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Channel 4's objective as a publisher-broadcaster in its inception meant that the channel would be commissioning rather than producing its own work. Channel 4 has since been a major contributor to the success of many small production companies by lending their expertise as well as providing financing and confidence boost to these companies.

A step by step guideline to launch a channel along with pre and post launch work is discussed with approximate time schedules.

Change in political atmosphere of England, relaxation in ownership regulations and the revolution of Internet as powerful media forced to change the strategies of the Independent Television (ITV) to produce theme oriented shows with realism in 1990s. By building Network Center and other facilities, ITV concentrated more on increasing the peak time of their shows.

GWR and Daily Mail & General Trust are launching a trial internet venture.

The top 30 UK regional independent television production companies (indies) are ranked by 2007 turnover. The overall income of the 30 indies fell by 18 million pounds sterling to 205.6 million, and more than 50% of the companies saw a steady rise in income. Trends and issues among regional indies, and how their activities compared to London indies, are also presented.

Rankings of UK-based independent television production companies (indies) by number of hours produced in 2007 for each genre are given. Genres include drama, entertainment, factual, sport, children's, and factual entertainment. Key shows of each indie, and the number of produced show hours in 2006, are also given.

An overview of the independent sector within the UK television broadcasting industry is presented. Confidence among independents have declined further, but advances in multiplatform content and consolidation have boosted the sector. Other trends and figures in the sector are discussed.

The evaluation of the natural history shows broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corp. since the 1960s is presented.

Television production companies are ranked by the hours of their televison shows.

The evaluation of television broadcasters by independent television producers is discussed with focus on the ratings for the BBC.

A list of top producing companies of independent movies is presented.

A survey result on revenue generated from independent movies through advertising and licence fee is presented.

The user-generated content is increasing its popularity in United Kingdom. Most of the broadcasters are paying money for best clips and stories. Details of few popular user-generated video content clips are presented.

Current careers and achievements of the media hot shots of the year 1996 are presented.

16.6% of the Indies voted Kudos as their most respected rival, which has got 20 more vote this year than last year. Its last year turnover has increased from 15.5 million pounds to 25.5 million pounds. The survey is detailed.

44.5% of the Indies still consider BBC still consider BBC the most difficult broadcaster to deal with in United Kingdom. But two years ago 65% of the Indies felt that it's the hardest broadcaster to deal with. Details of the survey among the Indies about dealing broadcasters in U.K are presented.

The challenges faced by small television production companies while competing with big companies are discussed. The details of gains and losses in the industry in the United Kingdom are presented.

Five television executives with high flying careers who have quit their jobs to pursue different jobs/interests are profiled. Andrew Mcbean, Richard Eyre, Phil Trelease, Bernard Macleod and Paul Taylor, all former television executives are now doing what they think is most satisfying.

The growing demand for the independent television programme suppliers among the multichannel broadcasters is evaluated. The taste for original programmes and the growth in the number of broadcasting channels are the main reasons for this demand that earns thousands of dollars as commission for the best independent suppliers.

The independent sector has become confident with more commissions and an increase in the international deals plus the eagerly waiting new terms of trade and their associated benefits, While most agree that the new terms of trade would be generally beneficial to the industry, the smaller players think that it would be good for larger players and vice versa.

More television broadcasters in the United Kingdom are bringing back classic children's television programs. Some broadcasters feel that launching new programs to filll vacant spots is much riskier than using proven successes.

The British Broadcasting Corporation has come under fire for abusing it's public funding and dominance. It's anti-competitive stance is being challenged by Pact the producer's alliance, and other broadcasters.

Five young businesspeople in the broadcasting industry discuss whether or not programming has become stale. They also discuss the effects of new technology on broadcasting.

As controller of BBC 1, Lorraine Heggessey's task at hand is to capitalize on ITV's struggles and win viewers to keep BBC 1 and ITV equally competitive, while keeping the content different and fresh. BBC 1 is seeing improving results on Sunday nights that are targeted to young adults, and Heggessey believes it will take her three years to bring the channel ahead by taking risks and being different.

United Kingdom's Virgin Radio is changing its format from top 40 to a more contemporary mix in an effort to reposition itself and appeal to the 30 to 40 year old listening audience. Research shows that 38% of the 30 to 40 years olds polled feel that enough radio stations play music from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and 65% of those polled preferred music from these decades. Heading up the marketing initiative is John Pearson who was appointed chief executive of radio holdings within a year of Scottish Media Group PLC acquiring Virgin's parent, Ginger Media Group.

Figures from a census of the UK broadcasting industry indicate that minorities are under-represented, compared with the entire workforce. Women comprise 36 per cent, ethnic minorities make up 6.4 per cent, and disabled people account for less than one per cent of broadcasting employees. A graph accompanying the article outlines the total number of employees and freelancers in each occupational group.

Television distributors will soon be selling their television programs to broadcasters through the internet. The British Broadcasting Corporation Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox, Itel, and Warner Brothers are among those making the move to online television distribution.

The trend towards partnerships between print publishing companies and television broadcasters is introduced. Joint ventures between Cable News Network, Time Magazine, Mentorn Barraclough Carey, The Economist, Granada Television, and the New York Times are presented.

BBC and ITV has launched Freesat, a new digital satellite TV service which is free after an initial one-off payment. It offers full coverage and free high definition (HD) TV with BBC HD and ITV HD. Consumers' confusion on various TV formats available in the UK are also discussed.

The Disney Channel is performing well in the UK and has given opportunities for independent broadcasters in the country. British-produced programs, however, have to compete against US-produced programs.

Five is not known as a sports broadcaster, but it airs several sporting events yearly and it airs sports from midnight to 6 a.m. everyday except Friday and Saturday. The channel commissions independently-produced sports shows such as a 1.5-hour poker show by Matchroom Sports. Other sports television commissions of Five are discussed.

Sky One has started commissioning s everal new programs for its Sunday night line-up, such as 'Are You Smarter T han a 10-Year-Old?' and 'Nothing But the Truth' and 'Cirqu e de C elebrite . The commissioning strategies of the company, in the hopes of defining Sky One as an entertainment channel, are discussed.

Five's daily three-hour children's programming block Milkshake! is enjoying success because of its strong appeal to pre-school children and their parents. Nick Wilson, director of children's programming at Five, is satisfied with the performance of the programming block he created.

The effect of the policy of ITV3 on the repeat telecast of television shows, on the growth of the channel's market share is described.

The Channel 4, which spent 127.2 million sterling pounds for acquisition activities in 2006, plans to cut spending 2007. The company increased advertising market share to record 23.5 percent.

The increase in programming costs, fall in advertisements etc. which reduced the profits of Channel 4 by pounds sterling 40 million to reach pounds sterling 696 million is discussed.

The regional independent television production companies are ranked by their turnovers.

The increase in the number of acquisitions of small independent brands by the holding companies is discussed.

The release of new sponsorship rules by Office of Communications, which will help commercial television and radio broadcasters to get sponsorship from commercial companies for their entire channels and the usefulness of such sponsorships, are discussed.

The reasons behind the sale of Channel 4's Ostrich Media, which makes controversial Quiz Call, are presented.

The proposed launch of Five's new digital channels, Five Life and Five U, is discussed.

BBC4Es documentary two-part series Malaria: Fever Road and The Vaccine Challenge is a searing expose of the human cost of failure to develop a malaria vaccine. The documentary by Kevin Hull points out that a concerted effort can eliminate malaria and save lives, instead of dispensing drugs that donEt work. The film was shot in the US, Africa and Europe.

Wark Clements and Ideal World, Scotland's leading pair in the indie sector announced their merger. Clements, the founder of Wark Clements stated that the impetus for the merger is to catapult the indie into the super league, which is the only way to survive in the marketplace.

Indie players feel that diversifying output across genres is the way to build business and pull in the profits, in addition to making shows that almost defy classification. An effort has been made to keep things as straight forward as possible when it comes to ranking indies by the number of hours they produce for each genre.