Jake Kanter

Warner Bros. Complained About BAFTA Racial Slur Incident & Requested It Be Cut From BBC Broadcast Warner Bros. raised concerns about involuntary racial slur directed at 'Sinners' stars during the BAFTA Film Awards, requesting a cut to BBC show.

EXCL: Sinners studio Warner Bros complained about the involuntary racial slur during BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, requesting it be cut from BBC broadcast. Warner sceptical of BBC/producers’ position that they were unaware of incident until it was too late. deadline.com/2026/02/warn...

Update: The BBC has now removed the BAFTA Film Awards from iPlayer after initially failing to cut a racial slur involuntarily shouted by an audience member with Tourette syndrome. bsky.app/profile/jake...

BAFTA Film Awards: BBC On Alert For Politically-Charged Speeches (And Swearing) After Glastonbury “Death To The IDF” Debacle The BBC will be monitoring the BAFTA Film Awards closely for politically-charged speeches after the Bob Vylan Glastonbury scandal last year.

Also, worth noting our exclusive story from last week: The BBC and producers did preparatory work for Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson's attendance at BAFTA Film Awards. deadline.com/2026/02/baft...

The BAFTA Film Awards' TV broadcast is on an anachronistic two-hour time delay, so why was John Davidson's involuntary racial slur not bleeped or dipped by the BBC, even if not clearly audible? And why does the incident remain on iPlayer? Crickets from the BBC this morning.

"Broadcast dominates television in the UK," said Ted Sarandos. There is still some truth in that, but also: Netflix was the third biggest TV service in Britain last year, per an official measure of audience reach.

Always funny when CEOs talk down their biz to calm monopoly fears. Ted Sarandos tells @mattbelloni.bsky.social that Adolescence is only second time Netflix cracked UK's top 50 series/films. Wrong! Last year alone, Netflix featured 38 times in Britain's big league. KPop made list for 19 weeks.

Jeffrey Epstein Pondered BBC Interview After Prince Andrew Links Were Exposed Jeffrey Epstein messaged associates about a BBC interview invitation in 2011, as questions intensified about his relationship with Prince Andrew.

There's always a BBC angle. And yes, Mandelson was involved. deadline.com/2026/02/jeff...

He was sensational. A credit to the family he spoke so eloquently about.

Very true, but as my five-year-old tells me: "It's not *every* episode, Daddy." I have seen figures showing Bluey as Disney's top show on Christmas Day!

Bit of TV history this: YouTube unseats BBC as UK's most-watched service, per monthly audience reach figures published by Barb. The BBC remains well ahead in other areas, but for it to be beaten on even a single monthly metric upsets British TV's natural order. deadline.com/2026/01/yout...

Inside The Bizarre Hoax That Put An Unknown Red-Headed Actor In The Frame For James Bond Unknown red-headed actor Scott Rose-Marsh reportedly auditioned to play James Bond. The whole story was a hoax.

Some weekend fun: the inside story of a fairly elaborate hoax that succeeded in putting an unknown ginger actor in the frame to play James Bond. A tale that says stuff about our attention economy, but also features a silly faked script. deadline.com/2026/01/jame...

YouTube Shuts Down Channels Using AI To Create Fake Movie Trailers Watched By Millions YouTube has terminated two prominent channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, using artificial intelligence to create fake movie trailers.

Earlier this year, I took a plunge into the weird world of AI-fuelled fake movie trailers on YouTube. I found channels exploiting YouTube's algorithm and duping/irritating millions. Today, YouTube shut down two of the biggest fake trailer farms. deadline.com/2025/12/yout...

Remember the failed BBC Store? Predicated on this idea, but charged for individual shows.

BBC Could Move To Netflix-Style Model & Carry Ads Under Radical Reform Plans The BBC could be required to launch a Netflix-style subscription service or carry adverts under radical reforms being considered by the UK government.

Here's my first cut on the government's fairly radical plans for the BBC. Not sure the BBC even wants this (Tim Davie's rhetoric is universality, universality, universality). Also, can already see pitchforks at ITV and Netflix over a BBC fattened by ads/subs. deadline.com/2025/12/bbc-...

It doesn't even register on my iPlayer spreadsheet after seven days of viewing. So we can say it got an absolute maximum of 45k online viewers, which as we both know, is basically meaningless and unreliable when ratings go that low.

The Trump lawsuit is hideous for the BBC, but I'm in love with the idea of Floridians desperately seeking out obscure VPNs to feed their Panorama habit.

@danaterrace.bsky.social Hi Dana. I'm a journalist for Deadline. I'm speaking to some artists/animators for a piece I'm writing about Disney's partnership with OpenAI. I would love to get your thoughts, if possible? I'm on jkanter@deadline.com, or have followed for DM.

Channel 4 Expected To Name New CEO Imminently; Netflix Executive Exits Process It's been nearly eight months since Alex Mahon resigned as CEO of Channel 4, but the UK network is finally closing in on its next boss.

Movement on Channel 4 CEO job. Emma Lloyd, Netflix VP of partnerships, has removed herself from process amid speculation she was frontrunner. Ex-BritBox CEO Reemah Sakaan in the running. Top internal candidate is COO Jonathan Allan. Decision expected very soon. deadline.com/2025/12/chan...

BBC Confirms Plans To Save $130M By Shrinking & Rethinking Workforce The BBC has confirmed plans to save £100M by radically reimagining its workforce to compete with tech giants. The plan is known as Project Ada.

New: BBC confirms plans to save £100m under radical workforce overhaul. A source grumbles that the BBC emailed thousands of employees to tell them “right before Christmas, that your job is at risk in the New Year.” deadline.com/2025/11/bbc-...

YouTube video by The Telegraph Lord Patten clashes with 'impertinent' MP over BBC role

Yesterday's dreary BBC hearing made me pine for days of yore. So much to like about this: Philip Davies' robust questioning, Lord Patten's waspish replies, and the utterly evergreen line: "Trust in the BBC, despite recent events, is greater than any other news org." www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4YG...

Revealed: Secret BBC Plans To Save £100M By Radically Reimagining Its Workforce BBC director general Tim Davie has been quietly drawing up plans to save up to £100M by radically reimaging the UK broadcaster’s operations.

Exclusive: Inside Project Ada at the BBC, the £100m savings plan that could result in thousands of job cuts. Tim Davie pressing on with sweeping transformation project despite his shock resignation. deadline.com/2025/11/bbc-...

BBC Trump Crisis: Leaked Messages Reveal How Staff Used Town Hall To Vent Rage At Board BBC employees openly revolted against the corporation's board during an all-staff meeting on Tuesday, per leaked internal messages seen by Deadline.

EXCLU: Leaked messages reveal how BBC staff used a town hall meeting to vent fury at the broadcaster's board. Samir Shah calling staff "disrespectful" for criticising Robbie Gibb went down very badly. Others raged at handling of Prescott memo. Read more! deadline.com/2025/11/bbc-...

Also in the House of Commons: the Tories demanding, with no irony, a "root and branch review" of the BBC's complaints processing, governance, and oversight to protect impartiality. Below are the terms of reference for the 2024 mid-term charter review, led by... the Tories.

UK Culture Secretary Blasts Fellow Politicians For “Launching A Sustained Attack” On BBC The BBC Donald Trump saga has led Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to defend the BBC and criticise politicians for attacking it.

Genuinely cannot recall a culture secretary delivering such a full-throated and caveat-free endorsement of the BBC, which Lisa Nandy describes as a "light on the hill." deadline.com/2025/11/bbc-...

Interesting nugget from BBC staff call this morning: Tim Davie said the biggest number of complaints the BBC is handling right now concern the corporation giving Nigel Farage's Reform too much airtime. bsky.app/profile/jake...

BBC Chair Shuts Down “Disrespectful” Attacks On Board Amid Staff Anger Over Robbie Gibb’s Role In Trump Scandal BBC chair Samir Shah dismisses talk of Conservative coup on staff call, during which unrest over a Donald Trump-shaped crisis was on display.

New: BBC employees in open revolt about Robbie Gibb on all-staff call this morning. BBC chair Samir Shah said attacks on board members are "disrespectful" and shut down talk of a Conservative coup as "fanciful." deadline.com/2025/11/bbc-...

BBC Resignations Bombshell: Sources Say “Mangled” Trump Edit Was A Crisis Too Far For Boss Tim Davie Donald Trump claimed victory on Sunday following the news about Tim Davie quitting as BBC director general, but the truth is more nuanced.

My snap analysis from last night: why the “mangled” Trump edit was a crisis too far for Tim Davie.

Also, how Michael Prescott’s savage memo sowed division on the BBC board and was a factor in the corporation basically sitting on its hands for a week. deadline.com/2025/11/bbc-...

Massive record audience of 11m for The Celebrity Traitors finale last night. Just look at these numbers. Nothing on TV comes close right now.

A game I rarely tire of: comparing the anti-BBC opinion in certain newspapers with the TV recommendations in those same newspapers. Sometimes it comes together so perfectly.

Turns out that: deliciously funny/talented people + Rolls-Royce format = unmissable telly. Sounds simple, yet so few execute. There is no medium like TV when the stars align.