Category Archives: Media
Friday 14th September 2012
I was happy to be asked to speak to a group of young executives last week in Berlin. The Entertainment Master Class is part of the Entertainment Academy, “a think tank created for the industry by the industry”. One of the things we went through is what I called: “Television’s four most important numbers”. They capture the ways in which a one-time homogenous stream of content, viewed only in one place at one time, is splitting into different streams – some of which have, as it were, gone underground … Read more…
Friday 2nd December 2011
Viewers of ABC in America, Channel 4 in the UK and other channels in countless other countries will have heard of Wife Swap and The Secret Millionaire. Not so many will have heard of the Zodiak Media Group, the company that owns and makes them. Zodiak Media is a European firm with its main operating headquarters in London and Paris, majority-owned by the Italian De Agostini Group. De Agostini started to build its Communications Division in 2007, acquiring Marathon (France) and Magnolia (Italy and Spain). Then, in 2008, … Read more…
Tuesday 30th August 2011
I was fortunate to hear Eric Schmidt, Chairman of Google, speak at the Edinburgh Television Festival and to attend the Question and Answer session the following morning. Schmidt posed one big question — in my view a massively important one: why hasn’t a country like the UK built large technology companies? (He reminded us that the first commercial use of a computer was at the headquarters of J. Lyons, once famous for its tea shops, in West London). For the audience of British TV Executives the question took a … Read more…
Posted in
AVMS Directive,
BBC,
C4,
Communications Bill,
European Union,
Exports,
Globalisation,
Google,
Media,
Ofcom,
Regulation,
Sky,
TV,
You Tube
Thursday 7th July 2011
For most outsiders, Europe’s Public Service Broadcasting system is a mystery. Most of them will understand what happens in the US. That system gets a small amount of money from Government and raises sponsorship for its network of radio and TV stations around the country. They broadcast “public service” content not found on commercial networks. But in Europe “public” broadcasters continue to be a major part of the landscape. The BBC may be the best known globally, but ARD in Germany, France Television, RAI in Italy are also … Read more…
Friday 20th May 2011
Robin Foster who usually knows about these things — and was one of the authors of Creative UK which I reviewed last week — told me that his team were now waiting for the Hargreaves Report on Intellectual Property. It arrived on Wednesday. I printed it out, all 200 pages, and took it home to digest. I hope this will help us formulate a new structure for European IP in particular. My question: what are its implications for those who create audiovisual works? (Its brief, direct from David … Read more…
Thursday 12th May 2011
There is going to be a new Communications Bill in the UK soon. The lobbying has started. That may be interesting outside the UK too, especially to other European countries. The UK’s regulatory system is highly regarded in Europe and the BBC is the aspiration of public broadcasters everywhere. Just out is a paper called Creative UK, written by Robin Foster and Tom Broughton and commissioned by Channel 4, ITV, PACT and Sky. It has a simple two-part message: the UK audiovisual sector is a “success story” in … Read more…
Monday 18th April 2011
If Big Brother was the defining show of the last decade. What will define this one? Three thoughts: Everyone is excited about social media. Its impact may be over-rated, but it will surely make the public interaction and voting styles of the last decade obsolete. Reaction will be more instantaneous and probably tied in with social media sites. These responses will be part of the fabric of the event, feeding into it at critical moments. Viewers will be able to interact with the show via webcams and video … Read more…
Tuesday 8th February 2011
If you are going to be an exporter of content, you need to know what other countries are looking for. It’s quite simple really: they are looking for what they cannot do themselves. Nearly everyone prefers content from their own country, in their own language. We are all locked into our private worlds, languages and cultures. Let us take some examples. Drama is expensive – something many countries can only afford in small quantities. Some countries produce only low-budget soaps – so they may provide a market for … Read more…
Tuesday 16th November 2010
Those in or near to Government who read this blog have hinted that the department responsible for broadcasting is now ready to move on to thinking about how to grow the UK content industries. After all, we are told– frequently – that one of our national assets is “creativity”. That is certainly the mantra of the person reported to be the Government’s economics guru, Richard Florida. A Conservative is not going to be dirigiste, of course. Anyway, the Florida message is work with what you have got. He pushes … Read more…
Follow us on Twitter to get ratings news, industry information and TV gossip.
Attentional Ltd, is a class leading international media consultancy.
Subscribe to my regular updates.
