BB FANS

BBC 6 Music presenter George Lamb - 'the one nobody can stand'.

Is there any truth in the rumours that the BBC might axe 6 Music?


Guardian

Ofcom Awards Community Radio Licences

Ofcom today announced the award of five new community radio licences.

The licences were awarded to:

SFM (Sittingbourne, Kent)
Gateway FM (Basildon, Essex)
Insanity (Egham, Surrey)
Kane FM (Guildford, Surrey)
The Vibe (Watford)

Licences are awarded for a five-year period.

In addition to the licence awards, Ofcom considered six further applications, but decided not to award a licence to the following groups:

Panjabi Awaz, Slough
Radio Wey, Chertsey, Surrey
Woking Community Radio (WCR), Woking, Surrey
Sut FM, Sutton, Surrey
Radio One Sound, Southall, Middlesex
Radio Voz de Portugal, Vauxhall, London

Two further applications were rejected due to there being no suitable FM frequency available:

Radio Reality, Hendon, London
Focus Radio, Enfield, Middlesex.
waveguide.co.uk

Lisa Kudrow on her special bond with the long-lost relative who revealed her family's tragic past

By Lina Das


• The U.S. Who Do You Think You Are? will be shown on the BBC later this year. Mail

BBC confirms cuts to web, radio


BBC employees reacted angrily as the public broadcaster unveiled a package of cuts Tuesday that includes closing two digital radio stations and reducing its online presence.

Up to 600 BBC staff and freelancers could lose their jobs in the cuts, which would reduce operating costs by 25 per cent annually.

The BBC gets about £3.4 billion ($5.3 billion) from TV licence fees and additional revenue from sales of its programs. It aims to cut overhead costs by about £100 million ($156 million).

CBC.ca

The World According to Tom
By Douglas Brinkley Wednesday


The Pacific, his new 10-hour epic about the Pacific theater in World War II, plays out against a very different backdrop, when the country is weary of war and American exceptionalism is a much tougher sell. World War II in the European theater was a case of massive armies arrayed against an unambiguous evil.


www.time.com

ITV Boss 'Will Call In Watchdog' Over BBC

The new boss of ITV has used his first broadcast interview since taking up the role to hit out at the BBC's dominance of UK television.

ITV Boss 'Will Call In Watchdog' Over BBC
9:34pm UK, Thursday March 04, 2010

Peter Hoskins, senior business producer

The new boss of ITV has used his first broadcast interview since taking up the role to hit out at the BBC's dominance of UK television.

In the exclusive interview with Sky's Jeff Randall, Archie Norman said he will take his complaints to the media watchdog.

"We will be talking to the regulator. I've had a conversation with (BBC chairman) Michael Lyons about it. We talked to the secretary of state about it," he said.

"I think it's a very serious problem for Britain."

The former Asda chief executive, who became ITV's chairman in January, also spoke out about the BBC's policy of chasing ratings over its public service remit.

"They schedule their programmes to come up directly against us.

"That's exactly what they did with 'Strictly Come Dancing' and the X-Factor last Autumn."

SKY News

Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom Of The Opera, which opens next week, is already being hailed as even better. Can it live up to the hype?

By David Wigg


• Love Never Dies opens at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on Tuesday. Tickets: www.love neverdies.com or 0844 412 4648.


Mail

No wonder he's gone white: Chris Evans fails to win over Terry's TOGs as one in six switch off breakfast show



One in six older listeners have turned off Radio 2’s breakfast show since Chris Evans took over from Terry Wogan, new figures reveal.

And Evans appears to be feeling the strain, judging by his bright white hair.

The 43-year-old went on holiday last week, only six weeks into the job - sparking claims the pressure was already starting to get to him.

DailyMail

Gay actors - an open and shut closet
Many actors have recently and successfully played gay characters. So why, asks James Mottram, are there so few openly gay stars?



'A Single Man' is on general release. 'I Love You Phillip Morris' opens on 17 March. 'The Kids Are All Right' will open later this year
Independent

ITV's Magic Numbers

ITV1 today announced the prime-time commission of Magic Numbers, a new live entertainment show where viewers’ phones could win them a fortune.

Hosted by Stephen Mulhern, Magic Numbers will feature celebrity guests and performances, live outside broadcasts and interactive games and stunts.

Central to the show is a competition for viewers at home to win up to £250,000 by matching digits from their phone number - landline or mobile - with those numbers produced by the games in the show. At the climax of the show, a viewer playing from home will be selected at random to play for the huge cash jackpot.

Stephen Mulhern said: “To be hosting Magic Numbers is a dream! It's a variety game show where viewers at home can win life changing amounts of money by simply knowing their own phone number. Add this to hilarious games and surprise celebrity guests it makes it the ideal show for all the family to enjoy!”




Benidorm Set For Return

ITV has announced the production of a special and a fourth series of Benidorm.

The special will be broadcast later this yea followed by firther episodes in 2011.

Alongside the regulars, the fourth series will also see new characters.

Michaela Hennessy-Vass, ITV’s Commissioning Editor of Comedy said: “With impressive ratings and a great solid fan base that keeps building, ITV is thrilled to commission a fourth series of Benidorm along with a special to air later this year. Viewers will get to meet a whole host of new over the top characters alongside our regulars.”

waveguide.co.uk

Jonathan Ross' wife Jane Goldman lets it all hang out as she leads revellers at Kick-Ass premiere party Mail