Posts by Nathan Pine
BBC Licence Fee Payers Fall As Charter Renewal Heats Up: Report
The number of households paying the BBC license fee plummeted last year at a time when the corporation is desperately seeking a revamp of its funding model. Today’s BBC Annual Report showed that license fee payers slid by 539,000 last year to around 23.3 million. This is the biggest decline since 2020-21 and likely one…
Read MoreScott Mills Was BBC’s Best-Paid Presenter Before Being Fired
Scott Mills became the BBC‘s highest-paid presenter before being abruptly terminated as the host of the Radio 2 breakfast show in March. The BBC fired the radio DJ after receiving new information relating to a police investigation over alleged historical sexual offences, which prosecutors ultimately dropped. Mills pocketed as much as £750,000 ($1M) in the…
Read MoreDramatic moment US explosive sea drones strike southern Iranian port as new attacks exchanged
The U.S. has used sea drones in combat for the very first time, striking a southern Iranian hub used for repairing submarines, according to the U.S. military. While sea drones ferrying explosives have been widely used by Ukraine to target Russian ports in the Black Sea since 2022, Iran has wielded its own small, fast-attack…
Read MoreBBC Director General Supports Streamer License Fee Plan But Says Enforcement Will Be “Difficult”
New BBC Director General Matt Brittin has signaled his support for the license fee to expand to streaming services while acknowledging enforcement would be “difficult.” Having the scope of the annual £180 ($240) fee widen to incorporate those watching non-live TV on the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ has emerged as one of…
Read MoreBBC Boss: ‘Doctor Who’ Disruption Opportunity For Creative Renewal
BBC director general Matt Brittin has made a bullish case for the future of Doctor Who after the sci-fi show’s Christmas special was canceled amid production changes. Brittin — who declared his love for Doctor Who before joining the BBC earlier this year — said the exit of showrunner Russell T Davies, producer Bad Wolf,…
Read MoreThe $2.3M-an-hour problem hiding inside modern manufacturing
The next manufacturing crisis may not begin with tariffs, inflation or another global supply chain disruption. It may begin with a single missing part. According to one report, the world’s 500 largest companies lose nearly $1.4 trillion annually to unplanned downtime, equal to 11 percent of their revenues. That reality is reshaping procurement priorities as…
Read MoreVenice To Fete Ellen Burstyn & Screen New Maggie Gyllenhaal-Directed Short About Marilyn Monroe Starring The Actress
The Venice Film Festival is to celebrate Ellen Burstyn with a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. The award will be presented to Burstyn at the screening of Flesh Impact, a short film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, in which Burstyn also stars. The synopsis for the short provided by Venice reads: “Dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on…
Read MoreSpacs are making a comeback on Wall Street, but Singapore should look the other way
The lessons from the Republic’s previous experiment with blank-cheque companies still hold [SINGAPORE] Imagine a promoter handing you a sealed cardboard box, and promising that he will venture out into the wild and find a spectacular, fast-growing tech firm to put inside it. You hand over a pile of cash with the hope that you…
Read MoreEconomists, tech leaders warn AI could bring ‘large-scale job displacement’ and other risks
Many of the smartest people in the world warned governments, companies and people Monday that they need to be ready for the deep impact that artificial intelligence is going to have on the economy. More than 200 economists, researchers and tech leaders said artificial intelligence could transform the economy for the better and for worse…
Read MoreDaylight savings map shows new sunset, sunrise times in US if bill passes
Americans in most states will see their winter clocks stay one hour later than usual if Congress passes a proposal to make daylight saving time permanent, ending the twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks. The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican, would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide by…
Read MoreSamsung Electronics denies report that it is exploring US listing
A report says the chipmaker is in the early stages of exploring a potential US offering of American depositary receipts Published Tue, Jul 14, 2026 · 05:34 PM [BENGALURU/ SEOUL] Samsung Electronics denied on Tuesday (Jul 14) a report that it was in the early stages of exploring a potential US offering of American depositary…
Read MoreAndy Serkis Responds To Question About Lack Of Diversity In ‘LOTR’
Andy Serkis has said his Lord Of The Rings film The Hunt For Gollum will address concerns about diversity “where relevant” and without just “ticking boxes” during an interview with the BBC. The BBC asked the veteran actor and director about what they described as a “lack of diversity” in the Lord Of The Rings…
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