Broadcasting under pressure, Discovery to move? (and my own 7-Up )

Since I left full time employment about 5 years ago Broadcasting has dropped in importance (to me) - interesting to find so many of my contemporaries now watch Netflix or Amazon Prime  (who have just become successful bidders for Soccer rights) .

Discovery Europe - Chiswick Park, changes afoot? 

Well two (or three) big things that have been brought to my attention are:

BT Tower remains

1) Discovery (my last employer)  are said to be planning to move their UK broadcasting hub back to the USA and (dependent on Brexit negotiations) might move production facilities to the EU.

2) BT (another of my previous employers) are changing their CEO  the current Gavin Patterson's  direction has not delivered either shareholder value or the confidence that's needed.

3) No deal Brexit (and even some deals) could cause some damage to the UK's significant transmission and Playout industry (it's probably already damaged it by slowing investment and creating uncertainty).

 Along with the dangers for both the BBC and UK Independent sectors in the dominance of the Mega corporations lie Amazon, Disney and Google (to name but 3) to diminish their reach and significance the new and almost perpetually smiling Culture Secretary Matt Hancock needs to get to grips or the promise of the 'Creative Sector' will never be realised and will be a further  footnote in the story of UK Plc's Tory inflicted decline

My Own 7 Up

More than 50 years ago there was a Television programme made by the North of England franchised broadcaster called 7 up -the premise being derived from the Catholic Jesuit order's claim that -

Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man..

and so after the first programme in 1964 (when I was incidentally 7) the group filmed as young children have come again into focus every 7 years and it has been revulatory in what might be inherent and what life throws at us.

The idea has been used across many countries and often similar things are revealed.

Thus for me reconvening as part of a group of students who shared a flat in 1976/77 has reminded me of this and how we might have foretold our own stories )as do my meetups with Kevin who I have known since was 11).

So what can we say of the 5 couples who met up last weekend?

Well we're all reasonably happy some have put on more weight (and some of the males have lost more hair than others ) we've had health issues (as you'd expect) and some are now grandparents.

Perhaps this as what we'd expect - what fascinates me is how we've seen expectations (are own) skyrocket from what our parents enjoyed and how the background we operate against has changed beyond recognition - goodness me we're lucky - and with this I cant help thinking we ove something who have not had our good fortune.