Planned consultation has been launched today by Ofcom for an online public service publisher (PSP). The service which would be delivered online would compete with the online operations of Channel 4 and the BBC.

Ofcom has anticipated a budget of between £50 million and £100 million per annum which is much smaller than the £300 million price tag originally given.

The PSP would operate via broadband internet, mobile and digital broadcasting platforms. Ofcom hope that the new service would develop content for new media, drive community activity and location-sensitive content, as well as have the opportunity collaborate with third parties.

The idea, which was first considered by the regulator back in 2004, has a consultation deadline for responses of March 23 2007.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

broadband internet, ofcom, psp, service publisher

The so called “celebs” of Big Brother are hoping that their appearance on the grand daddy of reality shows will bolster their image and the publics perception of them in a positive way and more importantly make them some more money. It seems that for one celeb this is already happening.

Dirk Benedict, the star of sci fi classic Battlestar Galactica (the 1978 TV series with the rubbish looking robot dog as opposed to the reimagined series currently showing on skyone) has seen an increase in the volume of sales for his memoirs.

The book titled, Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy is currently sitting at the No. 3 spot on last week’s bestseller list at AbeBooks.co.uk the online marketplace that specializes in used, rare and out-of-print books.

The book details his acting career from theatre productions to iconic television shows such as The A-Team and Battlestar Galactica as well as his claims that he overcame prostate cancer from exercise and a macrobiotic diet.

Dirk Benedict finished in Third Place in this years Celeb Big Brother.

Reference for posting: http://www.abebooks.com

battlestar galactica, big brother, celeb, confessions of a kamikaze cowboy, dirk benedict

Skyone have set a date for when one of its most successful and cryptic dramas will be returning to the channel. Lost, the story of the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 which crashes on a mysterious island, returns on Sunday February 11th 2007.

Skyone already showed the first six episodes of season 3 late last year which focused on Jack, Kate and Sawyer who were abducted by “the others” and try to escape from their captors. In the remaining 18 episodes the focus will shift back to the other beach survivors and will explore (and hopefully explain) some of the mysteries that have been baffling fans.

The remaining episodes will air in the UK just days after each episode is broadcast in the US. Catch the hit TV show at 10pm Sunday February 11th.

Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk

The Video sharing giant, Youtube is planning to share its advertising revenues it generates with millions of its users who provide original content for the site.
 
One of Youtube’s founders, Chad Hurley, spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Saturday saying that he hoped to boost the creativity of amateur video makers by sharing its advertising revenue.
 
With more than 70million visitors a month to the site Youtube’s plans may be more successful than another video sharing sites such as Revver who are already sharing ad revenue.
 
Youtube have not released any details as how the program will work and how much creators of original content will be paid. 
 
The video sharing giant also announced that the company was working on “audio fingerprinting” technologies to identify copyrighted material which should help the company to stop being the subject of litigation.
 
Reference for posting: http://www.computeractive.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2173644/youtube-share-profits-users

advertising revenues, share profits, video sharing, youtube

A look at some of the coolest devices unveiled at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

consumer electronics show, las vegas, unveiled

The word “plutoed” is used to describe someone who has been demoted or devalued, just like former planet Pluto when its status was downgraded.

The American Dialect Society was founded in 1889. It is a society “dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it”. The Society publishes American Speech, an academic journal.

This is the 17th time ADS members have voted to choose a word of the year. Other winners include “information superhighway”, “metrosexual” and “truthiness” (popularized on The Colbert Report).

Other words in the running for the 2006 prize included “flog” (an advertisement disguised as a blog or web log), “prohibited liquids” (fluids that cannot be transported by passengers on airplanes) and “macaca” (an American citizen treated as an alien).

Macaca is considered by some to be a racial slur and was used by former Senator George Allen (who had a comfortable lead in the polls ahead of last November’s Congressional elections) when he referred to the son of Indian immigrants as a macaca. Mr Allen later lost his senate seat to Democrat Jim Webb.

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At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, LG have announced their answer to the Blue-Ray/HD-DVD war. The LG Super Multi Blue Player is expected to retail for $1200 and can play both Blue-Ray and HD DVD discs allowing you to take advantage of both High Definition formats.

When the player launches in the US in the first quarter of 2007 it will be the first of its kind. As well as playing the HD discs the player has a number of useful features such as offering HDMI, component and composite outputs as well as optical, coaxial, and discrete 5.1 audio outputs.

Reference for posting: PRNewswire

consumer electronics show, hdmi, hd dvd

The Seattle based software giant, Microsoft, has revealed that its Xbox 360 will receive an IPTV service by the end of this year.

The new on-demand service will allow owners of Microsoft’s latest console to use their Xbox 360 as a digital recorder. The IPTV service will also allow users to record while playing Xbox 360 games and chatting to users on a friends list while viewing TV channels.

Microsoft already have a whole host of partners in place such as AT&T, BT, Deutsch Telecom and Swiss Telecom with many more trialling the service.

Microsoft hopes to establish the Xbox 360 as a home entertainment system and the IPTV service is just the latest effort. The console has already received a HD-DVD drive attachment and last year it launched a digital download service that allows users to download movies and TV shows to the console’s hard drive (US only). It is currently jostling for supremacy against the Sony’s Playstation 3 which also vies for control of you home’s living room.

Reference for posting: GamesIndustry.biz