BBC Makes Final Broadcast From Bush House
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Almost half of people under 35 claim to have commented to others via online or text message while watching a TV program, in an emerging trend called “chatterboxing.” According to the Telescope 2012 study by the BBC’s TV licensing organization, the rise of “two-screen” viewing of TV shows, in which people use a laptop, smartphone or tablet while also watching programs, is changing habits around television consumption.
BBC Director General Mark Thompson has confirmed plans for an iTunes-style download service that will allow viewers to buy shows minutes after they have finished on TV.
The BBC is developing a radical scheme under which UK viewers would pay to download new and old BBC TV shows from a service it hopes will compete with iTunes. The U.K. broadcaster wants to make all its shows available as download-to-own (DTO) at prices including £1.89 ($3) per show, under a scheme called Project Barcelona.
The launch of BBC’s new iPlayer app in essence means the company has taken its TV content online, added on-demand features, advanced search powers, playability on multiple platforms mobile and static, and then fed all of its lessons back into an app for TVs.
A consortium led by Microsoft will begin a technology trial in the UK this week that should pave the way for new mobile broadband networks that can support bandwidth-hungry smartphones. The BBC, British Sky Broadcasting and BT are among the consortium members to investigate how radio spectrum not needed for transmitting terrestrial television could be used for new wireless broadband networks.
The BBC is developing an app that will allow its reporters in the field to file video, stills and audio directly into the BBC system from an iPhone or iPad. The new app, due to be in use within a month or so, is also intended to allow reporters to broadcast live from an iPhone using only 3G signal.
Tapping into what it sees as a need for impartial international news on cable, the BBC said that it would aggressively seek distribution in the United States for BBC World News, its 24-hour news channel. But that’s in the long term. In the short term, the BBC is cutting back on its flagship newscast based in the U.S. BBC World News America will be moved off of the BBC America cable channel and will be trimmed to 30 minutes from an hour each weeknight.
LONDON (AP) — One colleague offered her hair dye. Another told her “it’s time for botox.” A third said her wrinkles could be a problem in this new era of […]
