Broadcast News Archive for December, 2000
15/12/2000 BBC POSTPONE EXPENSES CHANGE
CONTROVERSIAL new rules on expenses’ claims have been deferred for a month by the BBC, say BECTU. The new arrangements, originally timed to start on January 1, 2000, will not be introduced until Febr

15/12/2000 BBC VICE-CHAIRMAN APPOINTMENT COMES UNDER FIRE
DOWNING Street’s announcement that Gavyn Davies has been appointed Vice-Chairman of the BBC has come under fire. Bectu Assistant General Secretary Gerry Morrissey, as reported in the Media Guardian,

15/12/2000 EXTREME AND OXYGEN WORK ON REALITY TV FORMATS
NORTHERN Ireland based TV company, Extreme Productions, and Dublin web portal Oxygen, have announced their intention to work together on a variety of Reality TV formats. Oxygen currently produces ‘No

15/12/2000 IMAGINE GRAPHICS RECEIVE HORIZON AWARD
COMPUTER display technology and digital video systems specialists, Imagine Graphics, recently received their first ever Horizon Award from Visual Circuits Corporation who design and manufacture digita

15/12/2000 ITC ISSUES DIRECTION TO SCOTTISH TELEVISION
THE ITC have issued a ‘direction’ to Scottish Television, following the broadcast of the ‘Ask the Prime Minister’ programme on ITV. The direction was issued by the ITC in an effort to ensure impartia

15/12/2000 MOLINARE INSTALL SOUNTRACS DIGITAL CONSOLES
MOLINARE Post Production Limited, based in London’s Soho, have recently installed two Soundtracs DPC-II digital production consoles as part of a major refurbishment of their suites. Molinare, one of

15/12/2000 PACE LAUNCH NEW ONDIGITAL SET-TOP BOX
PACE, the provider of digital set-top boxes, have launched their fastest-ever ONdigital set-top box with an advanced tuner design for improved reception in marginal coverage areas. Amid much criticis

15/12/2000 THE LAST BRITISH CHRISTMAS BLOCKBUSTER?
IF NEXT year’s British Christmas blockbuster film isn’t off the drawing board and rolling into production already, the chances are it won’t be produced at all, according to Baker Tilly, business advis

15/12/2000 ZONE VISION CONTINUES REALITY TV ROLL OUT
ZONE Vision, the London-based thematic channel producer and distributor, have negotiated the carriage of their Reality TV channel, co-owed with UPCtv, in Africa on Multichoice platforms. Launching th

14/12/2000 BBC BIRMINGHAM POSTED TO ‘THE MAILBOX’
THE BBC have announced that they are to move BBC Birmingham to The Mailbox, a new development in the heart of Birmingham. The BBC argue that the move to the city centre reinforces the BBC’s commitmen

14/12/2000 MAKE A DATE FOR VIDEOFORUM 2001
OPENING its doors from February 6 to February 8, this year's Video Forum offers video professionals the opportunity to get to grips with all the latest technology for production, post and new media.

14/12/2000 MERLIN COMMUNICATIONS APPOINT CHAIRMAN
MERLIN Communications Group, the global communications facilities management company, have announced that they have confirmed the appointment of Mark Burrell as Chairman. Burrell (pictured) said: “I

14/12/2000 NEW SHORT FILMS INITIATIVE ANNOUNCED
THE Film Council’s New Cinema Fund (NCF) sets out to encourage and support emerging innovative film talent by allocating £750,000 a year to support the production and distribution of short films throu

14/12/2000 OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE ON TV REMAINS AN ISSUE
SWEARING and offensive language on television, radio, print and in poster advertising remains an issue of concern to most adults according to a new study. The ‘Delete Expletives?’ study, published jo

14/12/2000 PHILIPS REPORT TWO BILLION EURO GAINS
ROYAL Philips Electronics fourth quarter 2000 earnings will include one-time after tax gains of approximately Euro 2.2 billion in total. Following the completion of the three-way merger between Viven

14/12/2000 SKILLSET TO WORK CLOSELY WITH OFCOM
SKILLSET could be working closely with the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the proposed new regulator for the communications sector. The White Paper states that Ofcom will have a general responsibi

14/12/2000 STAYT TO ANCHOR CHANNEL 5 NEWS
CHANNEL 5 have announced Charlie Stayt is to take over in the New Year as anchor for the channel’s evening ‘5 News’ bulletin at 6pm on weekdays. Stayt (pictured) has presented the channel’s half-hour

14/12/2000 THE HIVE BUILDS UP FESTIVE FUN
LEADING 3D animation house, the Hive, were recently commissioned by Cartoon Network Sponsorship and Promotions department to create a magical virtual advent calendar for the Windsor-based theme park,

14/12/2000 UNION ANGER OVER BIRMINGHAM MOVE
UNION members at BBC Birmingham have reacted strongly against plans to abandon Pebble Mill, say BECTU. The planned move announced by the BBC, involves the transfer of 600 staff to premises in The Mai

13/12/2000 BBC OPEN UP JOURNALISM TRAINING COURSES
BBC Training & Development have announced that they are opening up journalism training to customers outside the Corporation. Although the BBC have been providing production, operations and engineerin

13/12/2000 BBC'S INDEPENDENCE HAILED AS 'SENSIBLE'
THE BBC have hailed the Government’s Communications White Paper which, they say, will benefit the public, the broadcasting industry, and maintain the BBC’s independence as "sensible". Chairman of the

13/12/2000 BECTU CONCERNED ABOUT TV WATCHDOG
BECTU have raised concerns about the future of ITV regional programming under new industry regulator Ofcom. The proposal for a new body to oversee broadcasting, telecommunications, and new media, cam

13/12/2000 CHANNEL 4 FAVOUR RADICAL APPRAISAL
CHANNEL 4 have announced that they are strongly in favour of a radical re-appraisal of the communications regulation. The broadcaster argues that in order to recognise that convergence is a reality,

13/12/2000 DNA PASSES FILM COUNCIL REVIEW
THE Film Council have announced after a period of review they have agreed the continuation of DNA’s film franchise, and have been awarded £29m by the Arts Council of England for a further six years.

13/12/2000 EQUITY CLAIMS ACTORS ‘PUCKOONED’
‘PUCKOON’, a new feature film currently being filmed at The Paint Hall Studios in Belfast, has come under fire from UK actors union Equity. The union has called on the public sector backers to drop o