The BBC's latest submission to the Government on the Charter Review consultation includes further detail on BBC Studios. The proposal removes the key guarantees and quotas for BBC in-house programmes but establishes BBC Studios as a separate entity, to maintain the BBC's tradition of programme making. To discuss the implications for the UK's independent TV production sector at large, Steve is joined by Cat Lewis, CEO of Nine Lives Media and Debbie Manners, MD Keo Films and former Chair of Pact Council.
Axel Springer, the owner of the German tabloid Bild, has become the first major German publisher to insist that users of ad-blocking software either pay a monthly fee, or turn off the ad-blockers before viewing its content. Earlier this month, Apple launched its first operating system permitting users to download ad-blocking software from its app store. Media Editor of The Times, Beth Rigby, joins Steve.
New research shows 20% of female technology journalists surveyed said they had disguised their gender, name or published anonymously, to avoid abuse. Catherine Adams, freelance journalist & senior lecturer in Communications at Nottingham Trent joins Steve to discuss the conclusions of her new research. And Holly Brockwell, Editor in Chief of Gadgette, a technology website aimed at women, talks about the sexist abuse she has experienced in the course of her work.
The BBC have issued a statement denying that it has axed The Voice, saying: "We are in discussions about its future, but we won't get into a bidding war." Reports from The Daily Mirror had suggested the BBC had dropped the programme and that it could appear on ITV. The Guardian's Tara Conlan joins Steve to discuss the wrangling over this Saturday night talent show.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
