In the beginning man created the BBC and man saw what he had made and it was good. But quarter of a century later and the BBC is no longer alone on our television screens. Marie Kemplay asks in the digital age what is the future for the original analogue channel?

Turn on your TV and you can choose from hundreds of channels, and although at any given time about 70% are showing Top Gear re-runs or home decoration programmes we, needless to say, still have a lot more choice than when we had just five channels. In this environment the broadcaster which was founded with the duty “to inform, to educate and to entertain” seems to be losing its way.

In the past few weeks the Ross/Brand fiasco seems to have highlighted just how vulnerable the BBC’s position is. Being attacked from all directions from an older generation for caring too much about being ‘edgy’ and not catering to let’s say more ‘refined’ tastes and the younger generation criticising them for caving in to pressure from people without a sense of humour. MPs have also been having a field day in Parliament over this. For example just listen to Liberal Democrat MP Phil Woolas: “I think once again the BBC have demonstrated that it is one law for its highly paid stars and one law for everyone else. When we are forking out millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on presenters, the least we can expect is a level of propriety commensurate with what the public considers decent.”

One of the most contentious issues is of course Ross’ hugely inflated salary of £1.8m which literally as Ross - so frequently loved to point out – came at the price of 1,800 journalists, who were made redundant last year. It begged the question if providing edgy entertainment is seemingly more important than news programmes how is the BBC still able to justify its public service funding?

It seems in its quest to be the ‘everyman’ of British television, the BBC has lost touch with exactly who its target audience should be. In the digital age broadcasters such as Sky have a very distinct advantage in that it does not have a prescribed public service remit and is freer to court the rapidly changing tastes and habits of its viewers.

Both Sky and the BBC are currently foraying into High Definition television. The obvious benefit with the BBC is that if you have all the right HD equipment you have to pay no extra charge. However with Sky you must pay an extra subscription but you also get far more HD channels for your money such as sky films, Sky Sports and Discovery Channel as well as BBC HD.

Another point is that in recent years people have increasingly wanted to watch television more flexibly. It is now completely the normal to watch programmes on the computer rather than television screen. Recognising this, last year the BBC launched iplayer, a hugely successful online viewing platform. Sky has recently announced it will follow suit and although the details are not yet confirmed Sky have said it will show favourite programmes from its favourite channels. Sky Player will be available to everybody regardless of whether you currently subscribe to Sky or not, and although you will have to pay a fee, what most people are quick to forget is the BBC is not free, currently costing £139 a year, somehow I doubt that Sky Player will cost that much.

It seems likely in the future the BBC will be forced to stick to a more ‘public service’ role, i.e focus more on educational programming such as news and documentaries if it is to retain its license fee funding in a world where there are hundreds of channels providing entertainment. However I hope it is not forced to abandon entertainment altogether where would we have been without the likes of Fawlty Towers, Little Britain and Yes Minister, it will be black day indeed when the BBC is forced to abandon comedy. As for Sky I think it will continue to do what it does best, provide great sports coverage, great movies and the next generation of quality American television a la ’24’ and ‘Lost’ – and to boot probably all of the above in glorious High Definition quality.

Something to bear in mind though is what will happen if Channel 4 gets its wish and is given Public Service funding, now that would completely change the landscape of broadcasting in the UK.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Sky by Marie Kemplay
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As Jonathan Ross is currently on unpaid leave you’ll have to make do with or very own movie buff Marie Kemplay instead.

A cinematic review of 2008

Batman

Although it’s impossible not be influenced by his tragic death and that inevitably coloured my judgement, Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker really stole the show from Christian Bale, who despite playing the lead character of Batman was just plain bland. But I’m in danger of flogging the film as a one trick pony and there is much more to it than Ledger, for example the undercurrent of dodgy financial dealings is one we are now unfortunately only too familiar with, a dark film for dark times, yet highly entertaining nonetheless. Unlike everybody else I also thought there was the perfect number of false endings, I would have felt cheated had I not been tricked a few times.

There Will Be Blood

In terms of aesthetic quality There Will be Blood has to be high on the list, the rich black oil bursting forth from the parched and arid earth of California is deeply beautiful. The black stuff has an almost Midas-like quality to it, corrupting everything it touches and I guess that is the underlying message…maybe. Confusion is what prevents me from really enjoying the film, I don’t really understand what message is being conveyed, oil is evil? Really you don’t say! Overall the film gives the impression of complete futility, and after investing 2.5 good hours of my life, I would like a bit more than that. The ending especially threw me, I just don’t understand why Daniel Day Lewis kills the priest there is of course some kind of message about the hypocrisy of the church and the new religion being wealth and capitalist greed hidden in there but still…WHAT? Overall, Imagery: spectacular, Acting: fantastic, plot (excuse my French) crap.

Cloverfield

I really enjoyed Cloverfield, I put it down to my age, it has an intentional badly made student film vibe. Perhaps the greatest thing is that it unapologetically leaves you with no real resolution, we never found why this weird monster appeared or what happens next. I never mind being cheated out of answers if the plot is gripping enough. Although those American accents become somewhat grating – I’m thinking multiple “OH MY GAWDs” here - I can’t imagine a British equivalent being quite as plausible. If a British man’s love interest was trapped at the top of building with little chance of successful rescue and a giant monster was ripping through the streets of London I would expect his reaction to be: “anybody fancy a pint?” It was good old fashioned scary movie; no hint of government conspiracy, terrorism, etc a perfect hiding behind the sofa flick. It’s the kind of horror film that rather than leaving you unnerved allows you to sleep well at night and put the weird Godzilla-like monster in the same mental box as you put the wicked stepmother and big bad wolf when you were a child.

“W”

I think W deserves a place if just for the sole reason that it finally allows us to celebrate George W Bush’s departure in glorious technicolour. Although in my opinion the film has arrived 8 years too late, I think it would have been far more useful before he came into office to give us a clue about the kind of disastrous policies we could expect. But of course without the good old Iraq war and years of gaffes and unfortunate choices of words it is unlikely anybody would have paid much attention. So as it is this film is one giant sigh of relief that he’s on the way out, allowing us to have one last laugh at him but also unexpectedly to maybe even empathise with him, I know, it surprised me too. Overall nothing too revolutionary about the film and some of the acting is quite questionable, Tony Blair for example is pretty ludicrous. I also think Oliver Stone missed a trick by not covering the whole Florida recount fiasco which got Bush into the White House in the first place.

Sex in the City

And finally, allow me my foolish indulgence, as a female I tend to go weak at the knees over dresses, designer labels, jewellery…anything that would provoke the opposite reaction from a bloke. I think the Sex and the City movie is perhaps the ultimate polarising film, for women it champions all the best things about being a modern woman: being gorgeous, having a great job, and most importantly shoes and handbags. It’s a film about having it all basically, and while it’s wholly unrealistic it’s nice for a few hours to escape the dreary streets of Britain to uptown Manhattan. However for a bloke I can see the film is anathema, but I reckon it might be a good pulling trick, I’m willing to bet if you quoted a line from the film the ladies would be putty in your hands…here’s a good one: “You fancy ‘Colouring’ sometime?”

Tags: Digital TV, Films by Marie Kemplay
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Marie Kemplay looks at the impending launch of the Sky Player

Following in the footsteps of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, Sky have announced they are to launch their own online viewing platform. The imaginatively named Sky Player will show programmes from some of the broadcaster’s most popular channels such as Sky One and National Geographic. Although they are yet to confirm many of the channels they have already said that Sky Sports will be available. So you’ll be able to watch that winning putt/try/goal over and over again. They are currently in negotiations with Hollywood executives over showing films from Sky Movies as well.

The best news is that Sky player will be available to everybody, regardless of whether you subscribe to Sky television or not. This poses the obvious question of why bother having a television anymore? Several of my friends now solely really on their computers to watch their favourite programmes. However, for the time being at least, television sets will still provide superior viewing. In the words of Mike Darcy, Chief Operating Officer of Sky: “While the laptop won’t replace the TV experience for most people, we’re creating more choices to allow customers to choose the option that suits their lifestyle”.

Perfect, laptop for example when you’re up late and don’t want to wake everybody up and television for when you fancy a night in with a good film. I love this new flexible way of viewing television; Teletext will soon be as obsolete as the milkman and the floppy disk. I can’t imagine that High Definition laptops are too far away in the future either. They would certainly be the perfect excuse for a long train journey; my great aunt in Abergavenny would probably get more visits!

Sky player will be launched “in the next few months” according to Darcy. In the meantime you might actually have to suffer the inconvenience of watching programmes at their listed times on that familiar big square box in your living room.

Tags: Digital TV, Sky by Marie Kemplay
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Latest digital news developments

The digital television industry is alight with rumours that Sky is on the verge of making an offer of around £450m for Tiscali UK.

Tiscali, who are based in Italy, are one of Europe’s largest telecommunication companies. They offer services that range from Internet provision to digital television. There already exists an agreement between Sky and Tiscali that allows Tiscali subscribers to enjoy premium Sky channels such as Sky Sports and Sky Movies.

A potential merger is considered to be likely between these two companies that already have a history of working together. Another rival for the Tiscali business, Carphone Warehouse, is reported to have recently withdrawn its interest.

Sky meanwhile have reported that, for the first time, they have broken the 9m customer barrier for the first time. As of the end of October, Sky’s satellite, TV, broadband and telecoms company had a total of 9,067,000 customers – making it one of Britain’s largest telecommunication companies.

Tags: Digital TV by Peter Moore
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Tuesday, 4th November, 2008

• 136.6 million Americans voted
• The result of the popular vote was 51.9 percent for Obama and 46.8 percent for McCain
• Shortly after 11:00pm EST John McCain conceded defeat. “The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly,” he said.
• At 11:12 EST, President Bush made a telephone call to congratulate Obama. “You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself,” the President said.
• About half an hour later a victorious Obama emerged onto a wide platform in front of his fans to declare victory. “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America,“

Tags: Digital TV, Politics by Peter Moore
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In a secular, capitalist society, our aspirations often lead us towards celebrity - but is this dream lifestyle laced with a curse? Marie Kemplay looks at the case of Kerry Katona

It’s been a bad week for Kerry Katona, - “what week isn’t?” I may hear you ask - after she slurred her way through a cringe inducing interview on This Morning last week. Her publicist Max Clifford, who Kerry once described as a ‘surrogate father’, has announced he will no longer represent her. In an interview with Heat magazine he said he was increasingly worried about the foundering celeb after being told by Kerry’s friends that she is drinking more and more, earlier and earlier. It completes what has been a spectacular fall from grace for the bubbly 28 year old who was once ‘Queen of the Jungle’ and a mum of the year candidate.

Kerry who was in and out of care from an early age did not have an easy start in life. But things started looking up for her after a brief and modestly successful career in girl band Atomic Kitten who had chart success with songs such as Whole Again which made it to number one. Lyrics like “So come on baby do it to me good now, Do it to me slowly (oh yeah), Do it to me Right Now” might explain why Atomic Kitten aren’t remembered for their profound lyrical talent.

In 2001 she had every tweenager’s dream marriage to blonde, airbrushed popstar, Bryan McFadden of Westlife ‘fame’. But the marriage was short-lived and after having two daughters, Molly and Lilly-Sue the pair split in 2004, causing Kerry to spiral into a drug fuelled depression followed by a spell in rehab. Last year she married taxi driver Mark Croft and the pair have two children, Heidi and Mark. Kerry provoked outrage in the media for continuing to smoke and drink during the pregnancies, claiming she didn’t think a few puffs would do much harm.

Add to this an armed robbery at her home in July 2007 triggering symptoms of bi-polar disorder, being declared bankrupt in August 2008 for failing to pay a tax bill, constant rumours that she is on drugs and her ongoing custody battle with her McFadden and it’s little wonder she is struggling to hold it together.

It’s all a far cry from her former Atomic Kitten band mates who are both preparing to release solo albums. Natasha Hamilton has recently finished touring with Lionel Ritchie, appeared in the BBC series “Just the Two of Us” and won the ‘Rear of the Year’ award in 2003. Liz McClarnon won Celebrity Masterchef in July and made her debut as a National Lottery presenter last Wednesday.

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Kerry; the media thrives on her and other celebrities like her. For example Amy Winehouse has constantly been in the papers over the past year for her drink and drug fuelled exploits in Camden. Allegedly shoplifting, attacking people in the street and wandering around in her bra in the early hours of the morning, all perfect tabloid fodder; sometimes all that’s necessary is for her to come out of her house and look a bit ropey. In America Britney Spears hasn’t had it much better. Her whole bitter custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline and her mental health problems have been lapped up by the media. Her personal nadir arrived when she was filmed being taken to hospital in an ambulance chasing frenzy.

Despite Kerry complaining that Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton stitched her up, they would never have exposed her to that kind of media firestorm and conducted the interview had they known what a state she was. They claimed that she arrived too late for them to speak to her before going on air. Schofield said in the Daily Mail earlier this week: “In my mind she shouldn’t be paraded on television - she should be taken home and loved up and cared for.” I couldn’t agree more. But it seems MTV do not agree and their documentary Whole Again, broadcast on Sundays, shows Kerry giving birth and having breast reduction surgery.

Tags: Digital TV by Marie Kemplay
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With half of England scandalised by the actions of two of its favourite comedians, Marie Kemplay asks whether it is all justified

I must admit I do actually quite like Jonathan Ross. His Friday night questioning of people from all corners of celebrity is one of my favourite programmes and as a result of his suspension my Friday evenings will be far less entertaining. Granted tonight I’ll be too busy stumbling around in whatever costume I can find in Tesco later.

But I find myself thinking is Jonathan Ross really the reason why I tune in on a Friday or is for the celebrities themselves. And is Russell Brand really that funny or is it his scriptwriters? I went to watch his chat show being filmed last year and it was one of the most disillusioning experiences. He read the entire thing off an autocue and then threw in a bit of gesticulation and outlandish phraseology for good measure. They both have over-inflated egos that would benefit from being knocked down a couple of pegs.

I’m not baying for blood in the same way a lot of the right wing press appear to be but I do agree the line has to be drawn somewhere. The content of the message left on Andrew Sachs mobile was pretty disgusting, with Ross shouting “he f***** you granddaughter” and Brand retaliating “it’s ok I used a condom”.

The whole thing just reeks of stupidity; this was a BBC Radio 2 programme not a late night TV special, and they were leaving messages on a 78 year old man’s answer phone, someone you would perhaps expect to speak to more respectfully. As for Georgina Baillie, regardless of whether she is a “Satanic Slut” I’m sure she doesn’t want her sex life broadcast to the nation. You really would have expected Brand, Ross and whoever authorised the broadcast to know better.

But that was all it was, stupidity, certainly not enough to warrant Lesley Davies, Controller of Radio 2, a highly competent woman and who by all accounts did nothing wrong in this so called ‘scandal’, losing her job. Brand was right to resign, his radio show would never have been received in the same way and it was right that Ross was suspended, the BBC needed breathing space - but as even Andrew Sachs admitted performers make mistakes.

The BBC is a fantastic institution, highly regarded worldwide and something of which we should be immensely proud, of course it has its problems but that doesn’t mean we should allow it to be trounced out of all recognition by the right wing media. We want a broadcaster that’s willing to take risks, not one held back by the worst aspects conservative (with a small c) society.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV by Marie Kemplay
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Buyology - The psychology behind why we buy

So what does the Roman Catholic Church have in common with Nintendo, the video games manufacturer? Not much you might assume. Both are quite old: in the case of the Roman Catholic Church a couple of millennia, whilst next year Nintendo will, rather surprisingly, celebrate its 120^th birthday. But, aside from this, you’d probably be stumped for an answer – and for inspiration you’d have to turn to the latest book from the Danish author Martin Lindstrom.

Lindstrom is generally regarded as one of the world’s top marketing gurus, spending the majority of his time skipping around the globe preaching on the fundamentals of his marketing theory – Buyology. More than a mere pun, the word Buyology, refers to an astute psychological analysis of human behaviour, asking the question: ‘just what psychological factors impel us towards brand allegiance?’

Why is it that we react positively to slogans, jingles and celebrity endorsements? Just think of Levi’s Flat Eric. How was it that a stuffed toy with attitude, riding the highways of California, could have a far more pronounced effect on the human mind than all the graphic warnings on the front of cigarette cartons can? Why are we tied so closely to our favourite brands? What is the psychology behind all of the symbols and logos? Why have Singapore Airways gone to the trouble of creating their own branded smell for their fleet of aircraft?

To explain these puzzling questions, Lindstrom has turned to that most horribly complicated of instruments, the human mind. Lindstrom argues that the reasons that we buy a brand, and why we remain fiercely loyal to it, are burrowed deep within our sub conscious.

This is the crux, where the psychology behind the success of the great religions of the world mirrors the psychology behind a successful brand – from Rolex to Coca Cola. ‘The same area of the human brain,’ Lindstrom argues, ties a person to their religious faith as makes a consumer loyal to a successful brand. Essentially it is the same impulses that keep Roman Catholics pious as keep newer generations hooked to products like the Nintendo Wii.

Understanding these impulses, Lindstrom advocates, is key to building a successful brand or product. From Richard Branson, to fourteenth century popes, he argues, successful branding lies at the root of their success. For aspiring marketers, businessmen on the lookout for new ideas, or psychologists merely interested in the motivations of the mind – this could be a book that is too good to be missed.

Tags: Digital TV, News by Peter Moore
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