About the BBC - BlogAbout the BBC - Blog

Local Navigation

Watch amazing events with BBC Big Screens

Post categories:

Stephen Morgan | 13:45 UK time, Friday, 25 May 2012

Editor's note: Stephen Morgan, Screen Manager for BBC Big Screens blogs about an exciting summer of events available to watch across the country.

BBC Big Screens are proud to be at the heart of national celebrations and will play a key role in the BBC's delivery of the Olympic Games. The screens are part of the official London 2012 Live Sites programme and deliver the experience promised in the London 2012 bid - to engage with as many people as possible. During the Olympics, up to 500,000 people per day are expected to celebrate the Games at Live Sites throughout the country.

The BBC Big Screen Swansea

The BBC Big Screen Swansea

We look after 22 screens, which are dotted across the UK, in every nation and region. It's a partnership between London 2012, local authorities and the BBC. And it doesn't matter whether you're looking forward to the men's 10,000 metre final or prefer the women's long-jump final, the BBC Big Screens will be the best destination to watch the Games locally.

From Swansea to Swindon, Belfast to Birmingham and Derry to Dover, BBC Big Screens will offer extensive coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with comfortable seating and facilities to ensure audiences have a fantastic shared experience. We want people to choose to watch the world's greatest event with us.

It's been terrific to see the amazing pictures of the Olympic Torch Relay. Huge crowds are watching the live coverage and the torch will be visiting every Big Screen site to give people a front-row view.

It's always a pleasure to talk to members of the public at our events and people tell us they really enjoy coming along to soak up the atmosphere. With world-class content from the BBC, our open-air screens provide an amazing experience - it's an atmosphere you just can't get at home. It's not all about sport. With a packed programme of dazzling events, it really does promise to be a summer like no other.

One of my favourites is The Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert. It's likely to be very popular as more than 1.2m applications were made for the concert at Buckingham Palace - with only 10,000 tickets up for grabs. Other highlights include live coverage of Radio 1's Hackney Weekend and Euro 2012 games at selected sites.

Visit our website for the latest events in your area and watch a selection of Big Screen events. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @bbcbigscreens

We look forward to welcoming you to one of our BBC events, soon.

BBC Academy TV #FastTrain: "The Future of TV"

Post categories:

Eloise McNaulty | 15:45 UK time, Monday, 21 May 2012

Editor's note: "The Future of TV" was a panel discussion which took place on the 17th May, 2012 as part of TV Fast Train 2012.

BBC journalist and former Tomorrow's World host Maggie Philbin.

BBC journalist and former Tomorrow's World host Maggie Philbin.

How will technology influence TV in 1, 3 and 5 years time? How will audiences be sharing, engaging with and reacting to TV content across news, sport and drama? How will broadcasters be measuring success, and what revenue streams will be funding TV in 1,3 and 5 years?

These were just some of the issues raised in "The Future of TV", a panel discussion chaired by BBC journalist and former Tomorrow's World host Maggie Philbin featuring Google's Peter Barron, Daniel Danker from the BBC, digital consultant Nic Newman and Fremantle Media's Peter Cassidy.

 Maggie Philbin with Google's Peter Barron, Daniel Danker from the BBC, digital consultant Nic Newman and Fremantle Media's Peter Cassidy. 17th May, 2012 at TV Fast Train.

In a wide-ranging session, Barron assured the audience that Google has no plans to get into television production or programming, while Danker revealed new figures showing that only 57% of iPlayer doing is done on a computer - the rest is taken up by mobile devices and tablets.

Read the rest of this post on the BBC Academy website.

Hear the panel discussion chaired by Maggie Philbin.

Hear more from TV #FastTrain:Learn from drama greats, From factual to drama, Never Mind the Panel Shows, Using social media to grow your brand, Women in TV, Meet the controllers, Comedy greats, Features and formats.

TV Fast Train was produced in partnership with Creative Skillset and in association with a range of industry partners including The Indie Training Fund, DV Talent, VET, shortcourses@nfts, ThinkBigger!, The TV Collective, Pact, , and BECTU.

The first Russian Service TV broadcast from New Broadcasting House

Post categories:

Oleg Antonenko | 14:05 UK time, Thursday, 17 May 2012

Editor's note: Oleg Antonenko, presenter of the Russian Service TV bulletin talks about his first broadcast from New Broadcasting House.

On the eve of our first broadcast from W1, I heard one phrase dozens of times: "You are making history."

And on 1 May 2012 we did just that.

Presenter Oleg Antonenko. Picture Credit: Alistair Beavis, BBC World Service

Presenter Oleg Antonenko. Picture Credit: Alistair Beavis, BBC World Service

In actual fact, this wasn't the first broadcast the Russian Service had made to Russia. The first TV broadcast went out in March from Bush House - home to the BBC Russian Service for more than 75 years.

For me - someone who has spent almost 15 years of my professional life on the radio as a DJ, talk show host, reporter, and a news and current affairs presenter - it was a new chapter and a new challenge too.

My colleagues still keep asking me how it feels to present a TV bulletin. "It feels really good," I reply, "and years of live radio experience has really helped too." But what I appreciate more now is that I have to think of more than just my voice.

As someone said to me recently, "clothes and manners do not make the man, but, when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance".

I would add make-up to that list. Honestly, before I started presenting TV I only had a theoretical knowledge of what stylists and make-up artists do. Now I can talk for hours about the best methods for removing make-up. Not only that, I now have to shave every day of my life.

On a serious note however, this story is really about team work. Our crew - the directors, cameramen, and producers are all learning together as they produce the programme.

Our programme covers international events and reflects on how the international community, including Britain, reacts to significant news from Russia. Each bulletin only lasts ten minutes and although it seems small, I am really pleased to play a part in making history with this first Russian TV broadcast for the World Service.

About this blog

Senior staff and experts from across the organisation use this blog to talk about what's happening inside the BBC. We also highlight and link to some of the debates happening on other blogs and online spaces inside and outside the corporation.

Here are some tips for taking part.

Subscribe to this blog

You can stay up to date with About the BBC via these feeds.

If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find our beginner's guide to RSS useful.

BBC in the news

Follow this blog

Other BBC blogs

Latest contributors

More from this blog...

Categories

These are some of the popular topics this blog covers.

BBC iD

Sign in

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.