Articles by Andrew Bowden

The success of Hunt’s local TV

Published 9 August 2014

The UK’s new local TV network is shaping up well. Honest.

Tap, Tap… Is this thing on?

Published 21 June 2014

BLOG: Oh hello. Yes, we’ve had the decorators in thanks.

iBBC

Published 6 November 2013

BLOG: More power to your what now?

The Key to a Long Gone Door

Published 1 November 2013

BLOG: A little bit of Bush House to take with me wherever I go

Dear America: this is not the BBC

Published 13 August 2013

BLOG: This is supposed to represent the BBC?

The name’s 007. Sky Movies 007.

Published 7 August 2012

BLOG: Sky’s new channel

ITV’s regional news u-turn

Published 26 May 2012

BLOG: Remember a few years ago when ITV plc decided that 17 regional news programmes was unsustainable and that to make commercial sense they should only have nine in England and Wales? Well that was in 2009. Now it’s 2012 and it seems ITV have had a change of heart.

Sorry Hazel, but what did you expect?

Published 18 January 2012

BLOG: Well recently the BBC released some figures and they showed that 3,172 people from Salford applied for jobs with the BBC at MediaCity and just 24 people were successful. Local MP Hazel Blears is demanding an enquiry and calling the figure “incredibly disappointing”. Well sorry Hazel, but what did you expect?

So long, New Broadcasting House

Published 3 December 2011

Wandering round the BBC’s former Manchester studios

I’m with Matthew Wright. Are you?

Published 14 November 2011

BLOG: The BBC’s Delivering Quality First initiative has certainly caused a few headlines for its treatment of local radio, however much less discussed has been its impact on the BBC’s regional TV output. However its changes there have been no less controversial.

Boris Johnson – more knowledgeable about TV production than broadcasters themselves

Published 19 September 2011

BLOG: From the “Boris Johnson is clearly an expert on making television – better at it than even the BBC” file comes this rather farcical story….

Reshuffling the news

Published 13 September 2011

BLOG: It’s been the way it has been for so long that we just accept it. However I can’t be the only one who finds the fact that at 6pm ITV1 shows the national news after the regional news?

TV’s most boring ident?

Published 20 August 2011

Tyne Tees? HTV? Who has the most boring ident of them all?

BBC News 24 timelapse video

Published 16 August 2011

Can you believe it but ten years ago BBC News 24 rebranded and went all beige? Okay, so it’s rebranded several times since and now isn’t even called BBC News…

The Camera That Changed the World

Published 4 August 2011

We don’t normally bother with such trivialities as television programmes on Transdiffusion. I mean, they’re not the most important thing on the goggle box now are they?! However every now and then we spot an excellent programme that’s well worth mentioning.

The improbable coming true

Published 11 July 2011

Never has a week seemed like such a long time in news. Go back a month and if anyone had said that the News of the World would soon be no more and that News International would be fighting for its reputation and survival, you’d think they were mad and would be preparing to get the doctors with the straight jackets.

See. Saw. Didn’t bother again.

Published 27 May 2011

For me, SeeSaw always had one big problem. You had to view content on your PC. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a nice big TV with decent sound. Plugging the PC into the TV is a pain in the backside. If you’d put SeeSaw on my TV set, well then that may have been a different proposition.

648’s final moments

Published 13 April 2011

A short film has been posted to YouTube showing the rather poignant moment as the AEG Telefunken transmitter at Orfordness, Suffolk, is switched off after 29 years of broadcasting the BBC World Service on 648KHz MW.

More April 1st Shenanigans

Published 1 April 2011

Whilst here in Transdiffusion Towers we were busy listening to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6music, it seems Ken Bruce over on Radio 2 was having problems with his voice.

April Fooled?

Published 1 April 2011

It’s April Fools Day, April Fools Day, Apr-Apr-Apr-Apr-April Fools Day! Were you fooled?

Gushing press release for programme demotion

Published 4 March 2011

Yesterday may have been seen by some as a day to bury news. Maybe that’s why the BBC Press Office snook out a press release about QI.

Local TV – “a bigger programme budget than Channel 5”

Published 16 February 2011

Every time I hear anything about Jeremy Hunt’s plans for a new local TV network, I have this tendency to roll my eyes and sigh. His dream of a network of local TV stations, broadcasting to cities and regions sounds all very grand and good – and desirable. Yet Mr Hunt seems oblivious to the fact that it almost inevitably seems dooned to faliure. Local TV has never worked in Britain.

A pragmatic stance?

Published 25 January 2011

There will no doubt be a lot of people looking at Jeremy Hunt today and drawing a lot of negative conclusions.

We’d like you to meet some of the people at public television

Published 6 January 2011

Television companies are quite keen on showing you who their stars are be it Channel 4 getting people to tap on glass, or Thames showing what we’d miss as it headed off in to history

“We now have a World Wide Web page…”

Published 16 December 2010

Don’t forget to have your pen and paper handy to write down the address!

Bleakley and Chiles talk Daybreak

Published 27 November 2010

Much has been said about ITV1’s Daybreak, the replacement for GMTV which, it has to be said, hasn’t got off to the greatest of starts. None of what’s been said has been said by me as frankly I’m a Today programme listener and not even my natural interest could beat my early morning, groggy inertia and make me put the television on. However whilst much has been said in the press and by other commentators, not a huge amount as been said by its stars. Until now.

Does anyone care what happens to Five News anymore?

Published 24 November 2010

The news that Channel 5’s new owner Richard Desmond wants to make a more popularist, celebrity led news service, just makes me want to shrug and go “meh”.

BBC Strikes

Published 4 November 2010

As I type it’s about two hours to go before the start of a 48 hour walkout by BBC members of the NUJ union as part of a protest about pension changes at the broadcaster. The walkout is expected to affect most of the Corporation’s news and current affairs output with high profile casualties likely to include the Today Programme and Newsnight, as well as BBC One’s news bulletins and the BBC News Channel.

Sun Hill Saved

Published 17 October 2010

Since The Bill ended earlier this year, it’s studios in South West London have been rather quiet, as I wrote about in my recent article, The Bill Stops Here.

I’m Proud of the BBC

Published 15 October 2010

Well Mitch Benn is. So proud he’s made a song to tell everyone.

‘Axed by mistake’

Published 12 October 2010

Here’s a story and a half. Back in 2006 Mark Damazer, then controller of BBC Radio 4, axed the piece of music that had heralded the start of the broadcasting…

The Bill stops here

Published 11 October 2010

Andrew Bowden notices it’s very strange to be living in Sun Hill

Manchester loses its Granada TV sign

Published 27 September 2010

Anyone who ever visited Manchester city centre will know there’s plenty of great delights to admire. And I’m not talking about the Arndale Centre here.

Is Chris Blumer the hardest working presenter in radio? Well maybe not…

Published 22 September 2010

Following on from my blog post Is Chris Blumer the Hardest Working Presenter in Radio, Bridge FM have been in touch and it turns out Chris Blumer isn’t actually as…

Is Chris Blumer the hardest working presenter in radio?

Published 20 September 2010

From Wales Town and Country Broadcasting operates eight radio stations, mostly clustered along the south of the country, Many of its stations share presenters. Notably they’re generally not networking, but several of its presenters do shows on different stations, sometimes at the same time.

No longer a Channel One – it’s all nothing from now on

Published 15 September 2010

Well here’s something we didn’t expect to be saying. Just over a month after it was announced that Virgin One would becoming Channel One after Sky bought it and other channels from Virgin Media, and just a few weeks after the station rebrand went ahead and… err… well… Sky decide to close it down completely…

Happy (belated) birthday to the Broom Cupboard

Published 13 September 2010

For those children of the 80s the sight of Phillip Schofield in a cupboard will always be one that will hold a special place in our hearts. CBBC launched at 3:55 on 9 September 1985 and has been hanging around ever since.

No longer a Virgin – it’s Channel One from now on…

Published 5 August 2010

The question of what Virgin One was going to be rebranded as after BSkyB bought Virgin Media’s TV stations is one which I’m sure has barely been off the lips of the average Transdiffusion reader, just as it has been for many sat around pub tables, pints in hand, fists waving whilst the landlord tries to keep control of the situation…

Removing target dates for digital radio switchover can only be a sensible move

Published 8 July 2010

What can really be said about the decision to abandon the 2015 date for digital radio switchover, other than, it’s rather sensible?

6music saved

Published 5 July 2010

Sssh! Don’t tell anyone but I’ve always had this secret fantasy life. It was that one day I’d end up working behind the scenes at BBC Radio 6 music.

Ofcom consults on product placement

Published 28 June 2010

Sneaking out into the ether today (WHY NOT HAVE A PINT OF FOSTERS?) is the news that Ofcom (MY MATE, MARMITE) has launched a consultation on Product (TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – FOR THE HOLIDAY OF A LIFE TIME) Placement in TV programmes and whether commercial messages can be (I JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THAT WONDERFUL DUFF!) integrated into radio programmes.

NME Radio RIP

Published 12 June 2010

One of the few stations which would have benefited from the possible demise of BBC Radio 6music, has put up the shutters.

Are we getting too obsessed with the box?

Published 28 May 2010

Is the world just getting too obsessed about always being able to watch TV?

Daily Express foaming at the mouth (although what’s new about that?)

Published 28 April 2010

I feel I must confess that I’m not a regular reader of the Daily Express. Well, who would be? However when my attention was drawn to this particular article, I just had to read. And so you don’t have to feel as dirty as I did, I’ll pull out the relevant quote…

Lego Bowie doesn’t like the 6music changes

Published 19 April 2010

If you’ve ever wondered what a Lego version of Bowie would look like (and lets be honest here, who hasn’t?) this is the video to watch.

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