The Media Club · 23 February 2024 · 43 min
Broadcasting Press Guild at 50, All3Media Sale, News Mags Dip
- Broadcasting Press Guild 50th Anniversary
- BBC Licence Fee and Cost-Cutting
- All3Media Sale to RedBird IMI
- Current Affairs Magazines Decline
- TV and Film Industry Shifts
- Radio Schedule Changes
In this special episode marking the Broadcasting Press Guild's 50th anniversary, host Matt Deegan is joined by Caroline Frost (Radio Times columnist and BPG board member) and Kate Bulkley (media writer and BPG board member) to discuss the future of the media sector. The conversation covers the BBC's licence fee settlement and cost-cutting, the state of the TV and film industries, the sale of All3Media to RedBird IMI, the decline of current affairs magazines, and radio schedule changes. The episode also features a media quiz and reflections on the BPG's history and its role in celebrating broadcasting.
Key takeaways
- The Broadcasting Press Guild celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, with a special award looking back at landmark programmes.
- BBC Director General Tim Davie welcomed the licence fee settlement, which provides certainty but includes £500 million in cuts.
- All3Media was sold to RedBird IMI for $1.2 billion, part of a roll-up strategy backed by Abu Dhabi.
- Current affairs magazines like Private Eye and The Economist saw dips in print circulation, with digital migration cited as a factor.
- Radio schedule changes include Jordan North moving to Capital and Jamie Laing replacing him at Radio 1.
In this episode
- News round-up
- BPG 50th anniversary discussion
- BBC licence fee and cost-cutting
- TV and film industry shifts
- All3Media sale
- Current affairs magazines
- Radio schedule changes
- Media quiz: Manifesting
Notable quotes
“I think the word that you used that was key there was relatively.”
“I think it's reassuringly meaningless, frankly, isn't it?”
“I would love the BBC to be less in thrall to the inverted commas, very inverted, big names, talent, and with that, big salaries.”
“I think that we are seeing a little bit more of a recalibration, if I can say that, in terms of it's not just everybody bouncing into premium television, but it's not getting so much better in film, I guess is what I'm trying to say.”
“I hope that they're all reading something online or otherwise, because if they don't, then democracy is in peril.”
Discussed
BBC · All3Media · RedBird IMI · Broadcasting Press Guild
Mentioned or recommended
- Gladiators
- The Traitors
- Survivor
- The Repair Shop
- The Apprentice
- Bake Off
- The Sewing Bee
- True Detective
- Squid Game
- House of Cards
- Orange is the New Black
- Friends
- Strictly Come Dancing
- Good Morning Britain
- This Morning
- The One Show
- Careless Whisper
- BT Tower
- The Media Podcast
