Apple

Apple TV+ reveals apocalyptic Extrapolations trailer and glittering cast

Extrapolations presents an imminent apocalyptic future where the catastrophic effects of climate change are choking modern society. The world is at breaking point, and humans are taking action.

Storylines involving family, faith, love and work all come to the surface as characters suffer and prosper via planet earth falling apart around them.

WarnerMedia and Discovery deal shows merger mania sweeping TV

92% chance of Apple or Netflix buying Lionsgate (credit: Evan Shapiro)

There is a media consolidation bonanza under way, with no let-up in sight. The boom is sucking in big legacy media companies, including Hollywood studios such as Warner Bros and MGM, as well as broadcasters, production companies and global tech platforms. With its world-class creative talent, the UK is not immune, and the rush by companies to scale up and secure access to premium content is happening worldwide.  

BritBox: Traditional media's answer to US streaming giants

Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman) in Victoria (Credit: ITV)

It seems only a few short years ago that the BBC and ITV were thought of as the titans of British media. But all of us in the UK’s traditional media solar system are getting smaller and smaller in the Apple, Amazon and Netflix universe.” Thus said Lord Hall, Director-General of the BBC, in March, as he unveiled the corporation’s plans for its new financial year.

“We need to find new ways to adapt to the changing needs of our audiences, and we need to be able to do it in real time to keep pace with our global competitors,” he continued.

Guest post: A four-step plan to safeguard UK television

Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digital UK

Our reaction to a major change of any kind usually goes in phases…

Avoidance (“I’m not going to look”)

Denial (“I’ve looked but I don’t believe it”)

Fear (“We’re doomed”)

Panic (“I just need to do something”)

Response (“Ok – maybe there is something practical I can do”)

Acceptance (“Well that wasn’t so bad”)

British TV has been fairly consistent in following this pattern when it has faced transformative change in the sector in the past.

Event report: Virtual Reality and 360⁰ Storytelling

Guests enjoy virtual reality experiences at the event (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

The latest kit from some of the leading innovators in virtual reality was available for the audience to test, before and after a panel of experts discussed the consumer appeal of the new technology.

Event chair, journalist Kate Bulkley, posed the key question to the panel: Would virtual reality telly fare any better than 3D TV? The latter had been much hyped by the manufacturers and broadcasters a few years ago before disappearing, leaving barely a trace.

NAB 2015: To the Internet and Beyond

1. Why your TV should talk to your toaster: connected-TV and the 'internet of things'

One of the big draws at television technology shows such as NAB in Las Vegas is the "living room of the future", with its wall-filling, multi-image, interactive TV screen. Such "wallpaper displays" are still, largely, mock-ups, not demonstrations of real services.

But the "internet of things" (IoT) – the multiplication of connected devices, body-worn sensors and Cloud data services – could soon make such TVs a reality.