The BBC has won terrestrial channel of the year for the third time at this years Edinburgh International Television Festival.  This will no doubt give the BBC a boost after what some have said has been a open assault on he corporation.  The awards where hosted by Michael McEntire who put on one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen, there was enough distaste for the the whole industry – and they seemed to like it.

Other winners tonight was FX’s The Wire which won non-terrestrial programme of the year.  When collecting the award the writer David Simon said he accepted the award in contempt of James Murdoch’s doctrine (in which profit is central for the creative etc) in response to Murdoch MacTaggart lecture held the night before.  This got one of the biggest applause of the night.

BBC One’s The Apprentice won for best terrestrial programme of the year and E4′s The Inbetweeners won the Network and Fast Track award which was voted on by the 150 strong Network and Fast Track delegates.  The good news kept going on for E4 as they were awarded best non-terrestrial channel of the year.

But the big award was handed to the BBC for the third concecutive time at the EITF.  BBC One controller Jay Hunt was happy with the award and thanked her team but very little else.

This years awards had been changed and gave all delegates tha chance to vote infor their favourite programme and channel.  After Murdoch’s lecture yesterday it was nice to see that the industry still has a great deal of respect for the BBC and what they do.

News Corp Europe and Asia Chairman and Chief Executive has delivered the James MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival 2009 and his focus was to urge a renewal of media policy based on trusting consumers.  He has called for a radical overhaul of UK Broadcasting policy to secure the independence of journalism.  This he has said would help private enterprise reach the potential of investment, innovation, and creativity.

Mr Murdoch started the MacTaggart lecture by stating that ‘this is the first time that someone how has delivered the alternative MacTaggart has graduated…to the real thing.’  He went further to say that though he was honored to be asked to give the lecture he was also worried…did this mean he has now been asked to join the ranks of the British Establishment?

The aim of Mr Murdoch’s lecture was to highlight ‘a new approach should be based on greater trust in consumers, empowering them to make their own choices.’  He went further to say that unecessary restrictions should be removed and the states activities should be dramatically reduced.

Mr Murdoch said “We have analogue attitudes in a digital age.  If we recognize that truth and change in the right way, the opportunities and benefits for all of us and, more importantly, for consumers and society are powerful and attractive’.

The MacTaggart Lecture comes a few hours after the session held called ‘That was the News Then’ which looked at the dangers of there only being one news provider, the BBC.  Murdoch said the BBC ‘was crowding out new and existing enterprises across the market place’ and he highlighted the threat to ‘independent journalism.

This seems like an odd path for James Murdoch to take considering he is part of News Corp which owns or part owns: BskyB, Fox News, The Sun, The Times, The News of The World, Sky News, 20th Century Fox, The Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal etc.  News Corp with its ability to buy rather than create other news agencies has only seen its power grow within the news media market.  The fact that the BBC are large in no way shape or form means that they are bigger than an organization like News Corp or Time Warner.  News Corps annual revenues are ‘US$30 Billion, the BBC has a running cost from the license fee of just over £3 billion.

Sticking on the BBC he went further to say that “this all-media marketplace, the expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independance of news provision, which are so important to our democracy.’  But nothing seems to have been mentioned about the ownership of news and large corporations like News Corp owning incredible amounts of TV News and Newspapers.

Trust is the cornerstone of Murdoch’s lecture but how does one gain trust when you own a great many publications and when you are able to shape peoples opinions.  That has been the issue with large media corps buying more and more news services it gives them a power that has never been seen before.  This led to the first mass break-up of an American newspaper baron William R. Hearst in the 1920s.

This connection between the BBC, Government sponsored media, and the hindrance of non-state media is almost laughable.  The government does not have a hand in how the BBC reports and the British public would revolt if it turned out that it did.

Murdoch concludes his lecture by pointing out that the ‘only reliable, durable,  guarantor of independence is profit’.

This whole speech seems nothing more than an attempt to try and scare people into supporting either the break-up of the BBC or the sharing of the wealth.  Rather than see what the BBC has done and try to compete with that they are complaining that it’s not fair.  The news industry has to look at itself and how they deliver the news and not look to scapegoating that on the BBC.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see some of the biggest names in television, some of them in front of the camera going onto a talent show?  Have you ever thought what it would look like to see people who judge talent to have very little themselves?  Well at this years EITF you don’t have to wonder, they came thick and fast.

Hosted by Ant and Dec the event was one of the main sessions that kick started the festival with the duo coming onto stage wearing matching three piece black suits.  It was hard to watch them for two reason, the first being their old and rather dull routine and the second being the odd way that Dec can’t do his bit without looking as though he is reading from the teleprompter – quite odd considering they have worked in TV for over twenty years.

The judges came to the stage and Amanda looked every inch the botox queen she has become know as.  There is very little life in her face and it shows with Louis and Jimmy Carr acting like big brothers who have lost the will to defend their stupid sister.

One of the first groups up was led by a series of BBC behind talent and Channel Four Newsreader Krishnen Guru-Murphy who looks much more ‘fuller’ than he does on television.  They played to the crowd and did a classic McCartney Track ‘Live and Led Die’ from the Bond movie of the same name.  They seemed pretty good and was a very good song choice.  The few pops and bangs was a little unsettling as this was just a media event so the main aims was just to wet the whistle of the hundreds of delegates who have come here.

Some of the comments where decent enough and where pretty solid.  Jimmy said ‘Paul McCartney would be turning in his grave…well if the Beatles had died in the right order’.  One of the better jibes from Mr Carr.

Up next was our good friend Chris Cox (from the BBC and no mention of his show). He got a rather unfair early buzz from Amanda but then managed to win her over, as well as the crowd.  Cox performance was hard because magic can’t be put on in three minutes.  But he still did a good show.

The third act was Kathy Burke (no not that one)  and she sang a song from ‘The Magic Flute’ an opera piece that went down a storm.  After that the acts came and went, eight in all, but none really stood out.  Caroline Philpott sang an ABBA song but was able to sing part of it with her mouth fully closed – very odd but very well done.

Our final act was Richard Wolf from Channel Five who did Irish Dancing and got some Irish Dancers up on the stage with him.  He couldn’t dance and the outfit he was wearing didn’t leave much the the imagination and on the back it had Living TV and Sky 1 both scratched out – and Jimmy Carr’s comment ‘well you’ve just blown Channel Fives Autumn budget with that little number’ was choice.

The show was a great success and Caroline won over Kathy which wasn’t to bad.  The judging was a little odd and you could sence that there was a little bit of tension between Amanda and Jimmy, Louis just sat there as always with his comments making no real sense but it’s Louis.  There was a few jokes about him being gay that was odd but he seemed to laugh it off.

Today is the start of the EITF taking place this weekend.  There is a lot to get through over the next few days (and all the way in London the Notting Hill Carnival is ready to take shape).  Over the Friday and Saturday the list of speekers, television controllers and producers is going to be an unmissable event for all those who see television as their calling.

Highlights 2009 Friday:

12:00-13:30 TV’s Got Talent: Edinburgh Special

This first creative event is going to be hosted by BGT Host’s Ant & Dec with a judging panel that consists of Amanda Holden, Jimmy Carr & Louis Walsh.  This is going to be a very light and warm search for TV’s top ‘Talent’ from all sectors in the industry and it’s going to be very funny to see if Alan Yentob is able to break dance.  We will be bringing you all the news via our twitter page and a full report after the event.

13:45-14:45 That Was The News That Was

This event, ironically sponsored by channel four looks at the changing nature of news and new coverage.  It looks at the widening gap between the BBC and commercial news providers with the claim being that commercial news provides are under increased pressure and competition.  Can funding commercial TV news simply by slicing off money from the BBC or could that kill commercial news?  What impact would a news monopoly have on democracy?  And how can a BBC-exclusive future be delayed or avoided?

This seems like a very odd type of feature for the television festival who’s main speaker is part of News Corp which is one of the biggest news agencies in the world.  Buy it’s very size one would argue that they are in fact acting like a monopoly.  The panelists are: Chris Birkett (Sky News), David Mannion (ITV), Dorothy Byrne (Channel Four news), Helen Boaden (BBC) & Michael Jermey

15:15-16:15 How To Make Money Online

Here we will get to see how money can be made online and after ITV’s blunder last year over Susan Boyle’s Youtube video (getting over 150 million hits in as little as three weeks) means that their advice would be most welcome.

18:45-20:00 The James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture: James Murdoch

The MacTaggart lecture has been a defining part of the EITF and even superceads the festival by one year.  James Murdoch has established himself as one of the youngest leades in television of the past 2 years and his speach is bound to be a clear and defining moment of the lecture series.