Happy New Year to all our readers

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon star in new comedy The Trip, available now on DVD - and we have five copies to give away! Check out our competitions page for details of how to win. […]

David Morrissey stars in new detective drama Thorne, available from January 10 on DVD and Blu-ray - and we have three copies of the Blu-ray to give away! Check out our competitions page for details of how to win. […]

Chris Forrester’s Launch Pad A snag with a key rocket component has caused ‘tens of millions of Euros’ of extra costs and lost profits for Arianespace. Technical problems with quality control over the crucial helium pressurisation device has led to three cancelled launches this year on the giant Ariane 5 ECA rocket. The knock-on consequences of delays to sat […]

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the UK brought new meaning to the words ‘mass media’ and kept professional uplinkers and feedhunters busy. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s first visit to England and Scotland as Pope would have been major news even without the current controversies surrounding the Roman Catholic Church, and provided a rich four days for feedhunters. […]

Sky2, from December 25 at 10am: Sky’s offering fantasy fans another chance to see its trio of Terry Pratchett adaptations, kicking off with the seasonally-appropriate Hogfather, starring David Jason and the late Ian Richardson. It’s the festive season on the Discworld – but the local dispenser of gifts to children, the Hogfather, has gone missing, so Death ( […]

Barry Fox’s Inside View The news that Toshiba is due to launch ‘no-glasses’ 3D television sets in Japan in time for Christmas looks sure to trigger a rash of me-too announcements from other major manufacturers. As the Toshiba press release was garbled and technically incorrect, it might be useful to get a few facts straight. There is nothing new in ‘autoster […]

Chinese news channel CNC World is launching in the UK on January 1. The channel, which launched 12 months ago in the Asia-Pacific region and North America, will be available on Hot Bird at 13° East and Eurobird at 28.5° East. The English-language channel aims to provide a Chinese perspective on breaking news and major political, economic and cultural develop […]

Top Up TV is planning to offer Sky Sports on digital terrestrial using a CAM instead of a set-top box with built-in conditional access. Viewers with suitable TVs or set-top boxes will be able to buy a Nagravision CAM and insert a viewing card, instead of completely new equipment. However, the CAM will only be compatible with the new CI+ Common Interface, and […]

News Corp's move to take over Sky has been approved by European business regulators. UK media regulator Ofcom still needs to decide whether the merger will reduce the range and variety of news and media outlets for consumers. The European Commission's investigation was focussed on the risk of creating a monopoly which could affect the provision of […]