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Could End Of The BBC’s License Fee Spell The End For Public Broadcasting?

The licence fee announcement needs to be seen as part of a wider legacy in which the government has questioned the relevance of the whole idea of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) and its role in the 21st century. - The Conversation

Streaming Boom Has Been A Career Boon For Older Actors

It's no secret that Hollywood has faced accusations of ageism, seeking younger audiences at the expense of older players both in front of and behind the camera. Yet the priorities and business model of streaming, and the abundance of content that it has created, appears to be tinkering with that math. - CNN

What’s The Optimum Length For A Radio Ad? This Study Says …

"Ads that ran for 30 seconds outperformed others on most key performance indicators such as engagement, brand effect, and recall, and were also heard as more trustworthy, likable and relevant," said Audacy's chief research officer about the study. - Inside Radio

YouTube To Cut Way Back On Its Plans For Original Programming

An executive announced that the platform will only go forward with programs that have already been contracted through the Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds — a big change from earlier plans to present a lot of original content on the YouTube Premium paid subscription service. - The Hollywood Reporter

How Joss Whedon Went From Television Deity And Feminist Hero To Pariah

It's a long tale, and not a simple one, but it makes sense — even, in some ways (but not others), to Whedon himself. - New York Magazine

Why I Left The CBC

Those of us on the inside know just how swiftly — and how dramatically — the politics of the public broadcaster have shifted." - Bari Weiss

How The Ratings Hit “Yellowstone” Is Bucking Cultural Trends

Streaming was supposed to be the great equalizer, for either access to content or its segmentation into competitive platforms warring for their niche and slice of IP. Yellowstone presents a fascinating rebuke to these trends. - The Guardian

There’s Now A Whole Sub-Genre Of Movies About North American School Shootings

"There has been a range of films" — Zero Day (2002), Elephant (2003), Polytechnique (2009), Beautiful Boy (2010), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Mass (2021), the documentary Bowling for Columbine (2002) — that have tried to make some kind of sense of these senseless, most horrifying atrocities." - BBC

CNN+, The Upcoming Streaming Service WarnerMedia Is Hurling Cash At

The news giant has already poached Audie Cornish from NPR and Chris Wallace from Fox for CNN+ (rumor has it they dangled $20 million at Rachel Maddow), and it's bringing on its own stars (Anderson Cooper, Sara Sidner) as well. The suits insist, "This is not CNN 2." - Vanity Fair

Boris’s Government Says It Will Eliminate The BBC TV License Fee. What Is That? (An Explainer)

It's the way the BBC is funded — a flat fee, currently £159 ($217) a year, charged to every household in the UK that has a television. Here's an explanation of how that money is spent, why the fee was just frozen, and why the Tories want to kill it. - BBC

YouTube Removes “Dislike” Buttons And Engagement Goes Down

YouTube’s controversial move to remove public dislike counts in November was aimed at shielding smaller creators from harassment campaigns but has already started to discourage certain viewers from engaging with videos on the platform, new data suggests. -Variety

End Of The BBC As We Know It?

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said the Government is signalling “the end of the BBC as we know it” in a “pathetic” attempt to distract from Boris Johnson’s difficulties over Downing Street parties. - The Press-Gazette

The Tories Freeze BBC’s License Fee For Two Years

Sounds great during a pandemic, right? But the BBC is commercial-free, and the license fee is its income, so when the fee doesn't keep up with inflation, the broadcaster must plan for budget cuts all around. - Variety

Sundance Is All Online Again, And That’s Great

Cheers aren't what one might expect for yet another canceled in-person event - and yet, 80 films will be on offer, with art houses across the country screening films in-person. Sorry, Park City, but this is "a more democratic and authentic representation of audiences." - Washington Post

Familiar Faces At The Oscars May Crowd Out Potential Newcomers

"The directors’ branch has been known to be an exclusive club that has snubbed" newcomers like Ava DuVernay and Shaka King. "Crowding the race this year are such big names as Joel Coen for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Steven Spielberg for West Side Story." - Variety

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