Ofcom Opens Local TV Bids

Ofcom has opened up bidding for operators to set up their own local TV services across the UK.

The new network will see up to 21 US-style local TV stations in areas including Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff and London.

The service will be available to all terrestrial viewers and may also be offered on satellite, cable and online.

The media regulator said it will decide on successful applicants this autumn, with the new channels expected to launch next year.

Licences will be awarded based on a set of criteria including the provision of local news and current affairs, programme proposals, launch date and commercial viability.

The 21 areas Ofcom have selected for local TV are: Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Leeds, Liverpool and London.

Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Preston, Sheffield, Southampton and Swansea will also benefit from the service.

The areas were selected for having sufficient levels of interest from potential operators and being technically capable of receiving a local TV service.

The BBC Trust also published the final details of its funding contribution for the network.

As part of the current licence fee settlement, the BBC agreed to contribute up to £25 million for the successful bidder to build the network.

"I hope to see some really exciting bids for new local TV channels," UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.

"Local TV will not only create jobs but it will also provide communities with news and content that is relevant to their daily lives."

May 10 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Eurovision Grand Final

Graham Norton commentates for BBC One and BBC One HD and Ken Bruce commentates for BBC Radio 2 as 26 countries (out of the original 42) compete for the coveted title of the Eurovision Song Contest winner 2012.

On May 26 from each of the two semi-finals, ten countries will have qualified. Meanwhile, the big five - France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy - and host country Azerbaijan have automatically qualified to take part in the Grand Final.

Engelbert Humperdinck will be flying the flag for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest as he opens this year's event in Baku with his ballad Love Will Set You Free'.

Viewers will once again be part of the Eurovision Song Contest experience via the red button. Red button users will be able to sing along to the lyrics of all 26 finalists songs, both in English and the original language.

May 10 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Frankie Howerd Documentary

Twenty years after his death, Channel 4 is to screen some never-before-seen footage of Frankie Howerd in a new documentary.

Alongside the clips from classic shows the programme will unveil professional and personal archive film and audio that has never been broadcast - from pilots, to home movie footage, to unseen material from his live stand up show.

In addition, the film will lift the lid on his vast collection of personal correspondence.

A range of contributors have been interviewed for the 90-minute documentary, including some of the comedian's most famous fans as well as the people who were closest to him, such as his former agent and collaborators.

The Unseen Frankie Howerd will air late 2012.

May 10 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Springwatch Returns

The live nature programme Springwatch is returning to BBC Two for three weeks from May 28 to June 14, with Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes‐Games.

As well as watching the action on all the live cameras, the series will reveal the beauty and drama as spring unfolds. Springwatch will also report on the latest wildlife news from across the UK, reacting to stories as they happen, and investigating the events that matter.

At the heart of Springwatch is a network of around 30 mini-cameras which follow the daily drama of wildlife families, especially birds on the nest, completely undisturbed.

During the Jubilee celebrations, Springwatch looks back at how the UK's countryside and wildlife have changed over the past 60 years.

May 10 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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The Wright Stuff Complaints

Matthew Wright's Channel 5 show is being investigated by the media regulator Ofcom over a survey that used the words "mong", "spaz" and "retard".

Viewers were asked which of the three words was "the most offensive term to describe someone with learning difficulties", according to a BBC poll.

The daytime show was debating Rupert Murdoch's use of the word "retarded" with reference to David Cameron's son.

Ofcom rules say "potentially offensive material must be justified by context".

The edition of The Wright Stuff, broadcast on April 26, received fewer than 10 complaints.

The TV watchdog is exploring whether the programme breached broadcasting rules relating to harm and offence.

The topical debate show was discussing Murdoch's appearance at the Leveson inquiry into press standards, where the media mogul praised the the Prime Minister's tenderness towards his "retarded son".

The survey, which ran on screen prior to an advertising break, was based on a 2003 poll by the BBC's disability website Ouch!

The Ouch! poll featured a list of 10 disability-related words, including cripple, special and spastic, and asked more than 2,000 voters - both disabled and non-disabled - which they found most offensive.

The word retard received nearly 20% of the votes - and was the answer given in the Wright survey, following the ad break.

Last year, a December edition of The Wright Stuff prompted some 2,220 complaints after host Wright was found by Ofcom to have caused "considerable offence" while discussing the death of Scottish teenager Liam Aitchison.

During the show, Wright used a mock Scottish accent and a catchphrase from detective show Taggart while discussing Aitchison's alleged murder.

The item received the most complaints of any TV show in 2011.

May 10 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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