BBC COMEDY WRITERS BATTLE CENSORING “POLICE”

Comedy writers for the BBC now must answer to “commissioning, legal, compliance and editorial policy police” who are determined to erase “the merest potential offense” from programs, veteran British TV comedy producer and writer John Lloyd has written in the BBC news magazine Radio Times. In the article, Lloyd complains that BBC executives have imposed […]

BBC SOAP DRAWS THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS

Thousands of fans of Britain’s long-running soap EastEnders have filed complaints with the BBC, which has carried it for 26 years, with OFCOM, the British TV watchdog, and on Facebook and Twitter, about its current storyline. On Friday, one of the principal characters discovers that her baby has died of sudden infant death syndrome and […]

MASSIVE BRITISH AUDIENCES TUNE IN TO TWO ITV SHOWS

Two British television shows each attracted massive audiences on Thursday and Sunday. According to preliminary ratings, a live episode marking the 50th anniversary of the primetime soap opera Coronation Street attracted 15 million viewers Thursday, and Simon Cowell’s talent contest The X Factor averaged 17.2 million on Sunday (peaking at 19.4 million). Both shows are […]

OWNERSHIP OF BRITAIN’S CHANNEL 5 RETURNS TO BRITAIN

British publisher Richard Desmond has bought Channel 5, the U.K. terrestrial television network, from Bertelsman’s Luxembourg-based RTL Group for $161 million. Desmond, who owns the London Daily Express, OK! magazine, and the Television X adult channel, is expected to encounter little opposition from regulators in completing the sale. Although Channel 5 broadcasts such hit American […]

BBC CHANNELS OFFERING MOSTLY REPEATS, SAY CRITICS

The publicly funded BBC (owners of TV sets in the U.K. are required to pay an annual “license fee” to underwrite its operations) has come under attack for loading its four TV channels with thousands of hours of repeats. The London Daily Express today (Wednesday) published figures indicating that last year 84.4 percent of programming […]