10 Top Trends of Generation-Y (i.e. young money, born-free's, youth of today) whom we all need to keep up with in terms of content

by Marian Salzman


Herewith, my top 10 trends of 20-somethings:

1. Real-time expectations

Virtually no one in his or her 20s in a developed country has known life without instant communication. Twenty-somethings connect with friends in real time -- no waiting for snail mail or even e-mail. They get the latest news (whether world events or their friends' status) as it happens, with a live feed of texts, tweets and Facebook updates from where it's happening. Whenever they need information, it's online in abundance. Reference books? What are those?

2. More intensely local lives

A paradox of borderless real-time technology is the way it reinforces local connections. With mobile devices, young adults make plans on the fly. With location-based apps on their phones, they find friends who happen to be nearby and get alerts from companies in the vicinity offering deals. Local is the new global, as I explained in my most recent post here, and nowhere is that more true than among 20-somethings.

3. Radical transparency

Twenty-somethings grew up with reality TV and radical celebrity culture -- media poking into every corner of people's lives, from Hollywood A-listers to Nadya Suleman, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, and Richard "Balloon Boy's Dad" Heene. They've lived their whole lives in a culture of information "leaks" at the highest level, a world where even the great confess mistakes and show emotion to millions. They constantly use technologies that let them bare all -- sometimes literally -- to their friends. They're aware that nothing online is confidential, but so what? This generation is more transparent about its thoughts, feelings and actions than any generation before it.

4. Expecting cheap or free everything

Globalization has made many essentials very cheap. Twenty-somethings can fill their stomachs and clothe themselves at unbelievably low cost. Budget air travel is normal. The Internet brings music, software, TV shows and all sorts of content for free. One of the biggest, most powerful brands on the planet, Google, offers a huge range of powerful services at no cost to the user.

5. Demanding entertainment

In some parts of the world, particularly the West, entertainment has long been an essential part of education. Young adults grew up with Sesame Street and edutainment based on fun, interactive graphics in the classroom and museums, an approach that has been endorsed by researchers. Even in places where more traditional education models prevail, fun and games have become a staple activity of young people. In the recent Global Youth Study, 59 percent of respondents said they regularly play video or computer games in their spare time; gaming is the second-most popular activity after socializing.

6. Worrying about the planet

Twenty-somethings came of age amid increasingly troubling reports about what's going wrong with the planet. Inconvenient truths about climate change, disappearing species, habitat destruction and water shortages have been daily fare for them. In the survey, 64 percent of respondents saw climate change affecting them seriously, and 82 percent saw it affecting future generations seriously; 64 percent said only immediate radical changes can prevent the most serious impacts of climate change.

7. Seeing luxuries as standard

The basic tools of 20-something life are actually luxuries by historical standards. Whether they pay for them themselves or have help from their parents, most young adults in developed countries have:

• A smartphone costing well above $100, plus monthly fees
• A computer costing at least $300, with monthly broadband fees on top
• A wide-screen TV costing at least $300, plus cable or satellite fees
• Higher education as far as they can go

8. Pro-business, anti-multinational stance

Today's 20-somethings don't share the countercultural ideologies that fired up young baby boomers. They were raised in an environment in which free markets were revered and delivered plenty of consumer goodies. People in their 20s aren't anti-business; some of them even founded megabrands (Google again). But they aren't so fond of multinational corporations. In the survey, two-thirds of respondents said global corporations have too much power. But instead of trying to take down corporate giants by force like earlier generations did, now 20-somethings aspire to out-business them.

9. Wanting to regulate the heck out of media bias

Media in 2010 is vastly bigger than it was in 2000. Increasingly diverse news sources are available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. No wonder 70 percent of survey respondents get their news over the Internet. All this choice, plus growing educational levels and media savvy, makes 20-somethings acutely aware of media bias; 70 percent of respondents said all news media should be regulated so that they're clearly independent of state and corporate bias.

10. Naturally Me but aspiring to We

Young adults are used to self-expression, self-esteem, personal computers, personal profiles,personalized settings and personal branding. Whether the culture is highly individualistic (e.g., the United States) or more collectivist (e.g., China), businesses have thrived by enabling people to express themselves, to be more Me. Culturally and commercially, 20-somethings have been encouraged to be more selfish than their predecessors. Yet they're all too aware that everyone pursuing selfish interests creates planetary problems. Members of this generation are caught between the impulse to do their own thing and the desire to do the right thing together. Or as the pithy observation has it, "Everybody wants to save the earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes."

Facebook Wants to run Music & Video on the Web

4 days ago by Ben Parr38

Facebook is partnering with online music and video companies for the launch of a new feature that will integrate outside media into profile pages, according to a new report.

The new feature will take the shape of a widget or tab on the user’s profile page, according to The New York Times. It will display the songs a user listens to the most and provide a method for friends to listen to and share those songs. Facebook will do the same thing for video and television content.

The social network has reportedly been talking to various media companies about integrating their content to Facebook’s new feature, including Spotify. Earlier this week, rumors about a potential Spotify and Facebook partnership made the rounds. The rumors made it seem like Facebook had chosen Spotify to power a Facebook music service. NYT reports however that Facebook doesn’t want to tie itself to just one music service, but instead wants multiple partners for its media platform.

Imagine if you could see what your friends were watching on Netflix or listening to on Pandora from their Facebook pages. Now imagine if you could also see their recommendations and access their content with a single click. It could turn Facebook into the web’s central hub for multimedia content. Media content and recommendations could give Facebook a new engagement layer that would compel its users to stay on the site for longer.

Facebook wants to become the operating system of the web. That much was clear when it acquired web operating system Parakey in 2007. In order to be the web’s central dashboard though, it needs to have access to the music, movies, TV shows and books of its users. This new feature seems designed to do exactly that. We’ll let you know if we hear more about this Facebook feature.

India launches the X-Factor! Could this be the beginning of end of the Idols's franchise?

By Rajini Vaidyanathan BBC News, Mumbai

India's version of the X factor has launched with performances ranging from the amazing to the downright atrocious. But as one of many reality singing shows in India, can the format win over one of the world's largest television audiences?

A bad singer is a bad singer, no matter where you are in the world.

As contestants took to the stage for the opening auditions for X Factor India, viewers on Sunday night could watch a startling variety of hopefuls, who lived up to the show's trademark mix of the truly talented and truly appalling.

What marks out the Indian version of the show is the country's rich and diverse musical heritage, which saw performers try their hand at everything from Bollywood to Bhangra.

"We've had everything from 16 Rajasthani folk singers dressed in turbans singing in high-pitched voices to the soft voice of a 70-year-old man who has been brought up with the Bollywood traditions of the 1960s," says Sonu Nigam, one of the judges on the Indian show.

With the same theme tune, stage set, categories and editing style, the "look" of X Factor India is almost identical to that of its British predecessor.India's Cheryl Cole?

But for those familiar with the original UK format, the similarities don't stop there.

INDIA X FACTOR JUDGES

Sonu Nigam: One of India's leading playback singers, who provides the voice for many of Bollywood's big stars in the dance numbers on screen

Shreya Ghosal: A product of reality TV, she got her break on India's singing show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and is now an award-winning playback singer in India

Sanjay Leela Bhansali: One of India's most famous directors, behind big Bollywood hits such as Devdas, Black and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

All are veterans of the reality TV format, having starred on similar shows before. Bhansali was a judge on the Indian version of Strictly Come Dancing (Jhalak Dhikalaja).

And in a parallel to the UK's Cheryl Cole, Indian singer Shreya Ghoshal was also discovered on a reality show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - she used it as a launch pad for a successful singing career.

It was her appearance on that show which caught the eye of fellow judge Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who gave her a singing part on the Bollywood film Devdas, for which she won a Filmfare award (the Indian equivalent of the Oscars).

"Being a judge is a different ball game," says Ghoshal. "It's emotional to be on the panel with my mentor."

On the X Factor, it was Nigam who took centre stage on the judging panel, at times even joining contestants on stage as they sang. When one dejected contestant was turned down, she begged him for a hug, something he happily offered.

So do any of the Indian trio have any of the Simon Cowell put-downs? Nigam refused to be drawn on which of the judges, if any, would play the role of "Mr Nasty" on the panel.

"We could still be nicer, but we have to be honest. We are good at times, we are strict," he says.

As of now we've had enough of reality singing shows, frankly speaking there is no room for anymore”Jyoti VenkateshEntertainment journalist

"India is a great country with good music. This X Factor should beat every other X factor in the world," he says.

The show, which is already available in 24 countries including Australia and Indonesia, is set to launch in China and the United States this year.

"We are looking for this show to be making all the difference because this is the largest and the biggest market for the show. It's 1.2bn people we are talking about," says Raj Barua, from Fremantle Media, the show's creators, in India.Indian saturated reality

Mr Barua and his colleagues believe the growth and evolution of India's television market will make it a big success.

The show has taken more than a year of planning, says Barua. His colleagues at Sony TV, the network airing the show, hope it will fill a ratings hole left by the end of the Indian Premier League cricket season.

But the reality singing format is nothing new to Indian viewers.

As far back as the 1990s similar shows were airing on television. Meri Awaaz Suno (Listen to my voice), could lay claim to being one of the world's first reality singing shows, launching the career of Indian singer Sunidhi Chauhan.

Sonu Nigam was the first presenter of reality show Sa Re Ga Ma

In 1995, the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa show began. Arguably one of the most popular programmes on Indian television, it has a simple and familiar format, with contestants singing songs in front of a panel of judges before getting feedback.

Still on television now, the show has a number of spin-offs including a children's version, and shows in regional Indian languages. It is also popular with Indians around the world.

The first presenter of Sa Re Ga Ma was Sonu Nigam, who was later replaced by Aditya Narayan. Narayan is the current host of X-Factor. He is India's answer to the UK's Dermot O'Leary - his presenting style and mannerisms are identical.

Western formats like Pop Idol (Indian Idol), and Strictly Come Dancing (Jhalak Dikhhla Ja) are also popular here.

So will the X Factor win the approval of Indian audiences? Ratings for the current show are not yet out, but the calibre of the judging line up could help the show, says Jyoti Venkatesh, an entertainment journalist who has covered Bollywood for more than three decades.

Mr Venkatesh says the reality TV market is already saturated in India: "As of now, we've had enough of reality singing shows. Frankly speaking, there is no room for anymore, but you never know which one will break through and become a success," he says.

Snaring a Global Television Audience: The Case of Survivor

Posted by Christopher Jordan / St. Cloud State University

Like a contestant who survives multiple challenge rounds, Survivor thrives because it is well suited to the predatory culture of capitalism that dominates today’s global media industry. A critical political economic study of Survivor reveals that the show fits the needs of producers, networks, and advertisers while limiting television’s democratic potential.

Production of Survivor: The Medium is the Advertiser’s Message

Critical political economic theory argues that concentration of ownership enables the largest owners of America’s productive capital to disproportionately influence government policy. While the television industry has always been an oligopoly, the government’s retreat from media regulation has promoted concentration due to the logic of capital. Logic of capital theory contends that capitalists ceaselessly cultivate new markets, inevitably pursuing concentration of ownership because of their relentless drive for profit. Capitalists continually tap new territories and markets for profits while seeking ways to eliminate competition. Even though competition is a hallmark of a capitalist economy, the overriding tendency within capitalism is concentration.

The concentration of ownership that has accompanied the global expansion of the communications industry since the 1980s exemplifies this point. During recent decades, the maturation of cable and other communications technologies created competition in the U.S. and other countries that fragmented the mass broadcast television audience. Simultaneously, lax anti-trust regulation and the loosening of regulatory restrictions facilitated the television industry’s vertical and horizontal integration as the largest media conglomerates gobbled up competitors and consolidated their control over the U.S. media marketplace.

Production budget cuts simultaneously thinned out the field of independent production as Viacom, News Corporation, and General Electric incurred high levels of corporate debt through their respective purchases of CBS, Fox, and NBC. As the marketplace fragmented, there arose more potential networks for producers to sell programs to, but less money (or “deficit financing”) from networks to cover production costs. The repeal of the Financial-Syndication Rules in 1995 also enabled networks to produce their own shows, reducing their reliance on independent producers. Access to prime time television thus depends on an independent producer’s ability to secure enough production financing from advertisers to supply a network with low-cost programming that will nonetheless be of sufficient quality to garner high ratings.

Enter Darwinian producer Mark Burnett. In 1999, Burnett licensed the Survivor concept and created a U.S. version of the Swedish show Expedition: Robinson. Burnett required no deficit financing, yet offered CBS a program with high quality prime time production values. Instead of paying Burnett to license the show, CBS agreed to share the show’s advertising revenue with him if he pre-sold sponsorship of the program. By pre-selling the show, Burnett raised enough capital to produce Survivor, provided CBS with essentially free programming, and enjoyed a hefty share of the show’s advertising revenue. Survivor drew instant sponsorship because it attracted large numbers of people and the coveted teen demographic and boasted high quality production values.

Reality television shows thus dominate prime time television because they pose little financial risk for networks, offer lavish production values, and generate huge ratings. Survivor became a valuable addition to Viacom’s programming spectrum by enabling CBS, known for its primarily elderly audience, to capture a huge mass audience and teenage viewers.

Distribution of Survivor: Creating a Global Franchise

Access to a nationwide audience advances the networks’ goal of enclosing new markets in the United States by facilitating economies of scale in production that make television cost efficient for advertisers. The larger the audience a single television program attracts, the more cost efficiently and profitably a network can sell it to advertisers. Network television also remains the only place advertisers can reach large groups of people quickly.

The relaxation of the National Television Station Ownership Rule, the Cable Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule, and the National Broadcast Cap during the late 1990s dramatically increased CBS’s audience, enabling the network to deliver a huge national viewer share to advertisers and promote synergies between cable and broadcast T.V. Although network television allows advertisers to target a nationwide audience, cable and the Internet target specific viewer demographics and deliver them to advertisers at a lower cost. Viacom’s cross-promotion of Survivor on CBS, its cable networks MTV and VH-1, and its Internet websites CBS.com and MTV Networks Online enabled CBS to snare a young audience during the show’s first episode and deliver it to advertisers along with a mass audience of 15.5 million. CBS’s use of the Internet also promoted interactivity by encouraging audiences to participate in Survivor’s story arc by using other media to follow the show. The ability to quickly capture a large audience during an era in which the network practice of ordering shows in small batches makes it imperative to transform a new show into a smash hit quickly.



Map of Survivor Locations

Although more expensive than airing re-runs, Survivor also proved that original programming could curtail the defection of the network audience to cable during summertime, when the networks typically re-broadcast the previous season’s fare. During summer, 2000, Survivor ranked as the number two show of the year among adults ages 18 to 49, second only to E.R.

Survivor’s relatively low cost and high ratings made the show imminently marketable worldwide after CBS purchased television syndication giant King World in 1999. King World collaborates closely with international partners to produce shows carefully tailored to specific national markets, and creates customized promotional advertisements for international licensees. China’s CCTV licensed Survivor and created its own version of the show. Other licensees include Argentina, Middle East satellite platform Gulf DTH, South Africa’s SABC, Mexico’s Televisa, and stations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

The global popularity of Survivor is partly attributable to CBS’s use of the economies of scale provided by the size of the U.S. television audience to license the program cheaply in developing countries. Local adaptations of reality television formats also satisfy quotas requiring a certain amount of locally produced programming. Europe’s largest suppliers of reality television have also made inroads into the global television market. Dutch reality television production giant Endemol maintains partnerships with broadcasters in 22 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.

Consumption of Survivor: Transforming Citizens into Consumers

The adaptability of Survivor to local cultures and the convertibility of its format into a virtual infomercial for sponsors’ products underscore the role of the show in propagating consumption in the U.S. and other nations targeted by transnational capitalism. The strategy of licensing Survivor to overseas broadcasters springs from a network practice of striving to replicate a successful show by blatantly imitating it.

Financed by advertisers interested in cultivating new consumers abroad, Survivor reifies capitalism as an ideology and a way of life. The director of marketing for Sony’s AXN Action TV Network, on whichSurvivor airs in East Asia, cites the show’s focus on action and adventure as a catalyst for Asian youths’ fascination with four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Advertisers eagerly sponsor Survivor because it is a virtual commercial for their products. Rewarding winners of Survivor’s challenges with Doritos and Mountain Dew integrates the products into a circumstance that blurs programming and advertising by associating the snacks with adventure and heroism. The design of Survivor also affirms consumption as a way of life both by enabling its producers to develop lucrative licensing deals that extend its shelf life. There are now 150 Survivor-themed products available, ranging from CDs to bug spray, to board games, and bandanas. The organization of citizens into consumers thus grooms members of nation-states into behaving like a marketplace.

Conclusion: Economic Determinism and Survivor

One of the longest running prime-time reality shows on network television, Survivor dominates the worldwide television landscape because it is well adapted to a global environment of media production. A political economic study of the show nonetheless reveals that economic determinism limits the possibilities of reality television’s potential for democratic communication.

Image Credits:

1. Survivor: China Logo

2. Mark Burnett, Contestant Yul Kwon, and Host Jeff Probst

3. Map of Survivor Locations

Is It Possible to Find True Love on a Reality TV Show?

by PopNews Wire Posted May 31, 2011


Watching "The Bachelorette" (and most reality TV, for that matter) requires some serious suspension of disbelief.

Is Ashley Hebert really dating 25 guys at once, and immediately developing "strong feelings" for several of them, including one who clearly has been hired by the show to play some kind of Omarosa-esque villain role?

Are the guys so "in love" just days after meeting the 27-year-old dental student/dancer that at least one is already willing to marry her?

And is Ashley really still willing to date a very strange 35-year-old man who two weeks into the season has yet to take off his face mask?

The answer to all of these questions is yes. Which is how you know that you're in for some pretty good reality TV.

In case you couldn't make it through two full hours of perky cuteness, here's a quick summary of how it all went down on Monday night:

Ashley chooses William, a 30-year-old cell phone salesman for Ohio, for the first one-on-one date. William does a mean George W. Bush impression and dreams of being a stand-up comedian, but Ashley fears he might not be "serious" enough. To test him, she embarks on every guy's nightmare: Engagement ring shopping and wedding cake tasting . . . on the first date! Since they're in Vegas, she even has a minister read the marriage vows . . . and unbelievably, William says, "I do!" 

As this point, Ashley is satisfied with William's devotion -- but of course she can't marry him, she has "17 other guys to consider!" 

Onto the group date, another one most guys would dread: The suitors must choreograph a dance routine in 30 minutes for the chance to perform with the JabbaWockeeZ dance crew. Both teams are pretty bad, but six of the guys win the chance to perform in front of 1,000 people and spend a little more time with Ashley.

Ever efficient, Ashley decides to spend some one-on-one time with the six remaining guys -- specifically, Bentley, the 27-year-old single dad who claims to be completely uninterested in Ashley. While he admires her "amazing butt" and "rocking legs," Bentley reveals to viewers at home, "Having her tickle my pickle, that's like the extent in terms of my interest. She's just not my type." 

Well, that doesn't leave very much to the imagination. So why is he on the show to begin with, you wonder? Bentley claims he wants to win merely because he is "very competitive." And Ashley, if you believe in "reality" TV, is totally falling for it, begging him to stay in the competition and even giving him a rose.

And with the flip of a coin, Ashley is on a one-on-one date with 31-year-old Mickey, a chef and a self-proclaimed "mama's boy" who is so boring, we can't imagine he'll last very long. In fact, Ashley herself is so blasé about the date that she flips a coin to determine whether he should get a rose. Mickey, have some self-respect and quit now!

Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for: Ashley gets a little alone time with "masked man" Jeff, who reveals that he had a brain hemorrhage a few years ago and was divorced soon afterward. But just when he's feeling comfortable enough to take off the mask, Matt interrupts!

Meanwhile, William is bragging about his date with Ashley to Bentley, who explains to viewers at home that he'd "rather be swimming in pee then trying to plan a wedding with her." Later, he says his kiss with Ashley "started out good but sucked toward the end." Somebody call the limo, please -- this guy might be the world's biggest jerk!

But Ashley "trusts her gut" and "sees sincerity" in Bentley. She even thinks he could be the one! We see some kind of plot twist ahead: Will Bentley start falling in love with Ashley in spite of himself? Or will she get her heart broken? 

All we know is, we'd rather be swimming in pee than dating this guy.

Mark Burnett, King of reality TV turns to religious programming!

In the beginning, Mark Burnett made a name as the most prominent producer of reality television. Now he's moving from Omarosa to Moses.

In what Burnett is calling the "most important project I have ever undertaken," he has made a deal with the History Channel to mount a 10-hour series based on the stories of the Bible. The project is expected to be on a similar scale as its most ambitious previous work, "America: The Story of Us."

That 12-part series, covering the 400-year history of America and broadcast last year, was closer to the fare typically seen on the History Channel. But Nancy Dubuc, the president of History, said the historical importance of the Bible is beyond dispute.

"This is the most discussed, debated book in the history of mankind," said Dubuc, whose channel has tackled other religious projects, such as "Jesus: The Lost 40 Days" and "The Real Face of Jesus?"

She added, "What the book has come to represent, and the power of it and the importance of it is itself history."

"The Bible" will not be a documentary representation; it will be a scripted, acted drama. That represents a departure for Burnett, the man behind hit shows such as "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and "The Voice."

"This is definitely a new area for Mark," Dubuc said. "But he is such a powerful visual storyteller. This is a producer you can put any editorial or visual challenge in front of and he rises to it."

The series will consist of five two-hour parts, Burnett said, and each will most likely contain two or three separate biblical stories. He and his team are selecting the stories for the series, he said, which will be in production through next year and shown sometime in 2013.

"Some of the stories are obvious," Burnett said, such as Noah's ark, Exodus and accounts of the birth and death of Jesus. But the project will also cover stories that Burnett said he was unfamiliar with.

Burnett, who conceived the project with his wife, actress Roma Downey ("Touched by an Angel"), said he had been inspired by rewatching, for the first time since childhood, the classic Cecil B. DeMille version of "The Ten Commandments."

He said that sort of epic production, backed by location shoots and special effects, "used to be the purview of major motion pictures." Now, he said, "that kind of quality is within the parameters of television."

Neither Burnett nor Dubuc would disclose the budget, although Burnett said it wasn't his most expensive series. He cited History's experience with "The Story of Us" and its coming Gettysburg project.

History's most recent experience with a scripted drama based on fact was "The Kennedys," which it dropped in January, saying the miniseries did not live up to its standards of accuracy.

The Bible has its own layers of interpretation, of course, but Dubuc said the series would not try to impose any kind of historical context to events such as the great flood.

"It is just the magnitude of the book itself," she said. "We're not stepping back to examine anything that could be called a controversy. We are just telling the stories that are in it."

Dubuc said that researchers are already at work and that theologians will be consulted.

With four reality series on network schedules next season, Burnett has an impressive track record in the reality genre. As with most producers, he has had his share of misses. His previous effort for History, "Expedition Africa" (2009), which traced the journey of Henry Morton Stanley's search for Dr. David Livingstone, was not a ratings hit. He also produced "Sarah Palin's Alaska" for TLC, which was canceled after one season.

He did have a prediction for "The Bible," however: "I think this will have the biggest audience History has ever had.

@ZA_FutureRealityTrends: @ZA_FutureRealityTrends: Bubbling Under - My Kitch...

 "'A brand new reality series from Endemol Australia that combines the dramatic content of Amazing Race partnerships with the heat in Hell's ..."

Thought's on Bonang's Online Reality Show

Bonang launched her reality series a few weeks ago. It's an online series that can be found on her website www.bonangmatheba.com. The show chronicles the life and times of your girl 'B' with behind the scenes footage of her shows, shoots, appearances, etc. I think it's a great effort by one of the most popular icons of youth culture in SA and if asked, I would add proper storyline's and arch's to the series to make it more watchable. It also feel's very run and gun in it's treatment and not lit too well however these are technical issues that can easily be sorted out. Bonang is a South Africa favorite, just did an FHM cover and has one of the highest twitter followings in Mzansi.

Big Brother 2011 to air in HD for the first time on Channel 5

May 28th, 2011 13:42 | Posted in Big Brother 2011 by Josh Darvill

Big Brother 2011 on Channel 5 will be first series of the show to air in HD, it has been revealed. DDF post-production company, which has worked on the show since the first series in 2000, told Broadcast how it was updating its equipment to handle HD for the new series this summer.

The team, which work from a huge 14-metre long trailer on the set of the show, said everything was being upgraded to allow for a top quality transmission from the house.

Spouting a whole load of techno mumbo jumbo we’ve no hope of understanding, technical director Mark Openshaw said: “We’re looking at using Avid Z800 5.5 Media Composer, but that’s not yet been confirmed. AJA IO Express monitoring interfaces will also be used.”

He continues: “Because of the quality of data, we have increased the amount of storage by a factor of five, and we will also have a lot of data wrangling equipment on site.

“Before, we used humongous amounts of tape stock, with tapes continuously run over to the playout truck. This time we’ll be networked to [OB firm] Roll To Record, so that when each programme is finished, it will be transferred and played out directly from its EVS server.”

All sounds very snazzy to us.

The work is expected to be completed in early July just in time for the return of Big Brother with Celebrity Big Brother 2011 starting on Channel 5 in mid-August.

Channel 5 HD is available on Sky Channel 171 and Virgin Media channel 150

Read more: http://tellymix.co.uk/2011/reality-tv/big-brother/33258-big-brother-2011-to-air-in-hd-for-the-first-time-on-channel-5.html#ixzz1NuIICLDK

Have viewers finally fallen out of love with Gordon Ramsay?

Gordon Ramsay's latest series saw its first episode draw a smaller audience than The Hotel Inspector. Photograph: Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

The third episode of Gordon Ramsay's new series Gordon's Great Escape aired last night. You probably didn't watch it. Why would you? Just look at what it was up against. The new Adam Curtis documentary. Game of Thrones. The ITV series about Strangeways. A show about special ambulances for fat people. The episode of Glee where they singthat Rebecca Black song. Alongside televisual titans like these, no wonder people aren't tuning in.

This hasn't always been the case. Not so long ago, a Gordon Ramsay series would be all but guaranteed success. Hell's Kitchen made him a star. Kitchen Nightmares demonstrated his flair as a restaurateur. The stunts Ramsay pulled in The F Word made for constant headline fodder.

But Gordon's Great Escape has been met with almost blanket apathy. The first episode was watched live on Channel 4 by fewer than a million people – fewer than all its major competitors. Less than Channel 5's The Hotel Inspector, even. And that's rubbish. So what's gone wrong? And does this spell the end of Gordon Ramsay's television career in this country?

It's not that Gordon's Great Escape is a bad show. It's just a bit ill-defined. It's a celebrity travelogue in an age that's already saturated with celebrity travelogues. It's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations without the insight, or Jamie Does … without the recipes. Ostensibly it's about Gordon Ramsay travelling to south-east Asia to learn a new style of cooking. In reality, on the basis of last night's show, it's about him waggling animal penises about and aggressively shouting the word "clitoris" at old ladies a lot. Which is OK if you like that kind of thing. But it's no Friday performed by the entire cast of Glee, is it?

Perhaps people aren't watching because they're bored of Gordon Ramsay himself. That he spreads himself too thinly is an oft-cited criticism of his restaurant empire, but it applies just as much to his television output. And the lack of focus is beginning to show. His last major British series, Ramsay's Best Restaurant, was a tedious mishmash of several other shows, and his contribution to this year's Big Fish Fight season was both ridiculous and – once it had emerged that he'd previously been fishing for the very sharks he claimed to want to save – sort of pointless. Throw in Ramsay's well-publicised personal and professional problems and the fact that on screen he's now little more than a clump of irritating personality tics – the swearing, the hand slap, the "Ugh? Yes?" – and viewers have every reason to feel fatigued.

A few months ago there was some debate about whether or not Channel 4 should renew Ramsay's contract when it expires this year, and the ratings for Gordon's Great Escape won't do anything to hush the naysayers. Not that Gordon Ramsay should be too panicked by this, of course – in the US he's still the host of Hell's Kitchen, MasterChef and Kitchen Nightmares, jobs that pay him an estimated £9.4m per year. Most of these shows will end up being syndicated here, but it's hardly the same. There was a time when Gordon Ramsay was one of the faces of Channel 4. Now he's being overtaken by a Channel 5 programme about a woman who sneers at bedspreads for a living. It's a spectacular fall from grace.

But maybe there's still hope for him. The best parts of Gordon's Great Escape are the brief clips of Ramsay cooking his own recipes. In them he's enthusiastic and engaging and gets to put his encyclopaedic knowledge of food to good use. He's one of this country's best chefs. Might more people be interested iif he was given a show where he stopped dicking around and just cooked things
?

Play themed online games around the Big Brother Amplified show

Big Brother Amplified can’t get better than this! Now you can play themed online games around the reality show and in the process, win great prizes and influence the Housemates' Saturday rewards.

The more points you earn by playing, the more booze and fast food there will be in the House at the Saturday party. If you want to see more of Confidence’s sexy dances, topless male housemates or Kim and Sharon-O’s teasing moves then make sure to start playing the games now. 

By playing you also stand a chance of winning awesome prizes like state-of-the-art laptops, smartphones and digital cameras. 

All you need to do to start playing is register on Ogames.com.

For more news, videos and up-to-date information about the Big Brother Amplified action check out the official website. 

Let the games begin... outside of the house! 

CLIFTON SHORES NEW CAPE TOWN BASED REALITY SHOW ON MTV

MTV is currently filming“Clifton Shores,” a reality TV series about a group of mostly white, young people (four Americans and three South Africans “who serve as their guides to life in a new country”)  working for an events company and “having fun” in Clifton, a wealthy district of Cape Town on the other side of Table Mountain.

Quinton van der Burgh is the coal tycoon who executive produced and conceptualized the show.

The show plays on comparisons with “Jersey Shore,” served up in the tagline — “new city … better beach … more drama.” But producer Clive Morris, of Clive Morris Productions, says that his more upmarket show has more in common with “The Hills” or “Laguna Beach.”

American David Kolko, who’s worked with MTV and VH1, was hired as “Clifton Shores” content producer to make sure the South African story was suited to American audiences.

Creative director Genna Lewis says “Clifton Shores” is “a classic fish-out-of-water story. It’s been fascinating watching this group of foreign girls come to this beautiful city and make it their home,” she says.

The series has been challenging for d.p. Sven Vosloo, who shot the 13-part, 30-minute series on three Panasonic AG-AF101s. He lowered one of the cameramen over the edge of Table Mountain, the flat-topped mount that looms 3,558 feet above Cape Town.

Notes Kolko: “We’ve also had our camera guy strapped to elephants; zip-lining down a mountain; shooting on the roof of a car at high speed; and filming Superman-style on the back of a van.”

“People suddenly know where Cape Town is, and are very interested in the story of American girls coming here to work for a local millionaire,” Morris says.

Sources: Africa is a country & Variety

@ZA_FutureRealityTrends: Bubbling Under - My Kitchen Rules

"A brand new reality series from Endemol Australia that combines the dramatic content of Amazing Race partnerships with the heat in Hell's K..."

New African American TV Network Launches to Compete with BET & TVone

BET & TVOne will have a new competitor, the Dish Network is launching Punch TV, a new African-American television network.  The CEO of Punch Television Network, Joseph Collins, says his network offers different programming than the mentioned networks stating, "Punch TV Network targets its audiences based upon psychographics and not merely demographics. As a family-based network, we offer programming for all ages. However, from a psychographic perspective, we offer programming that is designed to quench African American’s thirst for innovative programming." Punch TV, a ninety percent African American ownership, will be available for DirecTV subscribers this summer. The programming schedule will include a late night show with Damien Hall, a talk show with Sheryl Lee Ralph, a secular drama "Get Thee Behind Me" and a documentary on the king of Pop Michael Jackson.

American Idol Season 10 breaks worldwide reality TV records in the 1st year it allows online voting via Facebook

American Idol's season finale notched up its highest voting numbers ever and broke worldwide reality TV records in the first year it has allowed online voting via a deal with Facebook. 

The Fox show notched up some 122.4 million votes for the season 10 finale, while a total of 730 million votes were cast over the course of the season, according to XIX Entertainment, the artist management company owned by Idol creator Simon Fuller.

Although the firm did not break down voting figures, viewers were able to back contestants by phoning in, texting or going online at AmericanIdol.com - provided they also had a Facebook account.

The season finale notched up 29 million viewers - the biggest US TV audience this year for an entertainment show.

The news comes as shareholders try to block the sale of CKX, the parent company of American Idol producer 19 Entertainment, which Fuller set up.

Earlier this month, CKX agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management for US$509m. However, at least three investors in the company have this week filed lawsuits against CKX's owners, claiming that the deal undervalues the firm. 

The US$5.50 per share offer marked a 40% premium over CKX's average closing price over the past six months. However, the shareholders pointed out that the company's shares traded at US$5.30 as recently as October 2010 and claimed the deal offers "practically no premium."

Andrew McDonald 
27 May 2011