Prepare some freshly squeezed lemonade, switch off the telephone and pull up an easy chair. The greatest tennis tournament on Earth has just got underway; Wimbledon 2010 is here – how will we ever get any work during this fantastic summer of sport?

With the nation already transfixed on South Africa – where England’s performances have so far amounted to what can only be described as car crash telly – it does seem rather gluttonous to be sitting down to Wimbledon 2010.

But as spectator sports go you can’t really beat football and tennis as the two games most likely to shock and inspire a nation, so why not switch on the TV, enjoy the feast, and worry about the diet later.

This year sees Roger Federer going for his seventh Wimbledon Championship, which would equal Pete Sampras record for men’s Wimbledon titles. One time Wimbledon Champ and current world No1, Nadal, will also be there - flexing his sizeable biceps no doubt. And of course we shouldn’t forget the nation’s great hope Andy Murray (shouldn’t we?).

The Women’s tournament sees the William’s sisters going toe to toe again, while a large contingent of noisy Eastern Europeans try to dislodge them from their position of unassailable dominance.

In fact the whole thing is shaping up to be so good that even Her Majesty the Queen is putting in an appearance for the first time in 33 years.

Add to that the glorious weather and it looks like this could be the best two weeks of Sport on TV for many months to come.

Image credit: alphababy

Tags: BBC, Sport by John Hillman
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iPhones, HD televisions and complex webbery: just what does our digital future hold for us?

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Digital televisions sets, high-speed Internet, smart phones and virtual communities, you could forgive some of the more pedestrian members of society for finding this digital revolution a touch bewildering.

It’s easy to forget that a mere decade ago we would quite happily invest half an hour boosting up a sluggish Altavista page whilst the sound of mechanical beeps danced in the background; that mobile telephones would come with extendable aerials and, to the majority of us, Channel Five represented the zenith of choice.

Today, the digital landscape is unrecognisable. Jobs and revenue created by digital businesses are at the heart of the government’s scheme to drag the country out of the recession, and yesterday Lord Stephen Carter, the communications minister, announced that every home in Briton should expect the have access to a broadband system by 2012.

‘There is no sector with the possible exception of energy that the rest of the economy relies upon more than this one,’ Carter claimed as he published his interim Digital Britain report.

But what does this mean? What is digital Britain going to look like? Probably one of the most noticeable changes for the majority of Britons is going to be taking place on their television screens.

Firstly, Sky appears to be in the midst of a determined push on their Sky HD packages. High Definition television (or HD, for short) means that the visual quality of programming is improved by around four times. Sky aren’t stopping at this, however, and have hinted recently that within 24 months UK viewers could be treated to something as exotic as 3D broadcasts.

Then, with the soaring speeds of broadband Internet, we could well see more and more households adopting video streaming sites in place of traditional broadcasters. YouTube is the obvious frontrunner with a surge in the number of different channels, but other sites such as Vimeo have been causing a lasting stir online and are tipped to grow strongly this year.

Most people don’t know much about Vimeo. Currently it is the technological playground of individual users and small businesses, but there is every chance that over the next few years broadcasters such as the BBC and Sky will begin to invest more and more of their resources in online technology, dragging more viewers online, and exposing them more and more to sites like Vimeo and YouTube.

Whether it’s Sky, Vimeo, YouTube or the good old BBC, the digital juggernaut is already off down the hill, and where it ends up is probably going to surprise us all. For 2009, however, there is one thing of which Sky are certain, that High Definition TV isn’t just for the privileged, but for everyone.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Sky, Switchover by Mr Remote
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Every hour, every day

Ever since the US military spoke about the “CNN effect” during the first Gulf War we have become increasingly attached to 24 hour rolling news.

Whether you are a 24 hour-a-day TV news junkie or just someone who skims across the internet before leaving work, the fact is our information gathering has changed forever.

Advanced technology means that the days of the nation all sitting down together at 6 o’clock to watch the same news programme is over; something that says a lot about how society has changed since we were all kids.

But does the increased choice of sources actually improve the quality of news content that comes our way?

Unfortunately the rush to be the first to get the story on their news platforms usually means that the days of assiduous fact checking and journalistic reflection have been subordinated to the war for ratings; journalists are finding themselves under increasing pressure to deliver the goods at high speed.

On the other hand you can argue that the plurality of information sources has increased the flow of information around the world to places that were previously denied access to news, Burma and China being a good case in point.

Ultimately, although having lots of choice can expose us to hearsay and speculation, it also makes our ability to decipher the truth more sophisticated, and that has to be a positive factor.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Programmes, Sky by John Hillman
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Our rugby correspondant Anthony Pearce casts his verdict over the weekend’s Six Nations clash

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Ireland remains the only side that can win the Grand Slam in this year’s Six Nations Championship, following their narrow 14-13 win over England and the Welsh defeat in Paris.

In truth the score line wasn’t a fair reflection on a match which the Irish never really looked like liked loosing once Brian O’Driscoll had hit a superb drop goal shortly after half time.

The first half wasn’t much to write home about. One penalty a piece meant the sides were level going into the break. The Irish must have felt slightly aggrieved at not being ahead however, with O’Gara flashing two penalty goal attempts wide before converting third time around.

Ireland raised their game in the second half, and O’Gara hit the post with another penalty attempt before Brian O’Driscoll stepped up to earn his Man of the Match award. First he hit a delightful drop goal, then he powered over from close range for the first try of the match to make it 11-3.

English discipline, or lack of, again came into question with former captain Phil Vickery and scrum half Danny Care both spending time in the sin bin during the second half.

England did manage to reduce the deficit to 11-6 with a penalty from Armitage, only to see O’Gara respond with a penalty of his own shortly afterwards, maintaining the eight point advantage.

This proved vital as England gave their travelling support something to cheer about when Mike Tindall made a great break and eventually set up Andy Goode who delicately chipped the ball over the Irish defence for Armitage to touch down. Armitage then dusted himself down to convert his own try and make it 14-13.

However, with only 60 seconds left the Irish held out for a well deserved victory which keeps them on course for the Grand Slam. England Coach Martin Johnson, however, must be wondering what his team could achieve if all 15 players remained on the pitch for the full 80 minutes.

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Image credit: Woesinger

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Sport by Anthony Pearce
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10 Reasons Why February could be the perfect time to switch to Sky HD:

• Sky are now offering the cheapest ever price for their Sky+ service. A Sky+ Box is available for Free

• There are more channels than ever: Sky Movies HD, Sky Box Office HD, BBC HD and Channel 4 HD are some of the best.

• Sky offers the best coverage of The Ashes cricket tussle between England and Australia.

• Sky are currently offering a FREE £30 M&S voucher for new customers.

• Get a Sky Bundle and receive FREE weekend and evening calls.

• Get Free Sky+ with Free installation .

• Enjoy up to four times better picture quality, with superb Dolby sound.

• Set up your own home cinema with Sky Movies’ 12 film channels.

• Be the first to see the fourth season of Prison Break on Sky One

• Get closer to the action than ever before with Sky Sports HD as the Premier League comes to the crunch.

Learn more about Sky HD !

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* Lead image credit: Coda

Tags: BBC, Sky, Sport by Mr Remote
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Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

This weekend sees the giants of Manchester United take on Championship minnows Spurs in the League Cup Final.

Harry Redknapp insists that they are not interested in this match as they are concentrating on the league. This is surely mind games as a bit of gleaming silverwear would provide a fantastic silver lining and possibly motivation, for what has been a very grey season so far.

Tottenham and Redknapp are definitely capable. With Pompey last season, Redknapp enjoyed FA cup glory and beat the Champions in the Semis.

United also will be dying to win the match, as they chase a historic 5 trophies. They must also be favourites being a massive 34 points beyond Spurs in the Premiership.

Some other interesting facts:

• Manchester United have only won the League Cup twice. Liverpool are the most successful club having lifted the trophy 7 times
• The cup has had many names: Milk Cup, Littlewoods Cup, Rubelows Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Worthington Cup and finally Carling Cup
• Geoff Hurst scored 49 League Cup goals – 43 for West Ham and 6 for Stoke City

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Sky will be broadcasting the Carling Cup final live on Sky Sports this weekend.

Lead image credit: Image Shack

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Sky, Sport by Daf Dent
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This weekend sees the giants of Wales take on the minnows of England. Not knowing the result I wouldn’t like to make any predictions about this one. However Wales go into the match as tournament favourites having won the Grand Slam in 2008.

The battle will take place at Wales’ Millennium Stadium which will be filled to the rafters with daffodil wearing, dragon holding, angelic singing Welsh people.

Wales Coach Warren Gatling has been a huge success since joining the side.

Previous Six Nation winners are:
2000 England
2001 England
2002 France (Grand Slam)
2003 England (Grand Slam)
2004 France (Grand Slam)
2005 Wales (Grand Slam)
2006 France
2007 France
2008 Wales (Grand Slam)

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Image Credit: infomatique on Flickr

Tags: BBC, Sport by Daf Dent
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In the beginning man created the BBC and man saw what he had made and it was good. But quarter of a century later and the BBC is no longer alone on our television screens. Marie Kemplay asks in the digital age what is the future for the original analogue channel?

Turn on your TV and you can choose from hundreds of channels, and although at any given time about 70% are showing Top Gear re-runs or home decoration programmes we, needless to say, still have a lot more choice than when we had just five channels. In this environment the broadcaster which was founded with the duty “to inform, to educate and to entertain” seems to be losing its way.

In the past few weeks the Ross/Brand fiasco seems to have highlighted just how vulnerable the BBC’s position is. Being attacked from all directions from an older generation for caring too much about being ‘edgy’ and not catering to let’s say more ‘refined’ tastes and the younger generation criticising them for caving in to pressure from people without a sense of humour. MPs have also been having a field day in Parliament over this. For example just listen to Liberal Democrat MP Phil Woolas: “I think once again the BBC have demonstrated that it is one law for its highly paid stars and one law for everyone else. When we are forking out millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on presenters, the least we can expect is a level of propriety commensurate with what the public considers decent.”

One of the most contentious issues is of course Ross’ hugely inflated salary of £1.8m which literally as Ross - so frequently loved to point out – came at the price of 1,800 journalists, who were made redundant last year. It begged the question if providing edgy entertainment is seemingly more important than news programmes how is the BBC still able to justify its public service funding?

It seems in its quest to be the ‘everyman’ of British television, the BBC has lost touch with exactly who its target audience should be. In the digital age broadcasters such as Sky have a very distinct advantage in that it does not have a prescribed public service remit and is freer to court the rapidly changing tastes and habits of its viewers.

Both Sky and the BBC are currently foraying into High Definition television. The obvious benefit with the BBC is that if you have all the right HD equipment you have to pay no extra charge. However with Sky you must pay an extra subscription but you also get far more HD channels for your money such as sky films, Sky Sports and Discovery Channel as well as BBC HD.

Another point is that in recent years people have increasingly wanted to watch television more flexibly. It is now completely the normal to watch programmes on the computer rather than television screen. Recognising this, last year the BBC launched iplayer, a hugely successful online viewing platform. Sky has recently announced it will follow suit and although the details are not yet confirmed Sky have said it will show favourite programmes from its favourite channels. Sky Player will be available to everybody regardless of whether you currently subscribe to Sky or not, and although you will have to pay a fee, what most people are quick to forget is the BBC is not free, currently costing £139 a year, somehow I doubt that Sky Player will cost that much.

It seems likely in the future the BBC will be forced to stick to a more ‘public service’ role, i.e focus more on educational programming such as news and documentaries if it is to retain its license fee funding in a world where there are hundreds of channels providing entertainment. However I hope it is not forced to abandon entertainment altogether where would we have been without the likes of Fawlty Towers, Little Britain and Yes Minister, it will be black day indeed when the BBC is forced to abandon comedy. As for Sky I think it will continue to do what it does best, provide great sports coverage, great movies and the next generation of quality American television a la ’24’ and ‘Lost’ – and to boot probably all of the above in glorious High Definition quality.

Something to bear in mind though is what will happen if Channel 4 gets its wish and is given Public Service funding, now that would completely change the landscape of broadcasting in the UK.

Tags: BBC, Digital TV, Sky by Marie Kemplay
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