The BBC needs to come up with an integrated strategy to win young viewers, deliver original British programming, and be more open about how it operates, British media regulator Ofcom said in its second annual report scrutinizing the world’s biggest pubcaster.
Ofcom said the BBC is “broadly delivering” on its mission, has upped program spending – reversing a recent trend – and that audience satisfaction is high.
But the regulator repeated concerns stated a year ago on the Beeb’s efforts to win younger demos, which it says is imperative for the broadcaster’s survival. “If the BBC can’t engage young audiences with its content, it risks losing a generation of viewers,” Ofcom said. “If young people don’t consider the BBC as a core part of their viewing, then it may be hard to encourage them to pay the license fee” that funds the organization.
The BBC must also improve diversity,...
Ofcom said the BBC is “broadly delivering” on its mission, has upped program spending – reversing a recent trend – and that audience satisfaction is high.
But the regulator repeated concerns stated a year ago on the Beeb’s efforts to win younger demos, which it says is imperative for the broadcaster’s survival. “If the BBC can’t engage young audiences with its content, it risks losing a generation of viewers,” Ofcom said. “If young people don’t consider the BBC as a core part of their viewing, then it may be hard to encourage them to pay the license fee” that funds the organization.
The BBC must also improve diversity,...
- 10/24/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has signed a huge overall TV and film deal with The Crown creator Peter Morgan, in another sign that the streamers are prepared to spend tens of millions of dollars tying-up prominent British writing talent. We hear the pact is for at least four years.
Three sources told Deadline that Netflix’s deal with Golden Globe and BAFTA-winner Morgan was done as the company readies itself for the November 17 release of The Crown season three, in which Olivia Colman will replace Claire Foy on the throne.
Morgan is well down the track with season four of Left Bank Pictures’ lavish drama and sources said his exclusive Netflix deal will encompass another two seasons. This would take it to six seasons, which has long been Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos’ plan for the show.
The overall deal will also include projects by Morgan outside of The Crown, including feature films.
Three sources told Deadline that Netflix’s deal with Golden Globe and BAFTA-winner Morgan was done as the company readies itself for the November 17 release of The Crown season three, in which Olivia Colman will replace Claire Foy on the throne.
Morgan is well down the track with season four of Left Bank Pictures’ lavish drama and sources said his exclusive Netflix deal will encompass another two seasons. This would take it to six seasons, which has long been Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos’ plan for the show.
The overall deal will also include projects by Morgan outside of The Crown, including feature films.
- 10/4/2019
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K.-based film and TV firms still have a way to go to close the gender pay gaps in their ranks, the latest statistics show. Most companies have reported some progress in shrinking the disparity, but a handful saw the numbers heading in the wrong direction, with Viacom’s Channel 5 and Turner Broadcasting among the backsliders.
The BBC, Cineworld, ITV Studios, Sky, and Vue managed to keep the difference in average hourly pay for men and women down to single-digit percentages in 2018. At the British Film Institute, the gap was just 0.4% in favor of male employees, while TV production and distribution giant Endemol Shine and news network CNN, which reports separately from Turner, actually recorded higher pay for their female staff.
But all these companies were outliers. Overall, the numbers show that film and TV firms largely remain a long way from achieving earnings equality.
Under British law,...
The BBC, Cineworld, ITV Studios, Sky, and Vue managed to keep the difference in average hourly pay for men and women down to single-digit percentages in 2018. At the British Film Institute, the gap was just 0.4% in favor of male employees, while TV production and distribution giant Endemol Shine and news network CNN, which reports separately from Turner, actually recorded higher pay for their female staff.
But all these companies were outliers. Overall, the numbers show that film and TV firms largely remain a long way from achieving earnings equality.
Under British law,...
- 4/5/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Discovery and the BBC are going to create spin-offs and sequels of brands including Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Frozen Planet in a move that Discovery chief David Zaslav called their Marvel universe.
Zaslav also called the BBC the Boston Red Sox to its own New York Yankees and that it would be “crazy” not to bring together the two best teams in the natural history space.
This was on the heels of the two company’s landmark deal that will include exclusive rights to BBC Natural History Unit content for Discovery’s forthcoming streaming service, a pact to develop original content in the genre and the division of assets at UK broadcaster UKTV.
Zaslav said, “The IP is a big piece of the core strategy; these landmarks and that library is our Marvel IP catalogue. That’s the business we’re in. Those are the stories that are loved...
Zaslav also called the BBC the Boston Red Sox to its own New York Yankees and that it would be “crazy” not to bring together the two best teams in the natural history space.
This was on the heels of the two company’s landmark deal that will include exclusive rights to BBC Natural History Unit content for Discovery’s forthcoming streaming service, a pact to develop original content in the genre and the division of assets at UK broadcaster UKTV.
Zaslav said, “The IP is a big piece of the core strategy; these landmarks and that library is our Marvel IP catalogue. That’s the business we’re in. Those are the stories that are loved...
- 4/1/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Discovery and BBC Studios have inked a nearly $400 million programming deal that will see high-end natural history programming from the latter play on a new Discovery global streaming service set for launch by 2020. Under a decade-long deal, Discovery has acquired a raft of BBC content for its new Svod service and will work with BBC Studios, the U.K. pubcaster’s production and distribution unit, to develop new programming across natural history, travel, science and other factual genres.
Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav said the new, as-yet-unnamed streamer could launch for under $5 a month.
Separately, the two companies have untangled ownership of the UKTV channels group, with Discovery set to take the lifestyle networks and BBC Studios the entertainment channels in a deal that will see BBC Studios pay the U.S. firm £173 million ($226 million).
The announcement Monday of Discovery’s upcoming factual streaming platform comes as the...
Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav said the new, as-yet-unnamed streamer could launch for under $5 a month.
Separately, the two companies have untangled ownership of the UKTV channels group, with Discovery set to take the lifestyle networks and BBC Studios the entertainment channels in a deal that will see BBC Studios pay the U.S. firm £173 million ($226 million).
The announcement Monday of Discovery’s upcoming factual streaming platform comes as the...
- 4/1/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Discovery and the BBC are swimming off into the wild together again with a landmark agreement that includes a ten-year programming partnership to power a global Svod service, a significant development arrangement and the division of assets at UK broadcaster UKTV.
This comes six years after Discovery and the BBC ended its previous partnership; the two companies previously worked together on shows such as Frozen Planet and Blue Planet but ended the arrangement in 2013, which lead to BBC America becoming the BBC’s U.S. partner on a number of its landmark natural history series in the last five years.
The new deal, which is effective in all territories outside of the UK, Ireland and China, makes Discovery the exclusive Svod home of BBC natural history series including titles such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Life and Dynasties as well as future BBC-commissioned landmark series from BBC Studios. The agreement...
This comes six years after Discovery and the BBC ended its previous partnership; the two companies previously worked together on shows such as Frozen Planet and Blue Planet but ended the arrangement in 2013, which lead to BBC America becoming the BBC’s U.S. partner on a number of its landmark natural history series in the last five years.
The new deal, which is effective in all territories outside of the UK, Ireland and China, makes Discovery the exclusive Svod home of BBC natural history series including titles such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Life and Dynasties as well as future BBC-commissioned landmark series from BBC Studios. The agreement...
- 4/1/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Casting for A-list stars is usually reserved for high-end premium dramas but it was also a challenge for Sir David Attenborough’s latest big-budget wildlife series Dynasties. In the case of the BBC series, they were searching for the right animals to showcase in the five-part series.
For the first episode, they found their own Marlon Brando, a chimpanzee called David. He is an alpha-male, the king of his patch with a slew of female admirers but also a raft of male challengers, including Luther, who wanted to take the top spot and attempted to do so in a rather violent way.
Dynasties, which is a co-production with BBC America, highlights five of the world’s most celebrated but endangered animals, as they do whatever it takes to survive and protect the next generation. The show follows a different animal each episode at the most critical period in their lives.
For the first episode, they found their own Marlon Brando, a chimpanzee called David. He is an alpha-male, the king of his patch with a slew of female admirers but also a raft of male challengers, including Luther, who wanted to take the top spot and attempted to do so in a rather violent way.
Dynasties, which is a co-production with BBC America, highlights five of the world’s most celebrated but endangered animals, as they do whatever it takes to survive and protect the next generation. The show follows a different animal each episode at the most critical period in their lives.
- 11/4/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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