English Entertainment
Bomanbridge Media signs multi-title factual deal with Vietnam’s VTV
MUMBAI: Singapore-based content distribution and production agency Bomanbridge Media is signing a volume agreement with VTV from Vietnam for nature and scientific factual titles coming from producers such as SkyVision, Secuoya, Earth Touch and Peacepoint.
“Bomanbridge is pleased to announce our multi-program deal with partner VTV, the largest free TV broadcaster in Vietnam. These high quality factual shows will certainly educate, enthrall and enlighten their audiences and also bring high viewership to VTV,” said Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck.
Some of the titles included in this deal are:
Alert in Deep: Oceans occupy 75% of the surface of our planet and provide us half of our oxygen, much of our food and regulate climate. But something is happening in this blue planet: climate change and human action have altered the game rules. Tour the most significant places on the planet in search of invasive species that colonize habitats that are not theirs and also abusive practices of human beings that are threatening the marine ecosystem. Fisherman in Papua New Guinea still use dynamite as extraction method, razing entire reefs. In the Bahamas, live one of the most devastating colonies of a fish in history: lionfish. But not all are negative symptoms, there is also room for hope. The creation of marine national parks worldwide is achieving satisfactory results in terms of conservation.
Black Mamba: Black mambas are among the most feared creatures in Africa, with a single bite capable of killing 25 adults. Snake expert Simon Keys travels to the humid east coast of South Africa to reveal the secret lives of these formidable reptiles, exploring the myths and providing a unique insight into their behaviour.
Speed Kills (S1 & 2): This series takes dramatic, everyday actions in the animal kingdom, and looks at them at 600 frames a second. On land and sea we uncover the complex physiology of the animals which makes these extraordinary bursts of speed possible.
Untangling Alzheimer’s: In spite of exhaustive studies, no one knows what exactly causes Alzheimer’s – the most deadly form of dementia. But possible new evidence pointing to the roots of Alzheimer’s may now be untangling the mystery. The latest theories and science behind the disease are examined, together with interviews with some of the world’s leading experts on the subject.
In Space: 50 Years of Space Exploration: An in-depth analysis chronicling 50 years of unique achievements in space and exciting developments for the future. “In Space: 50 Years of Space Exploration” will feature the sensational Rosetta Mission, which landed on November 12, 2014 in the first-ever attempt at a soft touchdown on a comet, the 2014 ISS Crew and the upcoming Mercury and planned Mars missions. In 2014 the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are celebrating their 50-year collaboration for space exploration and technology development with the Rosetta project, a 10-year journey of some seven billion kilometres. With the support of ESA and others, “In Space: 50 Years of Space Exploration” will trace the journey of human spaceflight and space exploration of the last 50 years, as well as private projects like Google’s Lunar X Project and private space travel projects such as Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and also take a glimpse into BepiColombo spacecraft – Europe’s first future mission to Mercury, as well as the return to the Moon and human space travel to Mars. This documentary will define how space travel has enhanced our knowledge of the universe and the ground-breaking future ahead where the secrets of its origins will be revealed.
UK: The aerial is losing its grip. As broadband becomes the default way Britons watch television, the UK is edging towards a decisive, and divisive, question: should Freeview be switched off by 2034? The issue, highlighted in reporting by The Guardian, has exposed deep fault lines over access, affordability and the future of public service broadcasting.
For nearly 25 years, Freeview has delivered free-to-air television from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to almost every corner of the country. Even now, it remains the UK’s largest TV platform, used in more than 16m homes and on around 10m main household sets. Yet the same broadcasters that built it are now pressing for its closure within eight years.
Their case rests on a structural shift in viewing. Smart TVs, superfast broadband and the Netflix-led streaming boom have pulled audiences online. Advertising economics have followed. By 2034, the number of homes using Freeview as their main TV set is forecast to fall from a peak of almost 12m in 2012 to fewer than 2m, making digital terrestrial television, or DTT, increasingly costly to sustain.
But critics say the rush to switch off risks abandoning those least able, or least willing, to move online.
“I don’t want to be choosing apps and making new accounts,” says Lynette, 80, from Kent. “It is time-consuming and irritating trying to work out where I want to be, to remember the sequence of clicks, with hieroglyphics instead of words. If I make a mistake I have to start again.”
Lynette is among nearly 100,000 people who have signed a “save Freeview” petition launched by campaign group Silver Voices. She fears the government is about to “take [Freeview] away from me and others who either don’t like, can’t afford, or can’t use online versions”.
Official figures underline the fault lines. A report commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimates that by 2035, 1.8m homes will still depend on Freeview. Ofcom’s analysis shows those households are more likely to be disabled, older, living alone, female, and based in the north of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Freeview is owned by the public service broadcasters through Everyone TV, which also operates Freesat and the newer streaming platform Freely. After two years of review, DCMS is expected to set out its position soon, drawing on three options proposed by Ofcom: a costly upgrade of Freeview’s ageing technology; maintaining a bare-bones service with only core PSB channels; or a full switch-off during the 2030s.
The broadcasters have rallied behind the third option. They argue that 2034 is the logical cut-off, when transmission contracts with network operator Arqiva expire. By then, they say, the cost of broadcasting to a dwindling audience will far outweigh the returns from TV advertising.
Ofcom agrees a crunch point is approaching. In July, the regulator warned of a “tipping point” within the next few years, after which it will no longer be commercially viable for broadcasters to carry the costs of DTT.
Others see risks beyond economics. Questions remain over whether internet TV can reliably deliver emergency broadcasts, such as the daily Covid updates, in the way that universally available DTT can. The UK radio industry has also warned that an internet-only future for TV could push up distribution costs and force some radio stations off air if PSBs no longer share Arqiva’s mast network.
“It is a political hot potato,” says Dennis Reed, founder of Silver Voices, who says he has “dissociated” his organisation from the government’s stakeholder forum, which he believes is “heavily biased” towards streaming.
The Future TV Taskforce, representing the PSBs, counters that moving online could “close the digital divide once and for all”. “We want to be able to plan to ensure that no one is left behind,” a spokesperson says, adding that rising DTT costs could otherwise mean cuts to programme budgets.
The numbers show the scale of the challenge. Of the 1.8m Freeview-dependent homes projected for 2035, around 1.1m are expected to have broadband but not use it for TV. The remaining 700,000 are forecast to lack a broadband connection altogether.
Veterans of the analogue switch-off, completed in 2012 after 76 years, recall similar fears of “TV blackout chaos”. Around 6 per cent of households were labelled “digital refuseniks”, yet a targeted help scheme and a national campaign, fronted by a robot called Digit Al voiced by Matt Lucas, delivered a largely smooth transition.
This time, the BBC is less keen to foot the bill. Tim Davie, the outgoing director general, has said the corporation should not fund a comparable support programme for a Freeview switch-off.
Research for Sky by Oliver & Ohlbaum suggests that with early awareness campaigns and digital inclusion measures, only about 330,000 households would ultimately need hands-on help ahead of a 2034 shutdown.
Meanwhile, viewing habits continue to fragment. Audience body Barb says 7 per cent of UK households no longer own a TV set, choosing to watch on other devices. In December, YouTube overtook the BBC’s combined channels in total UK viewing across TVs, smartphones and tablets, albeit measured at a minimum of three minutes.
That shift may accelerate. YouTube has recently blocked Barb and its partner Kantar from accessing viewing session data, limiting transparency just as online platforms consolidate power.
“When the government chose British Satellite Broadcasting as the ‘winner’ in satellite TV it was Rupert Murdoch’s Sky instead that came out on top,” says a senior TV executive quoted by The Guardian. “There already is such an outsider ready to be the winner in the transition to internet TV; it is YouTube.”
Freeview’s future now hangs on a familiar British dilemma: modernise fast and risk exclusion, or protect universality and pay the price. Either way, the aerial’s days as king of the living room look numbered.
