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How TV defines the digital era

The Big Bang Theory

Some years ago, when The Guardian hosted a supper at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, there was an unfamiliar face sitting among the executive classes.

It should be said that, over the years, this event has been notable for a number of spectacular rows. And, in the interests of transparency, I have to admit that I was responsible for one of the worst, when I asked Luke Johnson, then Chair of Channel 4, what a “pizza maker” like him knew about television.

Who will own the future of television?

RTS Cambridge Session 1

Who will own the future – the broadcasters, the content owners or the global tech behemoths, such as Google, Facebook and Apple? The question is not new, but it is becoming ever more pressing for people in television.

James Purnell, the BBC’s Director, Strategy and Digital, led this comprehensive opening debate, “Happy Valley or House of Cards? Television in 2020”.

Olympics Committee to launch digital channel for Rio 2016

It will include stories about the volunteers and athletes, news about the games and background information. And it will be delivered online via Over The Top (OTT) services. 

The IOC President, Thomas Bach, told German media magazine Horizont that he believes in the importance of having appealing content on digital platforms.

Online music videos to get age ratings

Music videos are to carry a certified 12, 15 or 18-age restriction to protect children viewing explicit content online.

There have been a number of complaints from parents on forums such as netmums about the sexualized content in music videos that their children have been watching, including Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball.

Now, YouTube and Vevo must comply with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) guidelines that age restriction must be included on the video’s page.

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Philippe Dauman: The king in waiting

Philippe Dauman

Philippe Dauman, Chief Executive of Viacom, the media empire created by nonagenarian Sumner Redstone, has been called many things in his long Viacom career.

One is "dauphin", marking both his succession potential and the fact that he is French-born. Although he has lived almost all of his life in the US, Dauman is a fluent French speaker.

He is "an iron fist in a velvet glove" according to Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive of WPP. The New York Times summed him up as "The man who would be Redstone".

TV vs Digital: A match made in heaven?

I Made it in Digital

RTS Futures assembled a panel of pioneers for its sold-out event at London's Hospital Club in late April, "I made it in... digital". An enthusiastic, youthful audience was eager to learn from their experiences of working at the cutting edge of new media. It learnt, perhaps surprisingly, that television – the dancing dad at an achingly hip party – still has a big role to play in the digital age.