalised Muslims, Ofcom has ruled.

  • C4 censured for Big Brother 'retard' jibe

    24-May-2010

    Ofcom has upheld complaints about the use of the word “retard” in a live edition of Celebrity Big Brother’s Big Mouth, overturning an earlier judgement that gave Channel 4 a pass on the incident.

  • C4 eyes new slot for Iron Chef UK

    24-May-2010

    Channel 4 is hunting for a new home for Iron Chef UK after pulling it out of its 5pm slot mid-run due to poor ratings.

  • Nearly 7m reach end of the Rainbow

    24-May-2010

    The sun took its toll on Saturday tea-time viewing this weekend, with ITV1 plunging below 2m - but audiences returned to TV for the climax of BBC1’s talent search Over the Rainbow, which enjoyed the best figures of its current run.

  • ITV2 and Lime to make ‘living soap’ set in Essex

    20-May-2010

    ITV2 is to take viewers inside the nail bars and nightclubs of Essex for what it hopes will be Britain’s answer to MTV’s The Hills.

  • C4 tackles attitudes to beauty in life-swap series from Betty

    20-May-2010

    Society’s attitudes towards beauty are to be tested in Channel 4’s latest life-swap format.

  • Concorde doc takes off

    20-May-2010

    The crash that ended supersonic air travel is to be explored in a 90-minute documentary charting the history of Concorde.

  • Producers accuse BBC of failing interactive media

    20-May-2010

    Multiplatform producers have joined forces to call for the BBC to scrap plans to cut its £177m web spend by 25%

  • MTV UK signs up to promote Shed web soap

    20-May-2010

    MTV UK has become the first broadcaster to partner with Shed Media’s forthcoming 20-part web soap opera Being Victor.

  • Naked Office bares all to 400,000

    19-May-2010

    Publicity for Virgin 1 series The Naked Office, with newspapers splashing on pictures of nudist commuters filmed on the tube, helped the channel to attract almost 400,000 viewers to the show last night.

  • Funny Or Die cuts UK ties

    18-May-2010

    Funny or Die UK, the comedy website backed by Hat Trick Productions, is to close after 18 months.

  • BBC in new Queengate row

    18-May-2010

    The BBC has become embroiled in another Queen-related gaffe after a local DJ told listeners that the monarch had died.

  • Boy George drama brings 2.5m to BBC2

    17-May-2010

    BBC2 drama Worried About the Boy took 2.5m (10.8%) on a 1980s nostalgia trip last night, leaving the channel second only to ITV1’s Lewis at 9pm.

  • BBC2 axes Bellamy's People

    13-May-2010

    BBC2 has axed Bellamy’s People, the TV version of Radio 4 comedy Down the Line, after just one series.

  • Channel X and Baby Cow strike development deal

    13-May-2010

    Comedy indies Channel X and Baby Cow Productions are to team up for joint developments after agreeing a three-year deal.

  • Lime Pictures secures first US commission

    13-May-2010

    Lime Pictures has won its first international commission, with Nickelodeon US ordering an English-language adaptation of a Belgian teen drama originally planned for CBBC.

  • C4 to show ‘jaw-dropping’ animal behaviour

    13-May-2010

    Over-sexed dachshunds, incontinent llamas and narcoleptic horses are to get the Embarrassing Bodies treatment in a Channel 4 series.

  • Twenty Twenty examines Titanic crafts for Channel 4

    13-May-2010

    Channel 4 is to attempt to rebuild parts of the Titanic in a series from Shed Media’s Twenty Twenty dubbed “the Edwardian Gadget Show”.

  • Ralph Lee, specialist factual, Channel 4

    13-May-2010

    C4’s head of specialist factual doesn’t want to fall into the trap of making great programmes that get lost in the schedules. Commissions must make an impact, he tells Robin Parker.

  • Five scores with Fulham final

    13-May-2010

    Five’s live coverage of the UEFA Europa League final gave the channel a 20.5% share between 9pm and 10pm last night, edging out ITV1’s Midsomer Murders and trouncing the first episode of BBC1’s Junior Apprentice.

  • O'Connell to front R2 World Cup quiz

    12-May-2010

    Christian O’Connell is to make his BBC Radio 2 debut as host of a World Cup comedy panel show.

  • Downing St drama draws 10m to BBC1

    12-May-2010

    BBC1’s live coverage of the handover at number 10 was watched by a peak of almost 10m last night as the channel dropped EastEnders and Holby City to follow events as they unfolded.

  • Bacon talks about Blue Peter sacking for C4 site

    11-May-2010

    Presenter Richard Bacon is to open up about his sacking from Blue Peter in a Channel 4 web project from Somethin’ Else.

  • C4 to spend £2m teaching teens about money

    11-May-2010

    Channel 4 has ringfenced almost half of next year’s education budget for projects that will help teenagers grapple with financial and business issues.

  • "Sick" C4 comedy under fire

    7-May-2010

    More than 200 viewers have attacked Channel 4’s comedy output for its reliance on “sick” and “puerile” humour and strong language - and the “abhorrent” views of Frankie Boyle.

  • Election night coverage: the verdict

    7-May-2010

    “This is like the opposite of Just a Minute.” Critics, comedians and creatives share their views of the TV election night coverage.

  • Oddie fails to take flight for BBC2

    7-May-2010

    BBC2’s new Bill Oddie series failed to make much of an impact last night, but the channel performed better than usual opposite the election coverage from 10pm.

  • Adam Buxton to star in BBC2 comedy chat pilot

    7-May-2010

    BBC2 is piloting a chat show with a difference in which celebrities are interviewed in a mock-village hall by residents played by comedians Adam Buxton, Joanna Neary and Al Kerr.

  • Midsomer's ghostly tale spooks the opposition

    6-May-2010

    Spooky goings-on in Midsomer Murders lured 5.4m (23%) to ITV1 last night, once again helping the dependable Tom Barnaby to arrest the opposition.

  • Strike Back outguns American Idol

    6-May-2010

    Sky 1’s action drama Chris Ryan’s Strike Back blasted off with 398,400 viewers (1.7%) at 9pm last night, edging out ITV2’s American Idol – but BBC4 grabbed the spoils from 10pm.

  • Ruby readies ITV1 surgeon thriller and social drama for C4

    6-May-2010

    Ruby Films is developing an ITV drama series following a feisty female surgeon, adapted by Mistresses co-creator SJ Clarkson from the bestselling surgery memoir Direct ...

  • C4 drops doc strands in religion shake-up

    6-May-2010

    Channel 4 is shaking up its entire religious output by ditching strand Revelations after just one series and moving away from authored historical polemics in favour of finding the “One Born Every Minute of religion”.

  • E4 signs up Natalie Cassidy for pregnancy reality doc series

    6-May-2010

    E4 is to follow former EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy’s pregnancy in an observational reality series.

  • Cook Yourself Thin returns for C4 daytime run

    6-May-2010

    Channel 4 daytime show Cook Yourself Thin is to return to screens after three years away, after securing a sponsorship deal.

  • Abraham puts C4 under scrutiny

    6-May-2010

    Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham has vowed to undertake a close internal assessment of the broadcaster’s culture and programming, drawing a line under a period of “looking for external solutions” to its challenges.

  • ITV in deal to extend online interactivity

    6-May-2010

    ITV has signed a six-month deal with live blogging platform Cover It Live that will see it ramp up its integration of the service with flagship shows including Britain’s Got Talent and This Morning.

  • CBBC returns to Paradise Café

    5-May-2010

    CBBC is to return to the South Pacific for a second series of comedy adventure series Paradise Café.

  • "No guts, no glory", Abraham tells commissioners

    29-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 commissioners must take a “no guts, no glory” approach and embrace creative risks, incoming chief executive David Abraham has declared.

  • Abraham plans immediate C4 review

    29-Apr-2010

    Incoming Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham is to conduct a fast-paced review of the broadcaster’s structure – and has vowed to maintain the “heart” of the organisation’s independence.

  • Election leaves viewers cold

    29-Apr-2010

    The UK’s first TV election debates may have revolutionised politics - but they have done little to shake up viewing habits.

  • Davies makes personal history of 1980s for C4

    29-Apr-2010

    Comedian Alan Davies is to make his debut on Channel 4 with a personal journey exploring the political and social changes during the 1980s that underpinned his teenage years.

  • C4 hunts new talent for Coming Up

    29-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 is seeking up-and-coming talent for the 10th series of Coming Up in 2011, with

  • Embarrassing Bodies extends site to tackle children’s health

    29-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 has unveiled yet another brand extension for the Embarrassing Bodies franchise: a website devoted to children’s health.

  • E4 pilots contest to endure ‘in-laws’ from hell

    29-Apr-2010

    E4 is lining up a comedy/reality hybrid in which two men compete to survive an evening with their respective girlfriends’ families - who are being played by actors.

  • SNP loses BBC debate battle

    28-Apr-2010

    Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties have lost their battles with Ofcom and the court over their exclusion from the first televised election debate

  • Sky election debate complaints top 700

    28-Apr-2010

    Complaints over the second Prime Ministerial debate have swelled to more than 700 in the past week.

  • EastEnders rapped for showing real phone number

    26-Apr-2010

    EastEnders “unwarrantably infringed” a woman’s privacy after displaying her business mobile phone number on a prop phone, leading to almost 3,000 unwanted and abusive texts, Ofcom has ruled.

  • VMTV takes film library online

    26-Apr-2010

    Virgin Media is offering films such as Fantastic Mr Fox and District 9 online on its first on-demand web movies service.

  • C4 presenter fronts web beauty series

    26-Apr-2010

    Supersize vs Superskinny presenter Anna Richardson is to front a branded web series funded by the Channel 4 show’s sponsor.

  • BGT wins 48% share

    26-Apr-2010

    Britain’s Got Talent peaked with 11.6m on Saturday night, a 48% share of viewers, as it entered its second week.

  • Flight chaos curbs HBO celebrations

    22-Apr-2010

    The British Film Institute’s celebration of US cable network HBO has fallen foul of this week’s flight chaos, with Hollywood stars and execs now staying firmly in the US for the weekend.

  • Endemol to make cinema debut with Man City doc

    22-Apr-2010

    Endemol’s sports division has secured its first theatrical release – a film charting a year in the life of Manchester City Football Club.

  • Fox rejects Torchwood US

    22-Apr-2010

    US network Fox has passed on a planned remake of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.

  • C4 shows to raise profile of UK Paralympic athletes

    22-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 has fired the starting gun on its 2012 Paralympics buildup with a Saturday lunchtime magazine show and a one-off documentary from the creator of Jump London that will take viewers inside athletes’ bodies.

  • Colin Murray to host MOTD2

    22-Apr-2010

    BBC Radio 5 Live DJ Colin Murray is to take over from Adrian Chiles as host of Match of the Day 2.

  • One Born Every Minute handed extended C4 run

    22-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 maternity ward doc One Born Every Minute is to return with an extended run as part of a mammoth 20-hour double order for indie Dragonfly.

  • Livity hires Maxwell as head of strategy

    22-Apr-2010

    KateModern producer Livity has appointed its first head of concept, strategy and digital as it eyes international sales of its formats and plans to mentor young filmmakers and web developers.

  • Flight chaos: how TV coped

    22-Apr-2010

    The TV industry has spent the past week grappling with headaches caused by ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano - and seizing on some creative solutions.

  • Hincks extends Endemol deal

    21-Apr-2010

    Key staff at Endemol UK including chief executive Tim Hincks are to stay with the super-indie until at least December 2014 after agreeing new terms.

  • C4 pilots teen sex advice show

    21-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 is piloting a sex advice show for teens that has been developed by the original commissioner of The Sex Education Show.

  • Traffic Cops beats The Bill

    21-Apr-2010

    BBC1’s Traffic Cops led the way at 9pm last night with 4.2m (17.3%), ousting their fictional Sun Hill counterparts in a night that saw rival channels struggle to reach 3m in the key peaktime slot.

  • Nutopia scores Obama coup

    21-Apr-2010

    Jane Root’s indie Nutopia has secured US President Barack Obama’s services for its first commission.

  • Five/C4 to air volcano docs

    21-Apr-2010

    Five has made a last-minute addition to tomorrow’s schedules with a documentary about flying through volcanic ash – while a fast-turnaround documentary is in the works for Channel 4.

  • Blitz Street blasts off with 1.8m

    20-Apr-2010

    Channel 4’s new factual series Blitz Street landed with a total audience of 1.8m last night, but was eclipsed by the unstoppable rise of US high school musical drama Glee on sister ...

  • ITV1 lines up live coverage of movie awards

    20-Apr-2010

    The National Movie Awards will be broadcast live when the event returns to ITV1 next month.

  • Countryfile trumps Survival's return

    19-Apr-2010

    Iconic wildlife strand Survival returned to ITV1 after 14 years last night with just 2.3m (10.8%) – with

  • Got Talent peaks with 12.2m

    19-Apr-2010

    Britain’s Got Talent was welcomed back to ITV1’s Saturday night schedule with a peak audience of 12.2m (49%), but less than a quarter of these viewers stuck around for the end of blockbuster drama The Prisoner.

  • Election debate peaks with 10.3m

    16-Apr-2010

    The UK’s first television election debate peaked with 10.3m viewers last night (40% share) – with ITV1 holding on to an audience of more than 9m for almost all of its 90-minute running time.

  • Ofcom cuts red tape for local radio

    15-Apr-2010

    Ofcom has announced a package of measures to deregulate local radio, paving the way for more mergers and more flexibility in the volume of locally-produced content.

  • Midsomer wins again with 4.9m

    15-Apr-2010

    ITV1 scored another midweek victory last night, with the latest Midsomer Murders investigation striding ahead of Waterloo Road to reach 4.9m (21%).

  • CTVC wins EU grants for True Tube trials

    15-Apr-2010

    Indie CTVC has won EU grants worth Euro 500,000 (£440,000) to support research into ways of improving web speeds and security.

  • Lazarus to help resurrect Tales Of The Riverbank for Azure

    15-Apr-2010

    MIPTV: Children’s classic Tales Of The Riverbank is being primed for a TV comeback by the financers of Ken Loach movie Ae Fond Kiss and a former Celador international commercial director.

  • Two Pints writer teams up with Peep Show duo

    15-Apr-2010

    The creators of Peep Show and Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps are collaborating on a female-skewing sitcom for Channel 4.

  • C4 hires School Of Saatchi’s Knight to boost entertainment

    15-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 has hired the producer of BBC2’s School Of Saatchi to beef up its entertainment commissioning team.

  • Influential factual producer dies

    15-Apr-2010

    Sam Organ, the Bafta-nominated executive producer of Tribe and a driving force behind Crimewatch UK, has died of a brain tumour at the age of 52.

  • V helps Syfy inch ahead of ITV2 and E4

    14-Apr-2010

    Rebooted sci-fi drama V made its UK debut with 325,000 viewers last night on NBCU’s rebranded Syfy.

  • New job for Humphreys in C4 restructure

    14-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 features commissioning editor Liam Humphreys has switched to factual entertainment as part of the broadcaster’s merger of the two divisions.

  • The Bill slumps in new slot

    14-Apr-2010

    The Bill’s audience sunk to a new low last night, attracting just 2.8m (11.8%) in its new Tuesday home at 9pm.

  • HBO orders more Treme

    14-Apr-2010

    HBO has ordered a second series of Treme, the new drama from The Wire co-creator David Simon, just days after its US premiere.

  • Tories vow to open BBC books

    13-Apr-2010

    The Conservatives have vowed to lay bare the BBC’s accounts to full scrutiny from the National Audit Office for the first time if they get into power.

  • Jamie Oliver goes Dutch

    13-Apr-2010

    MIPTV: FremantleMedia Enterprises has secured a three-year deal for Jamie Oliver’s shows to air in the Netherlands and has also reintroduced the chef to South American TV for the first time in almost a decade.

  • Lumley takes 4.8m down the Nile

    13-Apr-2010

    Joanna Lumley enticed 4.8m viewers (19.8%) to take a journey down the Nile on ITV1 last night, fending off competition from New Tricks, FlashForward and new shows on BBC2 and Channel 4.

  • Primeval wins major digital prize

    13-Apr-2010

    ITV dinosaur drama Primeval and the BBC’s history of the internet, Digital Revolution, were among the winners at this year’s International Digital Emmy Awards last night.

  • Bectu protests Casualty job cuts

    12-Apr-2010

    Broadcasting union Bectu met with BBC executives last night over what it brands “unacceptable and immoral” plans to dismiss seven Casualty staff days before production begins on the next series.

  • US comedy La La Land coming to BBC3

    12-Apr-2010

    BBC3 has bought La La Land, the debut US series from British comedian Marc Wootton.

  • Foyle's War trumps Billie Piper drama

    12-Apr-2010

    Billie Piper-starring 1950s drama A Passionate Woman delivered 4.7m (18.6%) viewers to BBC1 last night, but more viewers opted to stay in the 1940s with Foyle’s War on ITV1.

  • Coach Trip booked for two more journeys

    12-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 daytime show Coach Trip will stay on air into next year after the broadcaster commissioned two further series.

  • Grand National delivers 57% share

    12-Apr-2010

    The Grand National was a runaway success for BBC1 on Saturday afternoon, building to a peak of 7.6m (57.2%) as the horses got their starting orders.

  • Outnumbered returns with 5.4m

    9-Apr-2010

    BBC1 sitcom Outnumbered returned with 5.4m (22.1%) in its new Thursday night home last night, its second best performance to date.

  • C4 lines up comedians for election night

    9-Apr-2010

    Channel 4 is lining up talent including Rory Bremner, Charlie Brooker, Jimmy Carr and David Mitchell for its election coverage, which will also include a special edition of Come Dine With Me.

  • Maconie gets 6Music spin-off

    8-Apr-2010

    BBC 6Music is to launch a late-night spin-off of Stuart Maconie’s eclectic Sunday afternoon show The Freak Zone.

  • BBC America hires first multiplatform chief

    8-Apr-2010

    BBC Worldwide executive John Taite is to take on a new role heading up BBC America’s multiplatform strategy.

  • Man U tackles MasterChef final

    8-Apr-2010

    MasterChef ended its current run with 5.6m (21.8%), but was dwarfed by the action at Old Trafford, with ITV1’s live Champions League coverage peaking with 8.5m (32.3%).

  • Twist exits BBC Switch for C4 education job

    8-Apr-2010

    A commissioner from BBC Switch has jumped ship to Channel 4 - just weeks after director general Mark Thompson announced plans to close the strand and leave it to C4 to deliver PSB content for teens.

  • Sofia’s Diary indie gets growth boost from Portuguese backer

    8-Apr-2010

    Sofia’s Diary producer Campbell Ryan Entertainment (CRE) is set for expansion after securing investment from beActive Entertainment, the Portuguese company behind the original incarnation of the Bebo teen drama.

  • Endemol makes promise on digital progress

    8-Apr-2010

    Endemol UK has vowed to push digital ideas through more quickly after dropping its head of digital role in favour of a central board, in what it says is “the most serious digital move we have ever made”.

  • Galloway plans web radio station

    7-Apr-2010

    Outspoken MP George Galloway has vowed to take his radio show online following TalkSport’s decision to axe it.

  • Heston's Feast ties with hospital doc

    7-Apr-2010

    BBC2 and Channel 4 were neck and neck at 9pm last night, with the return of Heston’s Feasts and a look inside Great Ormond Street tied with 2.4m (9.8%).

  • More than 1,000 complain over C4 Islam probe

    7-Apr-2010

    Ofcom is looking into criticisms of Dispatches programme Britain’s Islamic Republic, which has attracted more than 1,000 complaints to the regulator and Channel 4.

  • C4's cinema legacy to be scrutinised

    6-Apr-2010

    Channel 4’s contribution to British cinema is to be documented in a major academic study and industry conference.

  • Frost ends with 8.3m

    6-Apr-2010

    Long-running ITV1 crime drama A Touch of Frost bowed out with 8.3m (34%) last night, its best audience in more than three years.

  • Canoe Man makes a splash on BBC4

    1-Apr-2010

    BBC4 drama Canoe Man drew more than 800,000 viewers last night, more than three times the average audience for the channel’s midweek 9pm slot.

  • BBC3 launches magic site

    1-Apr-2010

    BBC3 has given magician duo Barry and Stuart their own website and is lining up what it claims is the first magic trick to use Twitter.

  • Roary races onto iPhone

    31-Mar-2010

    Children’s shows Roary the Racing Car and Fifi and the Flowertots are to get their own games for the iPhone and Nintendo Wii consoles.

  • Cougar Town snares half a million

    31-Mar-2010

    Courteney Cox’s new comedy Cougar Town debuted on Living with 584,300 (2.4%) last night, helping the channel to beat all of the main digital competitors bar ITV2.

  • C4 maternity series delivers 3.1m

    31-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 documentary series One Born Every Minute ended its eight-part run with 3.1m (12.8%) last night.

  • C4 appoints Lygo to arts board as budget rises

    31-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 has doubled its core channel’s annual arts budget to £6m and has created a dedicated arts board headed by director of television and content Kevin Lygo.

  • Danny Fenton, Zig Zag

    31-Mar-2010

    With the might of Banijay behind him, Zig Zag’s MD says the Clerkenwell indie is primed to go global.

  • BBC2 re-orders The Thick of It

    30-Mar-2010

    BBC2 has commissioned a new series of political comedy The Thick of It.

  • Robert Popper joins South Park

    30-Mar-2010

    Former Peep Show producer and Look Around You co-creator Robert Popper has joined the writing team of US animated comedy South Park.

  • Indie mergers and acquisitions to reach three-year high

    25-Mar-2010

    Mergers and acquisitions in the indie sector will reach their greatest value for three years in 2010, building on a pick-up in the market in 2009, according to new research.

  • Kevin Sutcliffe, Dispatches

    25-Mar-2010

    After a year dominated by foreign issues, C4’s Dispatches commissioning editor says it’s time to return to the domestic agenda, but the strand will be no less hard-hitting.

  • Sinnerton swaps Quicksilver for C4 current affairs

    25-Mar-2010

    Quicksilver Media producer Siobhan Sinnerton has joined Channel 4 as news and current affairs commissioning editor - as predecessor Ed Braman returns to the Unreported World indie.

  • Kids in TV review proposes new rules

    19-Mar-2010

    Constructed factual shows that feature children, such as Boys and Girls Alone, will require the same licensing as talent shows, comedy and drama, under government plans.

  • Doctor Who: the verdict

    19-Mar-2010

    Doctor Who’s new stars and lead writer will rightly be praised for rebooting the show, but praise is also due for two unsung heroes, writes Robin Parker.

  • Matt Smith confirmed for more Doctor Who

    19-Mar-2010

    The BBC will enter production on a second series of Doctor Who with new actors Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in July, the show’s executive producers have confirmed.

  • BBC1 enjoys Life of Riley with 5.8m

    18-Mar-2010

    Caroline Quentin sitcom Life of Riley returned with 5.8m (27.5%) on BBC1 last night, its biggest audience to date.

  • Celebrities set to go into ‘therapy’ for Sky Arts show

    18-Mar-2010

    Celebrities ranging from MP Ann Widdecombe to singer Lily Allen will lay themselves bare in a real-life companion to HBO drama In Treatment on Sky Arts 1.

  • City slickers compete for rural retreat in C4 series

    18-Mar-2010

    City dwellers are to be offered the chance to win a home in the country in the latest life-swap format from Stephen Lambert.

  • Gordon Ramsay to track down UK’s best eaterie

    18-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 is to turn The F Word’s search for Britain’s best local restaurant into a standalone Gordon Ramsay series.

  • May To December duo reunite to set up new indie

    18-Mar-2010

    My Hero creator Paul Mendelson has teamed up with comedy and drama director Paul Harrison to set up a new indie.

  • Bullseye hits sweet spot with US factual bonanza

    18-Mar-2010

    Bullseye Productions has won a string of US factual commissions for National Geographic and The Travel Channel.

  • Sky RL picks up US dance show

    18-Mar-2010

    Sky Real Lives has acquired series one and two of US dance contest Dance Your Ass Off from NBCU International Television Distribution.

  • Hammond wins 9pm with 4.3m

    17-Mar-2010

    Richard Hammond’s Invisible Worlds launched with 4.3m (17.6%) on BBC1, delivering the biggest 9pm audience of the night.

  • Endemol signs ex-Disney marketing chief

    17-Mar-2010

    Endemol has hired Disney’s former international marketing chief to head up its own global marketing strategy.

  • Five HD to launch on Sky

    17-Mar-2010

    Five has confirmed plans for an HD channel on Sky this summer – just days after ruling out launching one on Freeview on cost grounds.

  • Talpa and Shine Australia team up

    17-Mar-2010

    John de Mol’s company Talpa is to bring its formats to Australia and New Zealand after forming a joint venture with Shine Australia.

  • Virgin waives HD fees

    16-Mar-2010

    Virgin Media has revised its subscription packages to make HD available to all customers for no extra monthly charge.

  • Five's Police Interceptors gets third run

    16-Mar-2010

    Five has recommissioned Raw Cut’s blue-light show Police Interceptors for a third series.

  • Channels sink below 3m in peak Friday slot

    15-Mar-2010

    The five main channels struggled to reach 3m viewers at 9pm on Friday night, with C4 and BBC1 out in the lead and Five’s The Mentalist edging ahead of ITV1’s Michael Winner’s Dining Stars.

  • BBC criticised for buying US horror drama

    15-Mar-2010

    The BBC should not have bid for US horror drama Harper’s Island, the Culture, Media and Sport select committee has claimed.

  • Publish full accounts, select committee tells C4

    15-Mar-2010

    Channel 4’s refusal to publish its digital channels’ accounts and its conflicting messages over its plans for older children are at odds with its ambitions to become a public service network, a cross-party parliamentary committee has claimed.

  • Skins lines up third-generation cast

    12-Mar-2010

    E4 has recommissioned Skins for a further two series – and is again auditioning for an entirely new cast.

  • Sky hunts for 13-part dramas

    11-Mar-2010

    Sky is on the look-out for 13-part returning drama series under plans to put a carve out greater territory in the genre.

  • Zig Zag picks up pilots of off-beat Far East formats

    11-Mar-2010

    Broadcasters in Japan and South Korea have commissioned Zig Zag to make English-language versions of their quirky gameshow formats.

  • BBC Vision multiplatform head quits

    11-Mar-2010

    BBC Vision head of multiplatform products Lloyd Shepherd is to leave the BBC after nine months in the role.

  • Fellowes attacks TV's "cult of youth"

    11-Mar-2010

    Veteran screenwriter Julian Fellowes has attacked TV commissioners’ obsession with reaching a “mythical” youth audience and their fear of portraying comfortable middle class life.

  • Buck up quality of Extraordinary People, indies told

    10-Mar-2010

    Five head of factual Andrew O’Connell has called on indies to step up the quality of ideas they pitch to Extraordinary People as hekicks off a major review of the flagship documentary strand.

  • C4 invites pitches to produce horse racing coverage

    10-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 is putting more than 400 hours of horse-racing output up for grabs for the first time in more than 25 years.

  • Tiger’s Lee and Raw’s Farrar team up to launch indie Nerd

    10-Mar-2010

    Former Tiger Aspect head of documentaries Jago Lee and Raw Television head of development John Farrar are setting up an indie - with a gameshow filmed in an underground city among its first projects.

  • Ten Alps chief calls for online WoCC

    10-Mar-2010

    The BBC’s Window of Creative Competition (WoCC) scheme should be extended online for the corporation’s planned strategic partnership with cultural institutions, Ten Alps chief executive Alex Connock has argued.

  • C4 to step up search for new doc faces

    10-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 head of programmes Julian Bellamy has pledged to make a “nursery slope” for new factual presenters a key priority in his creative renewal of the channel.

  • Heston to work culinary magic on NHS for C4

    10-Mar-2010

    Heston Blumenthal will attempt to raise the standards of hospital food as part of a Channel 4 series that builds on his earlier transformation of Little Chef.

  • C4 orders autism musical series

    9-Mar-2010

    Autistic children will attempt to produce their own musical for the London stage in a forthcoming Channel 4 series.

  • Married Single Other trails New Tricks repeat

    9-Mar-2010

    Married, Single, Other fell below 4m viewers last night, leaving the ITV1 comedy drama languishing behind a repeat of New Tricks on BBC1.

  • BBC lines up more George Gently

    9-Mar-2010

    The BBC has begun filming on two feature-length episodes of Inspector George Gently – the first to be filmed in north-east England.

  • Saturday Kitchen criticised for swearing - again

    8-Mar-2010

    Ofcom has rapped BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen Live for broadcasting the f-word, months after escaping censure for a similar slip-up.

  • The Mentalist catches lacklustre Winner

    8-Mar-2010

    ITV1 and Five were neck-and-neck at 9pm on Friday night, with Michael Winner’s Dining Stars and US drama The Mentalist both watched by 2.1m.

  • Report: twice as many men on TV as women

    8-Mar-2010

    Men appear almost twice as much as women on TV, with factual programming and news the worst offenders, according to research ordered by Channel 4.

  • Galloway attacks "dirty" Dispatches doc

    5-Mar-2010

    MP George Galloway has attacked a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation into his relationship with the Islamic Forum of Europe , branding it a “dirty little programme”.

  • Bafta redrafts nominations after C4 oversight

    5-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 entertainment shows including Derren Brown’s The Events were accidentally left off the Bafta nominations longlist, it has emerged.

  • Clint hangs BBC2 and C4 out to dry

    5-Mar-2010

    Docs and comedy on BBC2 and Channel 4 lost out to a Clint Eastwood western from 42 years ago on Five last night.

  • C4 viewers heap praise on Mowlam biopic

    5-Mar-2010

    Ratings-busting drama Mo was the most praised show on Channel 4 last month – but viewers complained in droves about a technical hitch that saw The Godfather Part II transmitted in the wrong order.

  • Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone / Push The Button

    4-Mar-2010

    Love

  • Virgin Media chief blasts Canvas "whitewash"

    4-Mar-2010

    Virgin Media chief executive Neil Berkett has launched a ferocious attack on the “shameless whitewash” of the BBC Trust’s consultation on Project Canvas.

  • After Dark pioneer Cody links with So Television for comeback

    4-Mar-2010

    The creative force behind Channel 4’s ground-breaking late-night talk show After Dark is planning a return to British TV after striking a partnership with So Television.

  • Fresh One lands sci-fi food show for Al-Jazeera

    4-Mar-2010

    Fresh One Productions has won its first children’s commission – an Arabic-language show for Al- Jazeera that puts a sci-fi spin on the indie’s brand of socially conscious food programmes.

  • Fresh One takes on Betty’s Wise for creative role

    4-Mar-2010

    Fresh One Productions managing director Roy Ackerman has made his first major hire since joining the indie last year, appointing former Wife Swap producer David Wise as creative director.

  • Northern Ireland to earn millions from HBO epic

    4-Mar-2010

    Northern Ireland’s TV community is set for a multimillion-pound boost after HBO confirmed plans to film what is thought to be the biggest TV production ever staged in the UK.

  • Digital creatives slam BBC for betraying its charter

    4-Mar-2010

    Digital creatives have blasted plans to cut the BBC’s £177m web spend by 25% as “bullshit” rhetoric that betrays the corporation’s charter.

  • C4 social media guru to step down

    3-Mar-2010

    Channel 4 digital publicity manager Steve Berry is to leave the broadcaster after just three months in the job.

  • Five Days grips 6.8m

    3-Mar-2010

    BBC1 ended its Tuesday blues last night, with drama Five Days holding onto 6.8m (27%) of its viewers for its second episode.

  • BBC holds crisis talks with unions

    3-Mar-2010

    Mark Thompson will meet with union leaders today for the second time in a week to discuss their concerns that the BBC’s review could lead to the loss of up to 600 jobs.

  • Web and radio face BBC cuts, but extra £600m for content

    2-Mar-2010

    The BBC’s Putting Quality First review will see it invest an extra £600m into programme-making after ringfencing 90p of every £1 of the licence fee for content.

  • Brooker to battle talent shows at RTS awards

    2-Mar-2010

    BBC4 series Newswipe with Charlie Brooker is to battle with ITV1 blockbusters Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor at this year’s RTS Awards.

  • Carling Cup final peaks with 7m

    1-Mar-2010

    BBC1’s live coverage of the Carling Cup final between Aston Villa and Manchester United scored a peak of 7m (37.2%) on Sunday afternoon.

  • Ant & Dec neck and neck with Let's Dance

    1-Mar-2010

    ITV1’s new Ant & Dec gameshow Push the Button was level pegging with BBC1’s Let’s Dance for Sport Relief on Saturday night.

  • C4 makes pension offer as staff bonuses return

    25-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 is urging former staff to cash in their pensions - as current employees look forward to receiving a bonus, after missing out last year.

  • Endemol hands entertainment post to Mather

    25-Feb-2010

    Endemol UK has appointed the brains behind Goldenballs and The Whole 19 Yards to the new role of head of entertainment.

  • Damages dips below 1m in new slot

    25-Feb-2010

    US legal drama Damages returned with just under 1m viewers on BBC1 last night, with a strong showing for Newsnight eating into its audience.

  • Soccer Aid returns to ITV1

    25-Feb-2010

    Dermot O’Leary is to take over from Ant and Dec as host for the third Soccer Aid charity match, which will be broadcast live on ITV1.

  • Project Canvas to offer split-screen interaction

    25-Feb-2010

    Project Canvas will offer viewers a split-screen experience with networked conversations on sites such as Twitter appearing next to TV pictures, under plans being drawn up by the platform’s partners.

  • Film-makers pay tribute to ‘passionate’ Mulvey

    25-Feb-2010

    Film-makers given their break by Sarah Mulvey on Channel 4’s First Cuts strand have contacted the late commissioner’s family in thanks for her support - and her often rigorous demands.

  • C4 hires Miranda’s Evans to beef up its comedy team

    25-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 has expanded its comedy commissioning team with the appointment of Miranda producer Nerys Evans.

  • C4 VoD champion stands down

    24-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 executive Joel Stark, who helped ramp up the broadcaster’s on-demand strategy, is to leave the company.

  • Extension granted for C4 icon

    23-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 has pledged to use the ‘Big 4’ structure outside its Horseferry Road HQ for art installations for at least another five years.

  • Four channels rapped over f-word in daytime

    22-Feb-2010

    Ofcom has taken MTV, ITV2, ITV4 and Dave to task over instances of pre-watershed swearing in pre-recorded programmes.

  • Eurosport launches live iPhone stream

    22-Feb-2010

    Eurosport has brought its live sports coverage to the iPhone for the first time, kicking off with the Winter Olympics.

  • Sport Relief dance-off wins 7.9m

    22-Feb-2010

    BBC1 fundraiser Let’s Dance for Sport Relief waltzed past ITV1’s offerings on Saturday night, peaking with 7.9m (33.2%) during its climactic moments.

  • Dragonfly bolsters creative team

    19-Feb-2010

    Dragonfly Film and Television has made two new senior hires following the departures of co-founders Nick Curwin and Magnus Temple.

  • C4 brings comedy 'roasts' to the UK

    19-Feb-2010

    Bruce Forsyth is to make a rare Channel 4 appearance in a series that brings the US tradition of celebrity ‘roasts’ to the UK for the first time.

  • Fincham and Bennett back mentoring scheme

    19-Feb-2010

    Senior industry figures including Peter Fincham and Jana Bennett have signed up to a major talent mentoring scheme which opens for entries today.

  • Hamish Mykura, More 4

    18-Feb-2010

    More 4 head Hamish Mykura wants producers to think big, as he looks for event programming and documentaries that attract a wide audience.

  • New data guidelines offer clearer protection for producers

    18-Feb-2010

    Guidelines for TV producers to comply with data protection laws have been drawn up for the first time.

  • Dance shows set for 3D order

    18-Feb-2010

    Sky 1’s “performance documentary” Pineapple Dance Studios is understood to be among the broadcaster’s first shows to get the 3D treatment, which will largely be reserved for family-oriented “event” television.

  • More 4 jumps on Crufts controversy with film from Mentorn

    18-Feb-2010

    More 4 aims to step up the debate started by the BBC’s controversial documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed with its own investigation into dog-breeding practices.

  • Coulter joins Freelancer

    18-Feb-2010

    Broadcast’s online offshoot for the freelance TV community, Broadcast Freelancer is set for a new chapter under Productionbase founder Moray Coulter.

  • Thick of It up for BPG awards

    18-Feb-2010

    BBC2 comedy The Thick of It has earned four nominations at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

  • Alibi seals highest-profile deal for ABC’s Castle

    18-Feb-2010

    UKTV crime channel Alibi has sealed its highest-profile acquisition to date - picking up the exclusive UK rights to the first two series of ABC Studios drama Castle.

  • Ramage Rooney quits C4 to join Ramsay’s indie

    18-Feb-2010

    Channel 4’s features department has lost its second commissioner in a month, with Adeline Ramage Rooney moving to Gordon Ramsay’s indie to executive produce Fox’s US remake of Masterchef.

  • BBC plans for iPlayer on iPhone

    17-Feb-2010

    The BBC is eyeing up an iPlayer app for iPhones later this year, following planned launches for news and sport apps.

  • SeeSaw launches to public

    17-Feb-2010

    Arqiva has launched its video-on-demand web service SeeSaw ahead of schedule following three weeks of beta testing, and plans to add paid-for premium content within the next four months.

  • Law & Order: UK ends with 22.6% share

    16-Feb-2010

    Law & Order: UK bowed out on a high note last night, enjoying a 22.6% audience share – the biggest of its current run.

  • Lime digital head to exec produce Hollyoaks

    16-Feb-2010

    Lime Pictures has expanded the executive producer team on its flagship soap Hollyoaks to include its digital head Lee Hardman.

  • Dance duo bow out on a high

    15-Feb-2010

    BBC1 entertainment series So You Think You Can Dance wrapped up with 5.3m (22.1%) on a weekend that also saw Sky 1 enjoy an audience of more than 1m for the final of its own contest, Got to Dance.

  • Gordon Brown interview peaks at 5.2m

    15-Feb-2010

    More than 5m tuned in to watch Gordon Brown open up to Piers Morgan on ITV1 last night - almost twice the audience who tuned in to watch Michael Portillo on BBC1.

  • Monty Don's Mastercrafts whittles 2.7m

    15-Feb-2010

    Monty Don inspired 2.7m (11.1%) to watch beginners learn the techniques of woodworking in new BBC2 series Mastercrafts, the biggest new show in an otherwise lacklustre Friday night.

  • C4 orders full series of Popper sitcom

    12-Feb-2010

    Robert Popper’s semi-autobiographical E4 sitcom pilot Friday Night Dinner has been picked up for a full series on Channel 4.

  • Five launches Gadget Show magazine

    12-Feb-2010

    Five and North One have teamed up with publisher Future to launch a magazine for The Gadget Show – the broadcaster’s first venture into the magazines market.

  • Embarrassing Bodies live web show draws 42,000

    12-Feb-2010

    Channel 4’s first live interactive web show drew 42,000 viewers this week – putting it almost on a par with UKTV’s Watch.

  • C4 to stage live comedy special

    11-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 has secured comedians such as Bill Bailey, Michael McIntyre and Jack Dee for a live special to be filmed at London’s 02 Arena.

  • Two-screen TV: terms of engagement

    11-Feb-2010

    Broadcasters are finding new ways of attracting the growing number of people who surf the web while they watch TV. Robin Parker taps into the world of two-screen entertainment.

  • More 4 to air Nick Griffin’s Battle For Barking

    11-Feb-2010

    More 4 is to mark the general election with a documentary depicting Labour MP Margaret Hodge’s attempts to hold onto her seat against British National Party leader Nick Griffin.

  • C4 earmarks prime AFP slots for new ent ideas

    11-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 is opening up its 10pm and 11pm slots to AFP for the first time.

  • Twofour talent sways Mackenzie

    11-Feb-2010

    Twofour’s “mindblowing” multiplatform team was the deciding factor in Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Andrew Mackenzie’s decision to become group creative director at the indie.

  • Time Team ordered until 2013 but budget cut back

    11-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 has moved long-running history series Time Team to Wales and guaranteed that it will air until at least 2013 - but has cut the budget by about 15%.

  • Bellamy's People / How Earth Made Us

    11-Feb-2010

    Robin Parker and David Wood cast their eye over two of the week’s shows.

  • Sea Patrol UK to return

    11-Feb-2010

    Wall to Wall series Sea Patrol UK is to get an extended 8 x 60-minute run for its second series.

  • Virgin adds Discovery to HD package

    10-Feb-2010

    Discovery is to join Virgin Media’s roster of HD channels just a week after the company announced plans to offer Eurosport HD.

  • C4 to drop Friends

    10-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 is to wave goodbye to US comedy Friends after 15 years, freeing up slots on both C4 and E4 for new shows - with Comedy Central picking up the rights.

  • Andrew Mackenzie leaves C4 for Twofour

    10-Feb-2010

    Twofour has ended its year-long hunt for a group creative director with the appointment of Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Andrew Mackenzie.

  • Hotel Inspector heads Home

    10-Feb-2010

    UKTV-owned channel Home has picked up the rights to the first three series of Five’s factual entertainment hit The Hotel Inspector.

  • Military History buys WW2 series

    10-Feb-2010

    The Military History Channel is to screen new 10-part history series Britain at War after picking up the UK TV rights from Simply Media.

  • C4 asks: are you smarter than an 11-year-old?

    10-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 plans to test the nation’s mathematics skills with a web game tied into a forthcoming edition of Dispatches.

  • C4 site to share birth stories

    9-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 has launched a site featuring video feeds from 40 cameras fixed within maternity wards to support documentary series One Born Every Minute.

  • BBC2 re-orders comedy double

    9-Feb-2010

    BBC2 has greenlit second runs of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle and Dave Gorman’s show Genius.

  • C4 to offer viewers a third Gok fix

    9-Feb-2010

    Gok Wan is to re-team with fashion buyer Brix Smith-Start for a third series of Channel 4 series Gok’s Fashion Fix.

  • BBC4 doc vies with Avatar at green awards

    9-Feb-2010

    A BBC4 documentary is to vie with James Cameron’s record-breaking movie Avatar for an environmental prize at the Cinema for Peace Awards next week.

  • Coraline creator to write for Doctor Who

    8-Feb-2010

    Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman is working on his first major TV project in 15 years: an episode of Doctor Who.

  • Ramsay's US Cookalong dips on C4

    8-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 had the post-Celebrity Big Brother blues on Friday night, with Gordon Ramsay’s latest attempts to get his audience cooking along attracting just 822,300 in a peak-time slot.

  • Lost dips below 1m in Friday slot

    8-Feb-2010

    Sky 1 has been cut adrift after switching Lost to Friday nights for its final series, with audiences dipping below a million for the drama’s return.

  • C4 failed to curb reporting of libel case

    5-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 and Studio Lambert unsuccessfully tried to secure an injunction to prevent reporting of a hearing into a libel action brought against a documentary, it has emerged.

  • Ex-Sky exec joins LoveFilm

    5-Feb-2010

    Former BSkyB director of channels and operations Lesley Mackenzie is to lead the digital strategy for DVD rental company LoveFilm.

  • Ramsay takes flak over C4 India series

    5-Feb-2010

    Channel 4’s Indian Winter season of programmes has split viewers, with almost 200 viewers weighing in to criticise the broadcaster’s decision to dispatch Gordon Ramsay and Kevin McCloud to report on the country.

  • Embarrassing Bodies reaches record high

    4-Feb-2010

    Embarrassing Bodies had nothing to be shy about last night, with 3.6m viewers tuning in - its biggest audience to date.

  • Lygo tells C4 staff: I’m staying put

    4-Feb-2010

    Channel 4 director of television and content Kevin Lygo has told commissioners that he’s going nowhere - and criticised them for not watching enough of the broadcaster’s shows.

  • Scott Free’s Marshall brings in British talent

    4-Feb-2010

    Former Channel 4 head of drama Liza Marshall has made her first hires since joining Ridley Scott’s indie Scott Free, including bringing in Little Dorritt script editor Surian Fletcher-Jones to expand its British TV slate.

  • SeeSaw tests hunger for indie VoD content

    4-Feb-2010

    Talkback Thames and Shed Media are planning a phased launch on VoD platform SeeSaw using flagship shows that have not previously been available on any ‘long-tail’ catch-up service.

  • October’s Quinn to boost factual at Firecracker Films

    4-Feb-2010

    October Films head of factual James Quinn is to leave the indie to develop factual output at Firecracker Films.

  • Murder on the Lake / So You Think You Can Dance

    4-Feb-2010

    Robin Parker and Kate McMahon pass judgement on a BBC4 Storyville doc and BBC1’s latest dance show.

  • Eurosport HD comes to Virgin

    3-Feb-2010

    Virgin Media has earmarked Eurosport as the next channel to offer an HD channel on its TV service.

  • Holden's stunts no match for CSI

    3-Feb-2010

    Five edged ahead of ITV1 at 9pm last night, with viewers voting the latest CSI case a more attractive prospect than Amanda Holden’s stint as a Hollywood stuntwoman.

  • Jeff Henry launches TV links service

    3-Feb-2010

    Former ITV consumer chief executive Jeff Henry has launched a new service that will provide web content linked to TV shows as they are broadcast.

  • Maverick lands £15m NHS web project

    2-Feb-2010

    Embarrassing Bodies producer Maverick has won a five-year deal to build a broadband medical service offering advice to the public and healthcare staff in the Midlands.

  • Chello picks up psychic triple for CBS Reality

    2-Feb-2010

    Recently-launched entertainment channel CBS Reality has picked up three paranormal series featuring British mediums including Derek Acorah and Colin Fry.

  • Glee brings more joy for E4

    2-Feb-2010

    US teen comedy-drama Glee scored its best audience to date last night, with more than 1.3m (5.3%) offering a strong lead-in to new animated comedy The Cleveland Show.

  • Charlie Brooker scores global YouTube hit

    1-Feb-2010

    A segment from BBC4 show Newswipe with Charlie Brooker has become YouTube’s highest-rated clip of all time.

  • Gavin & Stacey helps iPlayer soar on Virgin

    1-Feb-2010

    BBC iPlayer now accounts for one in four views of on-demand content on Virgin Media, which reached a record 76 million total in December.

  • C4 lines up live game show and real-life soap

    1-Feb-2010

    C4 is eyeing up a live game show in which contestants compete to hold on to £1m in cash and a real-time ob-doc series filmed in Notting Hill as potential returning shows to fill the gap left by Big Brother.

  • CBB takes final bow with 4.3m

    1-Feb-2010

    The last ever Celebrity Big Brother delivered 4.3m viewers to Channel 4 on Friday night – half a million more than last year’s finale.

  • Pact calls for free market on BBC shows

    29-Jan-2010

    Pact has called for the end of BBC Worldwide’s first look deal for BBC shows, claiming it is stifling competition among TV distributors.

  • SeeSaw signs broadcaster and indie deals

    29-Jan-2010

    Broadcasters Channel 4 and Five, plus indies Talkback Thames and Shed Media, have joined Arqiva’s video-on-demand service SeeSaw.

  • Messenger quits Live from Studio Five

    29-Jan-2010

    Five has lined up guest hosts to replace Melinda Messenger on its underperforming news magazine show Live From Studio Five.

  • Skins back to early glory with 1.1m

    29-Jan-2010

    Teen drama Skins enjoyed its best E4 audience since its first ever episode last night, with series four opening with 1.1m (6%).

  • Returning US shows hit dramatic heights

    28-Jan-2010

    Desperate Housewives scored its biggest audience in almost two years last night, while Mad Men delivered its best ratings yet for BBC4.

  • BBC challenged to improve commissioning of live events

    28-Jan-2010

    The government’s spending watchdog has tasked the BBC with improving the commissioning of live events such as the Olympics and Wimbledon to ensure value for money.

  • Andrew Mackenzie, factual entertainment, C4

    28-Jan-2010

    The media and government furore surrounding Boys And Girls Alone has not curbed the Channel 4 head of factual entertainment’s appetite for provocation.

  • Ugly Betty axed

    28-Jan-2010

    US network ABC has axed comedy-drama Ugly Betty after four series.

  • Second generation Going Back to their roots on C4

    28-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 is to take three second-generation immigrant families back to their forefathers’ homelands to see if life is better there than in recession-hit Britain.

  • Betty secures C4 order for glitzy wedding show

    28-Jan-2010

    Country House Rescue indie Betty has won an order for a Channel 4 format that will bring Las Vegas-style weddings to the UK.

  • BBC2 reunites Mel and Sue for British baking competition

    28-Jan-2010

    Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc are to re-team for their first series in more than a decade - a BBC2 quest to find the UK’s best amateur bakers.

  • Sky kicks off 3D football trial in pubs ahead of weekly launch

    28-Jan-2010

    Sky will screen its first live 3D football match in nine pubs this weekend ahead of the launch of a game-a-week service from April.

  • C4 execs nervous of losing Lygo

    28-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 commissioners could start a “revolution” out of loyalty to Kevin Lygo if he leaves the broadcaster, insiders have predicted.

  • Johnson cuts ties with C4

    27-Jan-2010

    Departing Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson has described his time at the broadcaster as “among the most rich and rewarding experiences of my career”.

  • Steve Jones to front BBC1 physical game show

    27-Jan-2010

    The makers of Total Wipeout are to produce another Saturday night BBC1 physical game show from Argentina.

  • BBC4 to chart the history and art of maps

    26-Jan-2010

    BBC4 has ordered two documentary series about the history of maps to coincide with a major British Library exhibition.

  • Absolute sets up interactive teams

    26-Jan-2010

    Absolute Radio has expanded programme manager Tony Moorey’s role to include leadership of a new interactive division as part of a management restructure.

  • Good Wife debuts with 1.6m

    26-Jan-2010

    New US legal drama The Good Wife launched with 1.6m viewers on Channel 4 last night, making a bigger splash than BBC2’s import Nurse Jackie.

  • Talkback launches web opera spoof

    26-Jan-2010

    The comedy team behind spoof boyband Toyboize has launched a second pop parody, this time pastiching pop-opera groups such as G4 and Il Divo.

  • X Factor put epileptics at risk

    25-Jan-2010

    Laser lighting effects used in Westlife’s performance on this year’s The X Factor put epileptics at risk by flashing five times faster than permitted, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Phil takes 2.5m down under for C4

    25-Jan-2010

    Channel 4’s second weekly dose of property expert Phil Spencer brought 2.5m viewers to the channel on Friday night.

  • Industry hails Abraham hiring as "inspiring"

    22-Jan-2010

    David Abraham is an “inspiring” choice for the Channel 4 chief executive role whose commercial background should not be confused for a lack of editorial nous, industry figures have claimed - but does he have the PSB credentials?

  • Abraham set for £490,000 salary at C4

    22-Jan-2010

    David Abraham will earn £490,000 a year as chief executive of Channel 4, £180,000 less than Andy Duncan’s salary at its peak.

  • Channel 4 appoints David Abraham chief executive

    22-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 has named UKTV’s David Abraham as its new chief executive.

  • Bellamy has 1.2m people

    22-Jan-2010

    The return of Fast Show comedians Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson in celebrity travelogue spoof Bellamy’s People attracted 1.2m (5.5%) last night as part of BBC2’s new-look comedy line-up.

  • BBC to canvas public on homosexuality

    22-Jan-2010

    The BBC has commissioned research into attitudes towards its portrayal of homosexuality and bisexuality across radio, TV and online.

  • Jedward factor breaks records for TV Awards

    21-Jan-2010

    Jedward, Joe McElderry and Dermot O’Leary brought some X Factor to the revamped National Television Awards last night, which peaked with a record 8.2m viewers (31%).

  • C4 to air live Bodies show online

    21-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 show Embarrassing Bodies is to break new ground by launching a live, interactive spin-off show that airs solely on the web.

  • Zeppotron moves into fact ent with Chippington hire

    21-Jan-2010

    Screenwipe and 8 Out Of 10 Cats indie Zeppotron plans to make its first foray into factual entertainment with the appointment of Tiger Aspect’s Gary Chippington.

  • Talent shows help ITV to clean sweep in 2009 ratings battle

    21-Jan-2010

    Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor helped ITV1 deliver the 34 biggest TV audiences in 2009, with BBC1’s top show a full 6.5 million behind the commercial broadcaster’s peak.

  • Marquess exits ‘hell’ for Hollyoaks

    21-Jan-2010

    Drama veteran Paul Marquess has emerged from a self-confessed “four years of development hell” to become producer of Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks.

  • ITV kicks off Football3s tie-up

    21-Jan-2010

    ITV is to invite football fans to play along during this year’s World Cup in South Africa with a live online fantasy game from Mint Digital.

  • More 4 plans full series of comedy piloted on C4

    21-Jan-2010

    More 4 is lining up its first original comedy series, with Channel 4 pilot The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret earmarked for a full run.

  • C4 extends Britdoc agreement

    21-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 has extended its commitment to the Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation for a further two years.

  • C4 to update top 100 stand-ups poll

    20-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 has kicked off a search for the top 100 stand-up comedians of all-time.

  • BBC2 to debunk E-number myths

    19-Jan-2010

    Food travelogue presenter Stefan Gates has scored his highest profile show to date with a BBC2 series bursting the myths around E-numbers.

  • Eyeworks UK to film charity event for T4

    19-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 youth strand T4 is to screen highlights of a major music and fashion event in an advertiser-funded deal with GlaxoSmithKline.

  • Ofcom set to relax ad sales

    18-Jan-2010

    Ofcom is poised to relax rules on advertising sales in its first review of the practice in seven years.

  • Popstar to Operastar opens with 4m

    18-Jan-2010

    ITV1’s new celebrity singing contest Popstar to Operastar debuted with 4m (15.4%) on Friday night, losing out to BBC1’s Silent Witness, while Jonathan Ross returned to his BBC1 chatshow for the first time since announcing plans to quit the corporation.

  • C4 extends Phil and Kirstie deal

    15-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 has signed up Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp for a further three years after the BBC attempted to poach the Location, Location, Location presenters.

  • C4 hands Paralympics schedule centre stage

    14-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 has vowed to “totally immerse” viewers in the 2012 Paralympic Games, which it claims will give the broadcaster a commercial boost as well as playing to its PSB strengths.

  • Race for top position at C4 enters final stages

    14-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 is aiming to appoint a new chief executive in time for next week’s Oxford Media Convention - where former incumbent Andy Duncan is delivering the keynote address.

  • Renegade appoints Folio’s Nissen to managing director post

    14-Jan-2010

    Renegade Pictures has hired Folio Productions’ Ed Nissen as managing director as part of a reshuffle designed to free up co-founders Alex Cooke and Jon Rowlands.

  • Shooting star set for web move

    13-Jan-2010

    Shooting Stars character Angelos Epithemiou is to break out of the studio for his own BBC web series, directed by Bob Mortimer.

  • C4 Dispatches doc wins most praise in 2009

    13-Jan-2010

    Peter Oborne’s controversial investigation into Israel lobbyists in the UK was the most praised show on Channel 4 last year, the broadcaster has confirmed.

  • Survivors lives on with 4.5m

    13-Jan-2010

    BBC1 sci-fi drama Survivors returned with 4.5m viewers (17.5%) at 9pm last night, more than 1m down on the average audience for series one.

  • C4 commissioner joins indie Betty

    13-Jan-2010

    Walter Iuzzolino, the Channel 4 commissioner behind Embarrassing Bodies and The Sex Education Show, is leaving the broadcaster to join indie Betty TV.

  • Glee brings 1.3m to E4

    12-Jan-2010

    E4 was dancing for joy last night as US import Glee brought 1.3m viewers (4.8%) at 9pm.

  • BBC beats ITV in drama battle

    12-Jan-2010

    Law & Order: UK returned to ITV1 with 5.7m (21%) last night, but it wasn’t quite enough to topple Hustle, which delivered 5.9m (21.9%) to BBC1 at 9pm

  • Cowell quits American Idol for US X Factor launch

    12-Jan-2010

    Simon Cowell is to leave American Idol to launch The X Factor in the US.

  • Being Human helps BBC3 beat Five

    11-Jan-2010

    BBC3 inched ahead of Five last night as supernatural drama Being Human returned with an audience of 1.4m (5.9%).

  • MTV rapped over Lady Gaga swearing

    11-Jan-2010

    Ofcom has upheld a complaint against MTV over the pre-recorded daytime broadcast of a concert in which Lady Gaga used strong language.

  • Heroes loses pulling power

    11-Jan-2010

    Heroes’ move to Saturday nights failed to take off with just 1.4m (6.9%) turning to BBC2 at 10.15pm.

  • C4 to mummify victim of terminal illness

    11-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 is eyeing up a provocative documentary in which a terminally ill person would volunteer to be mummified upon their death.

  • One in eight choose 8 Out of 10 Cats

    11-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 panel show 8 out of 10 Cats enjoyed its best ratings in more than two years on Friday night, with almost 3.5m tuning in.

  • C4 to air 2012 Paralympics

    8-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 will screen more than 150 hours of coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games after securing the UK multi-platform broadcast rights in a competitive pitch.

  • C4 viewers question Queen dramas

    8-Jan-2010

    Drama-documentary series The Queen was the most divisive programme on Channel 4 last month, with 39 people complaining that it misrepresented the monarch’s life.

  • Seaside sex trumps Bailey's birds

    8-Jan-2010

    Bill Bailey’s Birdwatching Bonanza! failed to take flight for Sky 1 last night, with just 242,800 (0.9%) flocking to see the comic and his celebrity chums indulge in their ornithological high-jinks.

  • Silent Witness grips 7.3m

    8-Jan-2010

    Silent Witness stormed back onto BBC1 last night with 7.3m viewers (26.7%), its best ratings in almost four years.

  • Simon Nye pens Doctor Who story

    7-Jan-2010

    Men Behaving Badly creator Simon Nye has joined the roster of writers on the next season of Doctor Who.

  • Home Time gets two SBS award nominations

    7-Jan-2010

    BBC2 comedy Home Time is up for two prizes at this year’s South Bank Show awards – which also recognises the talents of Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity.

  • Canvas to shake up VoD by Xmas 2010

    7-Jan-2010

    Project Canvas can “transform” the VoD market next Christmas, according to its partners, who are kicking off the new year with talks to thrash out the IPTV project’s consumer proposition.

  • Viewers flock to BBC2's birds and dogs

    7-Jan-2010

    BBC2 benefited from the big freeze last night, with above-average audiences for a factual double-whammy of Natural World and Horizon.

  • Robert Peston and Lindsay Lohan to front BBC3 current affairs

    7-Jan-2010

    BBC3 has expanded its repertoire of factual presenters to include Robert Peston, Lindsay Lohan, Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts and Small Island actor Ashley Walters.

  • BBC3 pins hopes on season of pilots to find next Being Human

    7-Jan-2010

    BBC3 is hunting for the next Being Human with a second season of comedy-drama pilots for the spring.

  • Channel 4 beefs up drama division to spend BB cash

    7-Jan-2010

    Channel 4 has expanded its drama commissioning team, making two appointments as it gears up to spend its post-Big Brother windfall.

  • Dragons' Den star hits high street

    6-Jan-2010

    Maverick TV has teamed up with Dragons’ Den’s Theo Paphitis for a BBC2 series in which members of the public will compete to get major retailers to stock products they have designed.

  • Hairy Bikers hit new heights

    6-Jan-2010

    The Hairy Bikers cooked up their biggest ever audience last night, with 3.3m (12%) tuning in to BBC2 at 8pm to watch Mums Know Best.

  • E4 youth reach surges past Five

    6-Jan-2010

    E4’s reach among young viewers rose to a record high in 2009, with the digital channel overtaking Five in its share of the key 16 to 34 demographic.

  • Above Suspicion outfoxes Hustle

    5-Jan-2010

    ITV1 won the 9pm drama battle last night, with the return of Lynda La Plante’s Above Suspicion drawing 6.7m (25.6%).

  • Sky 1 gets more than a million dancing

    4-Jan-2010

    Talent contest Got to Dance delivered more than a million viewers to Sky 1 from 7pm last night – more than twice the slot average.

  • Doctor Who and Gavin & Stacey end on a high

    4-Jan-2010

    David Tennant’s final turn in Doctor Who and the last episode of Gavin & Stacey delivered big audiences to BBC1 on New Year’s Day.

  • Celebrity Big Brother opens with 6.1m

    4-Jan-2010

    The launch of the final Celebrity Big Brother was all-conquering last night, peaking with 6.1m (23.3%) for Channel 4 as viewers tuned in to meet the new housemates.

  • BBC1 floors ITV1 in Saturday night battle

    4-Jan-2010

    BBC1’s Saturday night line-up for 2010 began with a bang, with So You Think You Can Dance? and a celebrity special of Total Wipeout flooring ITV’s gameshow offerings.

  • 2009: The Year in Review

    23-Dec-2009

    As Broadcastnow takes a Christmas break until 4 January 2010, we look back at 2009: a year of crying children, expensive socks and horny priests.

  • mneTV moves into STV office

    23-Dec-2009

    Scottish sports indie mneTV is to move into STV’s offices at Glasgow’s Pacific Quay early next year.

  • NBC orders How Not To Live Your Life remake

    23-Dec-2009

    BBC3 comedy How Not To Live Your Life is to get a second crack at a US remake after NBC ordered a pilot script.

  • Clasper takes on ITV non-exec role

    23-Dec-2009

    HM Revenues & Customs chairman and former BAA chief executive Mike Clasper is to take over from Sir James Crosby as ITV’s non-executive senior independent director.

  • Come Dine With Me serves up festive treat for C4

    23-Dec-2009

    Celebrity Come Dine With Me Christmas Special served up almost four million viewers last night, in an evening that saw festive fun on Channel 4 and BBC2 outgun big shows on BBC1 and ITV1.

  • Top Gear tops iPlayer chart

    23-Dec-2009

    Top Gear was the most popular show on BBC iPlayer this year, occupying eight slots in the on-demand site’s top ten of individual episode views.

  • Sky steps up Canvas criticism

    23-Dec-2009

    BSkyB has reiterated its objections to the BBC’s leading role in Project Canvas, accusing the corporation of “mission creep” in the IPTV market.

  • Trust compares Canvas to iPhone

    22-Dec-2009

    The BBC Trust has likened Project Canvas to the iPhone in a bid to get critics such as BSkyB to envision a mixture of free-to-air and paid-for services.

  • BBC Trust confirms Canvas approval

    22-Dec-2009

    The BBC Trust has opened a six-week consultation on joint industry IPTV venture Project Canvas, putting the onus on the BBC to be transparent about the platform’s technical standards.

  • Chorion to bring Beatrix Potter characters to life

    22-Dec-2009

    Chorion is developing an animated TV series based on the characters of Beatrix Potter.

  • Victoria Wood brings cheer to BBC2

    22-Dec-2009

    BBC2 documentary Victoria Wood: Seen on TV peaked at 4.3m last night - and viewers stuck around for a full evening celebrating the comedienne.

  • Top Gear team urged to shed 'cartoon characters'

    22-Dec-2009

    Top Gear’s presenting team are set to play down their “cartoon” characters and get back to the basics of enthusing about cars.

  • ITV F1 competition broke Ofcom rules

    21-Dec-2009

    Ofcom has ruled that an ITV Formula 1 competition in which no prize was awarded breached its rules.

  • Cranford beats Fattest Man

    21-Dec-2009

    BBC1 comfortably won the heavyweight drama battle on Sunday night, with the first in a two-part Cranford Christmas special beating ITV1’s The Fattest Man in Britain at 9pm.

  • Strictly ends on a high with 11.9m peak

    21-Dec-2009

    Strictly Come Dancing climaxed with a series-best 5-minute peak of 11.9m viewers on Saturday night, grabbing a 45.4% share against ITV1’s repeat of the movie Love Actually.

  • MediaCity creative hub secures funding

    17-Dec-2009

    MediaCity UK has secured the go-ahead for an £8m Media Enterprise Centre that will house digital and games development centres.

  • Extreme Sports Channel to offer live web streams

    17-Dec-2009

    Chello Zone’s Extreme Sports Channel is to stream live events online after joining forces with specialist web video platform Freecaster.tv.

  • Britain surges ahead in digital take-up

    17-Dec-2009

    The UK leads the way in its take-up of digital TV, according to an Ofcom snapshot of 12 major countries.

  • BBC U-turn over Not Going Out

    17-Dec-2009

    BBC1 has reversed its decision to axe Not Going Out, committing to a fourth series that will air in a new, later slot.

  • Misfits gets second series

    17-Dec-2009

    E4 has ordered a second series of superhero drama Misfits for 2010.

  • SuBo is YouTube's star of 2009

    16-Dec-2009

    Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle was officially the biggest star on YouTube this year with more than 120 million views worldwide.

  • Into the Storm and Little Dorrit up for Golden Globes

    15-Dec-2009

    BBC drama co-productions Little Dorrit and Into the Storm are vying for a prize in this year’s Golden Globe awards.

  • MGM and Sky launch HD movie channel

    15-Dec-2009

    Film studio MGM has entered the UK TV market for the first time with a dedicated HD channel on Sky.

  • Kids in TV review to focus on "grey area" reality shows

    14-Dec-2009

    Former Ofcom adviser Sarah Thane is to lead the government’s review of the law surrounding children in entertainment, which promises to clamp down on the “grey area” of reality TV.

  • More4 lines up Amanda Knox doc

    11-Dec-2009

    More 4 is to explore the year leading up to American student Amanda Knox’s 26-year jail sentence for the murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher.

  • ABC picks up Zeppotron dating show

    11-Dec-2009

    Endemol has sold UK-originated dating format Conveyor Belt of Love to US network ABC.

  • Conchords grounded after two series

    11-Dec-2009

    HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords will not return for a third series, its creators have confirmed.

  • Viewers return to Waterloo Road and Spooks

    10-Dec-2009

    BBC1 dramas Waterloo Road and Spooks both enjoyed an upswing last night with the end of I’m a Celebrity… taking the pressure off in the mid-week ratings.

  • Helen Warner, C4 daytime

    10-Dec-2009

    After the Carol Vorderman and Paul O’Grady scuffles, C4’s head of daytime could be forgiven a little reticence, but on the contrary, Robin Parker finds daytime is making waves.

  • Producers poised to take control of public sector project IP

    10-Dec-2009

    Pact is hailing a breakthrough in copyright ownership after the launch of a pilot scheme that aims to help producers control the rights to content made for digital public sector projects.

  • The Academy

    10-Dec-2009

    DLT Entertainment and 2act Productions have soft launched a support website to help build momentum for its upcoming comedy pilot, The Academy.

  • New Pact chair Manners braced for tough talks

    10-Dec-2009

    Debbie Manners is to take over as chair of Pact - and is bracing herself for a year dominated by negotiations over digital terms of trade and pressure on indies as commissioning lags set in.

  • C4 gets cooking Japanese-style

    10-Dec-2009

    Channel 4 is lining up a UK version of Japanese gladiatorial ‘cook-off ’ format Iron Chef as a stripped weekday show.

  • Tesco to sponsor C4 music shows

    9-Dec-2009

    High street retailer Tesco has struck its first ever TV sponsorship deal with two music shows for Channel 4.

  • ITV1 struggles with Robson Green doc

    9-Dec-2009

    Robson Green barely made a splash at 9pm last night, with the first of his two-part Wild Swimming Adventure pulling in just 2.5m (11.1%) for ITV1 in a poor night for peak-time TV viewing.

  • Turner Laing joins Media Trust

    9-Dec-2009

    BSkyB’s managing director of entertainment and news Sophie Turner Laing has joined the board of the charity the Media Trust.

  • C4 orders more Freshly Squeezed

    8-Dec-2009

    Indie Remedy Productions has won a sixth order for its Channel 4 breakfast show Freshly Squeezed.

  • Israel lobby invesigation splits C4 viewers

    8-Dec-2009

    A controversial Dispatches investigation into Britain’s “Israel lobby” proved the most divisive show on Channel 4 last month.

  • Man on Earth debuts with 1.4m

    8-Dec-2009

    Tony Robinson’s new environmental history series Man on Earth proved no match for David Attenborough’s Life last night, with 1.4m (5.8%) tuning in from 9pm on Channel 4 - a third of the audience watching BBC1.

  • Isaacs and Lambert join forces

    4-Dec-2009

    The Choir creator Jamie Isaacs, who left Twenty Twenty this week in a management restructure, is to join Stephen Lambert’s indie Studio Lambert.

  • Ricky Gervais toon comes to C4

    4-Dec-2009

    Channel 4 is to show Ricky Gervais’ new HBO show just weeks after it airs in the US.

  • Popper indie wins first order in E4 sitcom pilot

    3-Dec-2009

    The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird is to take a lead role in an E4 sitcom pilot from Robert Popper’s indie and Big Talk Productions about a Jewish family.

  • Stephen K Amos gets BBC2 show

    3-Dec-2009

    Comedian Stephen K Amos is to unveil a set of comedy characters in his own BBC2 show.

  • 4iP funds web app that shows impact of bad habits on looks

    3-Dec-2009

    Channel 4 is backing a web application that will show users how a lifetime of smoking, drinking or eating junk food could affect their physical appearance.

  • C4 bids to slash budgets for returning shows

    3-Dec-2009

    Channel 4 shows River Cottage and 8 Out Of 10 Cats are set to be produced on almost half their 2009 budget when they return next year.

  • BBC Comedy Extra / We Are Family

    3-Dec-2009

    Robin Parker and Lisa Campbell share their views on a new BBC site and show.

  • Holler goes independent following MBO

    2-Dec-2009

    Digital agency Holler has bought out the 51% stake owned by digital services company BlueFreeway.

  • Mulville hails new chapter for Hat Trick

    2-Dec-2009

    Hat Trick managing director Jimmy Mulville has heralded the start of a new era for the “unencumbered” indie as it returns to full shareholder ownership following a three-year battle over its financing.

  • Hat Trick completes MBO

    1-Dec-2009

    Hat Trick has wrestled back full ownership of the company after buying back the 45% stake held by finance group August Equity for the past six years.

  • Book Club to be More 4's first ad-funded show

    1-Dec-2009

    Richard and Judy’s Book Club is to return without the presenting duo, in More 4’s first foray into ad-funded programming.

  • Torchwood returns to weekly format

    1-Dec-2009

    Torchwood is set to revert to 13 weekly episodes when it returns for a fourth series, star John Barrowman has confirmed.

  • Andrew Davies receives lifetime achievement award

    30-Nov-2009

    Screenwriters Andrew Davies, Peter Moffatt, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin all picked up prizes at the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain awards last night.

  • Off the Fence picks up diamond doc

    30-Nov-2009

    Off the Fence has picked up the distribution rights to Blink Productions’ forthcoming documentary about the world’s most famous jewel.

  • BBC4 orders John Lennon drama

    27-Nov-2009

    Christopher Eccleston is to play John Lennon in a BBC4 drama from Blast! films.

  • Blessed plays Henry VIII in BBC web comedy

    27-Nov-2009

    Monkey Kingdom is producing an online comedy series for the BBC starring Brian Blessed as an internet-obsessed Henry VIII.

  • British TV exports surge close to £1bn

    27-Nov-2009

    Exports of British TV rose by 25% last year to almost £1bn, fuelled by strong demand from Australia and New Zealand, according to new figures from Pact.

  • Tyne Tees and Border to get regional news pilot

    26-Nov-2009

    The England regional news consortium will be based in the North East regions of Tyne Tees and Border, the government has confirmed.

  • Shed Media to make web soap for CTVC

    26-Nov-2009

    Not-for-profit religion and ethics specialist CTVC has commissioned Shed Media to make a 20-part web soap opera.

  • Shane Allen, Channel 4

    26-Nov-2009

    Channel 4’s new head of comedy is always seeking fresh ideas to pilot, but is concerned the current climate of caution will lead to lacklustre output across the board.

  • James May's Toy Stories / Defying Gavity

    26-Nov-2009

    Chris Curtis and Robin Parker share their views on two of the latest shows.

  • C4 moots online charge for advance episodes

    26-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 is considering charging viewers to watch new programmes online before they air on TV as part of plans to break down the barriers between the schedule and on-demand viewing.

  • BBCW’s indie investment capped

    26-Nov-2009

    BBC Worldwide looks set to end its buying spree of stakes in UK indies after the BBC Trust called time on mergers and acquisitions - but a deal with Channel 4 and a potential purchase of Virgin’s share of UKTV are still on the cards.

  • Former C4 colleagues Dale and Brooke team up at Rare Day

    26-Nov-2009

    Rare Day, the indie run by ex-More 4 head Peter Dale, has appointed former Discovery UK managing director Dan Brooke as its managing director.

  • Burns’ search for C4 boss to hot up in the new year

    26-Nov-2009

    Channel 4’s hunt for a new chief executive will begin in earnest in January as new chairman Lord Burns is only beginning to draw up his shortlist for the role.

  • C4 to look back on a decade in TV

    25-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 is to count down the 20 landmark TV shows of the last ten years as part of a two-part special to air at Christmas.

  • EastEnders praised for bipolar storyline

    25-Nov-2009

    EastEnders was awarded a Mental Health Media Award last night for putting bipolar disorders centre stage.

  • Simon Shaps to chair Mercury Media

    25-Nov-2009

    ITV’s former director of television Simon Shaps has added distributor MercuryMedia to his portfolio of non-executive positions.

  • Industry celebrates diversity champions

    25-Nov-2009

    The Paul O’Grady Show producer Olga TV was recognised for its efforts to champion diversity at the inaugural Cultural Diversity Network Awards last night.

  • Virgin and TiVo team up for set-top boxes

    25-Nov-2009

    American PVR pioneer TiVo is to lead a major charge into the UK with a partnership with Virgin Media to deliver broadband via set-top boxes.

  • At a glance: BBCW review

    24-Nov-2009

    The BBC Trust today published the conclusions of its 18-month review into BBC Worldwide’s commercial activities and the BBC’s broader strategy.

  • BBCW tightens rules for global channels content

    24-Nov-2009

    Programmes such as Skins are to face a tougher approvals process to get onto BBC-branded international channels under new rules.

  • BBCW to rein in indie investment

    24-Nov-2009

    BBC Worldwide will be asked to “broadly rule out” further investment in indies under tighter BBC Trust rules that also seek to prevent future deals akin to the group’s stake in the Lonely Planet travel business.

  • ITV cleared over talent show complaints

    23-Nov-2009

    ITV and Talkback Thames have successfully fought off almost 4,500 complaints concerning the treatment of Danyl Johnson on The X Factor and Hollie Steele and Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent after Ofcom cleared the broadcaster of any wrongdoing.

  • Dispatches picks up two Rory Peck awards

    20-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 Dispatches documentary Saving Africa’s Witch Children continued its winning streak last night with a Rory Peck award, one of two prizes for the current affairs strand.

  • ITV1 runs rings around Children in Need gig

    20-Nov-2009

    The start of BBC1’s Children in Need extravaganza pulled in a peak audience of 6.4m (25.6%) last night, but the channel was floored by ITV’s triple whammy of Emmerdale, Coronation Street and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.

  • Psychoville 2 set for 2010

    19-Nov-2009

    Dark comedy thriller Psychoville, created by League Of Gentlemen actors Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, is to return for a second series on BBC2 next year.

  • C4 launches full-length shows on YouTube

    19-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 shows including The Inbetweeners and Hollyoaks make their official debut on YouTube today in a new section of the site that pulls together 3,000 hours of programming from 60 content providers.

  • Radioplayer to launch in 2010

    19-Nov-2009

    MEDIA FESTIVAL: A proposed iPlayer-style online service for radio, capable of streaming more than 400 stations from both the BBC and the commercial sector, will launch early next year.

  • Pulse focuses on dance studio students for Sky

    19-Nov-2009

    Sky 1 will take a look behind the scenes at Europe’s largest dance studios in a 7 x 60 series from Pulse Films described as “Airport meets Fame”.

  • C4 orders full run of Objective’s Pete V Life

    19-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 has fast-tracked Comedy Showcase pilot Pete V Life to a full run - but has axed sitcom Plus One after just one series.

  • More than 80% don't have digital skills

    19-Nov-2009

    TV companies are failing to equip their staff with the skills they need for the digital age, a Broadcast survey has found.

  • Bebo open to pitches after end of Originals

    19-Nov-2009

    Bebo has insisted it will continue to entertain advertiser-supported pitches for web commissions despite closing its original production business.

  • Big Brother web producer takes Keo Digital role

    19-Nov-2009

    Keo Films has signed the producer of Big Brother’s first website to join its recently established digital division.

  • Disability champions celebrated in new awards scheme

    18-Nov-2009

    CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell, war correspondent Frank Gardner and Channel 4 commissioner Alison Walsh received awards in an inaugural scheme to celebrate success in the on-screen depiction of disabilities.

  • STV launches new £12m claim against ITV

    17-Nov-2009

    STV’s legal challenge against ITV has entered the digital arena, with a claim for up to £12m in damages relating to the exploitation of new media rights.

  • C4 to stage plane crash

    12-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 is broadcast the crash-landing of a 300-seat passenger jet for a new documentary.

  • US/UK comedy: Spreading the laughter

    12-Nov-2009

    American and British sitcoms are coming together as US and UK writers join forces and hybrid production models emerge. Robin Parker talks to the leading players.

  • Oscar-winning producers form doc alliance

    12-Nov-2009

    The Oscar-winning producers of documentaries Man On Wire and One Day In September have teamed up for an informal co-production deal.

  • C4 calls time on Wife Swap

    12-Nov-2009

    Wife Swap and How Clean Is Your House? have become the latest Channel 4 formats to fall victim to the broadcaster’s plan to clear the decks for new shows over the next 18 months.

  • C4 examines foreigners' role in UK history

    12-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned three indies to produce a 4 x 60-minute series of drama documentaries looking at the role that foreigners have played in key moments in British history.

  • India season tops C4 doc slate

    12-Nov-2009

    An India season, life on the maternity ward, teen BNP members and Amy Winehouse’s dad are among the highlights of C4’s documentary slate over the coming months.

  • At a glance: C4 winter schedule

    12-Nov-2009

    A round-up of the rest of Channel 4’s winter schedule.

  • Locke: Time to end ‘disconnect’

    12-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 education commissioning editor Matt Locke has urged broadcasters, including his own employer, to end the “disconnect” between TV commissioners and cross-platform teams.

  • Collision / Gary Glitter

    12-Nov-2009

    Kat McMahon and Robin Parker share their views on the latest shows.

  • C4 technical problems anger viewers

    10-Nov-2009

    Technical problems dominated C4’s complaints log last month, with 300 viewers contacting the broadcaster over disruption to Hollywood movie America’s Sweethearts and HBO import True Blood.

  • Popular factual commissioners outline wishlists

    9-Nov-2009

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: Popular factual commissioners at the BBC, Channel 4 and Five have outlined their wishlists for the coming year.

  • Sky 1 hunts new factual talent

    9-Nov-2009

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: Sky 1 plans to use the 8pm slot that was previously home to The Simpsons to break new popular factual presenting talent.

  • Specialist factual feels the pinch in peak

    9-Nov-2009

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: Channel 4 has to “raise its game” in specialist factual and deliver more “polarising” programming if it is to compete in peaktime, according to commissioning exec Ralph Lee.

  • Broadcasters outline doc wishlists

    9-Nov-2009

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: ITV1 is looking to commission several blue-chip documentary singles from top-end film-makers for 9pm.

  • Storyville doc scoops green award

    9-Nov-2009

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: Henry Singer, the documentary maker best known for 9/11 documentary Falling Man, has won an environmental award for his latest project.

  • Tax relief heads up doc makers' demands on MPs

    9-Nov-2009

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: Documentary producers are to lobby politicians to offer tax relief for public service programming as part of a shortlist of demands to bolster factual output.

  • MPs criticise More4 over Crufts

    5-Nov-2009

    A cross-party group of MPs has criticised More4 for picking up next year’s Crufts in a report prompted by BBC1 documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed.

  • Home signs up BB1’s Craig for web guides

    5-Nov-2009

    Big Brother housemate-turned property developer Craig Phillips is to front the first standalone web commissions for UKTV-owned channel Home.

  • C4 promises slew of orders to test shows

    5-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 head Julian Bellamy has promised a “wave of commissioning” in the coming weeks to create a surge of new shows for autumn 2010 that could return to replace Big Brother in 2011.

  • The Family / Dollhouse

    5-Nov-2009

    Robin Parker and Chris Curtis give their verdict on the latest shows.

  • Moyles quiz moves to Friday nights

    4-Nov-2009

    Channel 4 is promoting Chris Moyles’ Quiz Night to Friday nights when the show returns next year.

  • Ramsay loses half his F-ing viewers

    4-Nov-2009

    Gordon Ramsay’s F Word returned to Channel 4 with 1.8m viewers at 9pm last night – just over half the audience for the finale of last year’s run.

  • Blinkx to raise £5m through shares

    3-Nov-2009

    Video search company Blinkx plans to raise £5m through new shares to shore up its cash reserves, which have fallen by £13m in the past year.

  • Simon Dickson, Channel 4

    29-Oct-2009

    Channel 4’s deputy head of documentaries wants a leftfield angle and isn’t afraid to take a gamble. The risks have paid off with groundbreaking programming.

  • Talkback and FME set up web content unit

    29-Oct-2009

    Talkback Thames has set up its first dedicated digital division, which will oversee all crossplatform support for shows, such as The X Factor and The Bill, as well developing bespoke advertiser-funded web content.

  • Candidates line up for C4 entertainment role

    29-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 has set tongues wagging as it seeks to move swiftly to hire new blood for the entertainment part of Andrew Newman’s commissioning brief.

  • C4 takes back seat on co-pros to boost doc series budgets

    29-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is scaling back its investment in co-productions for strands such as Bodyshock to boost the budgets for major documentary series such as The Family.

  • Question Time prompts 290 complaints to Ofcom

    28-Oct-2009

    Almost 300 viewers have complained to the regulator Ofcom about last week’s edition of Question Time.

  • QI to face-off against The Bill

    28-Oct-2009

    BBC1 is to pitch panel show QI against

  • C4 to explore dawn of aerial warfare

    27-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is to recreate the aerial battles of World War One for a 90-minute documentary from Darlow Smithson Productions.

  • Life fights back against Murderland

    27-Oct-2009

    David Attenborough’s Life helped BBC1 close the gap on Robbie Coltrane crime drama Murderland last night, with ITV1 losing 800,000 viewers in its second week.

  • More4 teams up with National Theatre for arts strand

    27-Oct-2009

    More4 has created a new peaktime Saturday arts strand spanning ballet, theatre, literature and an offbeat ‘magic realist’ documentary.

  • Sky Sports breaks Ofcom sponsorship rules

    26-Oct-2009

    Sky Sports gave undue prominence to Specsavers’ sponsorship of the Hawk-Eye technology used in its Ashes coverage, Ofcom has ruled.

  • C4 chair search enters final stage

    26-Oct-2009

    Final interviews for the Channel 4 chair take place this week, with former ITV and GCap chair Richard Eyre reported to be in the running.

  • C4 to profile Britain's fattest man

    23-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is lining up a documentary about “Britain’s fattest man” as he embarks on life-threatening surgery to lose weight.

  • BSkyB now in 9.5m homes

    23-Oct-2009

    BSkyB signed 94,000 new subscribers in the third quarter and has now rolled out Sky+HD to one in six customers – after ploughing an extra £37m into marketing.

  • C4 to sell for rivals on YouTube

    22-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is banking on generating revenue from content owned by rival broadcasters and producers to get added value from its landmark YouTube deal.

  • Channel 4 to revisit The Hospital

    16-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is planning to return to Britain’s specialist NHS wards for an extended second run of documentary series The Hospital next year.

  • Adrian Chiles to pilot The Ten Show

    16-Oct-2009

    The BBC is planning a late-night spin-off of The One Show in which Adrian Chiles will chair a debate about the stories behind the week’s headlines.

  • BBC1's New Tricks trounces ITV1's Bill

    16-Oct-2009

    BBC1’s regular trick of deploying ratings bomb New Tricks against The Bill once again unsettled the ITV1 cop drama last night.

  • Modern Family gathers 444,000 for Sky 1

    16-Oct-2009

    New US sitcom Modern Family delivered 444,000 across two showings on Sky 1 last night, which also saw the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

  • YouTube to host C4 shows

    15-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 has agreed to make catch-up and archive content available in full-length form on YouTube for the first time.

  • Ridley Scott readies Red Riding remake

    15-Oct-2009

    Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is set to direct a Hollywood remake of Channel 4 drama series Red Riding.

  • C4 reveals second Family

    15-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 has unveiled the second family that will go under the microscope in its Bafta-nominated documentary format The Family.

  • Newman leaves C4 for Objective

    15-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 head of entertainment and comedy Andrew Newman is joining Objective Productions, returning to the indie sector after more than 10 years as a commissioner.

  • England win scores 8.3m for ITV1

    15-Oct-2009

    England’s 3-0 victory over Belarus helped ITV1 clean up in the ratings, with a peak audience of 8.3m (36%) as it entered its climax.

  • C4 gives all-female sketch show a slot in comedy season

    15-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 has extended its forthcoming pilots season Comedy Showcase to seven episodes after greenlighting an all-female sketch show from Objective Productions.

  • In Treatment / House

    15-Oct-2009

    Lisa Campbell and Robin Parker give their verdict on the latest shows.

  • C4 explores the links between race and science

    15-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is to explore the relationship between science and race in a controversial season of documentaries.

  • Grade attacks ITV coverage

    15-Oct-2009

    Michael Grade has hit out at the “febrile” speculation over ITV’s difficulties in recruiting new leaders, insisting that the broadcaster is merely going through the typical “ups and downs” of senior recruitment.

  • Andrew Newman to leave C4 for Objective

    14-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 head of entertainment and comedy Andrew Newman is to move back into the indie sector after more than 10 years as a commissioner to join Objective Productions.

  • Dannii's X Factor 'outing' sparks nearly 4,000 complaints

    14-Oct-2009

    Almost 4,000 viewers have contacted Ofcom to complain about Dannii Minogue’s on-air “joke” about X Factor contestant Danyl Johnson’s sexuality.

  • Below the Radar to profile Gerry Adams

    13-Oct-2009

    BBC Northern Ireland has lined up a profile of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams from Ten Alps indie Below the Radar.

  • Viewers choose Life over murder

    13-Oct-2009

    Sir David Attenborough made a triumphant return to TV last night, with his latest BBC1 wildlife series Life enchanting 6.5m (26.4%) at 9pm.

  • Benidorm outshines Criminal Justice finale

    12-Oct-2009

    Criminal Justice ended its week-long run with a solid 4.4m (18.8% share) tuning in to BBC1 at 9pm on Friday night, but was no match for ITV1’s Benidorm.

  • Doc Martin buoyed by X Factor frenzy

    12-Oct-2009

    ITV1 surged ahead on Sunday night, with Doc Martin picking up 506,000 more viewers, while more than 837,000 people deserted BBC1’s Emma after last week’s first episode.

  • X Factor triumphs with first live show

    12-Oct-2009

    ITV1 won the Saturday night ratings battle for the fourth week in a row, with The X Factor edging out Strictly Come Dancing and Casualty with an average of 11.3m viewers (43.8%) over two hours from 8pm.

  • Dave wants more Red Dwarf

    12-Oct-2009

    UKTV has commissioned a new batch of Red Dwarf scripts after reviving the BBC sci-fi comedy at Easter.

  • Under 500,000 see England v Ukraine online

    12-Oct-2009

    Fewer than half a million people watched England’s first game to be broadcast exclusively live over the internet and no detailed viewing figures will be released, the firms behind the move said today.

  • C4 stands ground over ads in 9/11 doc

    9-Oct-2009

    Real-time 9/11 documentary 102 Minutes that Changed America proved to be Channel 4’s most divisive programme last month, with controversy raging over the level of advertising within its broadcast.

  • Tom Loosemore, 4iP

    8-Oct-2009

    Attention all web-savvy indies and bedroom developers: 4iP’s interactivity guru wants you. Robin Parker talks to the man with his finger on the button of Channel 4’s online PSB fund.

  • Magician Brown to front ‘real-life psychics’ docs

    8-Oct-2009

    Derren Brown is changing tack with his next series for Channel 4, fronting three ob docs in which he will meet people who claim to have psychic abilities.

  • True Blood seduces 1.6m

    8-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 had mixed fortunes with its double-bill of HBO big-hitters last night, with vampire fantasy True Blood luring in 1.6m (10.2%) but Iraq war drama Generation Kill mustering interest in just 399,000 (6.5%).

  • C4 commissioners outline wish list for filling Big Brother gap

    8-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 has given the first hints of what it will be looking for in 2011 to fill about 250 hours of its primetime schedule previously occupied by Big Brother.

  • Nick US eyes LA remake of My Life As A Popat

    8-Oct-2009

    Bafta-winning CITV comedy My Life As A Popat is in line to be resurrected by Nickelodeon in the US.

  • BBC plans Casualty webisode

    7-Oct-2009

    Casualty is to get its first web-only episode at the end of this month.

  • Criminal Justice picks up speed

    7-Oct-2009

    The second episode of BBC1’s stripped five-part Criminal Justice comfortably outperformed ITV1’s The Fixer with 4.7m viewers (19.9%) last night.

  • Hat Trick brings Israeli panel format to BBC2

    6-Oct-2009

    MIPCOM: Hat Trick Productions is adapting Israeli news panel show format The Bubble for BBC2.

  • BBC daytime gets more Pointless

    6-Oct-2009

    BBC2 has ordered a second 30-part run of Endemol daytime quiz show Pointless.

  • Meet the Natives heads Stateside

    6-Oct-2009

    MIPCOM: Keo Films has won its first US commission with an adaptation of Meet the Natives for the Travel Channel and National Geographical Channels International.

  • ITV1's Blue Murder trumps Criminal Justice

    6-Oct-2009

    The return of Criminal Justice pulled in 4.4m viewers (18.9%) for BBC1 last night, but ITV1 inched ahead in the 9pm drama battle with Blue Murder attracting 4.6m (19.7%).

  • BBC revamps Doctor Who logo

    6-Oct-2009

    The BBC has unveiled a new logo for Doctor Who for 2010.

  • Diverse unlocks da Vinci archive

    5-Oct-2009

    MIPCOM: Diverse Production has secured access to Leonardo da Vinci’s private notebooks for a documentary series that it hopes to sell to international broadcasters.

  • BBC1 lost in Austen as Doc Martin triumphs

    5-Oct-2009

    BBC1’s latest adaptation of classic novel Emma struggled to reach much more than half as many viewers as ITV1’s Doc Martin, with 4.4m (17%) tuning in to see Romola Garai take on Austen’s heroine at 9pm.

  • North East strategy shapes up with STV/ITV execs

    2-Oct-2009

    Screen agency Northern Film & Media has hired former STV and ITV Productions executives to help develop the creative industries across the North East.

  • Boyle quits Mock the Week

    2-Oct-2009

    BBC2’s topical panel show Mock the Week will return for two more series – but without outspoken panellist Frankie Boyle.

  • BBC staff vote on Salford move

    2-Oct-2009

    The BBC is to begin recruitment for around 800 jobs at BBC North after almost half of London-based rank-and-file staff agreed to the move to Manchester.

  • Bill boosted by New Tricks no-show

    2-Oct-2009

    ITV1 won the Thursday night 9pm battle for the first time since moving The Bill to a post-watershed slot last night, with 4.2m tuning in.

  • Bradshaw and Starkey clash over Marr interview

    2-Oct-2009

    Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has stepped up his criticism of Andrew Marr’s interview with Gordon Brown, lambasting an “error of judgement” that was “part of the trivialisation and degradation of our political discourse”.

  • C4 to mark tsunami anniversary

    2-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 is to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Asian tsunami with a feature-length documentary that edits amateur footage of the disaster.

  • C4 strikes deal for two CBS shows

    1-Oct-2009

    Channel 4 has snapped up CBS shows The Good Wife and Accidentally on Purpose for its digital channels.

  • Demetri Martin / C4 scheduling

    1-Oct-2009

    Robin Parker give his verdict on Important Things With Demetri Martin and Channel 4 scheduling.

  • Apply now: cultural diversity awards are open for entries

    1-Oct-2009

    Broadcast is backing a new awards scheme that aims to celebrate diversity in the British TV industry.

  • Hat Trick to produce US TV satire for BBC2

    1-Oct-2009

    Hat Trick Productions is making a BBC2 sitcom starring Friends actor Matt LeBlanc that satirises the trend for US remakes of British comedy shows.

  • ESPN adds live basketball in three-year deal

    30-Sep-2009

    Live NBA basketball is coming to the UK for the first time after ESPN secured a three-year deal.

  • Five launches live football on iPhone

    30-Sep-2009

    Live football has come to the iPhone for the first time with an application from Five.

  • WFTV launches comedy briefings

    30-Sep-2009

    Women in Film and TV is inviting women working in TV comedy to discuss the issues facing the genre at a series of briefings.

  • Rogers quits RDF Digital to launch start-up

    29-Sep-2009

    RDF Digital creative director Zad Rogers is to stand down and set up his own company.

  • Living launches web channel

    29-Sep-2009

    Virgin Media TV has launched a web spin-off from Living that will feature original short-form celebrity and style shows.

  • Wife Swap cleared over baby concerns

    28-Sep-2009

    Ofcom has backed the producers of Wife Swap over an episode in which a baby was shown living in a dirty flat and eating chips.

  • Living HD to launch next month

    25-Sep-2009

    Living has set a date of 6 October for the launch of its HD service.

  • The Bill boosts share - but still no match for New Tricks repeat

    25-Sep-2009

    The Bill secured its biggest share in almost two months last night, with the newly-reconfigured show pulling in 17.8% of viewers at 9pm.

  • Labour and SNP clash over Scottish broadcaster proposal

    25-Sep-2009

    Labour has clashed with the SNP after the nationalist party re-floated the idea of establishing a new independent Scottish broadcaster.

  • Hunt steps up warning over BBC Trust

    24-Sep-2009

    Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has given his strongest signal yet that a Conservative government would push to dismantle the BBC Trust in their first term if elected next year.

  • BBC vetoes Armstrong and Miller's 'gipsy' joke

    24-Sep-2009

    BROADCAST TV COMEDY FORUM: Armstrong and Miller have agreed to cut the word ‘gipsy’ from a sketch in their forthcoming series after “debate” with BBC executives.

  • BBC1's Wounded soldiers doc reaches 2.9m

    24-Sep-2009

    BBC1 documentary Wounded, which focussed on injured soldiers following their return from Afghanistan, drew 2.9m viewers at 9pm last night but was no match for ITV1’s cosy crime stalwart Midsomer Murders.

  • Angela Jain, E4

    24-Sep-2009

    Her “small digital channel” has made a big splash with some distinctive original material, so how does the E4 head plan to fill a Big Brother-shaped hole in its schedule.

  • Enfield sketch show shunted to BBC2 slot

    24-Sep-2009

    Tiger Aspect sketch show Harry & Paul will move from BBC1 to BBC2 for its third run - despite scooping a Bafta for its most recent series.

  • Fears mount over smaller C4

    24-Sep-2009

    The prospect of a downsized Channel 4 will hit new talent and regional indies the hardest, outgoing chief executive Andy Duncan has warned.

  • E4 acquires US teen drama Glee

    24-Sep-2009

    E4 has picked up UK rights to glossy US teen musical drama Glee, from Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy.

  • C4 orders 'Victorian' Muslim terrorist doc

    24-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 is to draw parallels between British Muslim terrorists and Victorian anarchists in an “unsettling” 60-minute doc from the maker of The Seven Sins Of England.

  • Harry and Paul moves to BBC2

    23-Sep-2009

    Tiger Aspect sketch show Harry & Paul will move from BBC1 to BBC2 for its third run - despite scooping a Bafta for its most recent series.

  • C4's Newman backs BBC comedy ambitions

    23-Sep-2009

    BROADCAST TV COMEDY FORUM: Channel 4 comedy head Andrew Newman has urged the BBC to ignore the “psychotic agenda” of the Daily Mail and take more risks in comedy.

  • ITV1 'unlikely' to want half-hour comedies

    23-Sep-2009

    BROADCAST TV COMEDY FORUM: ITV1 is unlikely to go for 30-minute comedies for the foreseeable future, ITV comedy commissioning editor Michaela Hennessy-Vass has warned.

  • Murdoch Mysteries to film in UK

    23-Sep-2009

    Canadian co-pro Murdoch Mysteries is to get more of a British flavour for its third run, thanks to a strengthened co-production deal between UKTV, ITV Studios, Global Entertainment and indie Shaftesbury Films.

  • E4 wants fact ent to fill Big Brother void

    23-Sep-2009

    E4 is on the lookout for new British factual entertainment shows for the first time since Angela Jain took over as head of the digital channel.

  • BBC attacked over "arrogance" in review

    23-Sep-2009

    A Tory-led cross-party government committee has blasted the BBC Trust’s “arrogance” over what it has deemed an incoherent response to the ongoing review of the corporation’s commercial operations.

  • Former C4 exec joins Beckham guru's company

    22-Sep-2009

    The C4 executive who handled Big Brother after the Shilpa Shetty race row has joined talent management company Crystal Entertainment as a director.

  • Disney strikes on-demand movie deal

    21-Sep-2009

    IPTV platform FetchTV has secured the rights to films such as Doubt and Calendar Girls in a deal with Disney-ABC-ESPN Television.

  • Matalan to fund Hollyoaks music spin-off

    18-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 has given the go-ahead for a 10-part cross-platform Hollyoaks music spin-off after Lime Pictures secured Matalan.co.uk as a sponsor.

  • Bebo revisits gap years and freshers' week

    18-Sep-2009

    Social network Bebo has ordered a second run of two of its flagship series: Endemol reality show The Gap Year and in-house production Meet the Freshers.

  • BBC1 eyes more Reggie Perrin

    18-Sep-2009

    The BBC is understood to be close to commissioning a second series of Reggie Perrin after dusting off the 1970s sitcom earlier this year.

  • Secret Millionaire returns with 2.8m

    17-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 held its own against BBC1 last night, with the return of The Secret Millionaire attracting 2.8m viewers.

  • C4: new boss, same problems

    17-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 is poised to fast-track its hunt for a new chief executive to resolve the uncertainties that have dogged it for the last two years over its future funding, size and scope.

  • C4 plans fresh push in NI

    17-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 has tasked three commissioners with finding returnable series from Northern Irish indies in a bid to reverse the “endemic” lack of commissions from the nation.

  • ITV1 goes for Hat Trick’s Dinner Date

    17-Sep-2009

    Hat Trick Productions is moving away from its comedy roots with a dating-meets-cookery show pilot for ITV1.

  • The Reunion - The Proms

    17-Sep-2009

    Robin Parker and Chris Curtis give their verdict on two of the weeks shows.

  • Endemol makes Remarkable merger of Brighter and Cheetah

    16-Sep-2009

    Endemol UK has merged Big Brother producer Brighter Pictures and Deal or No Deal indie Cheetah Television into a single division to be called Remarkable Television.

  • BBC war reporter Barron dead at 69

    16-Sep-2009

    BBC war correspondent Brian Barron has died from cancer at the age of 69.

  • C4 confirms Duncan's exit

    16-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 has confirmed that chief executive Andy Duncan will stand down before the end of the year, ending months of speculation.

  • C4 plans sex education game

    15-Sep-2009

    Games that teach teenage boys about sex education and girls about body image are among the latest web-based projects from Channel 4’s education department.

  • Project Canvas promises help for niche and web services

    15-Sep-2009

    The Project Canvas team aims to launch a kit for niche and web-based third parties to develop services for the platform by next summer.

  • Duncan set to quit C4 this week

    15-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan is expected to stand down this week after five years in the role, ending months of speculation.

  • Stage set for VoD regulation

    14-Sep-2009

    Ofcom is consulting the industry on plans to regulate ‘TV-like’ video-on-demand programming.

  • Joost chairman voted out

    14-Sep-2009

    Web TV company Joost is investigating the actions of former chief executive Mike Volpi after shareholders ousted him from the company.

  • Kyle show rapped over c-word exchange

    14-Sep-2009

    Ofcom has censured ITV for including the c-word in an edition of daytime talk show The Jeremy Kyle Show.

  • Unions pressure government to fast-track piracy clampdown

    11-Sep-2009

    Indie trade body Pact and broadcasting union Bectu are backing a campaign to clamp down on illegal peer-to-peer file sharing on the internet.

  • C4 wins ratings lottery with Derren Brown stunt

    10-Sep-2009

    Derren Brown’s lottery stunt on Channel 4 attracted 700,000 more viewers than the regular draw on BBC1 last night.

  • Ramsden exits as Cheetah wins dieting show

    10-Sep-2009

    Cheetah Television has won a Channel 4 dieting commission but lost creative director Sara Ramsden, who is leaving after five years to go freelance.

  • Green Inc and CTVC strike deal on development

    10-Sep-2009

    Belfast factual entertainment indie Green Inc and London-based documentary producer CTVC have formed an alliance to develop projects.

  • Matt Locke, C4 Education

    10-Sep-2009

    The ‘platform-agnostic’ C4 education head tells Robin Parker how his 360-degree vision is teaching and talking to teens in their own language and staying ahead of the learning curve.

  • British producers help Emirates NHU get off the ground

    9-Sep-2009

    British wildlife film-makers have spread their wings into Abu Dhabi with a commission to produce a local natural history series about the Arabian Continent.

  • Blighty to premiere Morris dancing mockumentary

    9-Sep-2009

    UKTV has secured the first-run rights to upcoming British cinema release Morris: A Life with Bells On.

  • Allsopp takes budget home makeover nationwide

    9-Sep-2009

    Kirstie Allsopp will try to stage the biggest second-hand sales and craft fairs the UK has ever seen in a second series of Kirstie’s Homemade Home.

  • C4 chair calls for new senior TV talent

    9-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson has called for more fresh blood at the upper levels of the broadcasting industry.

  • Inbetweeners movie in the works

    9-Sep-2009

    Film 4 is eyeing a big-screen outing for E4 teen sitcom The Inbetweeners.

  • Watch keeps Dancing with the Stars

    9-Sep-2009

    UKTV has reacquired the rights to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars as the US version of Strictly enters its ninth series.

  • BBC unveils HD autumn schedule

    8-Sep-2009

    Hole in the Wall, The Thick of It, Shaun the Sheep and new comedy Home Time are all set to join the BBC’s HD channel this autumn – but Top Gear is still absent.

  • Duncan in frame for £585k pay-off

    7-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan is understood to be negotiating a severance package of up to £585,000 as the broadcaster lays the ground for his successor, according to press reports.

  • Derren Brown reveals stunt specials

    7-Sep-2009

    Derren Brown will try to predict the lottery results, control the nation through subliminal messages and take down a casino in his forthcoming series of Channel 4 specials.

  • C4 comedies attract more than 200 complaints

    7-Sep-2009

    Channel 4 received more than 200 complaints last month about flagship comedy programmes such as The Kevin Bishop Show and Alan Carr: Chatty Man.

  • C4 says Big Brother cash up for grabs

    27-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 has launched a rallying cry for producers to pitch for up to 200 hours of peaktime shows for 2011 after axing Big Brother.

  • BBC4 Walks format to go global

    27-Aug-2009

    BBC4 is to expand its Walks format into a global travel strand with three 4 x 30-minute series.

  • More 4 lands UK rights for HBO’s ‘huge’ comedy

    27-Aug-2009

    More 4 has picked up the UK rights to the latest HBO hit comedy drama, Hung.

  • Studio Lambert’s B&B swap given green light by C4

    27-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 is to invite Britain’s B&B owners to test each other’s hospitality in a series from Studio Lambert.

  • A new era for Channel 4?

    26-Aug-2009

    As the broadcaster prepares to wind down Big Brother, summer 2011 can’t come fast enough for Robin Parker.

  • Channel 4 unveils autumn slate

    26-Aug-2009

    Royal drama and documentaries, the modern police force, European and American road trips, 3D spectaculars and the climate crisis all feature in Channel 4’s autumn season.

  • Big Brother axe to free up £50m for C4

    26-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 will free up around £50m of its programming budget in 2011 by bringing Big Brother to an end next year.

  • My Hero director dies at 54

    25-Aug-2009

    Comedy director John Stroud, best known for BBC1 sitcom My Hero, has died of a brain tumour at the age of 54.

  • Arqiva names VoD chief

    25-Aug-2009

    Arqiva has appointed former Eurosport’s UK managing director Pierre-Jean Sebert as chief executive of its video-on-demand business.

  • Hulu courts broadcasters for 2010 launch

    25-Aug-2009

    US web-TV service Hulu is unlikely to launch until 2010, according to sources close to the video-on-demand platform.

  • Ex-Granada head joins Birmingham indie

    25-Aug-2009

    Birmingham-based indie Isis Media has signed former head of ITV Granada and Central Duncan Rycroft.

  • C4 cleared over naked lunch

    24-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 was justified in broadcasting nudity at lunchtimes in art show Life Class, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Virgin rapped over 18-rated X Files

    24-Aug-2009

    Virgin Media has been censured for showing an unedited 18-rated episode of The X Files at 7pm.

  • More 4 embarks on homeless journey

    24-Aug-2009

    Rise Films has traced a homeless family’s journey from Alaska to Las Vegas with just $261 in their pockets in a documentary for More 4.

  • The Fallen director enters Good Pitch event

    21-Aug-2009

    Morgan Matthews, the Bafta-winning director of BBC Iraq documentary The Fallen, and Mat Whitecross, a regular collaborator with Michael Winterbottom, are among eight film-makers appealing for funds at this year’s Good Pitch event.

  • Big Brother: The house of confrontation

    20-Aug-2009

    A decade in, Big Brother’s success still depends on cutting-edge design and equipment, as well as running the broadcasts with military precision. Robin Parker reports from Elstree.

  • Hartswood set to develop projects from Welsh office

    20-Aug-2009

    Hartswood Films has set up a Welsh office as part of a longer-term ambition to join the BBC’s planned Cardiff Bay drama village.

  • Freeman draws 6m to BBC1

    20-Aug-2009

    The final instalment in the current series of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring actor Martin Freeman pulled in 6 million viewers for BBC1 last night, commanding a 27.9% share.

  • David Glover, Channel 4

    20-Aug-2009

    The science commissioning editor is out to prove C4’s scientific credentials by backing shows that educate, entertain and get - sometimes quite literally - under your skin.

  • C4 to capture magic of 3D

    20-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 is joining the 3D revolution by ordering UK-made content that can be viewed in 3D on standard TV sets.

  • Blinkbox stamps UK VoD credentials with BBC deal

    20-Aug-2009

    Blinkbox has secured its most important content deal to date, signing an agreement with BBC Worldwide that will see classic Doctor Who and recent shows such as That Mitchell And Webb Look and Hustle streamed for free.

  • APC seeks to sign digital players to code of practice

    20-Aug-2009

    The Alliance for the Protection of Copyright (APC) has updated its code of practice and is courting multichannel broadcasters after signing up History Channel operator AETN UK.

  • Four Weddings / Peter Andre

    20-Aug-2009

    Kate McMahon and Robin Parker give their verdict on two of the weeks shows.

  • The Cube, ITV1

    20-Aug-2009

    ITV1 is pinning great hopes on The Cube, a hi-tech gameshow for Saturday nights. Robin Parker goes behind the scenes of Objective’s claustrophobic and competitive contest.

  • TV spend holds up as public stays in

    19-Aug-2009

    People would rather scale back going out before cutting their spend on TV during the current recession, a study has claimed.

  • Headhunters begin search for C4 chair

    19-Aug-2009

    Ofcom has enlisted the headhunters that brought Michael Grade to ITV to begin the search for the next Channel 4 chair.

  • Monty Python receives Bafta honour

    19-Aug-2009

    Bafta is to mark the influence of Monty Python’s Flying Circus with a special award, 40 years after the comedy troupe’s TV debut.

  • C4 embarks on longer Coach Trip

    18-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned a fourth series of daytime show Coach Trip after a successful revival this summer.

  • C4 and Boomerang form JV

    18-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 has formed a joint venture with Welsh indie Boomerang Plus and events organiser Sports Vision to stage and broadcast this year’s winter sports and music festival Freesports on 4 Freeze.

  • Objective exec joins Armstrong and Miller indie

    18-Aug-2009

    Comedians Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong have poached a senior Objective comedy executive to help broaden the output of their indie, Toff Media.

  • Bebo orders Twenty Twenty fashion show

    18-Aug-2009

    Social networking site Bebo has ordered a 17-week run of a fashion magazine show from Twenty Twenty Television.

  • Virgin Media signs Disney exec to lead TV strategy

    17-Aug-2009

    Disney’s interactive chief Cindy Rose is to join Virgin Media to oversee the operator’s TV strategy.

  • MSN builds on-demand audience

    17-Aug-2009

    Microsoft’s on-demand web video player has attracted almost 170,000 views of archive TV shows in its first 11 days.

  • Tracy Beaker team launches teen web drama

    17-Aug-2009

    Two of the team behind CBBC shows Young Dracula and Tracy Beaker have created a dark teen thriller that will debut online.

  • Derren Brown goes interactive for C4

    17-Aug-2009

    Illusionist Derren Brown is to stage his first interactive stunts in his forthcoming series of specials for Channel 4.

  • BBC3 recommissions The Real Hustle

    14-Aug-2009

    BBC3 has ordered a ninth run of factual entertainment format The Real Hustle.

  • Last Night of the Proms goes global

    14-Aug-2009

    BBC Worldwide is to beam The Last Night of the Proms live into cinemas around the world.

  • C4 to air first Urdu drama

    14-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 is to broadcast its first Urdu-language commission at the end of this month.

  • Virgin to show Chuck in 3D

    13-Aug-2009

    Virgin is offering viewers the chance to watch a special episode of US action comedy Chuck in 3D.

  • FX buys Life on Mars US

    13-Aug-2009

    FX is lining up the US remake of Life on Mars for the primetime slot currently occupied by True Blood.

  • Armstrong and Miller get third series

    13-Aug-2009

    BBC1 has ordered a third run of sketch series The Armstrong and Miller Show before the second has even aired.

  • Wales digital switchover begins

    12-Aug-2009

    More than 130,000 homes in Wales lost their analogue BBC2 signal this morning as the nation began its programme of digital switchover.

  • Primate Planet signs Shipwrecked producer

    12-Aug-2009

    Wildlife indie Primate Planet Productions has hired former Shipwrecked producer Virginia Hill.

  • BBC backs digital work placement scheme

    11-Aug-2009

    The BBC is backing a paid placement scheme that will pair recent graduates with digital production companies in the North West.

  • ITV snaps up Endemol physical game show

    11-Aug-2009

    ITV is poised to add Endemol’s The Whole 19 Yards to its stable of primetime shiny-floor quiz shows.

  • Faster broadband unlikely to drive on-demand take-up

    10-Aug-2009

    Faster broadband is no incentive for watching TV online, with more than half of people claiming it would make no difference to their web viewing, a study has claimed.

  • Five's Blunkett series in running for Griersons

    7-Aug-2009

    Five has received a record three nominations for the Grierson Trust’s prestigious documentary awards.

  • C4 orders more animal autopsies

    7-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned a second series of animal autopsy show Inside Nature’s Giants - with plans to scrap the lecture hall setting and go on location.

  • E4 buys hit Comedy Central sketch show

    6-Aug-2009

    E4 has bought the UK rights to Comedy Central sketch show Important Things with Demetri Martin.

  • TV subs defy credit crunch

    6-Aug-2009

    Fewer than one in five people plan to cut back on TV subscriptions as they tighten their belts in the economic recession, according to Ofcom research.

  • iPlayer doubles its reach

    6-Aug-2009

    BBC iPlayer has more than doubled its reach in the past year and is five times more popular than ITV’s catch-up service, Ofcom’s annual communications market report has revealed.

  • Viewers blast C4 over Jackson jokes

    6-Aug-2009

    Channel 4’s treatment of Michael Jackson’s death has come under fire from viewers, with more than 200 complaints levelled against three shows last month.

  • ITN begins voluntary redundancies

    5-Aug-2009

    ITN will axe 33 staff positions as a result of the scaled-back Channel 4 contract, but expects to redeploy at least a third in new roles.

  • Axe falls on C4's News at Noon and More 4 News

    5-Aug-2009

    Channel 4 has axed news bulletin News at Noon and More 4 News to strengthen its focus on its flagship 7pm news programme.

  • C4 to air calls from Twin Towers

    5-Aug-2009

    Darlow Smithson is to revisit the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre with a feature-length examination of the calls that victims made to their families in their final moments.

  • Cha'Mone: Bo' Selecta to pay tribute to Jackson

    5-Aug-2009

    Comedian Leigh Francis has dusted off his Michael Jackson mask for a Bo’ Selecta tribute to the late pop star.

  • Inbetweeners gets third series

    4-Aug-2009

    Comedy indie Bwark has won a third series order for its E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners.

  • Harry Lansdown, BBC3

    3-Aug-2009

    His channel may be down with the kids, but BBC3’s factual commissioner wants pitches on topics that span the generation gap beyond pregnant teens and flatmates.

  • BBC recommissions McGovern daytime drama

    31-Jul-2009

    BBC1 has doubled the run for the second series of Jimmy McGovern’s daytime drama Moving On.

  • True Blood series three confirmed

    31-Jul-2009

    HBO has recommissioned vampire series True Blood, Mormon drama Big Love and Hollywood comedy Entourage for 2010.

  • BBC enlists James Martin for iPlayer push

    31-Jul-2009

    Chef James Martin is fronting a primetime push on the iPlayer that will push the extra features on the BBC catch-up site.

  • C4 urges protection for cricket rights

    30-Jul-2009

    Channel 4 has called for “some form” of cricket to be on the list of protected sports rights, but has stopped short of recommending Test Matches return to free-to-air TV.

  • C4's HD channel joins Virgin

    30-Jul-2009

    Virgin Media is to offer Channel 4’s HD channel to all of its 3.5 million customers.

  • In full: BBC sports proposals

    30-Jul-2009

    The BBC today proposed the following changes to the ‘crown jewels’ list of protected sports events.

  • BBC: Test Matches should stay on pay-TV

    30-Jul-2009

    The BBC has decided not to push for the government to return Test Match cricket to the ‘crown jewels’ list of free-to-air sporting events.

  • BBC shows help to launch Microsoft's web player

    30-Jul-2009

    Former BBC new media executive Ashley Highfield has unveiled Microsoft’s attempt to fill the gap left by the demise of Project Kangaroo, the joint industry video-on-demand project he previously lead.

  • Debutantes and pubs lead next Cutting Edge run

    30-Jul-2009

    Acclaimed documentary-maker Jane Treays will reveal the culture of London’s society debutantes for her latest Cutting Edge film.

  • Indies to get own adviser on diversity issues

    30-Jul-2009

    Indies are to get their own diversity champion after Pat Younge, the incoming head of BBC Vision Productions, reignited the debate over the issue by taking a sideswipe at ITV.

  • C4 hunts for world's greatest pop star

    29-Jul-2009

    Celebrities are to champion their favourite pop stars in a Great Britons-style Channel 4 series that will seek to establish the greatest act in the world today.

  • Orange launches C4-backed music service

    29-Jul-2009

    Channel 4 is backing a mobile phone package from Orange that offers free music when users top up their phones.

  • Bebo ends long search for top exec

    29-Jul-2009

    Bebo has promoted chief operating officer Stephane Panier to chief executive, a post that has been vacant for more than a year.

  • Midsomer Murders / Gonzo

    29-Jul-2009

    Robin Parker and Jon Rogers each give their verdicts on the latest shows.

  • ESPN channel takes shape with international fixtures

    28-Jul-2009

    USA Major League soccer is to join ESPN’s new channel, along with matches from European leagues.

  • C4 holds on to horse racing fixtures

    28-Jul-2009

    Channel 4 has signed a new deal to keep horse racing on the channel for a further three years.

  • Cast emerges for More4's young Tories drama

    27-Jul-2009

    Christian Brassington, who took the lead role in Channel 4’s Tony Blair: Rock Star, is to cross political lines to portray the young Boris Johnson in an upcoming More4 drama documentary.

  • Virgin holds onto Chuck

    24-Jul-2009

    Virgin Media has extended its deal to show US spy show Chuck for a further two series.

  • BBC3 appoints factual commissioning exec

    24-Jul-2009

    BBC current affairs executive producer Samantha Anstiss has joined BBC3 as a commissioning executive producer working under Harry Lansdown.

  • BBC faces up to public scrutiny

    23-Jul-2009

    BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson has described the publication of expenses and salaries as a “step change” in the corporation’s attempts to lead the way for public institutions to be more transparent.

  • Grand Designs presenter embarks on Grand Tour

    23-Jul-2009

    Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud is to take a break from home renovation for a European travelogue series for Channel 4.

  • C4 adds religion to Lee’s specialist factual portfolio

    23-Jul-2009

    Channel 4 has axed the post of commissioning editor of religion and ethics following Aaqil Ahmed’s defection to the BBC.

  • UKTV sells show to US for first time

    22-Jul-2009

    UKTV has sold lifestyle show Ty’s Great British Adventure to US network ABC – a first for the pay-TV broadcaster.

  • PSB kids' output halved since 2004

    21-Jul-2009

    Homegrown children’s output on free-to-air broadcasters has more than halved over four years, Ofcom research has revealed.

  • C4 cleared over Siôn Jenkins documentary

    20-Jul-2009

    Ofcom has thrown out complaints that a Channel 4 documentary following the release of Siôn Jenkins, after he was cleared of murdering his foster daughter Billie-Jo, unfairly invaded his family’s privacy.

  • Stubbs quits BBC for ESPN

    17-Jul-2009

    BBC sports veteran Ray Stubbs is to front ESPN’s Premier League, with IMG understood to be signed up to produce all studio discussion around the games.

  • Salford move for 55% of BBC Sport managers

    17-Jul-2009

    More than half of BBC Sport middle managers have now agreed to move to Salford MediaCity in 2011.

  • Bradshaw confirmed for RTS convention

    17-Jul-2009

    New culture secretary Ben Bradshaw and Google chairman Eric Schmidt are to headline this year’s this year’s Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention.

  • BBC's Little Dorrit up for 11 Emmys

    16-Jul-2009

    The BBC’s adaptation of Little Dorrit and Generation Kill, the HBO Iraq War drama co-produced by Company Pictures, have each scooped 11 nominations in the US Emmy awards.

  • Inside Nature's Giants / Katie Price with Piers Morgan

    16-Jul-2009

    Robin Parker and Kate McMahon each give their verdict on the latest shows.

  • Ad revenue dive sparks new crisis

    16-Jul-2009

    TV advertising revenues are set to reach a crisis point in the autumn with the second double-digit year-on-year drop in a row.

  • E4 buys Canadian family drama

    15-Jul-2009

    E4 has acquired the UK rights to Canadian family drama series Heartland.

  • BBC commands golf monopoly after Setanta collapse

    15-Jul-2009

    The BBC will remain the sole broadcaster of this year’s Open Golf Championship after the collapse of Setanta forced the corporation to reapply to Ofcom for approval.

  • BBCW and C4 deal "weeks" away

    15-Jul-2009

    BBC Worldwide and Channel 4 are “literally weeks” from signing a joint venture deal, after BBCW jettisoned some of the original sticking points.

  • Jamie Oliver, Fresh One

    14-Jul-2009

    Jamie Oliver wanted more to production company Fresh One than just pukka presenting, so he turned to television veteran Roy Ackerman. Robin Parker looks at their recipe for success

  • BBCW hunting development deals

    14-Jul-2009

    BBC Worldwide is looking to sign more small-scale development deals with individual producers following a record year for equity stakes in indies.

  • BBCW sales pass £1bn but profits drop 27%

    14-Jul-2009

    BBC Worldwide’s revenues have broken through the £1bn barrier for the first time – but the collapse of Project Kangaroo has contributed to a 27% plummet in profits.

  • BBC Scotland signs League of Gentlemen producer

    14-Jul-2009

    League of Gentlemen producer Jemma Rodgers has returned to the BBC to become executive editor of comedy for BBC Scotland.

  • Bradshaw slams BBC's "wrong-headed" leadership

    14-Jul-2009

    Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has slammed BBC chiefs over their refusal to share the licence fee revenue – as the BBC Trust reveals that the 10 most senior staff will continue to waive bonuses.

  • Sci Fi buys Warehouse 13

    13-Jul-2009

    Sci Fi UK has picked up supernatural investigation drama Warehouse 13, which premiered in the US this week.

  • True Blood

    10-Jul-2009

    Red-blooded TV with a bite.

  • Four Weddings

    9-Jul-2009

    Fresh from producing The Apprentice Predictor, in which users guessed who would win each episode of the BBC1 show, Monterosa has partnered with Living for its latest project.

  • Kermode/Mayo podcasts make leap to TV

    9-Jul-2009

    Film critic Mark Kermode and 5 Live DJ Simon Mayo are to adapt their BBC podcast for TV as a segment within BBC2’s new-look The Culture Show.

  • ITV1 orders more Morgan, Clunes and Lumley

    9-Jul-2009

    ITV1 is set to cement Piers Morgan, Martin Clunes and Joanna Lumley as faces of its factual output with three travel-themed shows for 2010.

  • Edge Group to invest ‘millions’ in TV sector

    9-Jul-2009

    Music investment company Edge Group has earmarked “tens of millions of pounds” for investment in the TV indie sector as it repositions itself as a crossmedia funding body.

  • ITV1 docs tackle coastal security

    8-Jul-2009

    ITV1 is lining up two factual series following the specialist crime teams protecting Britain’s shores.

  • ESPN unveils Premier League channel

    7-Jul-2009

    Sky will carry ESPN’s Premier League coverage from 3 August on a dedicated premium channel costing from £9 a month.

  • BBC3 eyes character-based sketch show

    7-Jul-2009

    Comedian Simon Brodkin, who starred in BBC3 show The Wall, is recording his own sketch show pilot for the channel.

  • Atalla wins hypnotism comedy pilot

    7-Jul-2009

    Ash Atalla’s indie Rough Cut TV has secured the final slot in Channel 4’s Comedy Showcase season of broadcast pilots.

  • Lost creators promise definite ending

    6-Jul-2009

    The creators of Lost have ruled out any spin-offs into movies or comic books once the genre-bending show comes to an end next year.

  • Cameron pledges to scale back Ofcom's powers

    6-Jul-2009

    David Cameron has vowed to strip Ofcom of its policy-making role as part of a proposed scaling back of “empire building” quangos if the Tories are elected.

  • Trotters to return in Only Fools and Horses prequel

    3-Jul-2009

    Del Boy’s coming back to BBC1 – but as a teenager.

  • F1 host and Blue Peter producer in Salford move

    3-Jul-2009

    Sports presenter Dan Walker and Blue Peter producer Ewan Vinnicombe are among 216 mid-tier BBC staff moving to Salford MediaCity in 2011.

  • C4 viewers question Michael Jackson tribute

    3-Jul-2009

    Channel 4’s coverage of Michael Jackson’s death has divided viewers, with questions raised both about the amount of airtime given over to the pop star and of whether Big Brother housemates should have been told.

  • Robin Hood axed

    3-Jul-2009

    The BBC has axed Robin Hood after ratings plunged to 2.2m for the climax of the third series.

  • New name for History Channel UK

    2-Jul-2009

    The History Channel UK group has rebranded as AETN UK in a bid to broaden its association beyond one genre of programming.

  • ITV is recession’s ‘worst offender’

    2-Jul-2009

    Indies have singled out ITV as the most difficult broadcaster to deal with in the economic downturn.

  • Funding issues cloud docs festival

    2-Jul-2009

    La Rochelle saw 1,800 delegates debating money, partnerships and the challenge of YouTube.

  • History Channel partners ITV1 on Outbreak of WW2

    2-Jul-2009

    The History Channel has secured its first co-production with ITV1 as part of a group-wide strategy to team up with other UK broadcasters for large-scale documentaries.

  • Bravo seeks to go beyond ‘bloke TV’ content

    2-Jul-2009

    Bravo is looking for more factual entertainment and humour after controller Dave Clarke admitted that he “played it safe” by commissioning for the “blokier” end of his audience last year.

  • C4 instigates training for its commissioners

    2-Jul-2009

    Channel 4 is to put all of its commissioners through an intense five-day, cross-platform training course this autumn as part of a new deal to back the creative multi-media scheme Crossover.

  • CTVC investigates late motherhood for BBC1

    2-Jul-2009

    Religious and ethical indie CTVC is to meet the oldest women to give birth in a documentary for BBC1.

  • Tarrant confirmed for Watch

    1-Jul-2009

    North One’s hidden camera series My Little Soldier has been renamed Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose after securing the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host for the show.

  • Endemol strikes Man City deal

    1-Jul-2009

    Endemol has clinched a long-term deal to produce all global media content for Manchester City Football Club.

  • Jobs to go as Joost exits consumer market

    30-Jun-2009

    Online video platform Joost will cease to be a consumer-facing website as part of a strategy rethink that will also see Mike Volpi stand down as chief executive.

  • Dave plans first live broadcast

    30-Jun-2009

    UKTV channel Dave will broadcast live for the first time for the climax of the second series of the Red Bull X-Fighters motorcross world tour.

  • ITN loses ITV web news deal

    29-Jun-2009

    ITV has axed ITN’s deal to provide news for its main website, with five journalist jobs set to go as a result.

  • Universal brings movies to Virgin

    29-Jun-2009

    Virgin Media has expanded is movies-on-demand service in a deal with Universal Pictures.

  • Web unlikely to offset TV ad losses

    29-Jun-2009

    Revenue from US broadcasters’ web strategies will still be failing to offset the decline in traditional TV advertising by 2013, a report has warned.

  • Canal+ buys Young at Heart doc

    26-Jun-2009

    Walker George’s More 4 documentary Young@Heart is heading to French TV screens after broadcaster Canal+ picked up the rights.

  • Indies battle for ESPN Premiership contract

    25-Jun-2009

    North One, Sunset + Vine and TWI are set to vie for the contract to produce ESPN’s Premier League coverage, but they could come up against Sky’s production teams.

  • Lions iPhone Tour

    25-Jun-2009

    Pulse Films’ iPhone application for the British & Irish Lions, part of a cross-platform package the indie is producing for the rugby team, has hit the ground running.

  • Twitter texts will promote C4 doc on Wild survival

    25-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 will launch Tigress’ new extreme survival series Alone in the Wild with a 10-week Twitter campaign, based on a basic health and safety check.

  • Armstrong to present Pointless daytime quiz

    25-Jun-2009

    Comedian Alexander Armstrong is to present a BBC2 daytime quiz that puts a twist on the Family Fortunes formula of polling the public.

  • Revealed: Head-Shrinkers of the amazon

    25-Jun-2009

    Executive producer Ed Crick on tracing the truth behind some intriguing archive footage

  • Chase animation creative goes solo

    24-Jun-2009

    Robert Chandler, creative director at Chase, the animation studios behind the BBC’s Olympics idents, has left to set up his own indie.

  • ESPN prepares to unveil Premier League channel

    24-Jun-2009

    ESPN and Sky are set to unveil details of the new channel that will show Premier League games at the end of this week.

  • Racing UK reverts to pre-Setanta strategy

    23-Jun-2009

    Racing UK is to revert to a standalone channel costing £20 a month following the demise of Setanta.

  • ITV1 orders more Lewis

    23-Jun-2009

    Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox are set to return for a fourth series of ITV1 murder mystery drama Lewis.

  • Brown leaves Silver River for Diverse

    23-Jun-2009

    Alan Brown, who commissioned The Apprentice, produced The Restaurant and revamped Never Mind the Buzzcocks, has joined Diverse Production as creative director.

  • C4 backs creative writing game

    23-Jun-2009

    An iPhone application that aims to stimulate creative writing is the latest project to come out of Channel 4’s online PSB fund, 4iP.

  • Totally Saturday tumbles further

    22-Jun-2009

    BBC1 entertainment show Totally Saturday took another tumble in the ratings this weekend, bringing in 2.58m viewers (14.7% share) at 7.30pm on Saturday night.

  • Brat Camp producer joins Dispatches team

    22-Jun-2009

    Brat Camp producer Tamara Abood has joined Channel 4 as editor of current affairs strand Dispatches.

  • ITV, C4 and Five rapped for pushing products

    22-Jun-2009

    Chat show hosts Alan Titchmarsh and Paul O’Grady as well as Five News gave undue promotion to products in recent shows, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Duncan to fight on at C4

    22-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has vowed to stay with the broadcaster for at least another two to three years.

  • Five widens online reach in ground-breaking deal

    18-Jun-2009

    Five has signed a syndication deal with online video platform Brightcove that will allow full-length episodes of its programmes to be embedded in third-party websites.

  • C4’s Luke Johnson to exec credit crunch doc

    18-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson is to get his first executive producer credit, on Studio Lambert’s first cinema documentary.

  • Mitchell and Webb

    18-Jun-2009

    Comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb started life on radio, so when BBC producers had to make a red-button package to accompany the new series of BBC2’s That Mitchell and Webb Look, it made sense to mine their unused Radio 4 sketches.

  • Carter to quit government

    12-Jun-2009

    Communications minister Stephen Carter is to step down to rejoin the private sector after he publishes his Digital Britain report, increasing speculation that he is putting himself in the running for the top job at ITV.

  • Living primed for HD roll-out

    12-Jun-2009

    Delivering Digital Britain conference: Virgin Media will roll out an HD version of Living this year as part of a cross-platform strategy to boost the channel’s brand.

  • Broadband push could tap licence fee, says Carter

    11-Jun-2009

    The digital surplus from the BBC licence fee should be the main source for funding universal broadband, next week’s Digital Britain report will confirm.

  • Digital surplus to fund broadband take-up

    10-Jun-2009

    Delivering Digital Britain conference: The digital surplus will be the main source of funding for universal broadband, next week’s Digital Britain report will confirm.

  • Abraham: broadcasters 'unclear' on government web support

    10-Jun-2009

    Delivering Digital Britain conference: The government’s universal broadband ambitions are at risk of overshadowing the pressing need to future-proof commercial online business models, UKTV chief executive David Abraham has warned.

  • Carter pledges more focus on non-broadcaster PSB content

    10-Jun-2009

    Delivering Digital Britain conference: Communication minister Stephen Carter has admitted that his Digital Britain report, due next week, did not go far enough in its initial stages in exploring the options for non-TV organisations in delivering public service content.

  • Zig Zag wins triple shock doc order

    9-Jun-2009

    A teenager who cries blood from her eyes features in one of a trio of shock doc commissions Zig Zag Productions has won from C4.

  • Rising from the Ashes

    9-Jun-2009

    How did Ashes to Ashes become both the most entertaining and frustrating show on TV, wonders Robin Parker

  • Charities lose out in Big Brother phone votes

    8-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 has scrapped charity donations on Big Brother phone votes, which generated £300,000 for its chosen causes last year.

  • Digital Britain 'still on track' despite Cabinet reshuffle

    8-Jun-2009

    Ben Bradshaw’s appointment as culture secretary will not derail the timeline for the Digital Britain report, the government has insisted.

  • C4 opens up web archive

    8-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 is to make 4,000 hours of shows from its 27-year archive available for free online.

  • C4 plans Dubplate Drama finale

    8-Jun-2009

    Channel 4’s interactive music drama Dubplate Drama is to end after three series.

  • C4 under fire over BB live feed axe

    8-Jun-2009

    Big Brother fans have attacked Channel 4’s decision to run this year’s show without a live feed on E4.

  • Big Brother housemates set for gruelling start

    4-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 is promising the “most diverse and cosmopolitan” Big Brother line-up for the 10th series of the reality show.

  • BBC Trust under fire over pay scrutiny

    4-Jun-2009

    A government report into BBC radio production efficiencies has been overshadowed by a spat with the BBC Trust over whether presenters’ salaries should be made public.

  • C4 tells disabled people How to Look Good Naked

    4-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 has ordered a three-part run of How to Look Good Naked featuring people with disabilities.

  • BBC goes for Gold in Worst team’s Olympics spoof

    4-Jun-2009

    The BBC is lining up a mockumentary about the 2012 Olympic Games from the writers of The Worst Week of My Life.

  • My Monkey Baby

    4-Jun-2009

    In producing My Monkey Baby, Jaine Green took a hands-on approach to animal parenting

  • Q&A: Endemol

    4-Jun-2009

    Global format factory Endemol has forged its own transatlantic alliance as UK and US teams come together to brainstorm the next big thing. Robin Parker speaks to the men in charge.

  • Government launches review into kids on TV

    4-Jun-2009

    The government is preparing a major public consultation on the use of children in TV shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, which last week saw 10-year-old semi-finalist Hollie Steel break down on live TV.

  • C4 and BBCW deal: favourite, but not sealed

    4-Jun-2009

    A Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide joint venture looks set to win government backing, but the two parties are yet to sign a draft proposal less than two weeks ahead of the Digital Britain report.

  • Hollyoaks tackles drink online

    4-Jun-2009

    An online Hollyoaks spin-off is taking centre stage in a government strategy to use web drama to get youth-oriented campaigns to their target audience.

  • Pact kicks off indie roadshows

    3-Jun-2009

    Pact is extending a helping hand to struggling indies with a series of roadshows over the next month.

  • BBC4 needs more Answers

    3-Jun-2009

    BBC4 has commissioned 13 more episodes of offbeat quiz show We Need Answers following a three-part trial run.

  • Tern Digital debuts iPhone game spin-off

    3-Jun-2009

    Tern Digital is launching an iPhone game based on its Channel 4 educational show KNTV.

  • CITV orders more Emu

    2-Jun-2009

    Anarchic puppet Emu is to return to ITV1 for a second run following its revival two years ago.

  • BBC1 extends lifeline to Britain's villages

    2-Jun-2009

    BBC1 is set to transform the fortunes of six villages in a primetime Lottery-funded series.

  • C4 to adapt Thatcher satire

    1-Jun-2009

    The League of Gentlemen’s Jeremy Dyson is adapting Jonathan Coe’s satirical novel What a Carve Up! for Channel 4.

  • C4 hails Twitter experiment success

    1-Jun-2009

    Channel 4 and Windfall Films are celebrating after interactive show The Operation: Surgery Live became the most popular topic on Twitter during its final episode.

  • Pozzitive opens comedy vault

    1-Jun-2009

    Rare photos and clips of comedians ranging from Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci to Robbie Coltrane and Simon Pegg feature in an online ‘comedy encyclopaedia’ launched today.

  • Tennant's Hamlet coming to BBC2

    29-May-2009

    David Tennant is to bring his acclaimed stage performance of Hamlet to BBC2.

  • Sky to be available on Xbox

    29-May-2009

    Sky is to make live programming available on the Xbox 360 games console for the first time.

  • Sofia's Diary gets 'edgier' third run

    28-May-2009

    Sony Pictures Television is promising an “edgier” tone to its Bebo drama Sofia’s Diary when it returns for a third season.

  • Virgin 1 marks relaunch with Naked Office doc

    28-May-2009

    Virgin 1 will kick off a relaunch designed to combine “humour and journalistic vigour” next month with a documentary about an office where staff work in the nude.

  • Cherie Blair takes to the streets for Dispatches doc

    28-May-2009

    Cherie Blair will join police patrols on some of Britain’s toughest estates in a follow-up to last year’s Channel 4 series, The Truth About Street Weapons.

  • Rabbatts joins Shed board

    27-May-2009

    Shed Media has appointed former Channel 4 head of education Heather Rabbatts to one of three non-executive positions.

  • Endemol to produce Bebo music show

    27-May-2009

    Endemol is to make a daily music magazine show for social networking site Bebo, to be funded by Samsung Mobile.

  • Snog Marry Avoid goes abroad

    27-May-2009

    BBC3 ‘make-under’ format Snog Marry Avoid? is to venture overseas to tackle the holiday style of Brits abroad in its third series.

  • Teleshopping on PSB channels given green light

    26-May-2009

    Ofcom has allowed teleshopping on commercial PSB channels for the first time, but has denied them a potential £44m in extra advertising revenue after standing firm on the amount of ads they are allowed.

  • Celeb Big Brother cleared over Coolio complaints

    26-May-2009

    Ofcom has rejected 527 complaints about both the behaviour and depiction of rapper Coolio in this year’s Celebrity Big Brother.

  • Swearing TV chef sparks complaints

    26-May-2009

    The BBC has apologised after 40 viewers complained about a chef using the f-word in a live pre-watershed show.

  • BBC orders online sketch show from RDF

    26-May-2009

    The BBC has commissioned an online sketch show featuring a vicar and a rabbi grappling with their laddish tendencies.

  • C4 defends Come Dine With Me racism claims

    22-May-2009

    Channel 4 has defended an episode of Come Dine With Me that attracted a “surprising” flurry of complaints over alleged racist remarks.

  • Endemol wins first Polish commission

    22-May-2009

    Endemol is to adapt its Dutch drama Roses and Vodka Lime for audiences in Poland - its first commission in the country.

  • Five bags Breaking Bad

    22-May-2009

    Five has bagged first-run UK rights to the second series of acclaimed US drama Breaking Bad.

  • C4 axes Edinburgh Soho House

    22-May-2009

    Edinburgh TV Festival institution Soho House has fallen victim to the cost-cutting at Channel 4.

  • BBCW launches factual YouTube channel

    21-May-2009

    BBC Woldwide has launched a factual YouTube channel after extending its deal with the video-sharing site.

  • C4-Five merger rejected by most Pact members

    21-May-2009

    Two-thirds of indies believe RTL’s proposed merger of C4 and Five would be bad news for the industry, according to a Pact survey.

  • Pay freeze at Ofcom; executive bonuses scrapped

    20-May-2009

    Ofcom has frozen pay for all staff and scrapped this year’s bonuses for its executive committee.

  • Attenborough to unveil 'missing link'

    20-May-2009

    David Attenborough is set to explore the 47 million-year-old ‘missing link’ in human evolution in a primetime BBC documentary.

  • US TV: Scrapped and saved

    20-May-2009

    Broadcastnow presents a round-up of the US TV shows that have been scrapped, saved or are under threat.

  • All3 chief proposes online content fund

    19-May-2009

    All3Media chief executive Steve Morrison is calling for the government to provide financial support for small producers to get more value out of their content online.

  • Crook joins Summer Films

    19-May-2009

    Susan Crook, the producer of the first series of BBC2’s The Restaurant, has joined Summer Films as factual executive producer.

  • Torchwood radio plays to fill Doctor Who hiatus

    15-May-2009

    The BBC is to fill the gaps between seasons of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood with three radio plays.

  • Just a Minute gets animated in BBC comedy site refresh

    14-May-2009

    Flights of fancy from BBC Radio 4’s panel game Just a Minute are to be given an animated spin on the BBC’s new-look comedy website – part of a major move towards web-only comedy commissions.

  • Freeview HD plans in doubt

    14-May-2009

    Free-to-air HD could become the latest victim of the crisis in TV funding as ITV and Channel 4 reconsider plans to launch HD channels on Freeview.

  • Ahmed's final orders for C4

    14-May-2009

    The director of The Qur’an will interview Britain’s religious leaders about contemporary issues in one of the swansong commissions of outgoing Channel 4 editor for religion Aaqil Ahmed.

  • SAS faker to head C4 First Cut doc strand

    14-May-2009

    Century Films will investigate the life and death of an SAS fantasist in one of a pair of commissions for the upcoming run of Channel 4 documentary strand First Cut.

  • C4's Sex Education Show rated and slated

    13-May-2009

    Channel 4 shows The Hospital and The Sex Education Show v Pornography divided audiences last month, with viewers singling both shows out for praise and scorn.

  • Grey's Anatomy star cast in BBC hospital drama

    13-May-2009

    Grey’s Anatomy’s Kevin McKidd is to star in another medical drama – a BBC production that transplants Greek classic The Odyssey to a British city hospital.

  • C4 rapped over Ramsay; pre-watershed sex cleared

    11-May-2009

    Ofcom has rapped Channel 4 over Gordon Ramsay’s swearing immediately after the watershed – but has cleared pre-watershed sex that was “at the edge of acceptability”.

  • BBC2 developing new Sarah Waters drama

    11-May-2009

    BBC2 is eyeing an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ novel The Night Watch as a one-off feature-length drama.

  • Jamie Oliver cooks up new US series

    11-May-2009

    Jamie Oliver is to take his healthy eating mission to the US in a series for ABC.

  • Maxine Peake to star in Criminal Justice

    11-May-2009

    Hancock and Joan actress Maxine Peake is to take the lead role in the second series of BBC1 drama Criminal Justice.

  • Russell Howard to host BBC3 comedy pilot

    8-May-2009

    Mock the Week star Russell Howard is fronting a pilot that is lined up to be BBC3's first topical comedy show.

  • Lucas and Walliams revive Rock Profiles

    7-May-2009

    Matt Lucas and David Walliams have revived spoof music series Rock Profiles, nine years after it ended.

  • C4 heads stand firm as BBCW ruling looms

    6-May-2009

    Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson has publicly backed chief executive Andy Duncan amid speculation that he could be forced out of his job if the government vetoes C4's preferred funding option of a tie-up with BBC Worldwide.

  • Diversity: Broadcasters' pledge

    6-May-2009

    The recent all-black episode of EastEnders reignited the debate about diversity in television. Broadcasters are all for change, but can they turn goodwill into reality?

  • Love & Loathe: Endgame/The Justin Lee Collins Show

    6-May-2009

    EndgameMonday 4 May, 9pm, Channel 4

  • Eureka! My Family

    6-May-2009

    After 100 episodes, executive producer Don Taffner Jr reflects on a US approach to UK comedy.

  • C4's Johnson and Duncan present united front

    6-May-2009

    Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson has publicly backed chief executive Andy Duncan amid speculation that Duncan could be forced out of his job if the government vetoes C4's preferred funding option of a tie-up with BBC Worldwide.

  • Gary Glitter character to feature in C4 drama

    5-May-2009

    Channel 4 is lining up a drama about the death penalty that will feature disgraced pop star Gary Glitter as one of its characters.

  • C4 sends Location host to Oz

    1-May-2009

    Channel 4 property presenter Phil Spencer is to head to Australia for his next project for the channel.

  • C4 Dispatches editor quits

    1-May-2009

    Mehdi Hasan, an editor on Channel 4 current affairs strand Dispatches, has left the broadcaster to join political magazine the New Statesman.

  • BBC names bosses moving to Salford

    1-May-2009

    Michael Carrington, Ben Gallop, Rhian Roberts and Philip Bernie are among 15 senior BBC managers set to move to Salford MediaCity.

  • BBC axes Mutual Friends

    1-May-2009

    BBC1 has axed primetime comedy-drama Mutual Friends after just one series.

  • Monty Don back with C4 show

    29-Apr-2009

    Monty Don is to meet people trying to live The Good Life for real in his first TV project since a minor stroke forced him to quit Gardeners' World.

  • Keo Films lands IWC exec for Scotland push

    29-Apr-2009

    River Cottage indie Keo Films has hired the producer of BBC2's acclaimed Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's to head up a new Glasgow office.

  • Alexa Chung heading stateside for MTV US show

    29-Apr-2009

    T4 presenter Alexa Chung is to head to the US to front MTV's successor to magazine show Total Request Live.

  • BBC plans to share iPlayer in the regions

    29-Apr-2009

    The BBC is drawing up plans to extend its offer to share iPlayer technology to local and regional and media companies.

  • Dailymotion bags Bafta content

    29-Apr-2009

    Video sharing site Dailymotion is offering footage from backstage interviews at the Bafta TV awards for the first time.

  • ITV regional news replacement may cost£100m

    28-Apr-2009

    Ofcom's proposed independently-funded news consortia replacements for ITV's regional news coverage could cost up to£100m, the regulator has calculated.

  • Off Cuts: Bafta TV awards

    27-Apr-2009

    Broadcastnow went backstage at the Bafta TV awards 2009 to capture some candid moments with David Attenborough, Harry Hill, Harry Enfield and Dermot O'Leary, amongst others.

  • Details emerge of Criminal Justice sequel

    27-Apr-2009

    The sequel to BBC1's Bafta-winning drama Criminal Justice will revolve around a woman charged with murder.

  • X Factor can survive without Cowell, says show exec

    27-Apr-2009

    The X Factor is a big enough format to survive any on-screen talent leaving the show - including Simon Cowell, its executive producer has declared.

  • Global Radio chief demands DAB deadline

    27-Apr-2009

    Global Radio chief executive Stephen Miron has called on the government to “focus their minds” and name a date for DAB migration.

  • The Wire's Simon mulls CIA series

    27-Apr-2009

    David Simon, co-creator of The Wire, is eyeing up a history of the CIA for US cable broadcaster HBO.

  • BBC2 orders more Mitchell and Webb

    27-Apr-2009

    David Mitchell and Robert Webb will introduce “embarrassingly un-PC superhero” Captain Todger in the third series of That Mitchell and Webb Look, which has been commissioned for 2010.

  • Boris Johnson doc gets 131 complaints

    24-Apr-2009

    Channel 4 has received 131 complaints about a Dispatches programme analysing Boris Johnson's first year in office as London mayor.

  • C4's ten most criticised shows in March

    24-Apr-2009

    Dispatches: The Trouble with Boris receives 131 complaints

  • C4's ten most praised shows in March

    24-Apr-2009

    Red Riding receives 20 coments

  • Timeline: Michael Grade

    23-Apr-2009

    Major landmarks in Michael Grade's career to date, from his big start at LWT to stepping down as executive chairman of ITV.

  • Broadcasters introduce diversity pledge

    22-Apr-2009

    The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky will now require all their suppliers to sign up to a shared diversity pledge.

  • Switching on the YouTube viewers

    22-Apr-2009

    The Susan Boyle phenomenon illustrates how web video clips are cross-fertilising with TV programmes and bringing in a wider audience.

  • Have I Got News to film web spin-off

    22-Apr-2009

    Alexander Armstrong is to front a fortnightly web spin-off of Have I Got News For You that will bridge the gap between the next two series of the satirical BBC1 quiz.

  • BBC2 to celebrate moon landing anniversary

    22-Apr-2009

    A new slot for The Culture Show and a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing are among the highlights of BBC2's spring/summer schedule.

  • C4 wins Ali G lawsuit

    22-Apr-2009

    Channel 4 has successfully defended an $800,000 (£550,000) libel case brought against the US version of Da Ali G Show.

  • Silence is golden on CBBC

    22-Apr-2009

    Zodiak-owned indie Lucky Day is making a CBBC show that will reward children for keeping quiet.

  • Renwick confirms return of Jonathan Creek

    22-Apr-2009

    Alan Davies is set to reprise his role as magician sleuth Jonathan Creek for a second feature-length special for Easter next year, writer David Renwick has confirmed.

  • Cricket dominates sporting 'crown jewels' debate

    21-Apr-2009

    The government has received around 100 responses in the first two weeks of its consultation on which national events should be free to air, with cricket coverage dominating the debate.

  • E4 lines up Hollyoaks spin-off

    20-Apr-2009

    Hollyoaks is set for another late-night spin-off on E4 this autumn.

  • Bafta to award special honour to French and Saunders

    20-Apr-2009

    Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are to receive this year's Bafta TV fellowship at next weekend's annual awards.

  • Clement Freud dies aged 84

    16-Apr-2009

    Sir Clement Freud, a star of Radio 4's Just for Minute for more than 40 years, has died at the age of 84.

  • Ashes producer to join Moffat's Doctor Who team

    16-Apr-2009

    The producer of Ashes to Ashes will join Doctor Who's senior production team for the next series.

  • Bell tolls for Dead Ringers

    15-Apr-2009

    The BBC has called time on long-running radio and TV impressions show Dead Ringers.

  • C4 to show nudes before the watershed

    14-Apr-2009

    Channel 4 is to take a literal approach to stripped programming with a week-long series of masterclasses in painting nude figures.

  • Tudors to return for fourth and final season

    14-Apr-2009

    Historical drama The Tudors is to bow out after a fourth and final series next year.

  • BBC2 to adapt Amis' Money

    9-Apr-2009

    BBC2 is to revisit the 1980s era of unbridled capitalism in a two-part adaptation of Martin Amis' novel Money.

  • Britain's Got Talent undergoes online overhaul

    9-Apr-2009

    Britain's Got Talent's website has undergone a revamp in a bid to increase interactivity with the ITV show.

  • BBC Mobile appoints ex-Kangaroo exec

    8-Apr-2009

    Mark Kortekaas, the former CBS executive who oversaw the technology behind the abolished Project Kangaroo, has taken up a new role heading up BBC mobile output.

  • Viewers to help decide sporting 'crown jewels'

    8-Apr-2009

    The government is inviting viewers to tell them which national sporting events they want to see on free-to-air TV from today.

  • MediaCity owners pin hopes on ITV U-turn

    7-Apr-2009

    MediaCityUK owner Peel Media is still hopeful of persuading ITV to move to the Salford site despite the broadcaster ruling out a deal last month.

  • MPs revive top-slicing threat

    7-Apr-2009

    MPs and peers reignited the PSB funding debate this week, rejecting media secretary Andy Burnham's favoured partnership between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide and putting licence fee top-slicing back on the agenda.

  • C4 plans Bible follow-up to history of Christianity

    7-Apr-2009

    Channel 4 is to follow up Christianity: a History with a series of personal interpretations of the Bible.

  • What next for MediaCityUK?

    7-Apr-2009

    How will ITV's decision to pull out of moving its Manchester operation to Salford's MediaCityUK affect the project's ambition to be a creative hub.

  • C4 unveils£1m charity fund around Secret Millionaire

    7-Apr-2009

    Channel 4 has set up a£1m fund for local charities and community groups nominated by viewers of Secret Millionaire.

  • BBC begins mobile TV tests

    7-Apr-2009

    The BBC has begun to test live streaming of its core TV and radio channels to mobile phones.

  • C4 sex ed site attracts 2.7m views

    7-Apr-2009

    The website for Channel 4 show Sex Education vs Pornography attracted an unprecedented 2.7m page views over the course of its run.

  • C4 avoids censure over sex in daytime

    6-Apr-2009

    Ofcom has rejected 38 complaints against controversial sex-themed episodes of daytime educational series KNTV.

  • The Thick of It to return

    6-Apr-2009

    A further eight episodes of BBC satirical comedy The Thick of It are in the pipeline, creator Armando Iannucci has confirmed.

  • C4 to recreate Madeleine McCann events

    6-Apr-2009

    The team behind ITV1 documentary Madeleine: A Year On will stage the first reconstruction of the events that led up to Madeleine McCann's disappearance for a Channel 4 documentary.

  • BBC hit by record fine for Sachsgate

    3-Apr-2009

    Ofcom has slapped a£150,000 fine on the BBC for the Sachsgate affair - the biggest financial penalty it has ever imposed on the corporation for a single broadcast.

  • North West media agency gets funding boost

    3-Apr-2009

    Funding body Northwest Vision and Media has had a£3m cash injection to support collaboration between the creative and digital industries in the region.

  • Channel 4 doc slate to lift veil on Gypsy weddings

    2-Apr-2009

    Firecracker Films is to lift the lid on extravagant Gypsy weddings in a Channel 4 documentary.

  • Falling Man director to probe Kenyan murder

    1-Apr-2009

    Falling Man director Henry Singer is to explore the unsolved murder of Oscar-nominated natural history film-maker and environmental campaigner Joan Root in a BBC documentary.

  • The Devil's Whore team develop C4 Restoration sequel

    1-Apr-2009

    The creators of Channel 4's English Civil War drama The Devil's Whore have begun working on a follow-up set during the Restoration period.

  • Casualty campaigners explore new Bristol studios

    1-Apr-2009

    Campaigners against Casualty's move to Cardiff are looking into setting up a film and TV studio and production base in Bristol.

  • Hutton to examine downturn for Channel 4

    1-Apr-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned journalist and economist Will Hutton to attempt to explain the causes and implications of the global economic crisis.

  • Ofcom investigates Moving Wallpaper 'transphobia' row

    1-Apr-2009

    Ofcom is investigating more than 50 complaints alleging that ITV1 comedy Moving Wallpaper was offensive to transsexuals.

  • Licence fee law must be made clear for online viewing, says Trust

    31-Mar-2009

    The BBC Trust has asked the BBC to be clearer about the law surrounding TV viewing online as it keeps a watching brief on the impact of on-demand viewing on the licence fee.

  • Trust: No room for licence fee 'freeloaders'

    31-Mar-2009

    The BBC Trust has warned the corporation to adopt a more “firm but fair” approach to licence fee collection - but chairman Sir Michael Lyons has warned there is 'no room for freeloaders'.

  • BBC axes Not Going Out

    30-Mar-2009

    The BBC has axed studio sitcom Not Going Out after three series.

  • First look at new Prisoner

    30-Mar-2009

    Broadcastnow has secured a first look at official images from the upcoming remake of The Prisoner.

  • Mark Burnett to produce Dragons' Den US

    30-Mar-2009

    Reality show executive Mark Burnett is to oversee the US' latest spin on the Dragons' Den formula.

  • F1 goes interactive

    27-Mar-2009

    Formula 1 fans watching the BBC's coverage online will be able to choose which cameras to follow during races and to explore virtual 3D versions of every circuit in the championship.

  • Branagh bags first UK TV award

    27-Mar-2009

    Kenneth Branagh will today pick up his first UK TV award when he receives a Broadcasting Press Guild prize for his BBC1 crime drama Wallander.

  • 4iP looks at faster commissions

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 and innovation funding body Nesta have devised a range of contract models designed to simplify and speed up the commissioning process for low-budget web projects.

  • No more Boys & Girls but C4 eyes parenting shows

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 head of programmes Julian Bellamy has ruled out a second series of the controversial Boys and Girls Alone, describing it as a “one-off stunt”.

  • Moving Wallpaper takes zombie show to itv.com

    25-Mar-2009

    ITV1 comedy Moving Wallpaper will “take over” the itv.com homepage at the climax of the series, with 12 minutes of the show-within-a-show, Renaissance, debuting online.

  • Dyer lads' mag sitcom leads C4 Comedy Labs

    25-Mar-2009

    Danny Dyer is to star in a Channel 4 sitcom pilot set in the office of a Nuts-style lads' mag.

  • C4: No tribute for Jade Goody

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 is planning no tributes to the late Big Brother star Jade Goody in the tenth anniversary year of the reality show.

  • C4 spring/summer 09: Entertainment/Comedy

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4's entertainment and comedy line-up for the spring/summer 09 season.

  • C4 spring/summer 09: Drama

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4's drama line-up for the spring/summer 09 season.

  • C4 spring/summer 09: Features and factual entertainment

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4's features and factual entertainment line-up for the spring/summer 09 season.

  • C4 spring/summer 09: Specialist factual

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4's specialist factual line-up for the spring/summer 09 season.

  • C4 spring/summer 09: Factual

    25-Mar-2009

    Channel 4's factual line-up for the spring/summer 09 season.

  • Walters to star in C4 Mo Mowlam drama

    25-Mar-2009

    Fresh from her turn as Mary Whitehouse in BBC2 drama Filth, Julie Walters is to tackle former Labour Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam for Channel 4.

  • C4 unveils spring/summer season

    25-Mar-2009

    Animal autopsies, obese children, the Alpha Course and every Red Lion pub in Britain are among the subjects to be put under the spotlight in Channel 4's spring/summer season.

  • Tonightly team win new C4 comedy series

    25-Mar-2009

    The team behind Channel 4 topical comedy Tonightly is developing a weekly comedy series after the broadcaster ruled out reviving the daily show.

  • C4 wants longer run of Country House Rescue

    24-Mar-2009

    Troubleshooter Ruth Watson is to offer more tough-talking advice in an expanded 14-part second run of Channel 4's Country House Rescue.

  • Hancock & Joan scoops triple Bafta nomination

    24-Mar-2009

    BBC4 drama Hancock & Joan leads the way in this year's Baftas with three nominations.

  • Virgin Media calls time on Trouble

    23-Mar-2009

    Virgin Media Television will close its youth channel Trouble on 1 April, kickstarting an overhaul of the Living portfolio.

  • Big Brother and The X Factor broke sponsorship rules

    23-Mar-2009

    Ofcom has castigated a string of high-profile shows, including Big Brother and The X Factor, for brand sponsorship that tipped over into advertising messages.

  • Gold to reopen Fawlty Towers

    23-Mar-2009

    Fawlty Towers star and co-writer Connie Booth is to break her 30 year silence on the BBC1 sitcom in one of two specials for UKTV channel Gold.

  • Fremantle US faces ex-staff lawsuit

    20-Mar-2009

    FremantleMedia North America is facing a lawsuit from former employees who claim they were forced to work up to twenty hours a day with no statutory breaks or overtime.

  • Scottish Parliament lobbies for national channel

    20-Mar-2009

    The Scottish Parliament is to put pressure on the UK government to greenlight a proposed dedicated digital TV channel for the nation.

  • Primeval to get the Twitter treatment

    20-Mar-2009

    ITV is planning to engage the ‘Twitterati' in a mass live conversation about Primeval for the duration of the first episode of the drama's third series.

  • Cohen: Make catch-up TV pay-per-view

    19-Mar-2009

    On-demand services should introduce ‘micropayments' from 5p to£2 for catch-up views of big shows to recoup money lost through falling TV advertising revenues, FremantleMedia chief executive Tony Cohen has proposed.

  • Digital Britain won't force mergers

    19-Mar-2009

    Lord Carter has downplayed the role that Channel 4's future plays in his Digital Britain review, insisting the government will not “force any marriages” between broadcasters.

  • BBC to make£400m cuts

    19-Mar-2009

    The BBC is poised to make£400m of “painful” cuts over the next three years, with savings to include executive pay freezes and lower fees for top talent.

  • Indies: the great divide

    18-Mar-2009

    The gap between big and small indies has never been greater, Broadcast's Indie Survey 2009 has revealed.

  • Great Escape for Ramsay in C4 Indian quest

    18-Mar-2009

    The famously carnivorous Gordon Ramsay will get a taste of pure Hindu vegetarianism in a gastronomic quest across India for Channel 4.

  • US comedian pens pilot for C4 Showcase season

    18-Mar-2009

    Arrested Development star David Cross has written a sitcom pilot for Channel 4's second Comedy Showcase season.

  • RTS success for C4 and The Devil's Whore

    18-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 drama The Devil's Whore cleaned up at the RTS Programme Awards last night with three prizes including best drama serial.

  • Peep Show to return for seventh series

    18-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned a seventh series of Bafta-winning sitcom Peep Show, whose writers picked up an RTS Award last night.

  • Global outbreak for Brooker's zombie drama

    17-Mar-2009

    Endemol has sold Charlie Brooker's Big Brother zombie horror Dead Set to four international territories.

  • Gavin and Stacey to end after third series

    17-Mar-2009

    BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey will definitely end after its third run, co-writer James Corden has confirmed.

  • BBC pulls Horne & Corden gun sketch

    13-Mar-2009

    The BBC has pulled a sketch from repeats of the first episode of Horne & Corden in which the duo perform a spoof anti-gun crime dance, in the wake of the shooting of 15 children in a German school this week.

  • BSAC adds voice to product placement criticism

    13-Mar-2009

    The British Screen Advisory Council has joined the myriad voices criticising the government for retaining the ban on product placement, branding its decision an act of “fundamentalist nostalgia”.

  • TV Drama Forum: Channel 4 wishlist

    12-Mar-2009

    TV Drama Forum: What Channel 4 wants.

  • TV Drama Forum: ITV1 wishlist

    12-Mar-2009

    TV Drama Forum: What Laura Mackie is looking for.

  • TV Drama Forum: BBC1 wishlist

    12-Mar-2009

    TV Drama Forum: What BBC1 wants.

  • BBC and ITV hunt 'ordinary lives' dramas

    12-Mar-2009

    TV Drama Forum: BBC and ITV drama commissioners are on the lookout for more contemporary series about ordinary lives.

  • Kosminsky: Where is the BBC's mischief?

    12-Mar-2009

    TV Drama Forum: Writer and director Peter Kosminsky has launched a blistering attack on the BBC, claiming it has abandoned troublemaking drama and is stifling creativity through an emphasis on “top-down” commissioning.

  • Video: Andy Duncan, chief executive, C4

    12-Mar-2009

    Footage from the Broadcast Interview with Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan.

  • BBC names Scottish ent commissioner

    11-Mar-2009

    Alan Tyler has been named the BBC's new Glasgow-based executive editor of entertainment commissioning as part of the corporation's shake-up of network programming from the nation's and regions.

  • C4: no guarantees on programming budget

    11-Mar-2009

    The worsening advertising market could force Channel 4 to cut its 2009 programming budget further after it emerged that the broadcaster had already shaved off an extra£25m at the start of this year.

  • Musical prodigies in C4 recital

    11-Mar-2009

    A renowned teenage classical composer will recruit the best musical prodigies from around the world to perform his latest concerto for a Channel 4 series.

  • C4 disability drama to poke fun at reality TV

    11-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned a mockumentary about six disabled characters spending a Shipwrecked-style year on a desert island.

  • BBC2 lands first fruit of James May's Plum deal

    11-Mar-2009

    James May will build a Plasticine garden at the Chelsea Flower Show - part of the first commission from an exclusive deal the presenter has signed with Plum Pictures.

  • Brydon to host BBC1 quiz

    11-Mar-2009

    Rob Brydon is to take over as host of BBC1 panel game Would I Lie To You? when it returns for a third series.

  • The Broadcast Interview: Andy Duncan

    11-Mar-2009

    Channel 4's boss tells Robin Parker that the BBC must give commercial PSBs a break if a “mixed ecology” is to continue funding creative programming.

  • Prince Charmings seek UK romance

    11-Mar-2009

    Executive producer Nick Parnes on assembling a group of foreign princes looking for love.

  • Okonedo to star in BBC4's Mrs Mandela drama

    11-Mar-2009

    Winnie Mandela is the latest real-life figure to get the BBC4 biopic treatment in a one-off drama from Diverse Production.

  • Blinkbox beams up Andromeda

    11-Mar-2009

    TV website Blinkbox has secured the rights to full-length episodes of sci-fi shows such as Andromeda and US reality show My Bare Lady after signing deals with Fireworks International and Zig Zag Productions.

  • Pact opens doors to digital and distributors

    11-Mar-2009

    Pact is extending its membership to digital content producers and distributors for the first time.

  • Ed Crick scores Bullseye job

    10-Mar-2009

    Zodiak Entertainment-owned indie Bullseye Television Production has appointed Ed Crick as managing director.

  • Duncan: Licence fee to outstrip ad revenue by£1bn

    9-Mar-2009

    The BBC's licence fee revenues are set to outstrip commercial rivals' advertising revenues by almost£1bn this year, Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has warned.

  • C4 chief exec to take 35% pay cut

    9-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan and director of TV and content Kevin Lygo will both take home less than£600,000 this year after agreeing pay cuts.

  • Ofcom raps BBC for misleading interviewee

    9-Mar-2009

    Ofcom has censured the production team behind the BBC3 documentary Amy: My Body For Bucks for failing to tell a contributor that the programme focused on the sex industry.

  • Five puts 87 jobs under threat

    5-Mar-2009

    One in four jobs are under threat at Five in a major restructure to remove layers of management at the broadcaster.

  • C4's Duncan: TV won't bounce back for years

    4-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 boss Andy Duncan has warned of the threat to the future of the industry posed by the economic downturn.

  • BBC bans talent from exec-producing shows

    4-Mar-2009

    The BBC has banned on-screen talent from executive-producing their own shows in nearly all cases, as part of a compliance crackdown in the wake of Sachsgate.

  • Toyboize transfers to TV as Dave picks up rights

    4-Mar-2009

    Talkback Thames' web hit Toyboize will become the first made-for-online comedy to transfer to mainstream TV after Dave picked up the rights.

  • Five orders more Milkshake to bolster kids' web offering

    4-Mar-2009

    Five is planning to commission more short shows for children's strand Milkshake in a bid to fill gaps left by declining advertising and to bolster its kids' web content.

  • C4 viewers split over Boys and Girls Alone

    4-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 viewers were divided over the merits of flagship factual series Boys and Girls Alone and Christianity: a History last month, the broadcaster's Viewer Enquiries unit has revealed.

  • BBC dominates RTS nominations

    3-Mar-2009

    BBC1 drama Criminal Justice and Channel 4's The Devil's Whore are to go head-to-head at this year's RTS Awards.

  • Life on Mars US axed

    3-Mar-2009

    ABC has axed the US remake of BBC1 hit Life on Mars after just one series - though it will still have beaten its UK predecessor by one episode.

  • C4 plays down BT merger

    2-Mar-2009

    Channel 4 has poured cold water on reports that a merger with BT Vision is on its wishlist.

  • Russell Brand returns to radio

    2-Mar-2009

    TalkSport has signed Russell Brand to front a football show - his first since quitting Radio 2 in October.

  • BBC dominates RTS TV Journalism Awards

    27-Feb-2009

    The BBC’s coverage of the banking crisis helped the broadcaster to scoop nine of the fifteen awards at last night’s annual RTS Television Journalism Awards, including two for business editor Robert Peston.

  • Simpsons to make TV history

    27-Feb-2009

    The Simpsons is set to enter its third decade on air with an order for two more seasons from US network Fox.

  • Endemol preps US shows

    27-Feb-2009

    Endemol's UK and US heads have co-devised three US network entertainment shows as part of a global strategy to pool resources for international formats.

  • Johnson rejects C4 merger with rivals

    26-Feb-2009

    Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson has said he would rather see the channel fully privatised than suffer the “part privatisation by stealth” of a merger with a rival broadcaster.

  • Project Canvas lined up for 2010 launch

    26-Feb-2009

    The BBC hopes Project Canvas set-top boxes will hit the shops next year, making the plan to offer viewers easy access to the internet and on-demand services via their television sets more tangible than ever before.

  • Cutting Edge set to probe joys of newlywed bliss

    25-Feb-2009

    The highs and lows of the first year of married life will be looked at in a Channel 4 documentary by indie Monkey Kingdom.

  • Real Hustle producer to ‘screw' consumers

    25-Feb-2009

    The team behind The Real Hustle is to give members of the public “the consumer experience from hell” in a new BBC3 series.

  • C4/Five in the dark over ITV merger proposal

    25-Feb-2009

    ITV has approached neither Channel 4 nor Five about its reported proposal for a three-way merger to create a single commercial rival to the BBC, Broadcast understands.

  • Battle for final Freeview HD slot kicks off

    20-Feb-2009

    Five is going head to head with a channel combining Film4 and S4C for an HD channel slot on Freeview.

  • Fremantle seals deal for Ice Road Truckers producer

    20-Feb-2009

    FremantleMedia has bought a 75% stake in Original Productions, the US indie behind Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men.

  • Web drama moving to C4

    20-Feb-2009

    Drama shorts produced for C4's educational web project Routes are to transfer to TV in the broadcaster's 3 Minute Wonders strand.

  • Hollyoaks duo to front 4Music show

    20-Feb-2009

    Former Hollyoaks stars Matt Littler and Darren Jeffries are to front a 4Music battle of the bands format.

  • BBC Trust: Gaza appeal decision was sound

    19-Feb-2009

    The BBC Trust has cleared the BBC's controversial decision not to air the DEC Gaza Crisis Appeal last month - but has ordered the corporation to look into revising its 38 year-old rules on disaster appeals.

  • Off Cuts: 19 Feb 2009

    18-Feb-2009

    Countdown, Cameron and Cheggers all feature in this week's round-up of Broadcast Off Cuts.

  • ITV1 snaps up C4-piloted gameshow

    18-Feb-2009

    ITV1 has picked up a futuristic physical gameshow format that Objective Productions originally piloted for Channel 4.

  • Fast-turnaround docs: When time is of the essence

    18-Feb-2009

    Five says it would air one every week if if could, but why are fast-turnaround films so popular, and what does it take to have a hit? Robert Shepherd and Robin Parker report

  • Ofcom TV fines hit£7.7m

    18-Feb-2009

    Ofcom issued a record£7.7m in fines to broadcasters last year, it has emerged.

  • C4 praised for Gaza coverage

    18-Feb-2009

    Channel 4's coverage of the Gaza conflict, including its decision to broadcast a controversial charity appeal, has won praise from more than 300 viewers.

  • Leading radio indie to move into television

    18-Feb-2009

    Above the Title, the radio indie behind Radio 4's recent revival of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Clive Anderson radio show Unreliable Evidence, is to expand into TV.

  • Brigstocke's R4 chatshow moving to BBC4

    17-Feb-2009

    Marcus Brigstocke is to challenge John Humphreys and Esther Rantzen to do things they've never done before in a TV version of Radio 4 series I've Never Seen Star Wars.

  • C4 to resurrect Coach Trip

    16-Feb-2009

    Channel 4 is to bring back daytime show The Coach Trip, which has been parked away for three years.

  • ITV launches new Tarrant gameshow online

    13-Feb-2009

    ITV.com has launched an online version of Chris Tarrant-fronted gameshow The Colour of Money a day ahead of its TV debut.

  • BBC4 to take technology back in time

    13-Feb-2009

    A family is to swap their Wii and iPod for a black and white TV and record player in a BBC4 series that charts the rapid pace and social impact of technological change.

  • Wogan's C4 quiz to return

    13-Feb-2009

    Terry Wogan is to test contestants' powers of memory in a third series of quiz show Wogan's Perfect Recall.

  • BBC leads RTS TV Journalism nominees

    13-Feb-2009

    The BBC is leading the way in this year's RTS Television Journalism Awards with 18 nominations.

  • C4 defends Boys and Girls Alone

    12-Feb-2009

    Channel 4 head of factual entertainment Andrew Mackenzie has defended the “stimulating and happy experience” of the children featured in the controversial show Boys and Girls Alone.

  • C4 News names indie fund commissioner

    11-Feb-2009

    Channel 4 News has appointed Mike Radford to the role of commissioning editor for its independents fund.

  • John Nettles to leave Midsomer Murders

    11-Feb-2009

    Midsomer Murders is looking for a new police chief after John Nettles announced his plans to retire from the long-running ITV show.

  • C4 orders 'snow chaos' doc

    11-Feb-2009

    Channel 4 has commissioned a fast turnaround documentary on the heavy snowfall that engulfed the UK last week.

  • Edina and Patsy roles cast in US AbFab

    11-Feb-2009

    Revolutionary Road actress Kathryn Hahn and Third Rock From The Sun star Kristen Johnson are to take the lead roles in the US remake of Absolutely Fabulous.

  • Dougray Scott to battle Triffids

    11-Feb-2009

    Desperate Housewives actor Dougray Scott is to take the lead role in BBC1's new adaptation of The Day of the Triffids.

  • Peter Dale joins research think tank

    11-Feb-2009

    Former More4 head Peter Dale is to advise think tank The Institute for Public Policy Research on how its work can be used in TV documentaries.

  • Credit crunch claims Gecko Productions

    10-Feb-2009

    Documentary-maker Viv McGrath has closed her factual indie Gecko Productions, blaming the economic slowdown for putting unsustainable pressure on the business.

  • Oz gets a head with CBBC

    10-Feb-2009

    Nickelodeon Australia has become a co-producer on CBBC children's sketch show Sorry, I've Got No Head.

  • Vorderman: No regrets about quitting Countdown

    9-Feb-2009

    Carol Vorderman has said she had no regrets about refusing a 90% cut to her£900,000 salary for presenting Countdown.

  • Five to shake-up news

    9-Feb-2009

    Five is planning to scrap its 7pm half-hour news bulletin in favour of an hour-long news and current affairs magazine.

  • John Sergeant turns tourist guide

    6-Feb-2009

    Strictly Come Dancing star John Sergeant is to try his hand at being a tourist guide for a three-part ITV series.

  • Doctor Who goes HD

    5-Feb-2009

    Doctor Who has made the move to high definition (HD), a year earlier than originally envisaged by executive producer Russell T Davies.

  • Hunt defends Thatcher sacking

    5-Feb-2009

    BBC1 controller Jay Hunt has defended sacking Carol Thatcher from The One Show for refusing to apologise for her use of “completely inappropriate and racist” language.

  • Counting the cost of Kangaroo

    5-Feb-2009

    BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV have spent two years and at least£25m on Project Kangaroo - but hopes for a one-stop-shop for on-demand TV are now dead in the water.

  • News Q&A: Stephen Carter

    4-Feb-2009

    The communications minister talks to Broadcast about TV and the internet, how plans for a second PSB will become a reality and why the terms of trade are successful.

  • Eureka: Killer in a Small Town

    4-Feb-2009

    Producer/director Louise Osmond on persuading Ipswich to talk about its gruesome past.

  • Why Kangaroo stalled

    4-Feb-2009

    The Project Kangaroo partners failed to convince the Competition Commission that their last-minute proposal for ITV and Channel 4 to sell catch-up rights separately would give third parties a fair chance to buy shows at a fair price.

  • Timeline: Project Kangaroo

    4-Feb-2009

    The life of Project Kangaroo from the first announcement in November 2007 to its demise in February 2009.

  • Response from the Kangaroo partners

    4-Feb-2009

    The scrapping of Project Kangaroo was 'a missed opportunity' to provide choice for British viewers, the joint venture partners have said.

  • Competition Commission blocks Project Kangaroo

    4-Feb-2009

    BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 have failed in their bid to launch a joint video-on-demand service after the Competition Commission blocked their joint Project Kangaroo proposal.

  • Kangaroo decision tomorrow

    3-Feb-2009

    Broadcasters will learn tomorrow morning whether they will get the go-ahead for the joint video-on-demand service developed as Project Kangaroo.

  • AP adds iconic images to archive

    3-Feb-2009

    The Associated Press has added more than a century's worth of photo stills to its online video archive for international broadcasters.

  • Ramsay sets swearing record

    2-Feb-2009

    Gordon Ramsay has set a new record - for the most swear words in a TV show.

  • £50,000 up for grabs in online Dragons' Den

    2-Feb-2009

    The BBC has launched a web spin-off of Dragons' Den in which wannabe entrepreneurs will face two new Dragons.

  • Airey urges C4 to consider Five merger

    2-Feb-2009

    Five chief executive Dawn Airey has called on Channel 4 to curb its hostility to a merger of the broadcasters, which she claims could cut more than£100m of costs.

  • Video: Ofcom's Ed Richards on PSB

    30-Jan-2009

    Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, speaks to Broadcastnow about what the future of public service broadcasting means for the independent production sector.

  • C4/BBCW: The heat is on

    30-Jan-2009

    Blog: While the future of Digital Britain is still not totally clear, the latest report from the DCMS has raised interesting questions about a possible tie-up between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4, writes Robin Parker.

  • Classic Attenborough series makes online debut

    30-Jan-2009

    A 1956 David Attenborough series that brought images of the Komodo dragon into British viewers' homes for the first time is to be made available online.

  • BBC to lead universal broadband push

    29-Jan-2009

    Digital Britain: The BBC will play a key role in delivering and promoting universal broadband - but Stephen Carter has insisted it is too early to say how much of the digital switchover surplus in the licence fee could fund the roll-out.

  • Six weeks to strike C4/BBCW deal

    29-Jan-2009

    Digital Britain: Channel 4 has six weeks to reach a consensus with BBC Worldwide on how a proposed joint venture could work.

  • The Broadcast Interview: Ed Richards

    29-Jan-2009

    The Ofcom chief executive tells Robin Parker why he thinks a second PSB institution is vital to guarantee a ‘plurality of voices' across TV, from children's programming to news.

  • 360 Degrees: Routes

    29-Jan-2009

    Routes is an exploration of genetics and bio-ethics in which outspoken comedienne Katherine Ryan, who has been diagnosed with both melanoma and lupus, subjects herself to a series of tests to find out what is hidden in her genes.

  • C4 backs iPhone UGC technology through 4iP

    29-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 is backing technology designed to improve citizen journalism as part of its multimedia PSB fund, 4iP.

  • Richards: Review of C4 terms of trade inevitable

    28-Jan-2009

    A review of Channel 4's terms of trade with indie producers would be “almost inevitable” under a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has admitted.

  • Digital Britain report set to be unveiled

    28-Jan-2009

    Universal broadband access and the future of Channel 4 will be top of the agenda in the first phase of the government's Digital Britain when it is released at lunchtime tomorrow.

  • BBC unveils major arts and music plans

    28-Jan-2009

    The BBC is to spearhead a significant arts and music initiative that will include forging web partnerships with the British Museum, the Arts Council and the Public Catalogue Foundation.

  • Campbell joins 'speaker idol'

    28-Jan-2009

    BBC2 has enlisted former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell to share his skills in “the subtleties of persuasion” with teenagers in a search for Britain's best young speaker.

  • Fresh calls to resurrect Top of the Pops

    28-Jan-2009

    The promoter of music acts including U2 and Billy Bragg is lobbying the BBC to revive Top of the Pops in Neighbours' old time slot.

  • The Queen to be the subject of C4 drama series

    27-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 is to risk the ire of the monarchy with a five-part drama-documentary covering the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

  • C4 lines up Genius science series

    27-Jan-2009

    Biologist Richard Dawkins is to return to Channel 4 in a major series that will celebrate the history of British science.

  • 123WebTV unveil online viewing app's

    27-Jan-2009

    123WebTV, the online TV search engine run by a former CEO of Project Kangeroo and an ex-Sky MD, has launched a series of applications for third party sites such as Facebook and Google.

  • Bionic Woman to join the Doctor

    23-Jan-2009

    Former EastEnders star Michelle Ryan and comedian Lee Evans are to join David Tennant in Doctor Who's next special.

  • Richards cautions C4 over partnership talks

    22-Jan-2009

    Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has reiterated that Channel 4 should not enter partnership talks lightly as it attempts to up the ante in dialogue with BBC Worldwide.

  • 4iP to launch citizen journalism tool

    22-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 is backing technology designed to improve citizen journalism as part of its 4iP multimedia PSB fund.

  • Burnham backs C4/BBCW merger

    22-Jan-2009

    Media secretary Andy Burnham has pledged that the Channel 4 brand is “here to stay” and revealed that a merger with BBC Worldwide is his preferred option to safeguard its future.

  • Ofcom: keep C4 as it is if partnership fails

    21-Jan-2009

    Managing Channel 4's inevitable decline in its current form would be Ofcom's default preference if its proposed new PSB rival to the BBC proves unworkable.

  • Ofcom raises BBC partnership concerns

    21-Jan-2009

    Ofcom has given the BBC's partnership proposals a lukewarm reception, warning they might not be worth the£120m that the corporation claims.

  • Ofcom: C4 needs to merge... but we're not saying who with

    21-Jan-2009

    Ofcom has called for Channel 4 to become part of a new public broadcasting alternative to the BBC - but has refused to say whether BBC Worldwide, Five or another body should be its main partner.

  • C4 to hand key slots to the nations

    20-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 is introducing a£1m fund to develop returning series from the nations and regions and will ringfence slots within key strands for shows from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland next year.

  • Calon plans animation with Osmonds singer

    20-Jan-2009

    Calon TV, the indie behind Five and S4C children's show Hana's Helpline, is developing an animated project with the lead singer of The Osmonds.

  • Endemol buys Australia's Southern Star

    20-Jan-2009

    Endemol has expanded its drama catalogue with the acquisition of Australia's largest TV production and distribution company, Southern Star Group.

  • Ofcom hits ITV with regional quota fine

    16-Jan-2009

    Ofcom has fined ITV£220,000 for failing to hit its regional quotas for flagship channel ITV1 in 2006 and 2007.

  • Digital Britain: the key points

    16-Jan-2009

    The main proposals from Stephen Carter’s Digital Britain report, according to the leak in the Financial Times.

  • Leaked report points to C4 merger

    16-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 is facing the prospect of being merged into a new, bigger broadcaster under plans drawn up for the government's Digital Britain review.

  • BBCW mad for Oasis package

    16-Jan-2009

    BBC Worldwide is offering broadcasters a package of rock group Oasis's TV appearances for the BBC, including their Top of the Pops debut.

  • 4iP launches community projects

    15-Jan-2009

    Projects to help hospital patients and enable deprived communities to launch their own websites are among the first commissions from Channel 4's£50m online PSB fund 4iP.

  • Duncan rejects merger with Five

    15-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has dismissed the idea of a merger with Five as “mixing oil and water”, arguing that any industry consolidation can only be considered once fundamental structures have been addressed.

  • Babelgum tests BBC mobile clips

    14-Jan-2009

    Babelgum has secured the rights to 100 clips from BBC shows including The Office and The Mighty Boosh as the web TV service extends to mobile phones in the UK for the first time.

  • BBC and C4 draw final PSB battle lines

    14-Jan-2009

    The BBC and Channel 4 are at loggerheads in the run-up to Ofcom's final PSB report, with the broadcasters disagreeing on almost all key proposals.

  • Irtizaali joins C4 entertainment

    14-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 has added the executive producer of Dispatches documentary NHS Postcode Lottery and E4's Girls Aloud: Off the Record to its entertainment commissioning team.

  • Cutting Edge to investigate UK Wall Streets

    14-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 is to take an offbeat look at the credit crunch with a documentary meeting residents of every road in the UK with the name Wall Street.

  • Digital Britain to propose regional news solutions

    14-Jan-2009

    Stephen Carter has pledged to put fully-funded alternatives to the BBC, particularly in regional news, at the heart of the government's Digital Britain report.

  • Paul Johnson joins Endemol

    13-Jan-2009

    Paul Johnson, director of television at MIP organiser Reed Midem, has joined Endemol in the new role of global head of marketing and brand partnerships.

  • C4 orders more Gok's Fashion Fix

    13-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 has ordered a second run of factual entertainment shows Gok's Fashion Fix from Endemol subsidiary Cheetah Television.

  • Discovery EMEA appoints Sky exec

    13-Jan-2009

    BSkyB executive David Rey is to leave the satellite broadcaster after twelve years to become Discovery Networks EMEA's chief operating officer.

  • Cheetham leaves Endemol

    12-Jan-2009

    Cheetah Television managing director Nikki Cheetham has stood down from the Endemol-owned Deal or No Deal producer.

  • Ski Sunday's David Vine dies

    12-Jan-2009

    Presenter David Vine, for many years the face of Ski Sunday and the BBC's snooker coverage, has died of a heart attack aged 73.

  • Ofcom: Casualty too shocking

    12-Jan-2009

    BBC1 medical drama Casualty has again incurred the wrath of Ofcom, which has upheld five complaints about what it describes as “a sustained and concentrated run of distressing and shocking scenes” in a recent episode.

  • Thompson: Govt should consider C4 and Five merger

    12-Jan-2009

    BBC director general Mark Thompson has urged the government to consider a merger between Channel 4 and Five as part of his calls for a swift and simple solution to public service broadcasting funding.

  • Industry braced for PSB answers

    9-Jan-2009

    Some of the biggest issues facing British TV are likely to move forward in the next fortnight, including Channel 4 finally getting clarity on how it will be funded in the future.

  • Freesat sales hit 200,000

    9-Jan-2009

    A Christmas marketing push has helped sales of Freesat boxes pass 200,000 since the launch of the subscription-free satellite TV service in May.

  • C4: most praised shows in Dec 08

    8-Jan-2009

    The 10 shows on Channel 4 in December that received the most amount of praise from viewers.

  • C4: Most complained about shows Dec 08

    8-Jan-2009

    The 10 shows on Channel 4 in December that received the most amount of complaints from viewers.

  • C4 Ahmadinejad message prompts ire and support

    8-Jan-2009

    Channel 4's controversial alternative Christmas Day message from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was both the broadcaster's most praised and criticised programme last month.

  • Wainwright to become Robin Hood showrunner

    8-Jan-2009

    BBC1 is preparing to give Robin Hood a Doctor Who-style reinvention by At Home With the Braithwaites creator Sally Wainwright.

  • ITV and Virgin strike on-demand deal

    8-Jan-2009

    Coronation Street and Emmerdale fans will be able to catch up with the shows on Virgin's on-demand service after ITV joined the BBC and Channel 4 in making programmes available after broadcast.

  • Hunt: C4 needs new terms of trade

    7-Jan-2009

    Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has risked the ire of indies by putting more pressure on Channel 4 to revise its terms of trade with programme suppliers.

  • Bloomberg appoints commercial boss

    7-Jan-2009

    Bloomberg TV has hired Al Jazeera's former commercial director to co-ordinate its commercial activities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

  • Ex-ITC exec David Withers dies

    7-Jan-2009

    Long-serving ITC distribution director David Withers, who helped usher Gerry Anderson's puppet shows onto TV screens, has died at the age of 80.

  • R4 tightens leash on Political Animal

    6-Jan-2009

    BBC Radio 4 is tightening up its editorial control of Avalon's Political Animal after the BBC Editorial Complaints Unit upheld a complaint about the satirical comedy.

  • C4's Kuraishe departs

    6-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 factual entertainment commissioning editor Ruby Kuraishe has left the broadcaster as part of its recent round of redundancies.

  • Andrew Thompson leaves C4

    5-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 head of sport Andrew Thompson has left the broadcaster to set up a sports consultancy and production business.

  • C4 defends Ahmadinejad Christmas message

    5-Jan-2009

    Channel 4 has defended the broadcast of its alternative Christmas message from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite receiving more than 380 viewer complaints.

  • Brass joins Endemol

    5-Jan-2009

    Former Fremantle US chief operating officer and ex-head of TV at 19 Entertainment Martha Brass has joined Endemol as deputy chief operating officer.

  • New distribution division at Simply Media

    23-Dec-2008

    Simply Media has set up a new division to help indies distribute their content on platforms away from TV channels.

  • C4 names legal head

    23-Dec-2008

    Channel 4 has promoted deputy head of legal and compliance Prash Naik to head of his department following the departure of Jan Tomalin.

  • BBC Scotland to air interactive drama

    18-Dec-2008

    BBC Scotland is developing a cross-platform crime drama in which three-quarters of the action will take place online.

  • RDF to make Bebo showbiz magazine

    17-Dec-2008

    Social network Bebo has commissioned RDF Digital to make a weekly magazine show rounding up professional and UGC content on the site.

  • Ofcom names new chairman

    17-Dec-2008

    Ofcom has appointed its former Consumer Panel chair Colette Bowe as its new chairman.

  • One in five jobs slashed at C4

    17-Dec-2008

    Almost 200 Channel 4 staff are out of a job this Christmas after the broadcaster accelerated its redundancy programme.

  • Indies fear BBC pressure to cover own legal costs

    17-Dec-2008

    Documentary makers have raised fears that the BBC is trying to force them to deliver programmes that are fully legally compliant rather than use its in-house lawyers.

  • BBC slammed over drama launches

    17-Dec-2008

    The BBC has defended spending almost£164,000 on four drama launches during 2008, a year in which it cut 2,000 jobs.

  • BBC Resources staff win reprieve

    16-Dec-2008

    BBC Resources staff in Birmingham and Bristol are to escape compulsory redundancy despite the commercial facilities company's plan to cease trading at the two cities.

  • C4/Five merger back on table

    16-Dec-2008

    The possibility of a£500m merger of Five and Channel 4 has re-emerged as Ofcom approaches the final stages of weighing up Channel 4's future funding.

  • McCloud and Snow urge Ofcom to save C4

    12-Dec-2008

    Two of Channel 4's highest profile presenters have urged Ofcom to find a way of securing the broadcaster's future.

  • C4 rubbishes BBC iPlayer plans

    11-Dec-2008

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has rubbished the BBC's claims of the benefits of sharing iPlayer technology among all public service broadcasters.

  • CBBC to run news animation pilot

    11-Dec-2008

    CBBC is to put an animated twist on news in a cross-platform Newsround spin-off to be produced by digital company LittleLoud.

  • Five wades in to step up crisis over terms of trade

    10-Dec-2008

    Indies are facing a major battle to hang on to their terms of trade after Five joined ITV in calling for them to be ripped up.

  • Off Cuts: 12 Dec 08

    10-Dec-2008

    A postscript to Postgate

  • Sainsbury's show leads C4 fact ent slate

    10-Dec-2008

    Sainsbury's staff will try radical ideas to transform the company's stores in one of Channel 4's major factual entertainment series for next year.

  • Which way will Kangaroo jump?

    10-Dec-2008

    The big three terrestrial broadcasters have just days to respond to Competition Commission concerns over Kangaroo's potential impact on the UK's VoD market. Robin Parker reports.

  • BBC names current affairs commissioner

    10-Dec-2008

    Channel 4 News commissioning editor Fiona Campbell is to return to the BBC to oversee current affairs commissioning from indies.

  • C4 orders more The World's... And Me

    10-Dec-2008

    Comedian Mark Dolan is to meet more unusual people from around the globe in a second series of his Channel 4 show The World's ... And Me.

  • Viewer 'disgust' over C4 daytime sex series

    10-Dec-2008

    Channel 4 has received 100 complaints over the daytime scheduling of a sex-themed series of educational show KNTV.

  • Ab Fab director Bob Spiers dies

    8-Dec-2008

    Bafta-winning TV comedy director Bob Spiers, whose credits include Absolutely Fabulous and Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 63.

  • Ofcom clears Top Gear over Clarkson's prostitute joke

    8-Dec-2008

    The BBC broke no taste and decency rules in its broadcast of an episode of Top Gear in which Jeremy Clarkson joked about murdering prostitutes, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Harry & Paul escape censure

    8-Dec-2008

    The BBC has escaped censure over an episode of BBC1 sketch show Harry & Paul in which an upper class character encouraged a Northerner to “mate” and “mount” with his neighbour' Filipina maid.

  • Blinkbox inks SPTI/Warner deals

    8-Dec-2008

    Classic US shows TJ Hooker and Charlie's Angels as well as contemporary hits Smallville, Gossip Girl and Friends have joined the line-up on website Blinkbox.

  • Films of Record hires Scrapheap Challenge creator

    8-Dec-2008

    Films of Record has hired Jamie's Ministry of Food producer and Scrapheap Challenge creator Eve Kay.

  • Ten Alps on acquisition trail

    8-Dec-2008

    Ten Alps is poised for further acquisitions of small factual indies and online video specialists, and is preparing for a rapid expansion of niche web TV channels, chief executive Alex Connock has revealed.

  • Mitchell and Webb are Playing Shop on BBC2

    8-Dec-2008

    Comedy duo Mitchell and Webb are to play two aspiring businessmen who set up shop in a garden shed in their first self-penned TV sitcom.

  • Gavin & Stacey up for South Bank award

    5-Dec-2008

    BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey is in the running for a second South Bank Show award.

  • ITV rebrands Catch Up as ITV Player

    5-Dec-2008

    ITV's video-on-demand service Catch Up is to become ITV Player, backed by a high-profile Christmas campaign.

  • Wogan passes Eurovision baton to Graham Norton

    5-Dec-2008

    Graham Norton is to replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's face of Eurovision from next year.

  • STV slams 'distorted' claims by ITV

    4-Dec-2008

    STV has hit back at ITV's claims that the network subsidises both STV and UTV by£25m per year, arguing that the Scottish and Irish broadcasters in fact contribute up to£31m per year.

  • Kangaroo poised to shake off competition shackles

    3-Dec-2008

    BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 have just 13 days to save video-on-demand joint venture Project Kangaroo - but are still confident it will launch next spring.

  • CTVC chief moves to head Odyssey in New York

    3-Dec-2008

    CTVC chief executive and religious programming specialist Nick Stuart is to move to New York to be president of faith-based cable operator Odyssey Networks.

  • Off Cuts: 5 Dec 2008

    3-Dec-2008

    Bubbling over at the Baftas

  • ITVlocal.com to target viewers by postcode

    3-Dec-2008

    ITV's regionally based website, ITVlocal.com, will go “hyper local” next year in a bid to become the -resource of choice for communities across the UK.

  • Gisby: SEO is the new scheduling

    3-Dec-2008

    Channel 4 director of new media Jon Gisby has branded search engine optimisation (SEO) “the new scheduling” as more content is commissioned across different platforms.

  • Classic movie channel to launch on Sky/Freesat

    3-Dec-2008

    Simply Media is to launch a free-to-air classic movie channel on Sky and Freesat, aimed at older audiences.

  • C4/Eckoh drop legal actions

    3-Dec-2008

    Channel 4 and premium-rate service provider Eckoh have dropped their legal actions against each other over Richard & Judy's You Say We Pay phone-in scandal.

  • Project Kangaroo players remain optimistic

    3-Dec-2008

    The players behind Project Kangaroo are still hopeful that the video-on-demand service should be ready to launch in March, despite concerns outlined by the Competition Commission today.

  • Drama big-hitters to head BBC Wales series

    2-Dec-2008

    Russell T Davies and Tony Jordan are to oversee two primetime drama series for BBC Wales.

  • C4 to air drama shorts

    2-Dec-2008

    Channel 4's Three Minute Wonders short documentary strand is to feature a series of dramas for the first time.

  • C4 to launch music zone with O2

    2-Dec-2008

    Channel 4's on-demand service 4oD has teamed up with mobile operator O2 for its first dedicated music zone.

  • SEO to inform scheduling of the future

    30-Nov-2008

    Media Festival: Search engine optimisation will become the new scheduling as more content is commissioned across different platforms, Channel 4 director of new media Jon Gisby has declared.

  • Call for PSB contracts to be open to public bodies

    28-Nov-2008

    Media Festival: Enabling public bodies to bid for PSB contracts would create a “step change” for underserved genres and open up opportunities for indies not seen since the creation of Channel 4 in 1982, the chief executive of the UK Film Council has declared.

  • BBC's Bennett backs Grade on swearing

    27-Nov-2008

    Media Festival: BBC Vision director Jana Bennett has backed ITV executive chairman Michael Grade's call to reduce unnecessary swearing on TV.

  • Triffids to sprout again on BBC1

    27-Nov-2008

    The BBC is lining up a new adaptation of sci-fi novel The Day of the Triffids for next year.

  • C4 revives Comedy Showcase

    27-Nov-2008

    Media Festival: Channel 4 is to broadcast a second series of comedy pilots under the Comedy Showcase banner next autumn.

  • Govt scraps plans to help C4 with switchover costs

    26-Nov-2008

    The government has scrapped proposals to hand Channel 4£14m of licence fee funds for digital switchover as it prepares to speed up wider plans to address the future shape of public service broadcasting.

  • October Films to produce Nobel Laureate doc

    26-Nov-2008

    October Films is producing a documentary on the 2008 Nobel Laureate Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio.

  • C4 unveils star-studded Christmas line-up

    26-Nov-2008

    Channel 4 faces including Russell Brand, Charlotte Church, Alan Carr, Justin Lee Collins, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are all fronting Christmas specials for the channel.

  • David Tennant steps up for Shakespeare doc

    26-Nov-2008

    Doctor Who star David Tennant is set to make a second Christmas Day appearance in a More 4 documentary celebrating Shakespeare's greatest heroes.

  • Thinktank backs contestable PSB funding

    26-Nov-2008

    An economic thinktank has called on the government to protect the whole “family” of PSB channels by inviting commercial broadcasters to bid for PSB contracts.

  • Bourne takes top prize for BBC Alzheimer doc

    26-Nov-2008

    Documentary-maker Sue Bourne and Century Films' documentary Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead picked up special awards at this year's Mental Health Media Awards.

  • BBC bows to Steptoe complaints

    25-Nov-2008

    The BBC has vowed not to repeat BBC4 drama The Curse of Steptoe in its current form following complaints from the family of actor Harry H. Corbett's late wife.

  • Atkinson to revisit Blackadder

    24-Nov-2008

    Rowan Atkinson has granted his first in-depth interview about his iconic Blackadder role in Tiger Aspect's second documentary on the classic BBC sitcom.

  • EastEnders stabbing escapes censure

    24-Nov-2008

    A controversial EastEnders episode that featured a violent stabbing was acceptable for a pre-watershed audience, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Welsh indie commissions drop by a third

    24-Nov-2008

    Commissions from Welsh indies fell by a third in 2007, with all ITV1 orders coming from outside of the nation.

  • BBC backs down on TOTP Xmas special

    20-Nov-2008

    The BBC has backed down on plans to axe this year's Top of the Pops Christmas special, returning the annual round-up of the year in music to Christmas Day.

  • Multiplatform commissioning

    19-Nov-2008

    Inertia has hindered the development of innovative cross-platform projects from UK broadcasters - but the commissioning culture is changing.

  • Case study: 4iP

    19-Nov-2008

    Channel 4's pioneering cross-platform education projects have laid the groundwork for its online PSB initiative, 4iP.

  • Reporter's family call for answers from BBC

    19-Nov-2008

    The family of murdered BBC journalist Kate Peyton will next week call on the BBC to end what they claim is a “distressing and confusing” silence over the circumstances that led to her death.

  • Web pioneers benefit from growing budgets

    19-Nov-2008

    Endemol UK, Conker Media and film production company Big Balls have emerged as the early market leaders in online comedy, drama and entertainment, according to the first attempt to offer a snapshot of the sector.

  • Men to undergo Beauty treatment on C4

    19-Nov-2008

    Channel 4 is to transform overweight slobs into Adonises in the latest factual entertainment format from the makers of Supersize vs Superskinny.

  • BBC snaps up croc doc

    18-Nov-2008

    Picture special: BBC2's Natural World will travel to India to meet a rare breed of crocodile and search for an unidentified species of cat in two films from indie Icon Films.

  • C4 hunts second Family

    18-Nov-2008

    Channel 4 is hunting for a new family willing to subject their homes to TV surveillance in a second series of The Family.

  • ITV signs up to TV product placement code

    17-Nov-2008

    ITV is the first broadcaster to sign up to Pact's proposed voluntary code of conduct on product placement.

  • YouTube's Walker joins myvideorights board

    14-Nov-2008

    YouTube's partnerships director Patrick Walker is to fight online copyright issues after being appointed to the board of myvideorights.com.

  • C4 legal boss quits

    13-Nov-2008

    Channel 4's controller of legal and compliance Jan Tomalin, who fought for the broadcast of the most controversial shows in the channel's history, is to stand down after 20 years.

  • The Fallen wins Doc/Fest

    13-Nov-2008

    BBC2's three-hour tribute to soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, The Fallen, has won the top prize at this year's Sheffield Doc Fest.

  • Broadcast's Off Cuts: 13 Nov

    13-Nov-2008

    This week's Off Cuts takes a look at the gossip and gaffs from the Sheffield Doc/Fest.

  • C4 ramps up First Cut doc strand

    12-Nov-2008

    Squirrels and female soldiers will feature in the next run of Channel 4's documentary strand First Cut, which will expand to 30 episodes next year in order to strengthen its springboard for factual film-makers.

  • Broadcasters cast wider for factual presenters

    12-Nov-2008

    Broadcasters are continuing to look for celebrity-led documentary formats in the mould of Ross Kemp on Gangs and Stephen Fry in America but are determined to broaden the talent pool beyond predominantly white middle-aged men.

  • Round-up: C4 winter schedule

    12-Nov-2008

    Overview of Broadcastnow's coverage of C4's line-up of programming for winter 2008.

  • Blair to examine Christianity for C4

    12-Nov-2008

    Michael Portillo, Ann Widdecombe and Cherie Blair will offer their personal takes on Christianity's rich history in Channel 4's forthcoming new religious strand.

  • Jamie, Gordon and Hugh continue C4 Food Fight

    12-Nov-2008

    Channel 4 is to tackle the welfare of pigs and chickens in another campaigning food season, a year on from January's Big Food Fight season of programmes.

  • C4 unveils new doc line-up

    12-Nov-2008

    Channel 4 has pledged to continue to air the equivalent of one new documentary film in peak every weekday into next year despite restoring Celebrity Big Brother to its primetime schedules in January.

  • Peter Kay's Geraldine to return to C4

    12-Nov-2008

    Channel 4 is planning a follow-up to Peter Kay's ratings-busting talent show spoof Britain's Got the Pop Factor and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice.

  • Moyles to host C4 quiz show

    12-Nov-2008

    Chris Moyles is to get his own TV show for the first time in eight years with a quiz show in which the Radio 1 DJ competes against three celebrities.

  • MTV orders first UK comedy shot on mobile

    11-Nov-2008

    MTV1 has commissioned indie Brown Eyed Boy to make a comedy shot entirely on mobile phones.

  • Tranter warns of drama budget crisis

    10-Nov-2008

    Outgoing BBC Fiction controller Jane Tranter has warned that UK TV drama budgets have been stretched as far as they can go.

  • Big Yin to face wife on Shrink Rap

    10-Nov-2008

    Comedian Billy Connolly is set to face a grilling from his wife Pamela Stephenson in a special edition of More 4's Shrink Rap.

  • BBC misled 'Weekend Nazis'

    10-Nov-2008

    The BBC misled two military re-eneactors featured in the BBC1 documentary Weekend Nazis about the purpose of the programme, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Documentary commissioners wishlists

    10-Nov-2008

    Commissioners from all of the PSB channels and several digital channels have outlined their factual wishlists to a packed audience of producers and directors at Sheffield Doc/Fest.

  • Documentary wishlist: More 4

    10-Nov-2008

    Budget:£40,000 or below. Depending on whether it is co-produced or fully funded.

  • Documentary wishlist: Five

    10-Nov-2008

    Slots: 9pm weekdaysBudget:£80,000-£150,000 per hour - on average,£90,000-£100,000Desired ratings: At least 1 million

  • Documentary wishlist: BBC1

    10-Nov-2008

    Slots: 9pm (60 minutes), 10.35pm (40 minutes)Budgets:£170,000 for observational docs at 9pm,£200,000+ for talent-led docs. At 10.35pm:£120,000

  • Documentary wishlist: ITV1

    10-Nov-2008

    Budgets:£140,000-£200,000 - on average£160,000-£170,000Slots: 9pm weekdays, though some “chocolate box, warm bath” series will be considered for early evenings on Sundays.Desired ratings: 4m+

  • Documentary wishlist: BBC2

    10-Nov-2008

    Slots: 9pm (60 minutes)Budgets:£160,000-£250,000, depending on the talent involved

  • Documentary wishlist: Sky 1

    10-Nov-2008

    Budget: High-volume series:£70,000 per hour; one-offs:£100,000-£130,000 per hour; blockbuster series such as Ross Kemp's series:£150,000

  • Documentary wishlist: Discovery

    10-Nov-2008

    Head of factual Dan Korn is interested in adventure programming and ‘how-to' series and is increasing its history and crime output.

  • Documentary wishlist: Channel 4

    10-Nov-2008

    Slots: 9pm and 10pm, weeknights. 7pm on Sundays for religious documentaries.Budget:£130,000-£150,000 for 9pm slot and “a bit less” for 10pm.

  • Documentary wishlist: UKTV

    10-Nov-2008

    BudgetUKTV Food and UKTV Style:£40,000-£60,000 per hour;Blighty:£50,000 per half-hour;Dave, Gold and Watch£100,000-£140,000 per hour - “but we'll bust the bank for the right idea,” said factual and factual entertainment commissioning director Jane Rogerson.

  • Documentary wishlist: Virgin 1

    10-Nov-2008

    Budget:£70,000-£100,000 per hour

  • Round-up: Sheffield Doc/Fest

    7-Nov-2008

    Broadcastnow's coverage of sessions and news arising from this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest.

  • C4's Cosgrove attacks TV salaries

    7-Nov-2008

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: Channel 4 director of nations and regions Stuart Cosgrove has called for broadcasting salaries to be more clearly regulated - arguing that he is effectively overpaid when compared to the commercial marketplace.

  • Sachsgate: Cohen urges BBC not to 'lose its bottle'

    7-Nov-2008

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: BBC3 controller Danny Cohen has joined the chorus of people demanding the BBC holds it nerve over potentially risky material in the wake of the Ross/Brand furore.

  • C4 to launch religious strand

    7-Nov-2008

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: C4 is to create its first dedicated strand of religious programming next year for the first time in half a decade.

  • Airey: Peaktime on Five must deliver 1m+

    7-Nov-2008

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: All primetime shows on Five must pull in at least 1 million viewers, new chief executive Dawn Airey has ruled.

  • No more factual formats for ITV

    7-Nov-2008

    Sheffield Doc/Fest: ITV has ruled out commissioning factual formats following the disappointing performance of Tycoon and Natural Born Sellers.

  • Blink eyes fact ent after hires

    5-Nov-2008

    Blink Films, the indie set up by former Five execs Dan Chambers and Justine Kershaw, has made its first major hires and is planning a push into factual entertainment.

  • BBC plans twin seasons on credit crunch crisis

    5-Nov-2008

    The BBC is aiming to demystify the stock market and track the personal impact of financial problems in two factual seasons around the economic crisis.

  • Broadcast's Off Cuts

    5-Nov-2008

    A selection of choice cuts from the week's gossip and gaffs, including Peter Fincham cancelling a night out with Paris Hilton and how the credit crunch is proving a boon for Russell Grant.

  • Industry pleads for product placement

    5-Nov-2008

    Commercial broadcasters have spelled out the benefits of product placement in their submissions to the government's inquiry into whether to relax rules on the practice.

  • JLC to master new challenges for Sky One

    5-Nov-2008

    Justin Lee Collins will attempt to master ballroom dancing, wrestling and West End musicals in his latest series for Sky One.

  • Britdoc to take new shape through partnerships

    5-Nov-2008

    Channel 4-backed documentary conference Britdoc has been axed as a standalone event after three years in favour of a strategic partnership with other festivals.

  • Brand praised for Ponderland

    5-Nov-2008

    Russell Brand's fans rallied to make his Ponderland show the most praised broadcast on Channel 4 last month.

  • C4: Top 10 criticised

    5-Nov-2008

    The top 10 most criticised programmes on Channel 4 in October.

  • C4: Top 10 praised

    5-Nov-2008

    The top 10 most praised programmes on Channel 4 in October.

  • Dennis indie hires new developer

    5-Nov-2008

    Red Kite, the indie behind BBC children's animation Dennis and Gnasher, has appointed Catherine Williams as development producer.

  • Five to launch on Freesat

    5-Nov-2008

    Freesat will host the full range of PSB channels later this month when Five joins the free-to-air digital satellite service.

  • BBC3 to tuck into new Freaky Eaters

    5-Nov-2008

    BBC3 will meet a man who eats nothing but Yorkshire puddings in the next series of Freaky Eaters.

  • ShortsTV launches on Sky

    5-Nov-2008

    French short film channel ShortsTV is to launch in the UK on the Sky platform.

  • Ross and Brand to burn

    4-Nov-2008

    A fortnight of debate about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross' phone incident will come to a head this weekend when a 27ft effigy of the pair is burned in a public display.

  • BT promotes Watson

    4-Nov-2008

    BT has promoted its TV services commercial director Marc Watson to director of content and business development for BT Consumer.

  • Sachsgate: Grade praises BBC response

    3-Nov-2008

    ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has praised the BBC's response to Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross' prank phone call as “beyond criticism”.

  • Grade attacks swearing on TV

    3-Nov-2008

    ITV executive chairman Michael Grade had criticised public service broadcasters' “indiscriminate” acceptance of strong language.

  • Poliakoff to helm big screen war drama

    3-Nov-2008

    Dramatist Stephen Poliakoff is returning to cinema after more than a decade with a Second World War thriller co-produced by Talkback Thames.

  • Agents prove obstacle in online drama

    1-Nov-2008

    Media Festival: Agents are the last hurdle in convincing talent to get involved in online dramas, according to Littleloud chief executive David Jacklin.

  • Ponderland receives 70 complaints

    31-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 received 70 complaints about last night's broadcast of Russell Brand's Ponderland, but the criticism was outweighed by support for the disgraced comedian.

  • Carnie named acting head of R2

    31-Oct-2008

    BBC Radio 2 head of programmes Lewis Carnie is to stand in as acting controller of the station following the resignation of Lesley Douglas.

  • BBC2 to air Perkins tribute

    30-Oct-2008

    BBC2 is to host a tribute night to the late comedy producer Geoffrey Perkins next month, featuring a special edition of the Comedy Connections strand and an episode of Channel 4 comedy Father Ted.

  • EastEnders and Doctor Who win at the NTAs

    30-Oct-2008

    BBC flagship shows EastEnders and Doctor Who took home two prizes apiece at the National TV Awards last night.

  • Doctor: Who's next?

    30-Oct-2008

    The BBC is searching for a new Time Lord after David Tennant confirmed he would step down from Doctor Who at the end of next year.

  • Burnham: co-operation is way ahead for PSB

    29-Oct-2008

    Culture secretary Andy Burnham has outlined a PSB future in which broadcasters co-operate and scheduling clashes in the chase for ratings are a thing of the past.

  • Alex wins encore on C4 and at cinema

    29-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 has commissioned a follow-up to Cutting Edge documentary A Boy Called Alex and a movie adaptation of the story is also on the cards.

  • 4iP eyes ‘dozens' of web projects for first year

    29-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 aims to have commissioned up to five major web PSB projects and “dozens” of smaller ones within the first year of its 4iP initiative.

  • Andy Burnham: The pragmatic politician

    29-Oct-2008

    Culture secretary Andy Burnham tells Robin Parker why he thinks it's time for rival public service broadcasters to bury the hatchet and work together.

  • C4 staff to learn fate this week

    24-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 staff applying for voluntary redundancy will know by the end of this week if their jobs are to go in the broadcaster's cutbacks.

  • Extras may return for Christmas 2009

    24-Oct-2008

    Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are planning to team up for another Christmas special of Extras - but not until next year.

  • Former ITV exec new legal boss at Endemol

    23-Oct-2008

    ITV's former legal director Andy Griffiths has joined Endemol as the indie's global head of legal.

  • C4's Auerbach to join ent indie start-up

    23-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 entertainment commissioning editor Andy Auerbach is to step down to run a start-up indie with former Princess Productions head of entertainment Dean Nabarro.

  • Gogglebox wins C4 troubleshooter show

    22-Oct-2008

    Troubleshooter Sir Gerry Robinson is to switch from trying to fix the NHS to rescuing struggling businesses from collapse in indie Gogglebox's first commission.

  • October Films nets E4 order for Rude Tube

    22-Oct-2008

    October Films will meet the creators of cult UGC videos in its first commission for E4.

  • C4 team with Film Council to fund animation

    22-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 and the UK Film Council have launched a nationwide hunt for the best emerging animation talent.

  • C4 to shut down digital ad agency

    21-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 is to close its in-house digital advertising sales agency 4DS, with the loss of up to 10 jobs.

  • Tern mount STI Invasion

    21-Oct-2008

    Tern Television is to launch a PacMan-style online game in which characters from its Channel 4 show KNTV have to ‘catch' sexually-transmitted diseases before they spread.

  • Carter revisits C4 privatisation plan

    20-Oct-2008

    The prospect of Channel 4 being privatised to resolve its budget shortfall has re-emerged after new communications, technology and broadcasting minister Stephen Carter gave his first interviews.

  • Hollyoaks producer passes on the baton

    17-Oct-2008

    Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood is to step down at the end of the year after three years at the helm of the teen soap.

  • US remake for Inbetweeners

    17-Oct-2008

    E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners is headed for a US remake.

  • Woods slams 'parochial' doc commissioners

    17-Oct-2008

    Broadcasters are “ghettoising” international coverage with a ratings focus that is creating an increasingly parochial mindset, according to documentary maker Brian Woods.

  • Ofcom: Lyons misunderstands our role

    16-Oct-2008

    Ofcom has accused BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons of misunderstanding its role and its proposals for the future of public service broadcasting.

  • Bristol campaign to keep Casualty

    16-Oct-2008

    Development agency South West Screen is fighting to keep Casualty in Bristol after BBC director of vision Jana Bennett confirmed plans to move the drama to Cardiff next year.

  • Bebo to order more shows

    16-Oct-2008

    Bebo will commission at least six original productions next year under the banner of 'Bebo Originals'.

  • Second marketing exec to leave C4

    16-Oct-2008

    Richard Burdett, the head of Channel 4's creative agency 4Creative, is to step down as part of the restructure of the broadcaster's marketing, research and audiences division.

  • Lyons: C4 should stick to strengths

    16-Oct-2008

    Ofcom's PSB review has encouraged Channel 4 to move too far away from its core strengths into areas without public support, according to BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons.

  • RDF's Manners hired by Hat Trick as first COO

    16-Oct-2008

    Have I Got News For You producer Hat Trick Productions has hired RDF commercial director Debbie Manners as its first chief operating officer.

  • E4 commissions Asbo superhero drama

    16-Oct-2008

    E4 has commissioned a drama series in which a bunch of teenagers with Asbos develop superhero powers.

  • Lyons criticises Ofcom over PSB review

    15-Oct-2008

    BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons has criticised the scale of expectation that the public service broadcasting review has placed on Channel 4 and has ruled out backing any formal commercial deal between C4 and BBC Worldwide.

  • Harcourt-Cooze secures sweet deal with C4

    15-Oct-2008

    Eccentric chocolatier Willie Harcourt-Cooze is to return to Channel 4 for a Christmas special and a series that aims to introduce a better class of chocolate to the UK.

  • Objective's Perrin will be traditional sitcom

    15-Oct-2008

    Objective Productions' forthcoming update of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin will jettison the bulk of the classic comedy's characters and the ongoing storyline in which the main character faked his own death.

  • 4iP open for business

    15-Oct-2008

    Channel 4's online PSB platform 4iP has officially opened for submissions today.

  • HBO Films boss quits

    15-Oct-2008

    HBO Films president Colin Callender has left the US cable network after 21 years to form his own production company.

  • Ex-BBC drama boss Mark Shivas dies

    15-Oct-2008

    Former BBC head of drama Mark Shivas, whose TV credits range from Alan Bennett's Talking Heads to Jim Henson's The Storyteller, has died at the age of 70.

  • Off the Fence wins Babelgum order

    14-Oct-2008

    Off the Fence has won its first online commission, a factual wildlife series for web TV platform Babelgum.

  • C4 to clean up Jamie Oliver

    14-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 is planning to offer a “child friendly” version of Jamie's Ministry of Food for its on-demand service after complaints about swearing.

  • UK leads the pack at International Emmys

    14-Oct-2008

    The UK leads the way in this year's International Emmy Awards with eight nominations - five of them for Channel 4.

  • myvideorights seals YouTube deal

    13-Oct-2008

    Digital video distributor myvideorights.com has signed a deal to provide professional rights-cleared TV content to YouTube.

  • C4 marketing chief quits

    13-Oct-2008

    Channel 4's marketing director Polly Cochrane is to step down after ten years, ahead of a restructure of her 170-strong team.

  • Blog: Celebrity spotting

    13-Oct-2008

    As Peter Kay pulls in record audiences for C4, asking celebrities to play themselves on TV is always fraught with danger, writes Robin Parker.

  • E4 to drop branding for zombie drama

    13-Oct-2008

    E4 is to drop its on-screen logo for the duration of upcoming Big Brother zombie thriller Dead Set.

  • Disney inks comedy deal with Microsoft

    13-Oct-2008

    MIPCOM: Disney-ABC-ESPN Television has signed its first Europe-wide distribution deal for its multiplatform content arm Stage 9 Digital Media.

  • Green's Extreme Fishing dodges censure

    13-Oct-2008

    Ofcom has thrown out 26 complaints of animal cruelty against Five's show Extreme Fishing with Robson Green.

  • C4 hires Raphael

    13-Oct-2008

    North One head of factual Mark Raphael has left the indie after 14 years to join Channel 4's commissioning team.

  • Blog: C4 Radio tunes out

    10-Oct-2008

    As Channel 4 announces that it has scrapped plans to launch its own radio station, Robin Parker reflects on where it all went wrong.

  • Video: CBeebies' show Kerwhizz

    10-Oct-2008

    Watch an exclusive clip from CBeebies' hi-tech CGI gameshow Kerwhizz.

  • Timeline: C4 Radio

    10-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 Radio's journey from conception to rejection.

  • C4 scraps radio plans

    10-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 has scrapped its plans to enter the commercial radio market, with the loss of up to 15 jobs.

  • Interactive broadcast providers named

    9-Oct-2008

    Phone services regulator PhonepayPlus has named the first 13 companies that will provide phone-in interactive broadcast services.

  • All3M names Wrigley ent boss

    8-Oct-2008

    All3Media has appointed Ruth Wrigley as its first group-wide entertainment executive to help its indies fast track Saturday night entertainment formats.

  • Studio Lambert to send bosses undercover for C4

    8-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 is planting bosses in the workplace in a factual format from the team behind the first series of The Secret Millionaire.

  • BBC1 helps desperate homeowners

    8-Oct-2008

    BBC1 is lining up a UK version of Canadian property show The Unsellables, which aims to offer a helping hand to homeowners desperate to sell their properties.

  • Hat Trick to produce its first online drama

    8-Oct-2008

    Hat Trick's multimedia and drama departments have teamed up for the first time to produce the indie's first online drama, commissioned by car manufacturer Ford's media agency MindShare.

  • Top brass reshuffle at Kudos

    8-Oct-2008

    Kudos' director of drama Simon Crawford Collins and commercial director Daniel Isaacs have taken over from Jane Featherstone and Stephen Garrett as the Shine-owned indie's joint managing directors.

  • White men still dominate boards

    8-Oct-2008

    Broadcasters are making modest improvements in their employment of minorities, but boards are increasingly dominated by white men.

  • Endemol names regional CEO

    8-Oct-2008

    Endemol has hired its first chief executive for Central and Eastern Europe.

  • Derren Brown turns his sleight hand to acting

    8-Oct-2008

    Illusionist Derren Brown is to make his acting debut in BBC4's Christmas ghost story Crooked House.

  • Ab Fab set for US makeover

    7-Oct-2008

    Absolutely Fabulous is set for a makeover for the US from the producers of Arrested Development and Two and a Half Men.

  • Burnham: No place for new music on TV

    6-Oct-2008

    Culture secretary Andy Burnham has criticised TV's “cosy” relationship with the music industry and urged more risk-taking in primetime output.

  • Iannucci to produce library sitcom

    6-Oct-2008

    The BBC has ordered a pilot of an sitcom set in a library from Father Ted co-creator Arthur Mathews and Armando Iannucci.

  • BBC lines up daytime QI

    6-Oct-2008

    The BBC has commissioned a pilot of a BBC2 daytime spin-off of QI as the erudite panel show prepares to move to BBC1.

  • BBC4 in league with Gatiss

    6-Oct-2008

    BBC4 is lining up a supernatural drama from League of Gentlemen actor Mark Gatiss as part of its Christmas season.

  • C4's Sex Education sparks anger

    6-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 received 173 complaints about The Sex Education Show last month, with viewers particularly concerned about its pre-watershed slot.

  • C4: Top 10 most praised

    6-Oct-2008

    The top 10 most praised programmes on Channel 4 in September.

  • C4: Top 10 most criticised

    6-Oct-2008

    The top 10 most criticised programmes on Channel 4 in September.

  • PSB: The agony is almost over

    3-Oct-2008

    Special report: Plenty of options remain on the table to fix the ‘broken' public service broadcasting model, but, for anxious broadcasters, clarity over the future of PSB is becoming vital.

  • PSB review: Ofcom PSB review

    3-Oct-2008

    Culture secretary Andy Burnham used his Royal Television Society digital conference address last week to stress that government and regulator were both on a “fast track” towards determining the future of public service broadcasting.

  • PSB review: ITV's plans to scale back regional news supported

    3-Oct-2008

    Almost as soon as Ofcom signalled a relaxation of ITV's regional responsibilities, the broadcaster announced plans to cut 430 jobs in news.

  • PSB review: C4 assured of PSB future - but how to fund it?

    3-Oct-2008

    Now that Ofcom has dropped its unpopular BBC-only model of PSB provision, the remaining options all ensure a PSB future for Channel 4.

  • PSB review: BBC as PSB cornerstone

    3-Oct-2008

    In every potential scenario, the BBC remains the “cornerstone” of PSB, but Ofcom maintains that the corporation is strengthened when it has genuine competition.

  • PSB: Five's plans for kids welcomed

    3-Oct-2008

    Five wants to remain a PSB up to and beyond the expiry of its current licence in 2014 and Ofcom suggests only minor changes to ensure that it remains a financially viable option.

  • Endemol's Henderson leaves for RDF

    2-Oct-2008

    Endemol West head of programmes Gavin Henderson is to leave the company after eight years to join the RDF Media-owned indie Presentable.

  • Ofcom warns BBC of ‘cartel' risk

    2-Oct-2008

    The BBC's proposed partnerships raise the risk of an anti-competitive “cartel” that could have a limited impact on the funding crisis facing public service broadcasting,” Ofcom deputy chairman Philip Graf has warned.

  • What is the ultimate PSB show?

    2-Oct-2008

    Ofcom has held up a BBC1 drama as the ultimate symbol of public service broadcasting.

  • Illumina Digital seals deal for V Good Films

    1-Oct-2008

    Multiplatform specialist Illumina Digital has bucked the industry trend by buying a traditional TV production company, V Good Films.

  • Century's Tim Wardle in BBC move

    1-Oct-2008

    The BBC has hired Century Films head of development Tim Wardle to head its in-house documentary development slate.

  • T4 contract up for grabs

    1-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 is putting the multimillion pound contract for youth strand T4 out to tender for the first time in six years as part of its efficiency drive.

  • Property special for C4

    1-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 has ordered a feature-length credit crunch special of IWC Media's property series Location, Location, Location.

  • C4 orders more Wogan

    1-Oct-2008

    Channel 4 has ordered 60 episodes of daytime quiz show Wogan's Perfect Recall following a four-week pilot.

  • Timeline: Janice Hadlow

    1-Oct-2008

    The career to date of Janice Hadlow, the newly appointed controller of BBC2.

  • Goodbye SMG... Hello STV Group

    1-Oct-2008

    SMG has officially rebranded as the STV Group plc from today (1 October).

  • Tranter criticises single drama 'fetishisation'

    1-Oct-2008

    BBC head of fiction Jane Tranter has issued a parting shot against the “fetishisation” of single drama.

  • Tranter: My one regret

    1-Oct-2008

    Outgoing BBC head of fiction Jane Tranter has revealed her one regret in her eight year tenure: failing to commission a third series of Paul Abbott's comedy-drama Linda Green.

  • Sex tops C4 education slate

    30-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is putting sex and relationships centre stage in its upcoming education slate.

  • ITV regional staff to know fate by December

    30-Sep-2008

    ITV regions director Michael Jermey has told ITV News Group (ING) staff facing redundancy that they will “know where they stand” by early December.

  • C4 education facing 10% cut

    30-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 will cut its education budget by 10% next year as part of its latest round of cuts.

  • Kevin Bishop dodges censure

    29-Sep-2008

    One of Channel 4's most controversial comedies has escaped censure from Ofcom after amassing more than 300 complaints to the broadcaster and regulator.

  • ITV rapped for airing Taggart in daytime

    29-Sep-2008

    Ofcom has reprimanded ITV for subjecting 15,000 children to an “unrelenting” barrage of explicit violence in daytime repeats of Taggart on ITV1.

  • Freesat tops 100,000 sales

    29-Sep-2008

    Sales of Freesat boxes have reached 100,000 within five months of the launch of the BBC-ITV digital satellite joint venture.

  • BBCW restructures kids division

    26-Sep-2008

    BBC Worldwide has rebranded and restructured its children's business to incorporate the global licensing rights for adult brands such as Top Gear.

  • Five to formalise kids commitment

    25-Sep-2008

    Five plans to adopt a more formal commitment to children's programming under plans the broadcaster is drawing up with Ofcom.

  • Ofcom throws ITV regional quota lifeline

    25-Sep-2008

    Plans to reduce ITV's regional programming quota will come as a relief to the commercial broadcaster, which has failed to hit its existing 50% spend target for the past two years.

  • Cost of PSB? That's beer money

    25-Sep-2008

    Viewers would only pay the price of a pint of beer for a month of public service programming on ITV, Channel 4 and Five, according to the second phase of Ofcom's PSB review.

  • Ofcom: Halve ITV regional 'non-news' content

    25-Sep-2008

    Ofcom has called for ITV to halve the amount of 'non-news' programmes it makes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and to cut its off-peak regional programmes by almost a third from next year.

  • Ofcom:£235m gap in PSB by 2012

    24-Sep-2008

    A£235m black hole in PSB funding is set to emerge by 2012, Ofcom has warned.

  • C4 Cuts bite into Next on 4 plans

    24-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 has been forced to scale back its ambitions for kids programming and online public service content as a result of its plan to save£100m over the next two years.

  • Endemol limbers up to enter sports market

    24-Sep-2008

    Endemol is to make a surprise move into the sports market with the launch of a London-based division.

  • Woolcock develops hip-hop musical for C4

    24-Sep-2008

    Film-maker Penny Woolcock is to return to Birmingham for a gritty hip-hop musical for Channel 4.

  • Blog: Broadcasting gloom

    23-Sep-2008

    With Channel 4 slashing up to 150 jobs and unions warning of job losses from ITV's expected regional news cutbacks, it's a gloomy week for the industry, writes Robin Parker.

  • C4 to slash workforce by 15%

    23-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is to axe up to 150 jobs, equivalent to 15% of its workforce, as part of a strategy to cut costs by£100m over the next two years.

  • Eckoh may counter-sue C4

    23-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is set to face a counter-sue claim from premium-rate phonelines operator Eckoh after the broadcaster began proceedings to recover more than£1m from the firm.

  • Morris' terrorist comedy set for cinema

    23-Sep-2008

    Film4 is funding satirist Chris Morris' latest project after both the BBC and Channel 4 rejected it for TV.

  • Little Britain duo launch comedy website

    23-Sep-2008

    Matt Lucas and David Walliams have teamed up with Hat Trick to launch a UK version of Will Ferrell's US comedy website Funny or Die.

  • John Adams sweeps Emmys

    22-Sep-2008

    HBO miniseries John Adams was the biggest winner at this year's Emmy awards, picking up 13 of the network's 26 awards.

  • Fifth Gear host on board Nokia channel

    22-Sep-2008

    Video: Fifth Gear presenter Jonny Smith and fashion designer Wayne Hemmingway are presenting shows on Nokia's new mobile TV channel.

  • Indies slam 'series stacking'

    21-Sep-2008

    Comedy indies have hit out at the introduction of “series stacking” on the BBC iPlayer, arguing that it will hit the profits they get from DVD sales.

  • Writers reveal US challenges

    21-Sep-2008

    Successful US remakes of British comedies only work if American writers understand the spirit of the original show, writers have claimed.

  • Hat Trick plans to extend HIGNFY and Room 101 online

    21-Sep-2008

    Hat Trick is in talks with the BBC about extending the Have I Got News For You brand into a UK equivalent of US satirical website The Onion.

  • Hat Trick plans to extend HIGNFY and Room 101 online

    19-Sep-2008

    Comedy Forum: Hat Trick is in talks with the BBC about extending the Have I Got News For You brand into a UK equivalent of US satirical website The Onion.

  • Comedy writers reveal US challenges

    19-Sep-2008

    Comedy Forum: Successful US remakes of British comedies only work if American writers understand the spirit of the original show, writers have claimed.

  • Indies slam 'series stacking'

    19-Sep-2008

    Comedy Forum: Indies have hit out at the introduction of “series stacking” on the BBC iPlayer, arguing that it will hit the profits they get from DVD sales.

  • C4 to show 'real Grange Hill'

    18-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is lining up a real-life Grange Hill from the producers of its latest fly-on-the-wall series The Family.

  • Richards: Ofcom won't be swayed by ITV

    17-Sep-2008

    Ofcom will not be swayed by ITV's attempts to “paint an apocalyptic scenario” about its future, the regulator's chief executive Ed Richards has warned.

  • Ofcom: C4's PSB future is a ‘pressing priority'

    17-Sep-2008

    Ofcom has rejected a BBC-only PSB model as unworkable and has revised its remaining PSB options to protect the “pressing priority” of funding Channel 4.

  • BBC2 show gives£1m to novice City traders

    17-Sep-2008

    BBC2 is to unravel the dark arts of the unstable global financial markets in a series that turns eight people into City traders with£1m to invest.

  • BBC3 doubles run of Snog Marry Avoid

    17-Sep-2008

    Celebrities are to undergo a ‘makeunder' in the second series of BBC3's Snog Marry Avoid?.

  • Fonejacker goes interactive

    17-Sep-2008

    Fonejacker fans will be able to interact with characters from the show such as Terry Tibbs and Mr Miggins on E4's website.

  • Blog: Ofcom gets serious about C4

    17-Sep-2008

    The idea that public service broadcasting should be the sole preserve of the BBC was always a non-starter, writes Robin Parker.

  • C4 welcomes Ofcom support on funding

    17-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has welcomed Ofcom's support for a new funding mechanism to guarantee its PSB future.

  • Ofcom shakes up PSB options

    17-Sep-2008

    Ofcom has rejected a BBC-only PSB model as unworkable and has revised its remaining options to protect the “pressing priority” of funding Channel 4.

  • Freesports on 4 to launch events

    17-Sep-2008

    Channel 4's extreme winter sports magazine Freesports on 4 is to branch out into events for the first time.

  • Serafinowicz back at Christmas

    16-Sep-2008

    BBC2 sketch format The Peter Serafinowicz Show is to return for a Christmas special.

  • BT: Kangaroo will distort competition

    16-Sep-2008

    BT has warned that the creation of the industry joint venture Project Kangaroo will distort competition in the video-on-demand market.

  • GCap station rapped over fakery

    15-Sep-2008

    A Power FM presenter misled listeners by awarding a competition prize to her sister, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Ramsay dodges censure over puffin killing

    15-Sep-2008

    Gordon Ramsay has escaped censure from Ofcom for hunting and eating puffins in his Channel 4 show The F Word.

  • The Vicar of Kazakhstan

    15-Sep-2008

    The Vicar of Dibley is heading to the home of Borat, with plans to dub the BBC comedy into the Kazakh language.

  • BlinkBox signs first UK TV deal with All3Media

    15-Sep-2008

    Peep Show, Shameless and How To Look Good Naked will be available on video clips and on-demand platform BlinkBox, following a deal with All3Media International.

  • Wales 'disappoints' with response to PSB review

    12-Sep-2008

    Ofcom contents and standard partner Stewart Purvis has spoken about about the “disappointing” responses from Wales to the first phase of the regulator's public service broadcasting review.

  • Twofour exec joins SW Screen

    12-Sep-2008

    Twofour chief executive and Pact chair Charles Wace has joined the board of development agency South West Screen.

  • Ramsay takes live format Stateside

    12-Sep-2008

    Gordon Ramsay is to take his live cooking format to the US and Australia in the first international commissions for his new indie.

  • E4 opens School of Comedy

    12-Sep-2008

    E4 has ordered a full run of Left Bank Productions' sketch show School of Comedy following a one-off Comedy Lab on Channel 4.

  • BBC1 goes to Camp Rock

    12-Sep-2008

    Disney's hit US TV movie Camp Rock is coming to the BBC next year.

  • North One wins Manx TT contract

    11-Sep-2008

    North One is to produce TV coverage of the Isle of Man TT Races, ending local producer Greenlight Television's 12-year hold over rights.

  • Disney to remake Welsh radio sitcom

    11-Sep-2008

    Disney is to adapt a comedy originally made for BBC Radio Wales as a children's animation for the UK and European market.

  • Armstrong and Miller

    11-Sep-2008

    Armstrong and Miller are honing their behind-the-scenes skills for their indie, Toff Media. They tell Robin Parker why they're serious about comedy.

  • T4 first in line as C4 cuts loom

    11-Sep-2008

    Teen strand T4 is set to become the first major part of Channel 4's schedule to suffer from the broadcaster's imminent budget cuts.

  • The Armstrong and Miller Show: Series two

    11-Sep-2008

    A selection of characters old and new in the second series of The Armstrong & Miller Show.

  • Interview: Brian Woods

    10-Sep-2008

    Brian Woods is not afraid of making challenging films about tough subjects that are effectively a call to action.

  • Boseley takes up Outline position

    10-Sep-2008

    Outline Productions has hired former BBC and ITV factual entertainment executive Bridget Boseley as head of features and popular factual.

  • Tabitha Jackson named More 4's first editor

    10-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 deputy specialist factual commissioning editor Tabitha Jackson is to take on the day-to-day running of More 4, writes Robin Parker.

  • All3Media chief backs BBC and C4 PSB roles

    10-Sep-2008

    All3Media chief executive Steve Morrison has thrown his weight behind a PSB model that protects the public service role of the BBC and Channel 4 and introduces competitive funding for any other PSB content.

  • TV veterans outline PSB options

    10-Sep-2008

    The future options for PSB funding were scrutinised today in a debate at the London School of Economics ahead of this month's publication of the second phase of Ofcom's PSB review.

  • PSB model 1: Evolution

    10-Sep-2008

    Public service broadcasters retain their designated PSB role, either reducing their duties or receiving more support.

  • PSB model 2: BBC only

    10-Sep-2008

    The BBC becomes the sole UK-wide provider of PSB content. Limited plurality is provided only to the extent possible through other broadcasters' commercial output.

  • PSB model 3: BBC and Channel 4

    10-Sep-2008

    This model would see BBC and Channel 4 have a PSB role while others bid for limited competitive funding.

  • PSB model 4: Broad competitive funding

    10-Sep-2008

    Commercial PSBs pitch for long-term but transferable contract for specific PSB content, with funds awarded by a funding agency.

  • Cutting Edge fraud doc goes to series

    10-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is to turn a recent Cutting Edge documentary on insurance fraud investigators into a full series.

  • Armstrong & Miller reveal sitcom plans

    10-Sep-2008

    Comedy duo Armstrong & Miller have teamed up with up-and-coming writers to develop a “slacker sitcom” about office temps.

  • C4 targets bad behaviour in primary schools

    10-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is to look into the role of social intervention in primary schools in a documentary described by its director as “a British Être et Avoir”.

  • Heart 106.2 exec to join ITN

    10-Sep-2008

    Mark Browning, the man who brought Jamie Theakston to Heart 106.2, is to join ITN to head up its multimedia commercial activities.

  • Allen on board Virgin Media

    10-Sep-2008

    Former ITV chief executive Charles Allen has taken up his second non-executive TV directorship in a week - this time with Virgin Media.

  • Lambert to open US office; hires US reality exec as chief

    9-Sep-2008

    Former RDF creative director Stephen Lambert has hired Eli Holzman, the US exec behind Project Runway and Beauty & The Geek to lead a US arm of his indie, Studio Lambert.

  • Regional indies win cash boost

    9-Sep-2008

    Three Welsh indies are to receive a cash injection from a scheme set up by broadcasters and bodies including Pact and Skillset.

  • Blinkx grows online output

    9-Sep-2008

    Digital video distributor Myvideorights.com has signed a deal to license clips to video search engine Blinkx.com.

  • RentaGhost and Worzel Gummidge to return

    8-Sep-2008

    Spooks and ghouls and freaks and fools have joined RDF, which is preparing BBC children's classic RentaGhost for a 21st century makeover.

  • Charles Allen on board at Endemol

    8-Sep-2008

    Former ITV chief executive Charles Allen has joined the board of Big Brother producer Endemol as a non-executive director.

  • C4's Kevin Bishop sparks viewer criticism

    8-Sep-2008

    Big Brother continued to be Channel 4's most controversial show in August, sparking over 4,000 calls from viewers - but comedy show The Kevin Bishop Show edged out more potentially sensitive offerings to take second place.

  • C4: Top 10 most praised

    8-Sep-2008

    The top 10 most praised programmes on Channel 4 in August.

  • C4: Top 10 most criticised

    8-Sep-2008

    The top 10 most criticised programmes on Channel 4 in August.

  • Freesat adds C4 timeshift channels

    4-Sep-2008

    Channel 4's suite of time-shifted channels are to join the free-to-air satellite TV service Freesat.

  • VoD faces teething problems, says research

    4-Sep-2008

    Incomplete programme catalogues and a fragmented marketplace are driving consumers away from broadcasters' video-on-demand services, according to new research.

  • C4 to pilot ‘cattle market' dating show from Talkback

    3-Sep-2008

    Channel 4 is lining up a primetime Talkback Thames format dubbed the “cattle market of dating shows”.

  • Studio Lambert signs up Alexander as fact ent head

    3-Sep-2008

    Stephen Lambert has hired former RDF producer Tania Alexander to lead the development of factual entertainment and reality programmes at his indie.

  • C4 to track launch of youth orchestra

    3-Sep-2008

    The team behind music reality formats Operatunity and Musicality will document the launch of a youth orchestra for its latest Channel 4 project.

  • New moveable feasts from Plum Pictures

    3-Sep-2008

    Cooking in the Danger Zone presenter Stefan Gates is to sample religious and cultural feasts from around the world for a BBC4 series.

  • Bectu backs Directors UK

    3-Sep-2008

    Broadcasting union Bectu has given the recently established TV and film directors' body Directors UK the all-clear to negotiate directly with broadcasters.

  • Five to launch ad-supported sites

    3-Sep-2008

    Five is to launch advertising-supported websites for Five News, Football Italiano and Neighbours after signing a deal with web video platform Brightcove.

  • Conchords may hang up guitars

    2-Sep-2008

    Cult HBO comedy Flight of the Conchords is likely to end after its forthcoming second series, its creators have revealed.

  • Fremantle's Spalding wins exec role

    2-Sep-2008

    FremantleMedia's Asia Pacific director Simon Spalding is to move to Europe to become the super-indie's regional chief executive officer.

  • Indies face cuts as ad slump kicks in

    27-Aug-2008

    Indies are bracing themselves for budget cuts from commercial channels as the advertising slowdown starts to pinch.

  • Public cash could stifle C4, warns Fincham

    27-Aug-2008

    Channel 4 could put its entertainment heritage at risk in its bid to secure extra funding, Peter Fincham has warned.

  • Lost revealed as most-talked about show

    27-Aug-2008

    Lost is the UK's most talked-about show according to a study that claims that TV still dominates the national conversation.

  • Red Dwarf to reunite on Dave

    27-Aug-2008

    Cult BBC comedy Red Dwarf is poised to return after 10 years for a retrospective on UKTV channel Dave.

  • Virgin Media to put sports highlights online

    27-Aug-2008

    Virgin Media has teamed up with digital content specialist Perform to launch a free-to-view sports video player.

  • Celeb Scissorhands to return

    27-Aug-2008

    Hairdresser Lee Staffird will again try to turn celebrities into hair and beauty experts in three weeks in his Camden ‘academy'.

  • Endemol poaches Toumazis from Disney

    27-Aug-2008

    Endemol has hired Disney executive Tom Toumazis as chief commercial officer.

  • Highfield: 20% of all viewing will be online by 2013

    23-Aug-2008

    Watching archive shows online will account for a fifth of all TV viewing within five years, Project Kangaroo chief operating officer Ashley Highfield has claimed.

  • Bebo orders freshers' week show

    23-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: Bebo has commissioned a series revealing what students get up to in freshers' week.

  • Doctor Who's Moffat to pen modern Sherlock Holmes

    23-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has teamed up with The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss for a contemporary update of Sherlock Holmes.

  • C4 exec warns of 'meaningless' PSB stance

    23-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: The TV industry is at risk of adopting a “meaningless” definition of public service broadcasting, Channel 4 head of programmes Julian Bellamy has warned.

  • IT Crowd creator urges self-censorship in sitcoms

    23-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: A lack of censorship is stifling creativity in TV comedy, according to Father Ted and The IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan.

  • BBC accused of training shortfall in doc making

    22-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: Documentary makers and commissioners have lamented the lack of support for new talent to hone their craft, with the BBC taking the brunt of the blame.

  • Quantity over quality in docs says BBC veteran

    22-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: Veteran BBC documentary maker Peter Taylor has accused broadcasters of sacrificing quality documentaries for quantity and urged the BBC and Channel 4 to cut the runs of their major current affairs strands.

  • More 4 plans return to original drama

    22-Aug-2008

    Edinburgh 08: More 4 head Hamish Mykura has signaled his desire for original UK drama to return to the channel as part of a new focus on giving it a broader contemporary voice.

  • Decision coming on Celeb Big Brother

    22-Aug-2008

    Channel 4 will decide within the next month whether to air a Celebrity Big Brother next year, head of programmes Julian Bellamy has confirmed.

  • 'Lord of the Flies' format crowns C4 autumn season

    22-Aug-2008

    Two groups of children will spend three weeks without adults in a factual entertainment format for Channel 4.

  • More 4 to follow race for the US presidency

    22-Aug-2008

    More 4 is to mark November's US elections with a series of programmes including full broadcasts of every presidential debate.

  • C4 dedicates a year to British institutions

    22-Aug-2008

    The first series from Stephen Lambert's indie Studio Lambert will form part of a major year-long Channel 4 series of documentaries dedicated to Britain's public and social institutions.

  • E4's Brooker thriller is set in Big Brother house

    21-Aug-2008

    Charlie Brooker's E4 zombie thriller Dead Set will be set in the Big Brother house.

  • Ofcom digital adviser to lead C4 PSB plans

    21-Aug-2008

    Ofcom senior digital media adviser Tom Loosemore has joined Channel 4 where he will be responsible for allocating its£50m fund for online PSB content, 4IP.

  • BBC1 obstacle course to Wipeout contestants

    21-Aug-2008

    BBC1 will challenge contestants to tackle the world's biggest obstacle course in a UK version of global Endemol hit Wipeout.

  • Bebo hires first commissioning head

    21-Aug-2008

    Bebo has hired its first executive with specific responsibility for commissioning and managing original programming.

  • C4 doc looks at ‘The Charles Generation'

    20-Aug-2008

    Men born on the same day as Prince Charles will tell their stories in a Sue Bourne documentary that forms part of Channel 4's autumn schedule.

  • Male Supernanny spin-off greenlit

    20-Aug-2008

    Ricochet is making a male spin-off of Supernanny for US network ABC.

  • QI moving to BBC1

    20-Aug-2008

    Comedy panel show QI is poised to move to BBC1 this autumn after five years on BBC2.

  • Currie and Waterman to front regional BBC1 docs

    19-Aug-2008

    Edwina Currie and Pete Waterman are to explore the effects of the closure of many of Britain's rural railways in the 1960s in a series of regional programmes for BBC1.

  • Google gives Kangaroo thumbs up

    19-Aug-2008

    Google has given its backing to the proposed multi-broadcaster video-on-demand service Project Kangaroo.

  • Joost attacks Kangaroo

    19-Aug-2008

    Web TV platform Joost has complained that the proposed multi-broadcaster on-demand service Project Kangaroo will distort the competitive online TV rights market.

  • Local TV coalition attacks Ofcom

    19-Aug-2008

    A coalition of local TV operators has complained that Ofcom has ignored public support for regional programming on the Freeview platform.

  • Kelly Brook to join Moving Wallpaper

    18-Aug-2008

    Kelly Brook and Alan Dale are to join ITV1 comedy-drama Moving Wallpaper and will star in a one-off zombie drama that will feature in the series.

  • Formats body slams ABC over 'rip-off' claims

    15-Aug-2008

    An international body dedicated to TV intellectual property rights has accused US producer ABC Studios of encouraging producers to rip-off programme formats.

  • Virgin Radio plows investment into online

    15-Aug-2008

    Virgin Radio will provide live, exclusive sessions and interviews during this weekend's Virgin Mobile V Festival as part of its biggest ever online investment in festivals.

  • PSB channels take 70% digital share

    14-Aug-2008

    The growth of channels such as Five US and Film 4 helped PSB broadcasters command more than a 70% audience share in multichannel homes for the first time last year.

  • So TV in online talent venture

    13-Aug-2008

    So Television is preparing to launch an online talent format called Noostar as a joint venture with interactive web company CogApp.

  • Bebo's Sam King set for TV spin-off

    13-Aug-2008

    A spin-off from Bebo drama The Secret World of Sam King is poised to move onto TV.

  • Pact draws up guide to 360 partnerships

    13-Aug-2008

    Pact and innovation funding body Nesta have teamed up to develop guidelines to help companies working together on multiplatform projects protect their intellectual property.

  • Interview: Liza Marshall, head of drama, C4

    12-Aug-2008

    Since she took over as C4 head of drama Liza Marshall has made a name for the channel with gritty dramas such as Britz and Boy A. But it's not all about doom and gloom, she tells Robin Parker.

  • Doctor Who's Moffatt wins writers prize

    12-Aug-2008

    Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffatt has won his third consecutive Hugo award for an episode of the BBC series.

  • Fox acquires Endemol's online prison drama

    12-Aug-2008

    Fox International Channels has picked up the first in a planned series of online programmes for its global network of websites.

  • Bill Cotton dies

    12-Aug-2008

    BBC executives and colleagues have paid tribute to the former BBC1 controller and light entertainment head Sir Bill Cotton, who has died at the age of 80.

  • Bebo's burgeoning content slate

    8-Aug-2008

    Robin Parker examines how the recently launched The Secret World of Sam King fits into Bebo's burgeoning raft of content.

  • The Apprentice series editor joins Optomen

    6-Aug-2008

    The series editor of The Apprentice has joined Optomen in the newly created role of head of factual entertainment.

  • Eureka!: Make Me a Christian (Wildcard for Channel 4)

    6-Aug-2008

    Executive producer Narinder Minhas on confronting Christianity's dull image.

  • No Going Back family to advise new migrants

    6-Aug-2008

    An expat family in Tuscany that featured in Channel 4's fact ent series No Going Back are to advise the latest Brits moving to the region for a new format.

  • BBC4 follows Smith on first foreign holiday

    6-Aug-2008

    BBC4 is to send veteran actress Liz Smith on her first-ever holiday abroad in a one-off documentary that it sees as a potential strand about celebrities' unrealised ambitions.

  • Chung and Holland to front T4 fashion

    6-Aug-2008

    Gok's Fashion Fix co-presenter Alexa Chung is to front a second weekly Channel 4 fashion magazine show - the first style news programme for teen strand T4.

  • Ten Alps to defy crunch with factual buy-up plan

    6-Aug-2008

    Ten Alps is planning to buck the cautious financial market by snapping up more factual indies following its purchase of Roger Graef's Films of Record last week.

  • BBCW mining archives for iTunes content

    6-Aug-2008

    The BBC is digging deeper into its archives to sell classic shows on iTunes, starting with cult comedy The Young Ones.

  • Hopkins hired as Hollyoaks production chief

    6-Aug-2008

    Lime Pictures has hired Ian Hopkins as head of production on teen soap Hollyoaks.

  • Bebo drama to star Sugababes

    6-Aug-2008

    Music acts The Sugababes, The Automatic, Sam Sparro and The Saturdays will feature in the latest Bebo drama The Secret World of Sam King.

  • ITV scales back content target

    6-Aug-2008

    Michael Grade has scaled back his growth ambitions for ITV's global content and online divisions, blaming the weak advertising market and economic outlook.

  • Blog: Pitching documentaries

    5-Aug-2008

    Pitching a documentary can be a stressful and tortured affair, and a bit of celebrity name dropping can help your cause, writes Robin Parker.

  • R1 agony uncle to front BBC doc

    5-Aug-2008

    Radio 1's Dr Mark Hamilton is to launch a crusade on underage binge-drinking in an investigative doc for BBC1 Northern Ireland.

  • Lythgoe quits American Idol; launching jv with Fuller

    5-Aug-2008

    British producer Nigel Lythgoe is to step down from American Idol after six years to form a new joint venture with long-term collaborator Simon Fuller.

  • All3M signs to myvideorights.com

    4-Aug-2008

    All3Media International has become the first super-indie partner of Peter Bazalgette-backed digital video distribution start-up myvideorights.com.

  • Ten Alps looks to eye-care TV

    4-Aug-2008

    Ten Alps is setting its sights on the UK's 18,000 eye-care professionals with the latest addition to its portfolio of business-to-business web TV channels.

  • Ross Russell to join BBCW

    1-Aug-2008

    Neil Ross Russell, the Sparrowhawk executive behind the joint children's digital channel KidsCo, is to join BBC Worldwide as its managing director for children's.

  • Ex TWI boss to run Racing UK

    1-Aug-2008

    Horseracing TV rights body Racing UK has appointed former Transworld International chief operating officer Richard FitzGerald as chief executive.

  • Ten Alps buys Graef's indie

    1-Aug-2008

    Ten Alps is back on the TV acquisition trail after buying Roger Graef's factual indie Films of Record for an undisclosed sum.

  • Former TWI boss to run Racing UK

    1-Aug-2008

    Horseracing TV rights body Racing UK has appointed former Transworld International chief operating officer Richard FitzGerald as chief executive.

  • MySpace to host Comedybox site

    1-Aug-2008

    MySpace has launched a UK comedy site in collaboration with Warner Music Entertainment that will incorporate Warner's web comedy platform Comedybox.

  • Revived Minder will stick to original's principles, says Five

    31-Jul-2008

    Five has revealed details of its revival of ITV classic Minder, promising the show will have the “pre-watershed sensibility” of the original.

  • Indies eye share of£10m C4 kids fund

    31-Jul-2008

    A fantasy drama series from Skins creator Bryan Elsley and the first original TV project for author Melvin Burgess are vying for a share of Channel 4's£10m fund for shows targeting 11-to 16-year-olds.

  • Trust in TV crisis could rumble on all year

    30-Jul-2008

    Last year's trust in TV crisis could drag on until the end of the year following Ofcom's£400,000 fine against the BBC for faked and misleading viewer phone-ins.

  • Hollyoaks to air web show-within-a-show

    30-Jul-2008

    Channel 4's Hollyoaks is to push the boundaries of cross-platform content by launching an online show that will also appear in the TV soap.

  • Larry Charles: Anarchy in the USA

    30-Jul-2008

    From Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry Charles has broken the mould in US TV comedy. With his first doc Religulous soon to be released, Robin Parker asks him what it takes to excite his interest.

  • SMG channel to boost Scots indies

    30-Jul-2008

    SMG's proposed Scottish digital TV station will commission original factual programming from Scottish indies, chief executive Rob Woodward has pledged.

  • Echo Beach axed - again

    30-Jul-2008

    Echo Beach will be axed within the fictional world of Moving Wallpaper when the comedy drama returns next year, ITV has confirmed.

  • BBC fined£400,000 over phone-in fakery

    30-Jul-2008

    Ofcom has fined the BBC£400,000 for breaching competition rules on viewer phone-ins, the biggest ever penalty the regulator has imposed on the corporation.

  • Blinx to offer VoD super search

    30-Jul-2008

    Blinkx has launched an online TV archive service that aims to help web viewers search for UK broadcasters' shows in one place

  • SMG station will commission content

    29-Jul-2008

    SMG's proposed Scottish digital station will commission original factual programming from Scottish indies, chief executive Rob Woodward has pledged.

  • Morton turns director for C4

    25-Jul-2008

    Actress Samantha Morton is to make her directorial debut next year with a Channel 4 drama about a young girl growing up in a children's home.

  • Shine and New Regency form film JV

    24-Jul-2008

    Super-indie Shine Group and US producer New Regency have formed an internationally focused joint-venture company that will produce cinema films.

  • Ramsay and Optomen set up indie

    24-Jul-2008

    Gordon Ramsay is to launch an indie in conjunction with regular production partner Optomen that will produce all his new global TV output for at least the next seven years.

  • Bafta-winner Garfield to star in Red Ridings

    24-Jul-2008

    Boy A star Andrew Garfield is to follow his Bafta-winning performance with the lead role in a series of dramas for Channel 4 based on David Peace's Red Ridings novels.

  • TV chiefs reveal 360-degree commissioning headaches

    24-Jul-2008

    A growing demand for long-form content, pressure from advertisers and commissioners' inexperience are proving to be the biggest challenges for broadcasters' 360-degree commissioning strategies.

  • Richardson to probe Brit sex for C4

    23-Jul-2008

    Presenter Anna Richardson is to explore Britain's sexual history and the hang ups and sexual health of the “Sex and the City generation” for Channel 4.

  • Bodyshock director lands C4 history role

    23-Jul-2008

    The director of pioneering Bodyshock documentary The Boy Who Gave Birth to His Twin has joined Channel 4 as history commissioning editor.

  • C4 stands firm on daring docs

    23-Jul-2008

    Channel 4 will continue to commission polemical documentaries about controversial subjects despite this week's Ofcom ruling on The Great Global Warming Swindle.

  • The race to portray race

    23-Jul-2008

    New research from Channel 4 and Trevor Phillips' plea for a voluntary code show multiculturalism is still a hot topic. But how do you get it right?

  • C4's MobileAct to relaunch

    18-Jul-2008

    Channel 4's music showcase MobileAct Unsigned is to return with a new name and will feature singer-songwriters.

  • Content Focus: Liberty News

    16-Jul-2008

    Viewers of Spooks spin-off Code 9 will be encouraged to track the show's drama on a tie-in news service.

  • Eyeworks teams up with Bebo for music show

    16-Jul-2008

    C4 music show Transmission with T-Mobile will make its debut on Bebo when the series returns next week.

  • BBC to air three-week webcast for Big Cat Live

    16-Jul-2008

    The BBC will launch its first round-the-clock live webcast in September to support its week-long live natural history event Big Cat Live.

  • UKTV Gold chief Moreton to head Watch

    16-Jul-2008

    UKTV Gold and UKTV Drama head Paul Moreton will head the group's catch-up channel Watch when it launches on 7 October.

  • Bring me new twists, Fincham tells indies

    16-Jul-2008

    ITV is calling for more “surprising” ideas for contemporary dramas, with edgy family and relationship-led programmes top of the agenda.

  • Ackroyd takes to the Thames

    16-Jul-2008

    London chronicler Peter Ackroyd is to trace the course of the Thames river for his latest TV project.

  • New music TV site unveiled

    16-Jul-2008

    A new streaming video website featuring music documentaries and interviews is preparing to launch in the UK and Ireland.

  • Shooting Stars returning for Christmas special

    16-Jul-2008

    Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's anarchic gamshow Shooting Stars is returning for a Christmas special to mark its 15th anniversary.

  • Blinkx partners with MSN

    16-Jul-2008

    Video search engine Blinkx has partnered with MSN UK in one of a series of global deals.

  • Discovery orders Dangerous dino doc

    15-Jul-2008

    Dangerous Films is to take viewers inside the bodies of dinosaurs in a CGI-laden series for Discovery.

  • Oakenfold judging 4Talent Awards

    15-Jul-2008

    Big Brother theme composer Paul Oakenfold and Green Wing creator Victoria Pile are among the judges for Channel 4's second annual 4Talent Awards.

  • UKTV to rebrand channels

    10-Jul-2008

    UKTV has revealed that Richard & Judy's new show will air on a channel called Watch, which will replace UKTV Gold+1, and has also confirmed the rebrand of UKTV Drama and UKTV Gold.

  • Kate's adventures online

    10-Jul-2008

    Kate Modern's creators on the dramas of the Bebo web hit.

  • Hat Trick shuts Manchester office

    9-Jul-2008

    Hat Trick has closed its Manchester office after three years after struggling to secure enough comedy and entertainment commissions from the region.

  • Former Five history chief joins Firefly

    9-Jul-2008

    Five's former controller of history and live factual events, Alex Sutherland, has joined Firefly as an independent consultant and executive producer.

  • C4 aims provocative G-Spot docs at women

    9-Jul-2008

    Channel 4 is to give voice to provocative opinions on topics such as cosmetic vaginal surgery and the fur trade in a new documentary strand aimed at women.

  • Bremner chews on the credit crunch for C4

    9-Jul-2008

    Rory Bremner is to take a satirical look at the credit crunch in a four-part series for Channel 4.

  • Lee Collins to bring back Star Trek crew

    9-Jul-2008

    Justin Lee Collins will try to re-unite the surviving cast of the original Star Trek series in the latest edition of his Bring Back... strand.

  • Sketch shows dominate C4's Comedy Lab pilots

    9-Jul-2008

    Channel 4 has ordered two comedy pilots from Ash Atalla's new indie, Roughcut TV, for its Comedy Lab strand, which leans heavily on sketch formats this year.

  • Eureka!: Lab rats (BBC Comedy for BBC2)

    9-Jul-2008

    Actor/writer Chris Addison turned his lazy professor from a BBC Radio 4 sketch show to a BBC2 sitcom.

  • Dailymotion MD quits for Bebo

    8-Jul-2008

    Kate Burns, the UK managing director of video website Dailymotion, is to head Bebo's European business.

  • Endemol names digital chief

    4-Jul-2008

    Endemol has hired former LoveFilm chief executive Adam Valkin as its global head of digital media and new business.

  • Ex-Kangeroo chief joins web TV firm

    4-Jul-2008

    Lesley Mackenzie, the launch chief executive of the cross-industry video-on-demand service Project Kangaroo, has joined web TV holding company Nettv247.com.

  • Wogan to host C4 quiz

    4-Jul-2008

    Channel 4 has ordered a new gameshow format fronted by Terry Wogan as a potential successor to Richard and Judy's teatime show.

  • Content Focus: Tiscali recommends

    3-Jul-2008

    As the BBC overhauls iPlayer to create a more personalised user experience, other on-demand services are following suit.

  • UK fans flock to Uefa site for Euro 2008

    3-Jul-2008

    British football fans were the most active viewers of Euro 2008 video content on Uefa's official website, despite none of their teams qualifying for the event.

  • No more kids TV advertising bans, demand Tories

    3-Jul-2008

    The shadow media secretary has called on the government to place no more restrictions on TV advertising, in a bid to protect the future of children's TV.

  • Steadfast follows police dogs for ITV1

    3-Jul-2008

    The producer of Ross Kemp on Gangs has turned his attention to police dogs and their handlers for an ob-doc series by Steadfast Television for ITV1.

  • New horseracing package to pitch BBC against C4

    3-Jul-2008

    The BBC and Channel 4 are facing a bidding war for the rights to show 10 of the UK's biggest horse races, which are planned to be sold as a package for the first time.

  • Bosses go undercover for Five reality series

    3-Jul-2008

    Five has commissioned Love Productions to develop a reality format described as “The Secret Millionaire meets Back to the Floor”.

  • Nick plans ad-funded Bratz show

    3-Jul-2008

    Nickelodeon is to turn fans of Bratz dolls into fashion designers in a reality show brokered by Endemol UK's branded content division New State.

  • Rock School star gets full C4 chat series

    2-Jul-2008

    Channel 4 has greenlit a full run of a chat show fronted by teen rocker Lil' Chris following a broadcast pilot earlier this year.

  • Turner names marketing boss

    1-Jul-2008

    Former Heart FM managing director Barnaby Dawe has joined Turner Broadcasting as vice president of marketing and communications across all of its Turner Entertainment brands in the UK.

  • Grade slams OFT decision

    30-Jun-2008

    Michael Grade has accused the OFT of hindering British broadcasters' attempts to compete with the likes of Google and Apple after the watchdog asked the Competition Commission to investigate Project Kangaroo.

  • Competition Commission to probe Kangaroo

    30-Jun-2008

    Project Kangaroo's launch could be delayed until 2009 after the Office of Fair Trading called in the Competition Commission to investigate the planned video-on-demand service.

  • Duvall has second bite of Cracker

    30-Jun-2008

    Hollywood actor Robert Duvall is backing a second attempt at remaking ITV1's crime drama Cracker for the US.

  • Turkey experiences a Wipeout

    30-Jun-2008

    Endemol has expanded into Turkey, where its first commission will be a local version of gameshow format Wipeout.

  • Making multiplatform the future of Channel 4

    18-Jun-2008

    Channel 4 is to expand its senior commissioning team this year to extend its cross-platform commissioning ambitions into areas such as news, comedy and music.

  • Brightcove unveils upgrade

    17-Jun-2008

    Web video provider Brightcove aims to make it easier for broadcasters to integrate video with other features of their websites in the platform's latest upgrade.

  • TV discussion site heading to the UK

    16-Jun-2008

    A website aiming to be a one-stop shop for viewers to read up on and discuss their favourite TV shows will launch in the UK next month.

  • Burnham rejects product placement

    11-Jun-2008

    Broadcasters, producers and politicians have accused media secretary Andy Burnham of trying to kill product placement in the UK before it has been properly debated.

  • Objective plans Crystal Maze-style show for C4

    11-Jun-2008

    Objective Productions is to build a four-metre square Perspex cube as the setting for a gameshow being eyed as a Crystal Maze successor for Channel 4.

  • La Plante to adapt novel Above Suspicion for ITV1

    11-Jun-2008

    ITV1 has commissioned Lynda la Plante to adapt her novel Above Suspicion with a view to launching a franchise in the mould of Prime Suspect.

  • UK docs accused of global stereotypes

    11-Jun-2008

    A government-backed report has accused broadcasters of perpetuating stereotypes of the Middle East and Africa in their documentary output.

  • C4 to make crunch era home show

    11-Jun-2008

    Channel 4's latest property series will move away from buying and selling to focus on ways of helping frustrated owners to make the most of their homes.

  • UTV plans content link-up if ITV drops PSB

    11-Jun-2008

    Northern Irish broadcaster UTV will approach British, Irish and US broadcasters to supply the bulk of its content if ITV is freed from or relinquishes its public service broadcasting licence.

  • BBC4 links science and Islam

    11-Jun-2008

    The team behind acclaimed BBC4 science series Atom will uncover medieval Islam's influence on modern science for their latest project.

  • Billy Joel gets South Bank treatment

    11-Jun-2008

    US singer-songwriter Billy Joel is to give a rare interview for an edition of ITV1's The South Bank Show.

  • BBCW and EMI in tune with music footage

    11-Jun-2008

    BBC archive footage of classic rock performances from the likes of Pink Floyd and David Bowie is to be made commercially available for the first time.

  • Round two for Supersize vs Superskinny

    11-Jun-2008

    Channel 4's diet swap show Supersize vs Superskinny is to return for a second series later this year.

  • Caviezel eyed for US Prisoner

    10-Jun-2008

    Hollywood actor Jim Caviezel, best known for playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, is in line to star in ITV's remake of The Prisoner.

  • Bebo unveils new drama

    9-Jun-2008

    Bebo has teamed up with indie Monkey Kingdom and Universal Music for its latest web drama.

  • Mykura appointed More4 chief

    9-Jun-2008

    Channel 4 head of documentaries Hamish Mykura has expanded his role to become head of digital channel More4.

  • C4 orders Snowdon doc

    6-Jun-2008

    Channel 4 is to broadcast a “revisionist” documentary on Lord Snowdon and Princess Margaret's marriage next month.

  • BBC2 orders pilot of BBC3 comedy

    6-Jun-2008

    A second, studio-based pilot of advertising agency comedy The Scum Also Rises is being made for BBC2 after the show's first pilot went out on BBC3 last year.

  • DSP wins first ITV drama commission

    4-Jun-2008

    Tara Fitzgerald is to star in Darlow Smithson's first drama production for ITV.

  • C4 will track 24-hour ‘cycle of life' in Bristol

    4-Jun-2008

    Documentary-maker Sue Bourne will chronicle all the births, deaths and marriages that take place on a single day in Bristol in her latest high concept project.

  • More 4 buys epic HBO drama

    4-Jun-2008

    More 4 has bought the UK broadcast rights for a HBO historical miniseries that tells the story of the second US president, John Adams.

  • Real Hustle team to make magic-themed BBC1 special

    4-Jun-2008

    BBC1 has commissioned a magic-themed spin-off from BBC3's The Real Hustle with a view to turning it into a returning format.

  • Rock Show buys Planet Rock

    4-Jun-2008

    GCap Media is to sell its national digital station Planet Rock to a new company called Rock Show run by businessman Malcolm Bluemel.

  • E4 plans late-night run for Hollyoaks

    4-Jun-2008

    E4 has ordered a batch of late-night spin-off episodes of Hollyoaks to be screened during a week in November.

  • Scooby Doo, where are you? On BT Vision

    4-Jun-2008

    Cartoons including Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry are to be turned into interactive games on BT Vision's IPTV platform.

  • Real Hustle gets more cons on BBC3

    4-Jun-2008

    The Real Hustle team are to play tricks on Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page and rugby player Matt Dawson in the next series of the BBC3 factual entertainment series.

  • Peter Dale quits C4

    3-Jun-2008

    More4 head Peter Dale is to leave Channel 4 after more than 10 years to set up his own indie.

  • ITV1 celebrates Abba musical

    30-May-2008

    ITV1 is to celebrate Abba's musical phenomenon Mamma Mia! with an hour-long primetime special in July.

  • Jonathan Creek revived

    30-May-2008

    BBC1 plans to bring back detective comedy-drama Jonathan Creek after almost five years for a Christmas special.

  • E4 unveils web video push

    30-May-2008

    Channel 4 has launched a web promotion for E4 with an online game featuring live video footage shot by digital agency Kerb.

  • GI hires brand director

    30-May-2008

    Granada International has hired TV brand consultant Gustavo Antonioni to drive the global marketing and licensing strategy for its biggest shows.

  • Mays takes Plus One lead

    30-May-2008

    Vera Drake and Atonement star Daniel Mays is to take over from Rory Kinnear in the lead role in Channel 4 comedy Plus One.

  • C4 declares war on Big Brother wannabes

    28-May-2008

    Channel 4 and Endemol have declared war on “wannabe” Big Brother contestants and are promising a “funny but evil” series when the reality show returns for a ninth outing next week.

  • C4 fuels Carr's success with Ding Dong reorder

    28-May-2008

    Channel 4 has recommissioned comedy gameshow Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong amid talk of a bidding war for the comedian.

  • Pilot shortage prompts call for change at LA Screenings

    28-May-2008

    The lack of completed pilots made this year's LA Screenings a damp squib, prompting talk of changing the way that US studios do business.

  • C4 and Five spell out trust in TV guidelines

    28-May-2008

    Channel 4 and Five are to make their internal editorial compliance procedures public for the first time as part of a joint effort to avoid a repeat of last year's trust in TV crisis.

  • Brand returning to Ponderland

    28-May-2008

    Russell Brand is to give his unique take on pets, education and family in a second series of his Channel 4 show Ponderland.

  • Gorillaz design BBC Olympic titles

    28-May-2008

    The BBC's Olympic Games coverage will feature animated titles designed by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn, the creative team behind animated pop group Gorillaz.

  • Celebs compete in 'conductor idol'

    27-May-2008

    Newsreader Katie Derham and broadcaster Peter Snow will battle musicians, comedians and actors for the chance to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra in Hyde Park for a BBC2 celebrity talent show.

  • BBC1 drops the C bomb pre-watershed

    27-May-2008

    BBC1 has been reprimanded by Ofcom for airing bad language before the 9pm watershed, including the phrase 'Oi, you fat c***'.

  • ITN Source strikes UTV deal

    27-May-2008

    ITN Source has bought the rights to almost 50 years of news and regional programming from Northern Irish broadcaster UTV.

  • BBC1 returning to The Street

    23-May-2008

    BBC1 has commissioned a third series of Jimmy McGovern's drama The Street following its second Bafta win.

  • Russell Brand drama axed

    23-May-2008

    ITV has shelved plans for a full series of Baby Cow's Russell Brand-starring comedy The Abbey.

  • Radio sales have 'lost the sex'

    23-May-2008

    Radio must be less introspective and understand its audience better to sell itself harder to advertisers, senior industry figures have urged.

  • ITV re-orders The Fixer

    23-May-2008

    ITV's new director of television Peter Fincham has given the go-ahead for a second series of ITV1 drama The Fixer.

  • Lovejoy to front web entertainment channel

    22-May-2008

    Former Soccer AM front man Tim Lovejoy is to launch his own daily entertainment web channel next month in a joint- venture with Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment.

  • Edinburgh named UK's VoD capital

    21-May-2008

    Edinburgh is the online video on demand capital of the UK, according to Ofcom's latest Communications Market: Nations and Regions report.

  • Ofcom threatens ITV with action over regions

    21-May-2008

    Ofcom is set to take action against ITV for failing to hit its out-of-London production value quota for two years running.

  • Hollyoaks Music Show lands 20-part C4 run

    21-May-2008

    C4 has ordered up to 20 episodes of a Hollyoaks-branded music spin-off following a one-off special that aired at Easter

  • Endemol UK launches unit to develop ad-funded programmes

    21-May-2008

    Endemol UK has set up a dedicated brand partnerships division as part of plans to extend its ad-funded programming into quizzes and cookery shows.

  • Talkback ventures into web comedy

    21-May-2008

    Talkback Thames will make its first foray into web comedy after signing comic troupe Navelgazing in the latest of its talent deals.

  • Eureka: One woman's battle for the box

    21-May-2008

    Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story writer Amanda Coe on dramatising the fight for TV standards.

  • Banzai headed for MySpace

    21-May-2008

    Spoof Japanese gameshow Banzai is to be turned into mini webisodes in an exclusive deal with MySpaceTV.

  • Downloads get classification

    21-May-2008

    Age restrictions on DVDs of TV shows are to be extended to on-demand downloads under a new voluntary scheme.

  • Friday Night Project moving to Sunday

    21-May-2008

    The Friday Night Project is to move to Sundays when it returns to Channel 4 next month.

  • Gavin and Stacey boost iPlayer numbers

    20-May-2008

    BBC3 comedy Gavin and Stacey had more than 250,000 hits on BBC iPlayer in the week following its Bafta win.

  • Cameras to follow Irish students in the US

    20-May-2008

    Motive is to follow three Irish students working on summer placements in the US for an ob doc series for Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

  • Hero of the hour

    20-May-2008

    Heroes creator Tim Kring, fresh from his Bafta win, talks to Robin Parker about second album syndrome and how he came up with one of the most original shows on air.

  • R4 listeners accuse BBC of censorship

    20-May-2008

    Listeners to BBC Radio 4's Today programme have accused the corporation of censorship after it announced that it would axe the show's online messaging board next month.

  • Primeval weekend unveiled

    19-May-2008

    ITV3 is to air a new behind-the-scenes documentary from the set of Primeval as part of a weekend devoted to the fantasy series.

  • AOL completes $850m Bebo deal

    19-May-2008

    AOL is to integrate Bebo into its new People Networks division, which brings together AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ and other community platforms.

  • Kreiz named Endemol CEO

    19-May-2008

    Endemol has hired Fox Kids Europe co-founder and venture capitalist Ynon Kreiz as its chief executive.

  • BBC to air US basketball online

    16-May-2008

    The BBC is screening daily US basketball highlights on the web after striking a deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA).

  • ITV to show big babies

    15-May-2008

    ITV is to air a 60-minute doc from indie Scarlet charting the biggest babies ever born.

  • Endemol hires branding exec

    15-May-2008

    Endemol has strengthened its commitment to advertiser-funded programming with the appointment of its first executive director of branded entertainment.

  • C4 Dispatches head: ‘We won't be bullied'

    14-May-2008

    Channel 4 has won a landmark six-figure libel sum from West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service over accusations about Dispatches investigation Undercover Mosque.

  • Bafta-winning Peep Show gets sixth run

    14-May-2008

    Channel 4 has ordered a sixth series of Peep Show following the sitcom's Bafta success.

  • Alistair Cooke at centre of BBC4 season on travel

    14-May-2008

    BBC4 has lined up a summer season on the expansion of travel in the 20th century, as seen through the lives and writing of figures such as Alistair Cooke and Laurie Lee.

  • Cohen: lessons to be learned from 360-degree commissions

    14-May-2008

    BBC3 controller Danny Cohen has admitted that Upstaged, one of the channel's major multiplatform commissions, did not work and has called for more distinctive web content in programme pitches.

  • Lone Star hails the cab for third transport film

    14-May-2008

    The indie behind Arena documentaries Underground and Little Platform, Big Stage is to complete its trilogy of films on London transport with a glimpse into the lives of taxi drivers.

  • Touch and Illumina in multiplatform JV

    14-May-2008

    Touch Productions, the indie behind Human Footprint, and Illumina Digital have formed a joint-venture to develop cross-platform projects.

  • Who fans told to get knitted

    14-May-2008

    Civil rights advocates the Open Rights Group is pressing the BBC to be more flexible in allowing the public to “remix” its content for non-commercial ends after the broadcaster forced a Doctor Who fan to stop distributing knitting patterns based on the show's characters.

  • Skins rapped for teen orgy ad

    14-May-2008

    An ad for Skins depicting a teenage orgy breached taste and decency guidelines, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.

  • Big Brother exec promoted

    14-May-2008

    Endemol UK has promoted two of its heads of production into senior roles.

  • Job swap at the top

    12-May-2008

    Peter Fincham, Ben Gale and Jay Hunt all take up their new posts today amid turbulent times at each of their new employers.

  • BBC to apologise for keeping charity cash

    9-May-2008

    The BBC is to make an on-air apology for keeping£106,000 from premium-rate phone calls that should have gone to charity.

  • Blog: ITV scandal

    9-May-2008

    Broadcast's deputy news editor Robin Parker asks how Michael Grade can pledge zero tolerance over ITV's scandals while he and his senior team emerge unscathed.

  • C4 orders more Vodafone gigs

    9-May-2008

    Bands including Gnarls Barkley, the Sugababes and the Feeling are to appear in the third series of Vodafone TBA concerts to be broadcast on Channel 4.

  • C4 wins triathlon rights

    9-May-2008

    Channel 4 has won the broadcast rights to new athletics tournament the British Triathlon Grand Prix.

  • Tinopolis set for£45m takeover

    9-May-2008

    Question Time producer Tinopolis is poised for a takeover by a venture capitalist consortium for£44.7m.

  • Grade: Ofcom fine is ‘sorry reading'

    8-May-2008

    Ofcom's record fine “makes for sorry reading”, ITV executive chairman Michael Grade said today as he sought to draw a line under the affair by spelling out the new measures he has introduced to improve its compliance procedures.

  • ITV braced for further criticism

    8-May-2008

    ITV is bracing itself for further censure from Ofcom following the publication of the Oslwang report into phone voting for the British Comedy Awards in 2005.

  • Record Ofcom fine for ITV

    8-May-2008

    Ofcom has fined ITV a record£5.68m for serious breaches of its code regarding misconduct in viewer competitions and votings.

  • Comedy veterans set up indie Eceni

    7-May-2008

    Veteran BBC comedy producer Roy Gould and comedy writer Penny Croft are to move into broader entertainment shows with their new indie.

  • Five mulls new 10pm strand on unusual sex

    7-May-2008

    Five is to broadcast two films about unusual sexual practices that it plans to turn into a 10pm Hidden Lives-style strand called Strangelove.

  • Ecosse Films unveils Irish kitchen drama

    7-May-2008

    Mistresses star Shelley Conn is to swap the bedroom for the kitchen for Ecosse Films' latest drama, which will be made for Irish broadcaster RTE.

  • BBC2 doc to track the impact of divorce

    7-May-2008

    BBC2 has commissioned a landmark documentary series that will trace the long-term impact of divorce by following three cases that have gone through the Family Courts.

  • 4Radio sounds off with dramas ahead of launch

    7-May-2008

    The first fiction commissions for Channel 4's fledgling 4Radio venture are to debut online later this month when the broadcaster unveils four audio dramas.

  • BBC comedy sweeps Rose D'Or

    6-May-2008

    BBC comedy series Kombat Opera Presents... cleaned up at the Rose D'Or Television Awards last night, where it was crowned best comedy and best show of 2008.

  • Jalipo sold to ROK

    6-May-2008

    ROK Entertainment Group has bought IPTV company Jalipo Ltd for 600,000 ordinary shares.

  • BBC lines up teen mums doc

    2-May-2008

    The BBC is to visit a school for teenage mums and another for Britain's most disturbed children in two films from Films of Record.

  • Britdoc invites pitches

    2-May-2008

    Applications have opened for British feature-length documentary pitches for this year's Britdoc event.

  • C4.com launches catch-up service

    1-May-2008

    Channel 4 has made the first step towards winding down its 4oD service ahead of the launch of multi-broadcaster venture Kangaroo by adding free catch-ups on its main channel4.com website.

  • C4 website to find best food shops

    1-May-2008

    Channel 4 is to build on its Big Food Fight season with a website that aims to become a people's guide to the UK's favourite food shops and restaurants.

  • Airey's return to Five will provide ‘Grade-style boost'

    30-Apr-2008

    Five's staff could greet Dawn Airey's return with something like the euphoria that enveloped Michael Grade when he rejoined ITV, sources close to the broadcaster predict.

  • C4 follows families in gap year travel

    30-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 is to follow four families who give up their domestic lifestyle to embark on life-changing journeys in a new format from the makers of Brat Camp.

  • BBC2 to air fight over wind farm

    30-Apr-2008

    BBC2 will chart the construction of a controversial wind farm in Devon and its impact upon the local community in a three-part documentary series.

  • Guitar heroes to appear in Imagine three-parter

    30-Apr-2008

    Rock stars Pete Townsend, Johnny Marr and Iggy Pop will wax lyrical about their love of guitars in a three-part special edition of BBC1 arts strand Imagine.

  • Century to film Aboriginal ‘musical doc'

    30-Apr-2008

    Century Films' “documentary musical” format, which includes the likes of Feltham Sings and Songbirds, has won a commission from Australian broadcaster SBS to tackle Aboriginal rights.

  • C4 not embarrassed by Bodies

    30-Apr-2008

    Embarrassing Bodies has eclipsed Hollyoaks to become the biggest driver to Channel 4's website just days after its debut, accounting for more than a third of web traffic.

  • C4 education team looking for more games

    30-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 plans to focus on games for its education slate in 2009 following the launch of this spring's City of Vice web spin-off Bow Street Runners and a game linked to US animation Afterworld.

  • Made-for-mobile chat show transfers to ITV2

    30-Apr-2008

    ITV's first made-for-mobile chat show, The Hot Desk, is to transfer to ITV2, which will premiere 10 new episodes from the end of this month.

  • BBC unveils new Imagine series

    30-Apr-2008

    BBC1 arts strand Imagine has lined up profiles of Japanese author Haruki Murakami, Nobel Prize novelist Doris Lessing and film director Werner Herzog for its latest run.

  • Lighting's future in doubt

    29-Apr-2008

    Jane Lighting's future at Five is in doubt after it emerged that Dawn Airey is to take on a combined role of chief executive and chair.

  • Airey appointment casts doubt on Lighting's future

    29-Apr-2008

    Jane Lighting's future at Five is in doubt after it emerged that Dawn Airey is to take on a combined role of chief executive and chair.

  • Airey appointment casts doubt on Lighting's future

    29-Apr-2008

    Jane Lighting's future at Five is in doubt after it emerged that Dawn Airey is to take on a combined role of chief executive and chair.

  • Dawn Airey quits ITV

    29-Apr-2008

    Dawn Airey has quit ITV to take a senior role at media group RTL that will see her become chair and chief executive of Five.

  • C4 orders teen campaign series

    29-Apr-2008

    Teenagers are to campaign about local and global issues for a cross-platform project commissioned by Channel 4.

  • Zattoo signs up terrestrials

    29-Apr-2008

    Zattoo, the web service that streams live TV on PCs, is offering UK viewers the chance to watch all five terrestrial channels.

  • BBC admits misleading interviewee

    25-Apr-2008

    The BBC has admitted breaching its editorial standards after a “naïve” in-house production team misled a contributor to the BBC3 documentary Amy: My Body for Bucks.

  • South Asian VoD set to launch in UK

    24-Apr-2008

    A video-on-demand service for the UK's 2.2 million South Asians, featuring content from broadcasters such as Star, Sony and Zee TV, is set to launch by the end of this year.

  • Multiplatform distribution is media's 'biggest challenge'

    24-Apr-2008

    Distribution models, funding and creativity are the biggest challenges for broadcasters seeking to work across different platforms and with other media companies, according to a survey commissioned by Broadcast.

  • Tough ad market will push us into the red, admits C4

    23-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 expects programme costs to stabilise this year after escalating by 3% in 2007, but has warned that a tougher advertising market will move the broadcaster into the red.

  • Dragons' Den star to front smoking doc

    23-Apr-2008

    Dragons' Den panellist Duncan Bannatyne is to turn investigative reporter for BBC2's This World strand.

  • Salary of C4's Andy Duncan doubles to£1.2m

    23-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan doubled his pay to£1.2m last year after receiving three years' worth of loyalty payments.

  • Marr to study Darwin for BBC2 series

    23-Apr-2008

    Bafta-winner Andrew Marr's next big project will be a series on Charles Darwin's theories for BBC2.

  • Heroes creator: US will take shorter UK drama

    23-Apr-2008

    British drama producers are set to benefit from an increasing appetite among US broadcasters for shorter seasons, according to the creator of Heroes.

  • Baz: Divert public funds online

    23-Apr-2008

    Public funds should be diverted into a new public service web platform and search engine rather than allocated to specific broadcasters, according to Peter Bazalgette.

  • KateModern to cross with LonelyGirl15

    21-Apr-2008

    Bebo's online drama KateModern is to crossover with the US format that inspired it, LonelyGirl15, over the next two weeks.

  • Baftas of the Underdog

    21-Apr-2008

    This year's Baftas celebrated the talents of the underdog, according to Robin Parker.

  • North One talks F1 with BBC

    21-Apr-2008

    North One in talks with the BBC about continuing to produce Formula 1 coverage when TV rights to the championship return to the corporation next year.

  • Harry Hill making spoof soap

    21-Apr-2008

    ITV1 has commissioned Bafta-winning comic Harry Hill to make a spoof soap opera series.

  • Broadcast goes to the Baftas

    21-Apr-2008

    Broadcast witnessed some especially strange sights at this year's Bafta awards.

  • Marr to front new history series

    21-Apr-2008

    Andrew Marr is to follow his Bafta-winning History of Modern Britain with a series covering the country's political and social events from 1900 to 1945.

  • C4 launches producer training

    21-Apr-2008

    Ten TV producers are to shadow Channel 4 commissioners as part of a training scheme the broadcaster has set up with Skillset and The Research Centre.

  • Gavin & Stacey laugh all the way to the Baftas

    21-Apr-2008

    BBC3 comedy Gavin & Stacey and ITV entertainment format Harry Hill's TV Burp were the big winners at last night's Bafta TV Awards.

  • BT Vision unveils new movie channel

    18-Apr-2008

    BT's on-demand service BT Vision is to offer movies including Atonement and The Bourne Ultimatum on a new premium subscription channel.

  • Crane to retrace Britannia quest

    16-Apr-2008

    Geography expert Nick Crane is to follow his Bafta-winning Great British Journeys with an epic 2,500-mile odyssey across Britain and Ireland for BBC2.

  • Real Crime back on ITV1 with Austin

    16-Apr-2008

    ITV1 is reviving its Real Crime strand after a three-year gap and will feature ITV News anchor Mark Austin as its first ever presenter.

  • C4 doc recreates Asian fashion sweat shop

    16-Apr-2008

    Vanity Lair host Alexa Chung has turned sweat shop owner in a Channel 4 single doc that attempts to uncover the story behind cheap clothes.

  • Wall to Wall cinema doc to run in UK

    16-Apr-2008

    Wall to Wall's first cinema documentary, Man on Wire, has secured a UK theatrical release through Icon Film Distribution.

  • CBBC to put kids to the test in game show

    16-Apr-2008

    CBBC is to put children through a series of mental and physical challenges in a new gameshow.

  • Eureka!: The story behind an idea

    16-Apr-2008

    Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller explains why his detective show is all about intimacy.

  • ITV4 lines up McNab for ‘macho' schedule

    16-Apr-2008

    ITV4 has enlisted the services of Andy McNab, Vinnie Jones and Ashes to Ashes' Gene Hunt, Philip Glenister, to inject some testosterone to its schedule.

  • Outline hires Maverick exec

    16-Apr-2008

    Outline Productions has hired Maverick's head of development Kelly Frankel to head up its own development slate.

  • Ashes to Ashes going 'darker'

    16-Apr-2008

    The creators of Ashes to Ashes have promised mystery and darkness when it returns next year, after being forced to compromise on the tone of the first series.

  • Behind the news: Ofcom PSB review

    15-Apr-2008

    The Ofcom PSB review isn't really about the BBC but what role the other broadcasters will play. Robin Parker gauges feelings in the industry.

  • C4 ramps up diversity scheme

    15-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 has combined its disability and diversity trainee schemes for an expanded initiative with 18 places up for grabs.

  • Kangaroo role for C4's Lush

    15-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 head of product management Cosmo Lush has been seconded to the multi-broadcaster TV-on-demand service Project Kangaroo.

  • FHM.com to show Paramount Comedy clips

    15-Apr-2008

    Men's lifestyle website FHM.com is to feature clips from Paramount Comedy's stand-up series The World Stands Up following a deal with digital distributor MoMedia International.

  • Tesco planning download service

    15-Apr-2008

    Supermarket chain Tesco plans to offer TV downloads on a rival service to Apple's iTunes set for launch next month.

  • ITV on-demand to go global

    15-Apr-2008

    ITV is to offer its archive on-demand over the web to international broadcasters in partnership with BT.

  • Brooker writes E4 zombie series

    14-Apr-2008

    Screenwipe presenter and Guardian columnist Charlie Brooker has penned E4's first horror series.

  • ITV to skip Pushing Daisies episode

    14-Apr-2008

    ITV has no plans to show the second episode of its new US import Pushing Daisies, it has emerged.

  • BBC to survey future of PSB

    11-Apr-2008

    The BBC is to survey British indies and its in-house production teams about the future of public service programming as it prepares its submission to Ofcom's second PSB review.

  • C4 urges quick decision on PSB model

    10-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 has urged Ofcom to consider pushing through a future model for public service broadcasting even earlier than the regulator's revised deadline to 2011.

  • C4 to launch alternate reality game

    10-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 is to unveil its first alternate reality game to tie in with cult US sci-fi animation Afterworld.

  • Ofcom: UK needs new PSB system by 2011

    9-Apr-2008

    Ofcom has called for a new public service broadcasting system to be rushed in by 2011 - three years before existing commercial PSB licences come to an end.

  • Eureka!: In search of the perfect partner

    9-Apr-2008

    David Renwick's marriage inspired Love Soup, but he had to write himself out of series two.

  • Blinkx signs up Five News and Hit

    9-Apr-2008

    Five's news output and children's brands owned by Hit Entertainment will be available on video search engine Blinkx.

  • Watson to probe TV exploitation

    9-Apr-2008

    Paul Watson has penned a BBC Radio 4 drama about exploitation in the television industry - as he begins filming on what he calls his last major TV documentary.

  • C4 hires new media exec

    8-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 has poached Virgin Media's head of content strategy and business development to oversee its new media strategy.

  • Brightcove to help channels upload shows to Bebo

    8-Apr-2008

    Online TV platform Brightcove has teamed up with Bebo to help media partners including Channel 4 and ITV to upload content onto the social network.

  • Blog: A cult show in ITV primetime?

    4-Apr-2008

    With its fairytale trappings, Technicolor sheen and a supernaturally blessed and cursed piemaker as its lead character, Pushing Daisies has “cult” stamped all over it, writes Robin Parker.

  • ER granted one final season

    4-Apr-2008

    Medical drama ER is to end after its next season, US network NBC has announced.

  • Critics slam ITV regional plans

    4-Apr-2008

    Campaigners hoping to save regional news programmes in ITV Borders and Tyne Tees North East have criticised ITV's revised proposals to consolidate its regional structure.

  • C4 launch classifieds site

    4-Apr-2008

    Channel 4 is to launch its first online classifieds website on the back of property show A Place in the Sun.

  • Doctor Who moving to later slot

    4-Apr-2008

    Doctor Who is to move to a later slot midway through its current run amid controversy over the BBC's decision to schedule the opening episode at 6.20pm.

  • Bebo drama pulls over 5m

    4-Apr-2008

    Social networking site Bebo's latest interactive drama Sofia's Diary has attracted more than 5 million views in its first two weeks.

  • ITV1 vows to air more primetime local news

    2-Apr-2008

    ITV1 has bowed to pressure from viewers and MPs with a pledge to provide more peaktime local news under its planned regional newsroom restructure.

  • ITV aims to bolster online views with Corrie e-zine

    2-Apr-2008

    ITV is attempting to drive more traffic to itv.com by sending a weekly Coronation Street round-up to 500,000 viewers.

  • C4 in Christian follow-up to Muslim doc

    2-Apr-2008

    Six volunteers will attempt to live by strict Christian principles in Channel 4's follow-up series to last year's Make Me a Muslim.

  • Barnicoat resurfaces at Somethin' Else

    2-Apr-2008

    Former Endemol operating officer Tom Barnicoat has joined cross-platform indie Somethin' Else as a non-executive director.

  • 4Talent selects drama winner

    2-Apr-2008

    A 25-year-old first-time writer has won a competition to have her debut script turned into a C4 drama as part of the broadcaster's new talent month.

  • Michelle Ryan to star in ITV1 drama

    1-Apr-2008

    Former EastEnders stars Michelle Ryan and Sean Maguire are to return to British TV this autumn in a two-part ITV1 romantic comedy drama.

  • ITV Broadband boss quits

    1-Apr-2008

    ITV Broadband managing director Annelies Van Den Belt is to leave the broadcaster after just 15 months to run the Russian online publisher Sup.

  • Skins dump the whole cast

    28-Mar-2008

    The creators of Skins have confirmed that they are looking for an entirely new cast when the teen series returns to E4 and Channel 4 next year.

  • Russell T Davies slams BBC schedulers

    28-Mar-2008

    Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies has accused BBC1 of 'cocking up' the scheduling of the show, claiming it will lose 1.5m viewers in its new timeslot.

  • Armstrong and Miller set up indie

    26-Mar-2008

    Comedians Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller have set up their own production company, Toff Media.

  • Torchwood to make radio debut on R4

    26-Mar-2008

    BBC2 sci-fi drama Torchwood is to make its radio debut this summer with a one-off special episode for BBC Radio 4.

  • Torchwood to make radio debut on R4

    26-Mar-2008

    BBC2 sci-fi drama Torchwood is to make its radio debut this summer with a one-off special episode for BBC Radio 4.

  • Blair tackles gun and knife crime for C4

    26-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 has signed up Cherie Blair to chair a commission investigating street weapons as part of a forthcoming season devoted to gun and knife crime.

  • Bellamy 'disappointed' with green doc

    26-Mar-2008

    Head of Channel 4 Julian Bellamy has said he was “disappointed” with the recent three-part documentary series The Woman Who Stopped Traffic.

  • Oscar-winner to star in C4 drama

    26-Mar-2008

    Hollywood actor William Hurt is to star in a feature-length Channel 4 thriller about the end of apartheid.

  • Fresh comedy talent to bow on C4's The Nightly Show

    26-Mar-2008

    Objective is to hoping to showcase the next generation of comedy talent in a topical new series for Channel 4.

  • Big chef to transform Little Chef

    26-Mar-2008

    Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is to attempt to transform the fortunes of the Little Chef restaurant chain in a Back to the Floor-style series for Channel 4.

  • Gok Wan to front his own Clothes Show

    26-Mar-2008

    How to Look Good Naked presenter Gok Wan is to front a weekly studio-based fashion show for Channel 4 as part of its spring/summer season.

  • BBC dominates Bafta Craft nods

    26-Mar-2008

    The BBC has grabbed more than half of this year's Bafta Craft Awards nominations, with costume drama Cranford leading the way with seven nods.

  • ITV's Commander to return

    25-Mar-2008

    ITV1 has ordered a fifth season of Lynda la Plante drama The Commander.

  • Content Focus: Anime central and True Movies

    24-Mar-2008

    Digital channels Anime Central and True Movies have websites that provide news, clips and debate.

  • US Shootout pilot lands top producer

    19-Mar-2008

    Pushing Daisies executive producer and Hollywood director Barry Sonnenfeld is set to direct the broadcast pilot of a US remake of Suburban Shootout for HBO.

  • C4 to air Shannon special

    19-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 is to broadcast a Cutting Edge special on the disappearance of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews, featuring exclusive access to her family.

  • C4 tight-lipped over PSB funding options

    18-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 has secured Ofcom's backing for protection of its public service remit, but refuses to be drawn on which funding options it favours to protect its future.

  • C4 lines up two more extreme body docs

    18-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 is to continue its fascination with people with extreme physiques with a follow-up to ratings success Half-Ton Mum and a series in which Balls of Steel star Mark Dolan spends time with the world's smallest man and tallest woman, writes Robin Parker.

  • Endemol takes digital stake

    18-Mar-2008

    Endemol UK has taken a 40% stake in digital production company Pure Grass Films.

  • Tributes follow Minghella death

    18-Mar-2008

    Film and TV writer/director Anthony Minghella has died at the age of 54, less than a week before the premiere of his latest TV project, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

  • C4 debuts on iTunes

    18-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 shows including Skins and Shameless are available on iTunes for the first time from today.

  • Dawkins tackles Darwin for C4

    18-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 is lining up new documentaries from biologist Richard Dawkins and investigative journalist Jon Ronson as part of its specialist factual slate for spring/summer.

  • OSF merge with Southern Star Factual

    18-Mar-2008

    Science and natural history indie Oxford Scientific Films has merged with the Australian factual entertainment division of its parent company Southern Star.

  • New Freud drama-doc in production

    18-Mar-2008

    Factual indies Off The Fence Productions and Psychology News Productions have signed a one-year co-production deal for two TV projects, including a film tracing how Sigmund Freud fled the Nazis.

  • A brave new world for C4

    17-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 has overhauled its attitude to the web with plans to pour millions into digital PSB projects. Now the online community is hoping for some bold decisions from the broadcaster.

  • ITV Global names COO

    17-Mar-2008

    ITV has beefed up its global content division with the appointment of Fox executive Lee Bartlett as chief operating officer.

  • Hollyoaks to host T4 music show

    14-Mar-2008

    Bands including The Guillemots and One Night Only are to perform on the set of Hollyoaks for a T4 music special that Channel 4 is considering turning into a returning format.

  • ITV lands F1 online rights

    14-Mar-2008

    ITV has won the online rights to stream live coverage of the Formula 1 motor racing season ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

  • C4 hunts diversity champion

    14-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 is to give a commissioning editor specific responsibility for multicultural programmes as part of a wider scheme to improve the diversity of its output.

  • Sony acquires Millionaire owner

    13-Mar-2008

    Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is the latest gameshow format to come under Sony's control after the media group's production arm agreed to buy Dutch indie 2waytraffic.

  • Bazalgette buys stake in DRM group

    13-Mar-2008

    Peter Bazalgette has chosen a company that is “part distributor, part rent collector” for web and mobile video clips as the first of his planned investment portfolio of digital start-ups.

  • Blinkbox.com to double TV content in new deals

    13-Mar-2008

    Video download and clips website blinkbox.com is to more than double its TV content ahead of its full launch next month by signing deals with a terrestrial broadcaster and two super-indies.

  • C4 to pump£10m into kids output

    12-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 has ring-fenced£10m to spend on programmes for 10-to 15 year-olds over the next two years - with a flagship drama series set to take centre stage.

  • Richards: C4 must flesh out online plan

    12-Mar-2008

    Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has pledged his support for Channel 4 to remain part publicly funded, but warned that the broadcaster must articulate how it can meet its remit online.

  • C4 to recount eyewitness 7/7 stories

    12-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 is to mark the third anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings with two films from the perspective of members of the public caught up in the events.

  • Ofcom scraps PSP plans

    12-Mar-2008

    Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has finally buried the idea of a public service publisher (PSP) after more than three years.

  • C4 gets back to Abbey Road

    11-Mar-2008

    Jazz legend Herbie Hancock is to perform with rising soul star Corinne Bailey Rae in the next series of Channel 4 music strand Live at Abbey Road.

  • Five to air 'newsround' on Myspace

    11-Mar-2008

    Five News is to broadcast a daily youth-oriented news bulletin on a branded MySpace channel.

  • Switch calls on viewers to make drama episodes

    11-Mar-2008

    BBC Switch has commissioned an experimental cross-platform series that will encourage aspiring film-makers to submit their own episodes based on the first few instalments of a drama.

  • ITV signs with Bebo

    10-Mar-2008

    ITV is to distribute programmes including acquisition Gossip Girl on Bebo, four months after rival broadcasters signed up to the social network.

  • MacKenzie teams with Baz for online venture

    10-Mar-2008

    Peter Bazalgette and Kelvin MacKenzie are backing a start-up venture that aims to help video content producers to manage their rights on digital platforms.

  • Reality stars win payout

    7-Mar-2008

    Contestants on the French version of reality show Temptation Island have won the right to strike and paid overtime following a legal challenge.

  • BBC casts Victor 'Spelldrew' in Merlin

    7-Mar-2008

    Richard Wilson is to star in a 13-part drama about King Arthur and Merlin that BBC1 is lining up for a Saturday teatime slot.

  • Second term for School for Cooks

    7-Mar-2008

    ITV1 has ordered a second run of RDF daytime cookery show Rosemary Shrager's School for Cooks.

  • Lee quits Five for C4

    6-Mar-2008

    Ralph Lee has returned to Channel 4 to head its specialist factual department just six months after joining Five.

  • itv.com to break even

    6-Mar-2008

    ITV Local and itv.com will both break even this year the broadcaster said, as it takes steps to improve its online ad strategy ahead of the launch of cross-industry VoD service Kangaroo.

  • Eyeworks hires Evans to raise factual profile

    6-Mar-2008

    Eyeworks UK has hired Richard Evans, the man behind Channel 4 format Country House Rescue, to head its popular factual development slate.

  • C4 orders web clips of hit teen show

    5-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 and Tern TV are to create an iPlayer-style viewing platform showing spin-off content from educational show KNTV.

  • Grade defends Shaps' schedule

    5-Mar-2008

    ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has launched a staunch defence of the new-look ITV1 schedule, insisting he will not be “a slave to the overnights”.

  • Omaar to front three-part Dispatches

    5-Mar-2008

    Rageh Omaar is to explore Britain's attitudes towards immigration in a three-part Dispatches special for Channel 4 to mark the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell's “rivers of blood” speech.

  • Maverick launches science channel

    5-Mar-2008

    Maverick Television has teamed up with the University of Warwick to launch an online science TV channel.

  • ITV calls for Mumbai sitcom

    5-Mar-2008

    ITV1 has ordered a full series of Sanjeev Bhaskar call centre comedy Mumbai Calling for the autumn following a one-off pilot last year.

  • Commissioning Focus: Have broadcasters found the plot?

    4-Mar-2008

    After the success of Kate Modern, broadcasters are beginning to see how they can create online dramas which are much more than spin-offs of existing TV shows.

  • Endemol hits back at Equity

    4-Mar-2008

    Endemol has hit back at accusations from actors' union Equity that it should have paid contestants who took part in BBC1 tribute act show The One and Only.

  • BBC leads RTS nominations

    3-Mar-2008

    The BBC is leading the running for the annual RTS awards, with 39 nominations.

  • YouTube going live

    3-Mar-2008

    Video-sharing website YouTube plans to offer live channels this year in a bid to take on traditional broadcasters.

  • Morrissey brews new C4 series

    3-Mar-2008

    Channel 4 has commissioned a series following Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey's attempts to set up his own brewery.

  • NY-LON going Stateside

    29-Feb-2008

    Channel 4's 2004 translatlantic drama NY-LON is to be remade for US network CBS. The channel has ordered Pangea Management Group, RDF USA's scripted arm, to produce a pilot, which is the first network show for the division.

  • Singer to replace Elstein on advisory body

    29-Feb-2008

    Former Telewest and Flextech chief executive Adam Singer is to chair advisory body the British Screen Advisory Council.

  • BBC hires Ofcom director for chief audience role

    29-Feb-2008

    The BBC has recruited Ofcom director Helen Normoyle as head of audiences, replacing Chris Mundy who is leaving to be managing director of Clearcast.

  • Outnumbered set for US

    29-Feb-2008

    BBC1 comedy Outnumbered is to be remade for a US audience after Fox ordered a pilot episode from Hat Trick. The UK indie has teamed up with US TV finance specialist Media Rights Capital for the remake. It was ordered by Fox Broadcasting Company's entertainment president Kevin Riley, the former NBC president of entertainment who commissioned the US remake of The Office and also greenlit Heroes.

  • Hincks named Endemol UK chief exec

    29-Feb-2008

    Endemol UK has promoted Tim Hincks to chief executive, the first person to have held the role in three years.

  • Lion produces video content for InStyle site

    28-Feb-2008

    US glossy celebrity magazine InStyle has commissioned indie Lion Television to produce a monthly package of videos for its website.

  • Indies hail Fincham appointment

    28-Feb-2008

    Peter Fincham's move to ITV has been welcomed by the independent production sector, which expects his mainstream programming touch to go down well.

  • BBC4 takes on sketch show born on BBC3

    27-Feb-2008

    BBC4 has commissioned a three-part sketch show series from indie Angel Eye that was originally destined for BBC3.

  • C4 set for 'high-impact docs' as Mykura takes coveted job

    27-Feb-2008

    Channel 4 will be looking for agenda-setting documentaries that deliver “a mighty roar” under the department's new head, Hamish Mykura.

  • C4 takes libel action against police

    27-Feb-2008

    Channel 4 and Hardcash Productions are seeking up to£150,000 in damages in a libel claim against the police and CPS over their inquiry into Dispatches doc Undercover Mosque.

  • Bebo to run Kate Modern finale as ‘event' day

    27-Feb-2008

    Online social network Bebo is to attempt to emulate the “watercooler effect” of linear event TV by running the 13 episodes of the second series of Kate Modern in one day

  • Renegade recruits Johnstone

    27-Feb-2008

    Factual indie Renegade Pictures has hired the maker of Channel 4's upcoming Stephen Hawking documentary series to help it secure international specialist factual co-productions.

  • CBBC orders bug show

    27-Feb-2008

    CBBC1 has invited young viewers to get up close and personal with “mini-beasts” in a Life in the Undergrowth-style children's series.

  • Marven hunts jaguars for Five doc

    27-Feb-2008

    Wildlife presenter Nigel Marven goes in search of the biggest jaguars in the world for his latest series for Five.

  • Skins helps 4oD top 100m

    27-Feb-2008

    Streams and downloads on Channel 4's video on demand service 4oD have broken through the 100 million barrier.

  • One in three confused about switchover

    27-Feb-2008

    Almost a third of the UK does not understand that they will need some form of digital equipment to continue to receive broadcast television after 2012, the National Audit Office has warned.

  • Golden Balls wins extension

    25-Feb-2008

    ITV1 has ordered an expanded run of 80 editions of Jasper Carrott's daytime gameshow Golden Balls.

  • Disney boosts online viewers

    25-Feb-2008

    Disney's UK website has grown its monthly traffic by 42% to more than 3 million since its relaunch in December.

  • Mykura lands C4 head of docs role

    25-Feb-2008

    Channel 4 has named Hamish Mykura as its new head of documentaries.

  • Whicker returns to BBC

    25-Feb-2008

    The BBC is to celebrate the career of veteran TV presenter Alan Whicker in a four-part series.

  • New chief named at R5 Live

    22-Feb-2008

    The BBC has promoted deputy director of news Adrian Van Klaveren to controller of BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC 5 Live Sports Extra.

  • Whizz Kid buys into distributor

    22-Feb-2008

    Whizz Kid, the producer of the Baftas, is to take a controlling stake in TV distribution and fund-raising company Precious Media after receiving a£2m cash injection from investor Ingenious.

  • John Suchet honoured by RTS

    21-Feb-2008

    Former Five and ITN newsreader John Suchet and BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston were recognised for their contribution to broadcast journalism at last night's Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards.

  • C4 to shed 20,000 music videos from site

    20-Feb-2008

    Channel 4 is to lose more than 20,000 music videos from its website after the company supplying them went into administration.

  • Apple expansion for iplayer

    20-Feb-2008

    The BBC is to launch iPlayer on to Apple's iPhones and iTouch in the next few weeks and has also signed content deals with Yahoo!, MSN and Blinkx.

  • Boseley exits BBC to take Optomen role

    20-Feb-2008

    The commissioner behind BBC powerhouse brands including Top Gear, Watchdog and Crimewatch has left the corporation after two years to join Optomen.

  • BBC3 nets comedy pilots

    20-Feb-2008

    BBC3 has commissioned three 30-minute one-off comedies from Angel Eye, The Comedy Unit and Jones the Film with a view to developing full-length series.

  • BBC orders superhero animation

    20-Feb-2008

    The team behind Bafta-nominated CBBC website Me and My Movie has won its first cross-platform BBC commission.

  • Call Girl is most-watched show on ITV.com

    20-Feb-2008

    An episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl is the most watched full-length programme on ITV.com since the site's£20m relaunch in August last year.

  • Roberts sells October stake to focus on feature films

    20-Feb-2008

    October Films founder Tom Roberts has left the company after almost 20 years to focus on directing his own feature films.

  • Five reveals secrets of T5 in superstructure series

    20-Feb-2008

    Five is to tell the story of the construction of Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 in a new series dedicated to the secrets of superstructures.

  • Blog: Virgin will be the real test for iPlayer

    20-Feb-2008

    On-demand TV will come of age once broadcasters get their catch-up services onto digital TV platforms, writes Robin Parker.

  • Ofcom proposes gambling changes

    20-Feb-2008

    Ofcom is proposing to reclassify all TV dating and gambling channels as teleshopping services.

  • Grown Up kids show spins off

    20-Feb-2008

    Kids indie Handle and Spout is to make a spin-off of pre-school kids' show Go and Get a Grown Up.

  • BBC iPlayer to go mobile

    20-Feb-2008

    The BBC is to launch iPlayer onto Apple's iPhones and iTouch in the next few weeks and has signed content deals with Yahoo!, MSN and Blinkx.

  • Ofcom toughens participation TV rules

    19-Feb-2008

    Broadcasters will need to gain a green light from independent third parties before launching premium rate voting and competitions from June, Ofcom has announced.

  • Nick Ross returns to crime

    19-Feb-2008

    Nick Ross is to return to the factual crime genre to explore the history and archive of the world's oldest crime museum.

  • BBC uploads new shows to iTunes

    19-Feb-2008

    BBC shows including Ashes to Ashes and The Mighty Boosh are to be available to buy and download via Apple's iTunes store in the UK for the first time.

  • Bafta entries to be viewed over the net

    18-Feb-2008

    All programmes enterered for Bafta awards are to be streamed online for the academy's members for the first time.

  • Blog: Do you work too many hours?

    15-Feb-2008

    The TUC is urging media professionals to boycott working unpaid overtime next Friday, but will it make any difference asks Robin Parker.

  • TUC calls for overtime boycott

    15-Feb-2008

    Broadcasters and journalists are being urged to refuse to work overtime next Friday in protest at the estimated£6,000 in unpaid overtime worked by media professionals.

  • Guto Harri quits BBC for PR

    14-Feb-2008

    BBC political correspondent Guto Harri is to leave the corporation after more than a decade to join PR firm Fleishman-Hillard as a senior policy adviser.

  • BBC3 greenlights Phoo Action series

    14-Feb-2008

    BBC3 has ordered a full run of tongue-in-cheek kung-fu drama Phoo Action just days after broadcasting its pilot.

  • C4 asks customers to turn round firms

    13-Feb-2008

    Channel 4 is to fight back against bad customer service for a new Back to the Floor-style factual entertainment series that it hopes to turn into a returning format.

  • Hartswood to make fly on the ball show

    13-Feb-2008

    BBC2 has commissioned Hartswood Films to make a mock-umentary comedy series about a junior football team.

  • Nuts show shoots on mobile phones

    13-Feb-2008

    Nuts TV has commissioned its first multiplatform programming to be shot on mobile phone for a format that it plans to turn into an ongoing 'diaries' strand.

  • Studio comedy in demand from BBC

    13-Feb-2008

    The BBC is calling for more traditional studio-based sitcoms and wants to run around four a year on BBC2.

  • ITV orders first toon for mobile

    13-Feb-2008

    A sketch show in the Little Britain mould is ITV's first original made-for-mobile animation series.

  • Narrowstep names president

    8-Feb-2008

    Online TV company Narrowstep has promoted its European manager Barak Bar-Cohen to president and chief operating officer.

  • Blog: How racist is our industry?

    8-Feb-2008

    Comedian Lenny Henry has brought the acute lack of diversity in the TV industry back into the headlines. But how much difference will it actually make, asks Robin Parker.

  • Minority shortfall at ITV auditions

    8-Feb-2008

    Auditions for ITV1's forthcoming talent series Britannia High are failing to attract ethnic minorities, a senior ITV executive has revealed.

  • Henry attacks lack of diversity

    8-Feb-2008

    Lenny Henry has lambasted the TV industry for its failure to improve the ethnic mix of production crews and the contuining lack of mainstream entertainment shows fronted by black and Asian talent.

  • Commissioners share new media pitching tips

    6-Feb-2008

    Indies pitching multiplatform ideas must link their ideas to wider trends on the web and offer a clearer idea of how to keep content alive for longer, according to new media commissioners.

  • Bitesize BBC news snags new viewers

    6-Feb-2008

    BBC1's new 60-second 8pm news bulletin is attracting 1.7m viewers who do not watch any other BBC news programme, according to the corporation's own research.

  • BBC to attract half of online viewing

    6-Feb-2008

    BBC shows will account for nearly half of online viewing in the UK this year due to a lack of clear strategies among commercial broadcasters, according to a new report.

  • Analysts dubious on takeover talk for ITV

    6-Feb-2008

    Analysts are sceptical that ITV is a genuine takeover target despite its share price rallying on the back of bid rumours.

  • C4 crown new comedy heroes

    6-Feb-2008

    Channel 4 is to celebrate the comedy careers of Ricky Gervais, Sacha Baron Cohen, Matt Lucas and David Walliams in a series of documentaries.

  • Diverse expands senior team

    6-Feb-2008

    Diverse has hired factual producer Hannah Wesson in the new role of development executive as the indie continues to bolster its top level team.

  • Arthur Smith hunts new comedy for ITV

    5-Feb-2008

    Comedian Arthur Smith will showcase emerging comedy talent in the south-west in the first commission for new factual indie Machine Media.

  • BBC punts Super Bowl to iPlayer

    5-Feb-2008

    The BBC is offering American football fans to watch full coverage of last Sunday's Super Bowl game on iPlayer.

  • Theroux doc is iPlayer hit

    4-Feb-2008

    Louis Theroux Behind Bars accounted for more than a quarter of the viewings on BBC iPlayer on the day after it was broadcast on BBC2.

  • Babelgum appoints content buyer

    4-Feb-2008

    Online TV network Babelgum has appointed BT Vision's director of business affairs Mark Cranwell as its first director of content acquisition.

  • HD oversupply could reduce live sport production costs

    1-Feb-2008

    An insight into the future of sports broadcasting as discussed at the Broadcast Live and Video Forum conference.

  • Broadcast technicians told to adopt IT mindset

    1-Feb-2008

    Broadcast technicians have been warned of the need to adopt more of the 'process-driven' mindset of the IT industry if they are to manage the convergence of production technologies effectively.

  • Nominees unveiled for RTS TV Journalism Awards

    30-Jan-2008

    Al Jazeera English, BBC News 24 and Sky News are in the running for news channel of the year in this year's RTS Television Journalism Awards.

  • Chambers and Dickson vie for C4 head of docs role

    30-Jan-2008

    Channel 4 documentary commissioners Meredith Chambers and Simon Dickson and BBC factual execs including Nick Mirsky, Richard Klein and Ben Gale are the early favourites to become C4's next head of documentaries.

  • Dandy Films makes debut with BBC2 doc

    30-Jan-2008

    BBC2 is to track the lives of old-fashioned children's entertainers in the first documentary to be made by film-maker Daisy Asquith's new factual indie

  • Beadle to bring adult illiteracy to the fore

    30-Jan-2008

    The teacher who put unruly kids through their paces in Channel 4's The Unteachables is to tackle adult illiteracy for the channel

  • Sky seeks online drama for entertainment site

    30-Jan-2008

    Sky is looking for original online drama to appear on an entertainment portal which it will launch before the summer.

  • C4 raises its provocative voice

    30-Jan-2008

    Channel 4's 9pm slot has been overhauled as part of its creative renewal, with more campaigning and investigative seasons.

  • Online premiere for Skins

    30-Jan-2008

    E4 is once again to premiere the second series of teen drama Skins online, with the first episode set to appear on MySpace a week ahead ahead of its TV broadcast.

  • OFT kicks off ITV rights review

    30-Jan-2008

    Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading have embarked on a year-long review of ITV's contract rights renewal mechanism for advertisers.

  • C4 extends lifestyle formats

    29-Jan-2008

    Channel 4 has commissioned extended runs of hit formats Come Dine With Me and A Place in the Sun: Home or Away for later this year.

  • C4 give teens big break

    29-Jan-2008

    Four teenage first-time documentary makers have secured primetime slots for their shorts on Channel 4 and are now in talks to write for teen drama Skins.

  • Broomfield commits to C4

    28-Jan-2008

    Film-maker Nick Broomfield has signed a first-look deal with Channel 4, cementing a long-standing relationship with the broadcaster.

  • October Films hires daytime exec

    25-Jan-2008

    October Films is planning to expand into daytime TV with the appointment of its first production head with a specific remit for the slot.

  • BBC1 to give Little Dorrit the Bleak House treatment

    25-Jan-2008

    BBC1's appetite for period drama is to continue this year with an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit and a second run of Lark Rise to Candleford.

  • We Dig TV launches battle-of-the-sexes show

    24-Jan-2008

    Interactive quiz format website We Dig TV is to launch a battle-of-the-sexes gameshow linked to social networks.

  • Macqueen to exit C4

    23-Jan-2008

    Channel 4 head of documentaries Angus Macqueen is to leave the broadcaster after two years to return to film-making.

  • ...as Irish indies lobby government

    23-Jan-2008

    Independent producers in Northern Ireland are lobbying their government to join forces with the newly established Scottish Broadcasting Commission (SBC) to aid efforts to grow their share of UK network output from 0.1% to 3%.

  • C4's Bellamy hints at shift from 9pm for Big Brother

    23-Jan-2008

    Channel 4 is considering moving Big Brother to a later slot when it returns in the summer following the strong performance of new weeknight shows at 9pm.

  • Sky One to join after-dark police patrols

    23-Jan-2008

    Sky One will hit the streets with police officers on the night beat across the UK in a primetime factual entertainment series later this spring.

  • McCutcheon goes in search of beauty for UKTV Style

    23-Jan-2008

    Echo Beach star Martine McCutcheon is to travel to Paris to discover why it is home to some of the world's most beautiful women as part of a stripped body image strand for UKTV Style.

  • Nations' TV orders down almost 25%

    21-Jan-2008

    The UK's five terrestrial TV channels broadcast almost a quarter fewer programmes from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2006 than in the previous year, according to new research from Pact.

  • Ofcom to fast-track penalties for major breaches

    18-Jan-2008

    Ofcom has introduced new rules to ‘fast-track' penalties for the most serious breaches of its code following a spate of record fines last year.

  • Working Title reveals TV plans

    18-Jan-2008

    Working Title, the company behind hit movies such as Atonement and Bridget Jones' Diary, is planning a return to TV drama.

  • BBC Trust kicks off kids' review

    17-Jan-2008

    The BBC Trust has commissioned a major review of all of the corporation's services for children and young people, from CBeebies to BBC3.

  • Put audience first, urges Lyons

    17-Jan-2008

    BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons has made an impassioned plea to put the audience's needs at the heart of the public service broadcasting debate.

  • ITV plans major mobile push

    16-Jan-2008

    ITV is making its biggest push into original content for mobile phones, ordering its first sitcom for the platform and two animated series for later this year.

  • Glamour Girls exposes model truths for BBC3

    16-Jan-2008

    BBC3 is to take an insider's look at the modelling industry with a documentary series focusing on the agency that discovered Jordan.

  • Content Focus: Torchwood game

    16-Jan-2008

    Become part of the Torchwood team in the BBC's latest promotional push for the new series - an online game.

  • Content Focus: Torchwood game

    16-Jan-2008

    Become part of the Torchwood team in the BBC's latest promotional push for the new series - an online game.

  • Viewers back Langham interview

    16-Jan-2008

    Ofcom has received no viewer complaints over More4's broadcast of a controversial interview with disgraced actor Chris Langham last night.

  • Zodiak enters Indian TV market

    16-Jan-2008

    Zodiak Television, the Swedish super-indie that owns UK producer Diverse, has taken a stake in an Indian production company for the first time.

  • Channel X signs up to Blinkx

    16-Jan-2008

    Indie Channel X is among 13 companies to have signed distribution deals with video search engine Blinkx.

  • Disney UK head moves to Hong Kong

    15-Jan-2008

    Disney Channel UK is to get a new boss after managing director Rob Gilby was promoted to a senior role at the group's Asia-Pacific operation.

  • BBC iPlayer beats targets

    15-Jan-2008

    More than 3.5m programmes were streamed or downloaded on the BBC's iPlayer service over the Christmas period, with Doctor Who the most popular show.

  • Hat Trick wins US order

    14-Jan-2008

    Hat Trick is to produce a hidden-camera format for CBS in which contestants must compete for a cash prize by performing embarrassing tasks in public.

  • Widdecombe to front Telegraph TV show

    14-Jan-2008

    ITN has lined up former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe and ex-Masterchef host Loyd Grossman to present weekly online shows for Telegraph TV.

  • Blog: Has ITV overplayed its hand with Moving Wallpaper?

    14-Jan-2008

    Is ITV1 hedging its bets too far with its new-found appetite for interactive and self-referential dramas, wonders Robin Parker.

  • Longford cleans up at Golden Globes

    14-Jan-2008

    Channel 4 drama Longford won three major prizes at Hollywood's Golden Globe awards last night, including best mini-series or motion picture made for television.

  • BBC Switch hands Conker three multimedia projects

    9-Jan-2008

    BBC teen strand Switch has made its biggest cross-platform commission to date, with a 15-month deal for Lime Pictures offshoot Conker Media to deliver three multimedia projects.

  • C4 partners Darlow in Maddie film bid

    9-Jan-2008

    Channel 4 is attached to Darlow Smithson's proposed documentary about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Broadcast can reveal.

  • BBC iPlayer already one of UK's most visited sites

    9-Jan-2008

    The BBC iPlayer has become the 76th most visited website in the UK just weeks after its official launch.

  • Supernanny's Lee joins Mint

    9-Jan-2008

    Mint Digital, the company behind Shipwrecked social network spin-off Islandoo, is looking to move into TV production with the hiring of Supernanny producer Jeremy Lee

  • BBC News wary of UGC hijack threat

    9-Jan-2008

    The BBC must not let its appetite for citizen journalism dictate the news agenda, BBC newsroom head Peter Horrocks has said.

  • Guerrilla Group goes into administration

    9-Jan-2008

    Guerrilla Group, the company behind Sky One's first web-only commission, Abduct Me, has been placed into administration after failing to secure crucial external funding.

  • ITV beefs up web team

    8-Jan-2008

    ITV has bolstered its broadband management team by hiring IMG's director of new media production in a commissioning role.

  • China orders a Takeaway

    8-Jan-2008

    China is to get its own version of Ant and Dec's popular ITV1 entertainment show Saturday Night Takeaway.

  • Interview: Peter Bazalgette

    7-Jan-2008

    As the departing Endemol creative chief jumps off the Big Brother juggernaut, he tells Robin Parker why disgruntled TV staff should put up or shut up, what the BBC trustees did wrong and why convergence is nothing to be scared of.

  • Langham makes TV return

    7-Jan-2008

    Actor Chris Langham will discuss his conviction for downloading child pornography in a special edition of More4 show Shrink Rap.

  • Turner strikes triple mobile TV deal

    4-Jan-2008

    Men's channel Nuts TV and fellow Turner brands Adult Swim and Cartoon Network will all be launched on Sky's mobile platform.

  • BBC caps phone-in charges

    2-Jan-2008

    The BBC has capped premium-rate phone calls at 15p in a bid to restore viewers’ trust after last year’s competition scandals.

  • Setanta and Orange agree mobile terms for Premier League

    21-Dec-2007

    Barclays Premier League matches are to be broadcast live on mobile phones for the first time from this weekend in a deal agreed between Setanta and Orange.

  • C4 braced for six-figure phone-in fine

    20-Dec-2007

    Channel 4 is bracing itself for a six-figure fine from Ofcom this week as the regulator delivers its verdict on premium-rate phone-in problems on Richard & Judy and Deal or No Deal.

  • C4 braced for six-figure phone-in fine

    19-Dec-2007

    Channel 4 is bracing itself for a six-figure fine from Ofcom this week as the regulator delivers its verdict on premium-rate phone-in problems on Richard & Judy and Deal or No Deal

  • Bazalgette rules out another role in TV

    19-Dec-2007

    Peter Bazalgette will not take another job in TV and has confirmed plans to establish a portfolio of digital companies.

  • Ex-C4 man Cox will head radio review

    19-Dec-2007

    Former Channel 4 deputy chairman Barry Cox is to head the government’s review of digital radio take-up.

  • Young@Heart team to look at sibling incest

    19-Dec-2007

    The producer behind award-winning documentary Young@ Heart is to explore the taboo subject of brothers and sisters who fall in love for ITV1.

  • Dave to cover WRC in push for original shows

    19-Dec-2007

    UKTV channel Dave has struck its biggest original content deal since its October rebrand, snatching the UK rights to the World Rally Championships from ITV.

  • Clarkson leads iPlayer push

    18-Dec-2007

    BBC talent including Jeremy Clarkson and Sir David Attenborough will lead the corporation’s marketing push for the iPlayer, which has its full consumer launch on Christmas Day.

  • MySpace premiere for Shameless

    18-Dec-2007

    Channel 4 is to premiere the first episode of Shameless' fifth series on social network MySpace.

  • O2 to launch online TV service

    17-Dec-2007

    Mobile phone operator O2 is set to go head-to-head with former parent company BT and rival firm Tiscali with a UK online TV service next year.

  • Radio spectrum up for sale

    14-Dec-2007

    Ofcom is to auction off radio spectrum freed up through the digital television switchover in the first six months of 2009.

  • Brits shine in Globes nominations

    14-Dec-2007

    Ricky Gervais is up against Steve Carrell, who plays the hapless boss in the US version of The Office, in this year’s Golden Globes.

  • Hat Trick to produce trial of God drama

    12-Dec-2007

    Hat Trick Productions is making a one-off drama for BBC2 based on the true-life attempt by Auschwitz inmates to put God on trial.

  • Ofcom unveils kids guidelines

    12-Dec-2007

    Ofcom has published new guidance to help broadcasters comply with its code of practice on protecting children, singling out talent shows and live talk shows as areas of particular concern.

  • Magic Lantern's Lilley named Oxford professor

    12-Dec-2007

    Magic Lantern chief executive Anthony Lilley has been named Oxford University’s new visiting broadcast media professor, and will deliver what he claims is the university’s first user-generated lecture.

  • C4 utilises web to reach out to teens

    12-Dec-2007

    Digital media will account for two-thirds of Channel 4’s£6m budget for teen educational projects in 2008, with most cross-platform commissions starting online.

  • Liz Murdoch honoured at awards

    9-Dec-2007

    Shine chief executive Elisabeth Murdoch and actress and writer Julia Davis were among the winners at this year’s Women in Film and Television awards.

  • Tern scores doc hat-trick

    7-Dec-2007

    Tern Television has won three single documentary commissions from BBC Northern Ireland.

  • Bauer buys Emap radio and consumer divisions

    7-Dec-2007

    German publisher H Bauer is to buy Emap’s radio and consumer magazine businesses for£1.14bn in cash.

  • RDF victory in Clements non-compete court case

    5-Dec-2007

    RDF has claimed a “landmark” victory for super-indies after the High Court ruled against a bid by former employee Alan Clements to join rival SMG.

  • C4 hires Bringing Up Baby producer

    5-Dec-2007

    The executive producer of Channel 4’s controversial child-rearing series Bringing Up Baby has joined the broadcaster’s specialist factual commissioning team.

  • RDF wins court battle against Clements

    5-Dec-2007

    RDF has won its high court battle against Alan Clements to prevent the former employee from joining a rival until December 2008.

  • Italian soccer on Babelgum

    5-Dec-2007

    Babelgum has launched a Serie A Italian Football channel, offering highlights of Italy’s premier division.

  • Kate Modern airs in-flight

    5-Dec-2007

    Virgin Atlantic is to show Bebo’s online drama Kate Modern as part of its in-flight entertainment.

  • MTV auditions online

    5-Dec-2007

    MTV UK is hosting auditions for its next news presenter on MySpace.

  • VoD strategist quits C4

    5-Dec-2007

    Channel 4's chief strategist on the joint video-on-demand service Kangaroo, Rod Henwood, is to leave the broadcaster in April next year to pursue a new digital venture.

  • Content focus: Star Trek fan site

    5-Dec-2007

    Virgin 1 is using the obsessive nature of Star Trek fans to build an online community.

  • Channel 4 gets Carter

    5-Dec-2007

    Channel 4 has confirmed that acting viewers’ editor Paula Carter will take on the role full-time.

  • Echo Beach shorts signal next phase for itv.com

    5-Dec-2007

    Itv.com will host a 12-part series of online shorts linked to Kudos’ ITV1 dramas Echo Beach and Moving Wallpaper next month as part of plans to establish the site as the home of added value web-only content.

  • BBC cleared of blasphemy

    5-Dec-2007

    The BBC and indie Avalon have escaped prosecution for blasphemy over the screening of controversial musical Jerry Springer - The Opera in 2005.

  • Xfm founder lines up NME Radio

    4-Dec-2007

    Xfm co-founder Sammy Jacob is to spearhead a digital radio station spin-off of music magazine NME, set for launch next summer.

  • C4 in the clear over baby show

    3-Dec-2007

    Channel 4 did not put children at risk or offer misleading advice to parents in its factual entertainment series Bringing Up Baby, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Celebrity Predictions returns to C4

    3-Dec-2007

    Channel 4 is to rate the winners and losers of the showbusiness world in a third installment of tongue-in-cheek almanac show Celebrity Predictions.

  • Key Kangaroo exec to hop off

    30-Nov-2007

    Channel 4’s chief strategist on the joint video-on-demand service Kangaroo, Rod Henwood, is to leave the broadcaster just days after the it signed the deal with BBC Worldwide and ITV.

  • MTV recruiting presenter through Myspace

    30-Nov-2007

    MTV UK is hosting auditions for its next news presenter on MySpace.

  • Remedy wins Switch teen talk pilot

    28-Nov-2007

    Remedy Productions, the indie behind E4 Music, is to produce a pilot episode of a teen talk show for new BBC2 strand Switch.

  • New school Grange Hill set to target under-12s

    28-Nov-2007

    BBC children’s drama Grange Hill has ditched almost two-thirds of its cast as part of a Hollyoaks-style makeover to move the show away from its gritty roots in a bid to reach younger viewers.

  • Industry pays tribute to a drama pioneer

    28-Nov-2007

    The TV industry has paid tribute to prolific producer Verity Lambert, who died from cancer last week at the age of 71.

  • Verve signs first-look distribution deal

    28-Nov-2007

    C4I has signed a first-look deal with new factual indie Verve Productions.

  • WeDig aims for heart with gameshow

    28-Nov-2007

    Web-based interactive quiz show network WeDigTV has devised an online gameshow set inside the human body.

  • Broadcasters planning joint VoD service

    27-Nov-2007

    The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have confirmed long-mooted plans to launch a joint online video-on-demand service.

  • Nuts extends broadcast hours

    27-Nov-2007

    Nuts TV is to broadcast for 12 hours a day when it is launched on Sky and Virgin’s digital platforms in the spring.

  • FX to air MySpace videos

    26-Nov-2007

    Fox-owned channel FX is to air user-generated content from MySpace TV alongside shows such as Family Guy and The Newsroom in its Thursday night comedy line-up.

  • Pioneering producer Verity Lambert dies

    23-Nov-2007

    Verity Lambert, the producer of the original Doctor Who and the BBC’s first female TV producer, has died at the age of 71.

  • C4 to go behind the make-up of Dame Edna

    23-Nov-2007

    October Films is to offer a glimpse into the private life of the man behind Dame Edna Everage in a one-off documentary for Channel 4.

  • Unions to vote on BBC strike

    22-Nov-2007

    Broadcasting unions have agreed to ballot for industrial action over the corporation’s threat of compulsory redundancies, raising the possibility of strikes as soon as January.

  • BBC confused over strike ballot

    22-Nov-2007

    The BBC has expressed confusion over broadcasting unions’ decision to ballot for strike action over compulsory redundancies.

  • Diverse to invest in indie start-ups

    22-Nov-2007

    Diverse is set to become the UK’s next super-indie after Scandinavian owner Zodiak gave it the go-ahead to invest in at least three start-up indies over the next 12 months.

  • Purnell promises review to promote digital radio

    22-Nov-2007

    Culture secretary James Purnell has signalled the government’s clearest commitment yet to digital radio by kicking off a year-long review designed to increase take-up.

  • Jamie hits the campaign trail again for C4 series

    21-Nov-2007

    Jamie Oliver will try to change the eating habits of an entire town in his next major series for Channel 4.

  • Disabled film-makers shoot for glory on C4

    21-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 is to chart the progress of nine disabled novice film-makers in a 12-part series from Maverick Television and Resource Base.

  • Love meets UK’s youngest grandmothers

    21-Nov-2007

    A BBC3 documentary about the nation’s youngest grandmothers is the first commission from Love West, a new Bristol-based unit set up by Love Productions.

  • Eyeworks hires Shearman for fact ent role

    21-Nov-2007

    Eyeworks At It has beefed up its popular factual team by hiring RDF Television West head of factual entertainment Nick Shearman.

  • BBCW pioneers on-demand HD in Asia

    21-Nov-2007

    The BBC will become the first provider of on-demand HD content in Asia after commercial arm BBC Worldwide completed its biggest deal in the continent to date.

  • Dispatches editor commits to indie investigations

    21-Nov-2007

    Kevin Sutcliffe has pledged his support to indies producing hard-hitting docs for Dispatches after Ofcom cleared Channel 4 over complaints about its Undercover Mosque film.

  • Brand taking the mic for C4

    21-Nov-2007

    Russell Brand is to compere a one-off Saturday Night Live-style comedy show for Channel 4.

  • C4 tucks into food season

    21-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 is lining up specials featuring celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall as part of its two-week food season in January.

  • Interview: Roy Ackerman and Paul Sowerbutts

    20-Nov-2007

    Since being snapped up by Zodiak last year, Diverse has become just that, setting up indies away from its factual base.

  • C4 orders peace activist death drama

    20-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 is lining up a feature-length drama about the death of British peace activist Tom Hurndall for next spring.

  • Would I Lie to You recommissioned

    20-Nov-2007

    BBC1 has ordered a second series of the Zeppotron-produced comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?

  • NME TV to rock on Sky

    20-Nov-2007

    A 24-hour TV station based on music magazine NME is to launch on Sky this week.

  • C4 show

    19-Nov-2007

    BROADCAST NOW: BBC1's Cranford started its run with a sizeable 8m viewers (29.2%) last night at 9pm.

  • C4 attacks police handling of Dispatches

    19-Nov-2007

    Channel 4’s deputy head of news and current affairs has accused police of legitimising Muslim extremists after an inquiry was launched into an edition of Dispatches.

  • BBC2’s Natural World goes on the hunt with Indian tigers

    15-Nov-2007

    Filming a tiger catch its prey, one of natural history film-making’s toughest challenges, is to be the subject of an edition of BBC2’s Natural World.

  • Bebo to offer free TV content clips

    15-Nov-2007

    Bebo’s repositioning as an entertainmentbased online community took a major leap forward this week with broadcasters and production companies signed up to provide thousands of hours of programming free of charge to the network’s 40 million users.

  • Horrocks points to early BBC newsroom benefits

    14-Nov-2007

    BBC newsroom head Peter Horrocks is braced for industrial action over the cuts within BBC news, but has insisted the majority of staff support the corporation’s fledgling multi-media newsroom.

  • Border viewers primed for analogue shutdown

    14-Nov-2007

    Digital switchover body Digital UK has begun advising residents in the Scottish Border region in anticipation of switching off the analogue signal in the region in November 2008.

  • Gecko wins two orders for hard-hitting docs

    14-Nov-2007

    Gecko Productions is to produce a doc about homeless ex-services personnel for BBC1.

  • C4 orders doc about Jesus’ other lives

    14-Nov-2007

    Documentary-maker David Batty is to follow last year’s controversial The Secret Jesus Family with a film exploring the parallels between the Christian interpretation of Jesus Christ and major figures in other religions.

  • Dicks to head Somethin’ Else interactive

    14-Nov-2007

    Indie Somethin’ Else has hired the man behind the BBC’s online soap Wannabes to head its interactive division.

  • Stewart Purvis joins Ofcom

    14-Nov-2007

    Former ITN chief executive Stewart Purvis has joined Ofcom as partner for content and standards.

  • Whitehaven goes digital

    14-Nov-2007

    Whitehaven today (14 November) became the first town in the UK to switch off its analogue TV signal.

  • C4 orders conjoined twin doc

    14-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 has commissioned a documentary on an Indian girl born with four arms and four legs as she undergoes an operation to remove her conjoined twin.

  • Bebo signs major content deals

    13-Nov-2007

    Broadcasters including the BBC, BSkyB and Channel 4 and production companies such as Endemol are to offer free content to social network Bebo’s 40 million users in a global deal announced today (13 November).

  • Somethin’ Else hires Farrar

    13-Nov-2007

    Cross-platform indie Somethin’ Else has hired Talkback Thames’ development producer John Farrar in a new developmental role.

  • BBC1 to start Choir Wars

    12-Nov-2007

    BBC1’s latest Saturday night talent show is to stage a contest between amateur choirs.

  • BBC kicks off multimedia news era

    12-Nov-2007

    The BBC has launched its multimedia newsroom today with its boss Peter Horrocks admitting it faces questions over how to cover fewer stories in-depth while still retaining the distinct qualities of TV, radio and web news.

  • Online ad measurement moves step closer

    12-Nov-2007

    Broadcasters have moved a step closer to measuring the effects of online advertising after joining forces to develop a common standard for streamed, simulcast and downloaded content.

  • New friction.tv webcast for Tory leader

    9-Nov-2007

    Tory leader David Cameron is to make weekly video webcasts on a Conservative-branded channel on video debating website friction.tv.

  • Indies face tough regime over trust

    8-Nov-2007

    The trust in TV crisis has prompted the BBC and Channel 4 to try to rewrite their contracts with indies, in a bid to make producers more responsible for their output - including financially.

  • BBC Horizon explores execution

    8-Nov-2007

    Former Conservative MP Michael Portillo is to hunt for a humane method of execution in an edition of the BBC’s science strand Horizon.

  • C4’s First Cut airs new talent

    8-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 is lining up films from Raw Television, Century Films, Talkback Thames, Renegade Pictures and Eleven Films for its new primetime documentary strand for up-and-coming directors.

  • BBC redundancy hunt begins

    7-Nov-2007

    The BBC has kicked off its search for 1,000 volunteers for redundancy within news and Vision Studios, with interested staff asked to come forward by 19 November.

  • Hadlow leads the field to be new BBC1 controller

    7-Nov-2007

    BBC4 controller Janice Hadlow has emerged as a strong contender for the BBC1 controller job after Jay Hunt and Richard Deverell ruled themselves out of the running.

  • Doc to follow lives of teens in Baghdad

    7-Nov-2007

    BBC2 is to follow four ordinary Iraqi boys as they come of age in Baghdad for a feature-length documentary from Renegade Pictures and StorylabTV.

  • Brailsford is new Shine features chief

    7-Nov-2007

    Shine has promoted features editor Sara Brailsford to take over as head of features from John Silver, who is leaving at the end of the year to set up his own indie.

  • Carbon’s Jump series to go global

    7-Nov-2007

    The indie behind Channel 4 documentaries Jump London and Jump Britain is to take the format to the global stage after signing a co-production deal with Lonely Planet.

  • Bewitched set for UK remake

    7-Nov-2007

    Cult US 1960s sitcom Bewitched is set for a British makeover by My Hero creator Paul Mendelson.

  • C4 and Kew plan online cures guide

    7-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 has teamed up with Kew Gardens to build an online repository of alternative medicines and folklore cures to accompany its upcoming documentary Medicine Men.

  • Clements under investigation

    7-Nov-2007

    Police are investigating the alleged theft of emails involving former IWC creative director Alan Clements following last week’s court hearing.

  • BBC bags Carling Cup

    6-Nov-2007

    Live Carling Cup and Coca-Cola Championship football will return to the BBC for the first time in decades after the corporation paid£264m with Sky Sports for the rights.

  • BBC redundancies to start in December

    6-Nov-2007

    The BBC is set to begin making redundancies as soon as 1 December following a meeting between news executives and broadcasting unions yesterday.

  • BBC to air RDF’s Queen doc

    6-Nov-2007

    The BBC will broadcast RDF’s controversial documentary on the Queen before Christmas.

  • BBC4 to explore parallel universe

    6-Nov-2007

    Mark Everett, lead signer with US rock group Eels, will uncover the story of his late father, a quantum physicist who predicted the existence of parallel universes, for a BBC4 documentary.

  • Ofcom clears C4 over Emily Parr outburst

    5-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 was justified in broadcasting housemate Emily Parr’s use of a racist term in the last series of Big Brother, Ofcom has ruled.

  • Watson: 'ITV made me scapegoat'

    5-Nov-2007

    Paul Watson has accused ITV of making him a scapegoat in the row over the Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s Farewell documentary, claiming the subsequent inquiry was “mental torture”.

  • Richard & Judy in Book Club spin-off talks

    2-Nov-2007

    Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are in talks with Channel 4 to present a Book Club series spin-off of their afternoon talk show, which is to end next year.

  • C4 orders more comedy

    2-Nov-2007

    Channel 4 comedy pilots Plus One and The Kevin Bishop Show are to be turned into full series next year.

  • Africa Channel to get world music showcase

    1-Nov-2007

    Music indie Phoenix Film & Television is to produce a weekly world music showcase for the Africa Channel in which celebrities including Johnny Depp, Brian Eno and Robert Plant will introduce live performances.

  • Dacre quits Ten Alps to launch Inclusive Digital

    31-Oct-2007

    Teachers TV founder Nigel Dacre has left Ten Alps Digital to set up his own web TV company.

  • Purnell warns ITV over regional cuts

    30-Oct-2007

    Media secretary James Purnell has warned ITV it should take account of public anger before proceeding with its regional cut backs.

  • Sky One scraps G-A-Y awards coverage

    30-Oct-2007

    Sky One has scrapped plans to broadcast gay club night G-A-Y’s inaugural awards ceremony.

  • BBC streams Electric Proms

    24-Oct-2007

    BBC Radio will provide video streaming of the Electric Proms and the London Jazz Festival in the next month.

  • C4 to bring back Late Night Poker

    23-Oct-2007

    Channel 4’s Late Night Poker is to return to the channel in its original format after the broadcaster secured a sponsorship deal with website PartyPoker.

  • Nesbitt stars in ITV thriller

    23-Oct-2007

    ITV1 has signed James Nesbitt to star in Midnight Man, a three-part conspiracy thriller penned by David Kane.

  • BBC4 goes for a Chinese

    23-Oct-2007

    BBC4 is to explore modern-day China through the story of the world’s largest Chinese restaurant in the second series to be commissioned under the Storyville brand.

  • BBC makes rival smart kid quiz

    23-Oct-2007

    BBC1 has picked up the programme rights to Endemol’s latest entertainment format The Kids Are All Right.

  • Flynn to head Endemol division

    23-Oct-2007

    Endemol UK's David Flynn is to become managing director of the group’s Big Brother subsidiary Brighter Pictures.

  • Knight Rider: Turbo Boost

    22-Oct-2007

    Michael Knight and KITT, the talking car, are back in a new animated Knight Rider series for mobile phones.

  • Digital box sales soar

    22-Oct-2007

    Just 2,000 of Whitehaven’s 25,000 homes lost BBC2 when its analogue signal was pulled on 17 October.

  • Morgan begins Queen sequel

    4-Oct-2007

    The team behind ITV’s Oscar-winning movie The Queen have begun work on a follow-up exploring Tony Blair’s relationships with Bill Clinton and George Bush.

  • BBC4 celebrates The Frost Report

    18-Sep-2007

    BBC4 is to celebrate Sir David Frost's influential 1960s satire show The Frost Reportwith a 90-minute special featuring many of the original line-up. [ALL]

  • Grade in U-turn over C4 funding

    17-Sep-2007

    RTS Convention:Channel 4 should stay private because public funding would destroy its independence, former chief executive Michael Grade has claimed. [ALL]

  • Business leaders slam 'self-serving' TV industry

    14-Sep-2007

    RTS Convention:Business leaders invited to talk about the TV industry have accused broadcasters of putting the audience second to their own interests. [ALL]

  • TV struggling to track changing viewer habits

    14-Sep-2007

    RTS Convention:The heads of the UK's biggest broadcasters have admitted that they are struggling to future proof their businesses as they adapt to changing consumer media habits. [ALL]

  • Grade: video games exist in 'moral vacuum'

    14-Sep-2007

    RTS Convention:ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has criticised video games for existing in a 'moral vacuum' compared to TV drama. [ALL]

  • Govt to create media think-tank

    14-Sep-2007

    RTS Convention:The government is creating a new think-tank to steer media policy in the rapidly changing UK media environment. [ALL]

  • TV is short-sighted

    13-Sep-2007

    Broadcasters have been too defensive in their use of new technology according to Magic Lantern's Anthony Lilley.

  • ITV1 prepares primetime shows for HD

    13-Sep-2007

    ITV will produce and broadcast primetime ITV1 shows in high-definition from spring 2008. [ALL]

  • C4 books more 4 Music gigs from Eyeworks

    13-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 has ordered three more editions of 4 Music PresentsÉ, featuring James Blunt, KT Tunstall and the Stereophonics.

  • C4 revs up Sunday night overhaul

    13-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 is looking for a power-house factual entertainment show to rival BBC2's Top Gearas part of an overhaul of its Sunday night schedule.

  • Double Jab meets Bocelli for BBC2 doc

    13-Sep-2007

    Renowned classical singer Andrea Bocelli has given a very rare interview to Double Jab Productions for a BBC2 documentary.

  • Focus: 360-degree commissioning

    13-Sep-2007

    The advent of multiplatform means commissioning is rarely just about TV

  • Four Docs site calls for C4 short films

    13-Sep-2007

    Channel 4's 3 Minute Wonderstrand is to feature 16 short films made for the broadcaster's documentary website Four Docs next year.

  • Grade sets new financial goals

    13-Sep-2007

    ITV aims to deliver a 38.5% share of commercial impacts across all of its channels by 2012 and is ploughing£20m into ITV2 in a bid to overtake Five as the UK's third commercial network for 16-34 year-olds.

  • ITN seals deal for Setanta Sports News

    13-Sep-2007

    ITN is to move into sports programming as the sole content provider for Setanta Sports News, the channel that will launch on Virgin Media's cable platform as a replacement for Sky Sports News.

  • ITV bids to reach a third of UK web users by 2010

    13-Sep-2007

    ITV plans to form partnerships with online content aggregators such as Google, YouTube and Yahoo! as part of its bid for its content to reach more than a third of the UK's web users by 2010.

  • Objective adds C4's Adler to creative team

    13-Sep-2007

    Objective Productions has hired Channel 4 entertainment commissioning editor Adam Adler to its creative team.

  • Sofia's Diary

    13-Sep-2007

    Bebo aims to engage its social networking community with a fresh interactive drama.

  • Hollyoaks star to debate anorexia online

    12-Sep-2007

    Hollyoaksstar Emma Rigby is to kick off a debate about anorexia on CTVC's issues-based video-sharing website Truetube. [ALL]

  • Ofcom begins major PSB review

    11-Sep-2007

    Ofcom has kicked off a public service broadcasting review that will tackle the future of news and kids output and also explore the wider role that terrestrial broadcasters will play in the run up to digital switchover. [ALL]

  • C4 defends Dispatches from attack by Coe

    10-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 is to press ahead with tonight's Dispatchesdocumentary into Sebastian Coe's role in London's Olympic bid despite legal pressure from the former Olympic champion. [ALL]

  • Ex Tearaways host to lead kid internet review

    6-Sep-2007

    Child psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, the former host of House of Tiny Tearaways, is to lead the first phase of the government's review of the effects of media on children, which will focus on the internet. [ALL]

  • Bebo to launch second interactive drama

    6-Sep-2007

    Social networking site Bebo is following up KateModernwith a second interactive drama series called Sofia's Diary. [ALL]

  • C4 to air von Hagens lectures

    6-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 has commissioned Firefly to make a fourth series with controversial anatomist Dr Gunther von Hagens. [ALL]

  • At It to follow up New Face doc for Five

    6-Sep-2007

    Five has commissioned Eyeworks At It to produce a sequel to last year's film for the Extraordinary Peoplestrand, A New Face For Marlie.

  • BBC4 probes international summits in triple co-pro

    6-Sep-2007

    BBC4 is to examine the historical and political backdrop to three key international summits in a co-production from Ten Alps indie Blakeway Productions and Barnes Hassid Productions.

  • C4 bolsters fact ent with double hiring

    6-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 has beefed up its factual entertainment department with a new editor to focus on the 10pm slot and a new commissioner for daytime.

  • Duncan to lead RTS drive for young talent

    6-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan is to head a Royal Television Society venture aiming to nurture the next generation of TV talent.

  • Endemol: BB8 had to play it safe to survive

    6-Sep-2007

    Endemol has admitted it deliberately played it safe with Big Brother 8after Ofcom's intervention in the show's celebrity version earlier this year.

  • Flickr joins C4 for photography show

    6-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 has embarked on its most integrated multimedia factual project to date, teaming up with photo sharing site Flickr and search engine Yahoo! for a series dubbed ' Operatunityfor photographers'.

  • C4 hands Warner daytime post

    5-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 has promoted Helen Warner to daytime commissioning editor following Adam MacDonald's move to ITV. [ALL]

  • Corrie cleans up at TV Quick awards

    4-Sep-2007

    Coronation Streetcleaned up at the annual TV Quick & TV Choice awards, winning in four categories including best soap. [ALL]

  • C4 and MTV resurrect Dubplate Drama

    4-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 and MTV are bringing back interactive urban music show Dubplate Drama. [ALL]

  • Tiscalli roll-out reaches 5m

    3-Sep-2007

    Broadband, telephone and IPTV provider Tiscali will be available in cities such as Birmingham, Leicester and Liverpool from today as it gears up for a national roll-out. [ALL]

  • Nuts TV unveils launch line-up

    3-Sep-2007

    Model Lucy Pinder and comedian Dan Wright, presenter of BBC3's F*** Off I'm Ginger, are among the faces of Nuts TV, which launches next week. [ALL]

  • C4 denies Big Brother faces axe

    3-Sep-2007

    Channel 4 has said that reports of Big Brothernot returning next summer are 'a flight of fancy'. [ALL]

  • An interview with Julian Bellamy

    30-Aug-2007

    Julian Bellamy explains why C4 is in need of creative renewal

  • BBC to provide interactive tool for teen drama

    30-Aug-2007

    The BBC is to offer writers and producers of teen drama a framework to create interactive online content using new software from indie Somethin' Else.

  • C4 goes back to basics

    30-Aug-2007

    Edinburgh:Channel 4 chose attack as the best form of defence at the Edinburgh TV Festival, firing its opening salvo with the announcement that Celebrity Big Brotherwould be rested in 2008 after this year's troubled show.

  • C4 to add four more channels to 4oD

    30-Aug-2007

    Channel 4 is poised to add four more third-party channels to its 4oD service this autumn as it moves closer to becoming an online content aggregator.

  • More 4 doubles doc output

    30-Aug-2007

    More 4 has reasserted its commitment to international documentaries by doubling the number of new films in the True Storiesstrand to 40 over the next year.

  • Plenty of questions over trust - but few answers

    30-Aug-2007

    Edinburgh:Trust in TV was the inevitable central theme of this year's Edinburgh TV Festival, but solutions to the crisis in viewer confidence were few and far between.

  • True Tube

    30-Aug-2007

    A video website that explores social and moral issues, such as America's death penalty, is aimed squarely at teens.

  • Frears blasts MacTaggart lecture

    28-Aug-2007

    The director of Oscar-winning movie The Queen, Stephen Frears, has described Jeremy Paxman as a public school bully following the Newsnightanchor's MacTaggart lecture. [ALL]

  • Anna Ford: Thompson lacks social skills

    28-Aug-2007

    BBC newsrooms operate in an 'atmosphere of fear' fuelled by job cutbacks which are damaging the corporation's news output, according to former BBC newsreader Anna Ford. [ALL]

  • Edinburgh round-up: C4 on trial

    28-Aug-2007

    Channel 4 announces it will 'rest' Celebrity Big Brothernext year and axe several factual entertainment series to free up the schedules for public service programming; Jane Root urges the channel to wean itself off Big Brotherand Kevin Lygo reinforces the broadcaster's commitment to smaller indies. Click through to read the stories. [ALL]

  • Root: 'C4 should drop Big Brother'

    25-Aug-2007

    Edinburgh:Channel 4 should consider dropping Big Brotherto prove that it is not afraid to take risks, according to former BBC2 controller Jane Root. [ALL]

  • BBC2 focuses on religion

    23-Aug-2007

    BBC2 is to track the history of the often fraught relationship between Christianity and Islam in a three-part documentary series from Blakeway and CTVC.

  • BBC2 orders working class culture doc

    23-Aug-2007

    Bafta-nominated documentary makers Ursula Macfarlane and Henry Singer are to tackle abortion and white working class culture in hard-hitting films from Century Films for BBC2.

  • BBC4 doc to air unseen Bolan footage

    23-Aug-2007

    BBC4 is to mark the 30th anniversary of Marc Bolan's death with a documentary featuring unseen performance and interview footage of the glam rock star at his peak.

  • C4 to showcase new comedy

    23-Aug-2007

    Kudos' first major comedy commission and a Victorian sitcom from the creators of Peep Showare among six comedies due to air on Channel 4 in November with a view to becoming full series.

  • IWC sets up ad-funded content arm

    23-Aug-2007

    RDF-owned indie IWC Media has created a commercials and branded content division to move into producing ad-funded programming and content.

  • Simply Media tees off with golf site deal

    23-Aug-2007

    Online video provider Simply Media has bought golf site GolfBug.tv and will launch a series of sports channels under the newly created Simply Sports umbrella.

  • Summer of British Film

    23-Aug-2007

    Movie parodies from TV talent and film-making amateurs vie for attention on a new BBC site.

  • Touch to expose kindergarten competition

    23-Aug-2007

    Discovery-owned US cable network TLC has commissioned UK indie Touch Productions to document parents' efforts to get their children into their preferred kindergartens in New York.

  • Web usage jumps 150%

    23-Aug-2007

    Linear TV still accounts for half of all media consumption in the UK despite the increasing take-up of broadband internet, according to Ofcom's annual UK Communications Market report.

  • Read more about Ofcom's 2007 Market report

    22-Aug-2007

    Linear TV still accounts for half of all media consumption in the UK despite the increasing take-up of broadband internet, according to Ofcom's annual UK Communications Market report.

  • Wallace and Gromit relaunch website

    22-Aug-2007

    Aardman Animations has made free video clips of Wallace and Gromitavailable on the popular characters' relaunched website. [ALL]

  • C4 to hand over Dispatches footage

    21-Aug-2007

    The Old Bailey has ordered Channel 4 to hand over unbroadcast material filmed for the Dispatchesdocumentary Britain Under Attackto the Metropolitan Police. [ALL]

  • BBC Parliament to re-show Diana funeral

    21-Aug-2007

    BBC Parliament is to re-broadcast the BBC's entire live coverage of Princess Diana's funeral on the tenth anniversary of her death next month. [ALL]

  • Endemol takes 25% stake in MoMedia

    21-Aug-2007

    Endemol UK has taken a 25% stake in digital entertainment producer and distributor MoMedia International. [ALL]

  • BBC inks O2 content deal

    20-Aug-2007

    BBC Worldwide is to make clips from Doctor Who, Little Britainand I'm Alan Partridgeavailable on mobile phones as part of a deal with O2.

  • Nuts TV to share Freeview space

    20-Aug-2007

    Nuts TV is to share a Freeview channel with Thomas Cook TV when it launches next month. [ALL]

  • Tories defend C4 in Dispatches mosque row

    17-Aug-2007

    The Conservative party has said that the West Midlands Police's inquiry into the Channel 4 Dispatchesdocumentary, Undercover Mosque,raises serious questions about media freedom. [ALL]

  • BBC axes Inspector Lynley

    17-Aug-2007

    The BBC has axed detective series The Inspector Lynley Mysteriesafter six years, a decision greeted with bafflement by its star Nathaniel Parker. [ALL]

  • Factual VoD growth stalled by red tape

    16-Aug-2007

    Red tape surrounding digital rights is making it hard for owners of specialist factual content to exploit their programming online effectively.

  • Producer gives up credit in doc dispute

    16-Aug-2007

    The producer of Sunset + Vine's Inside Volvo Ocean Race, which went out on C4, has taken his name off the show's credits after becoming embroiled in a creative dispute.

  • Scots embrace industry review

    16-Aug-2007

    The Scottish TV industry believes a new government commission should stop it being used as a political football and help open up meaningful dialogue between broadcasters and indies.

  • Super swap for major C4 series

    16-Aug-2007

    Size-zero health freaks and overweight junk-food fans are to experience each other's lifestyles in a major series from Endemol-owned indie Cheetah Television for Channel 4.

  • Tiny Tearaways gets fourth series revamp

    16-Aug-2007

    BBC3 is giving the House of Tiny Tearawaysa major makeover for its fourth series, bringing in former Teen Angelsand Little Angelschild psychologist Laverne Antrobus to front the show.

  • When Evil Calls

    16-Aug-2007

    Zone's made-for-mobile-horror plays on both its users' fears and the platform's strengths.

  • Maverick staffs up

    15-Aug-2007

    Maverick Television has hired senior staff from Ricochet and Touch Productions to executive produce flagship shows Ten Years Youngerand How To Look Good Naked. [ALL]

  • Google closes video shop

    14-Aug-2007

    ITN will distribute more than a thousand video clips for free via YouTube after Google announced it would end its paid-for online video service. [ALL]

  • Firefly wins second C4 drug abuse series

    14-Aug-2007

    Indie Firefly is to follow up an exploration of heroin addiction, Going Cold Turkey, with a second Channel 4 series that aims to take a scientific look at wider drug abuse and withdrawal. [ALL]

  • All square in countryside showdown

    13-Aug-2007

    The battle of the countryside shows ended in a draw last night with Britain's Favourite Viewgrabbing 4.7m viewers at 8pm for ITV1 and Mountaingetting the same audience for the BBC1 at 9pm. [ALL]

  • Royal lawyers write to RDF about Queengate

    13-Aug-2007

    The Queen's lawyers are understood to be pursuing a breach of contract claim against RDF and the BBC over the controversial editing of a preview of the documentary, A Year With The Queen. [ALL]

  • BBC warned over potential iPlayer costs

    13-Aug-2007

    Broadband providers have warned the BBC that it will have to share network costs in return for the broadcaster offering free downloads on its iPlayer service. [ALL]

  • C4 deal for Popworld's Chung

    10-Aug-2007

    Former Popworldpresenter Alexa Chung has signed a one-year golden handcuffs deal with Channel 4 and is set to join the daily breakfast show Freshly Squeezednext month. [ALL]

  • Inspector Lynley returns with 4.2m

    10-Aug-2007

    The first instalment of a two-part Inspector Lynleystory attracted 4.2m (21.5%) viewers to BBC1 last night, but failed to beat ITV1 banker The Bill, which was watched by 4.4m viewers (22.9%). [ALL]

  • BBC4 plans two Britannia series

    10-Aug-2007

    BBC4 will broadcast two more series for its returning Britanniastrand next month, looking at the history of British comic books and dance trends. [ALL]

  • Chelsea's Lampard to launch Frank TV

    10-Aug-2007

    Chelsea footballer Frank Lampard is launching a mobile TV channel on which Orange subscribers will be able to watch the player cook brussels sprouts and swap dressing room banter. [ALL]

  • Icstis slaps£30k fine on iTouch

    9-Aug-2007

    Phoneline regulator Icstis has fined iTouch£30,000 after ruling that a Deal or No Dealphone-in competition it ran misled viewers by pre-recording the outcome. [ALL]

  • Malcolm and Barbara touch 3m

    9-Aug-2007

    Paul Watson's Alzheimer's documentary Malcolm and Barbara: Love's Farewellgarnered huge critical acclaim last night, but could only pull in 3m viewers (14.8%) for ITV1 at 9pm, well down on the slot average. [ALL]

  • Blinkx searches for lifestyle content

    9-Aug-2007

    Video search engine Blinkx has earmarked cookery, DIY and travel as the genres with the biggest online growth potential in the coming months, because of pent-up demand among internet users and advertisers.

  • C4 to draw up promotions 'rulebook'

    9-Aug-2007

    Channel 4 is to issue guidelines for approving all promotional materials in the wake of the ongoing controversy over trust in TV.

  • CPS attacks C4 over 'distorted' mosque report

    9-Aug-2007

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has accused Channel 4 of misrepresenting the subjects of its Dispatches: Undercover Mosquedocumentary through judicious editing.

  • Indie premieres two shows on Joost

    9-Aug-2007

    Indie production company The Rocket Science Group will debut two shows on Joost as the broadband TV service moves into hosting original programming.

  • Pioneer to shine light on biology

    9-Aug-2007

    Pioneer Productions is promising a ground-breaking two-hour journey through the human body's life cycles in its most ambitious high-tech science commission for Channel 4.

  • Time to rethink culture of spin

    9-Aug-2007

    How 'Queengate' and the Watson doc scandal could prompt a more serious approach to publicising quality film-making.

  • Police probe second Dispatches film

    8-Aug-2007

    Police are to investigate a second Dispatchesfilm featuring Muslim extremists, which went out this week. [ALL]

  • C4 defends Dispatches

    8-Aug-2007

    Dispatchescommissioning editor Kevin Sutcliffe has defended an edition of the programme against charges of misleading editing. [ALL]

  • Jenkins to head Scottish broadcasting body

    8-Aug-2007

    Former BBC Scotland head of news and current affairs Blair Jenkins is to head a new body which will look into the future of the creative industries in Scotland. [ALL]

  • Dispatches extremists avoid prosecution

    8-Aug-2007

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will not prosecute Channel 4 on grounds of incitement to racial hatred for airing the views of Muslim extremists in a Dispatchesdocumentary. [ALL]

  • Arqiva wins£1bn network contract

    8-Aug-2007

    Digital 3 & 4 has awarded Arqiva a£1bn contract to design, build and operate a new high-powered national digital terrestrial television (DTT) network that will carry ITV and Channel 4's main channels. [ALL]

  • Scotland minister calls for local powers

    8-Aug-2007

    The first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, is calling for devolved regulatory powers over the country's broadcasters in line with Westminster's remit in England. [ALL]

  • Blinkx staffs up following float

    8-Aug-2007

    Video search engine Blinkx has poached Marco Nadotti, a content acquisition executive at Babelgum, to help drive its European acquisition strategy. [ALL]

  • Dispatches prompts just 15 complaints

    7-Aug-2007

    Channel 4's controversial edition of Dispatches,which featured an interview with an Islamic extremist justifying the 7 July bombings, has received 15 viewer complaints. [ALL]

  • DCD completes£19.1m indie deals

    7-Aug-2007

    DCD Media has completed its£19.1m purchase of indies September Films, Prospect Pictures and West Park Pictures. [ALL]

  • Millionaire to hold first auditions

    6-Aug-2007

    2waytraffic hopes to breathe new life into Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?by hosting auditions for contestants for the first time. [ALL]

  • BBC Scotland to air climbing challenge

    3-Aug-2007

    BBC Scotland has commissioned Triple Echo to produce an ambitious six-hour outside broadcast in which eight climbers will attempt to climb the crags of Cairngorms National Park. [ALL]

  • C4 pulls plug on most phone-in competitions

    2-Aug-2007

    Channel 4 has axed all premium-rate phone-in competitions except for one tied to Deal or No Dealin the wake of the You Say, We Payrow. [ALL]

  • Five to hold show rights for a year

    2-Aug-2007

    Five is to hold the rights to commissioned programmes for 12 months, with an option to extend the licence period to 18 months if it wants to air them on digital channels Five Life and Five US, under new terms of trade agreed with Pact.

  • Virgin 1 wins US hit The Riches

    2-Aug-2007

    Virgin 1 has beat rival broadcasters to Emmy-nominated US satirical drama The Riches, which will lead its primetime schedule when it launches this autumn. [ALL]

  • Watson backed by peers over 'fake publicity' row

    2-Aug-2007

    Documentary-makers have leapt to Paul Watson's defence in the row over Malcolm and Barbara: Love's Farewell, arguing that marketing practices and the drive for ratings can easily lead to their work being misrepresented. [ALL]

  • C4 axes premium-rate phone-in competitions

    1-Aug-2007

    Channel 4 has axed all of its premium-rate phone-in competitions except for one tied to Deal or No Dealin the wake of the 'You Say, We Pay' row. [ALL]

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