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Apple’s core values

Do you remember when Bill Gates was seen as the Darth Vader of world business, bullying others out of various sectors; operating systems, web browsers and more? And Apple and Steve Jobs were the ‘other guys’, the good guys, the little guys. Indeed, Jobs attracted cultish devotion in the same proportion that Gates attracted opprobrium. […]

January 27, 2021 Nick Snow

2020, the end is nigh

At the beginning of this sorry excuse for a year I wrote that predictions were difficult, but I would have a go anyway. Hands up, writing in early January, I didn’t foresee a global pandemic coming along to screw with our lives, companies and economies. At least I wasn’t alone. Has such an unprecedented event, […]

December 21, 2020 Nick Snow

FOX will find another of its faces

Fox News won the ratings war in the US election hands down. But its candidate lost, even if that is taking a while to sink in. Ironically, Fox’s statisticians were the first to call the poll for Biden, something that has brought them condemnation from the station’s headbanger Alt-Right poster boys who are wildly popular […]

November 11, 2020 Nick Snow

Mickey mugs the big screen

The Disney Corporation is known for two things: Family-friendly entertainment, and taking no prisoners. It is at the top table of world media as much through the second attribute as the first. Nowhere is its ruthlessness more evident than in its exploitation of the direct route to its consumers. Going direct over the heads of […]

October 13, 2020 Nick Snow

Good luck, Tim

Many headlines rang out ‘New BBC DG against subscription model’ following Tim Davie’s first speech. If my memory of reporter school is right – it is a very long time ago – this is a classic ‘dog bites man’ headline. In other words, no news at all. The news would have been ‘New DG does […]

September 4, 2020 Nick Snow

RIP Redstone, goodbye the old guard

Sumner Redstone has died at 97 years-old, hardly an untimely tragedy. The man himself often attributed his phenomenal drive to his very close brush with death as a young man when he clung on to a window ledge to escape a burning hotel in Boston. But now he is gone. He was one of the […]

August 12, 2020 Nick Snow

A TikToking clock heading towards regeneration – or not?

advanced-television.com’s Colin Mann has contributed a chapter to The Generation Game, a collection of essays asking the question: ‘Can the BBC win over today’s young audience?’ The work, published by Bite Size Books, features contributions from broadcast industry figures such as former digital minister Ed Vaizey, presenter Mike Read, executive Paul Robinson and analyst Alex […]

July 20, 2020 Colin Mann

Between the Devil and the Deep Red Sea

Tired of the Covid Crisis? The good news is that a distraction is heading our way. Not long after covering TV in ads telling us to stay home and do nothing, the UK government is about a launch the ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ campaign imploring the nation to be ready to grasp the opportunity. That […]

July 14, 2020 Nick Snow

China: Complicated but clear

Covid-19 is complicated. Only an idiot would expect governments and their institutions to get everything, or even most things, right first time. But there is a premium on clarity of approach, honesty about mistakes and a commitment to learn from them. If you live in a country where any of those things happen, lucky you. […]

June 23, 2020 Nick Snow

ViacomCBS makes its SVoD bet

Does the world need another global streamer? ViacomCBS thinks so and has talked of plans to bring one to market, possibly an upgraded and rebranded version of CBS All Access, or maybe a refurbed Showtime. Bob Bakish, CEO, said it “will launch a broad pay streaming product in multiple markets over the next 12 months. […]

May 12, 2020 Nick Snow