Landscapes and shifts

Plates shift

This week has seen further shifting of the tectonic plates of UK broadcasting, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that there is a battle around the core media/communications access and activity in the home, this is the battleground that Sky, BT and Virgin Media are all fighting over.

Sky has something like double the income of the BBC but it is not about broadcast content, Virgin Media has an interest in content to drive its business, the re-brand could help them sort out the perceptions of poor service but only if the service is resolved, I heard the Virgin brand being described as ‘Teflon coated" but even Teflon wears off eventually!

BT has to see revenue beyond broadband and may find it necessary to move its position from being an aggregator, the employment of Michael Barry, from MTV may be an early sign that broadcasting brilliance is an area of expertise where they have to look outside the ranks of grey techno suits.

I’m not sure how the BBC or commercial TV i.e. ITV, C4 and channel five should respond to the changing landscape, history tells me that Murdoch will win but Branson is undoubtedly a clever operator as his battles with BA proved and BT should not be underrated, a minor political storm has been created around limiting Sky’s ambitions

We need more people like Bruce Lacey (he looks a bit like 'Rigsby' here doesn't he?)

I had in my mind memories childhood of a crazy inventor figure, managed to work out that it was Bruce Lacey, as well as working with the Beatles and Bonzo Dog Doodah band (Viv Stanshall, Neil Innes and others) he’s known as an artist find out more about him here. Bruce is still alive and to me epitomised the English eccentric I hope there are others around who can inherit his mantle – Me, I’m certainly tempted to try.