A week before the live anniversary, BBC One dusted off the 1985 COW ident to introduce EastEnders:
The NI one has been used last month for Video Nasty, while England and Scotland upscaled their off-air recordings. Wales, meanwhile, used THE ACTUAL MACHINE that generated the golden spinning globe. This is how they did it:
#OnThisDay 1985: It was all change on BBC One as the Computer Originated World (COW), created using the latest in computer graphics, made its debut at 7pm as part of the revamped evening schedule.
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) February 18, 2025
It replaced the previous Nexus Orthicon Display Device (NODDY). pic.twitter.com/UQic6TUDYG
The BBC is facing a dilemma over whether to push on with a new series from Jamie Roberts, director of the controversial Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
Deadline has learned that Roberts is making a new doc for the BBC, this time about the L.A. wildfires, for the same current affairs commissioning team that greenlit How to Survive a Warzone. The inception of the L.A. fires show pre-dates the airing and subsequent fallout from How to Survive a Warzone, we understand.
Now, the corporation must decide whether it continues working with Roberts after last week criticizing him for failing to disclose that a young narrator in How to Survive a Warzone was the son of a Hamas Minister.
Update:
Five hundred people from the entertainment world, including Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, Riz Ahmed, Ken Loach, Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett, and Game of Thrones actor Indira Varma, have put their names to a letter to BBC bosses calling on the corporation to “stop censorship on Palestine.”
The letter comes after the BBC removed from iPlayer the doc after it emerged that it was narrated by the son of a Hamas minister, information that the BBC said the doc’s producers failed to relay.
The BBC‘s Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone saga has ramped up further as the Culture Secretary gets set to meet the BBC Chair later today with only one item on the agenda.
Lisa Nandy, who has already weighed in on the controversy once, said she will have an “urgent meeting” with Samir Shah on Friday.
“I want assurances that no stone will be left unturned by the fact-finding review now commissioned by the BBC’s Director General,” said Nandy. “This review must be comprehensive, rigorous and get to the bottom of exactly what has happened in this case.”
BBC STUDIOS APPOINTS ROBI STANTON EVP & GM OF GLOBAL MEDIA & STREAMING BUSINESS IN ANZ
BBC Studios has appointed media industry leader, Robi Stanton, as EVP & General Manager of Global Media and Streaming for Australia & New Zealand. In this role, she will be responsible for Content Sales, Channels and Streaming and Advertising Sales in the region.
Robi brings over 25 years of experience across distribution, commercial strategy, marketing and advertising sales in a range of executive leadership roles in global media and entertainment companies. Currently Commercial Director for CNN International, Robi has previously held senior roles at Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner International.
She joins at a pivotal time of growth and momentum for BBC Studios in Australia and New Zealand. Recently, BBC.com and the BBC app were enhanced, six FAST channels were launched on Nine and BBC First launched on Sky NZ, and the company extended its natural history deals with Nine and TVNZ for premium landmark series including Asia and Blue Planet III, alongside renewing BBC Studios’ long-standing partnership with ABC for premium content across drama, entertainment, comedy and kids.
Australia and New Zealand is a key region for BBC Studios, with a deep cultural affinity for our standout content that starts conversations and our strong partnerships with local broadcasters and streamers, including hit series A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder on Stan and Threenow, Death In Paradise which premieres on BritBox and BBC First on Sky NZ, the Emmy award-winning Baby Reindeer on Netflix and the hotly-anticipated Walking With Dinosaurs on ABC.
As EVP & GM Global Media & Streaming in ANZ, Robi will work alongside Kylie Washington, EVP & GM Global Entertainment ANZ, to jointly deliver innovative pan-business growth solutions to partners in the region. She will start on 26 March and report to Nick Percy, President of Global Markets.
Nick Percy says: “Robi has an exemplary track record of innovating and driving growth across digital, content and brands, which she has achieved through a visionary approach and smart strategic partnerships. We have ambitious plans for our world-leading content, channels, digital platforms and streaming services and I’m delighted that Robi will be leading the way for BBC Studios in ANZ in this fast-moving and constantly evolving industry.”
Robi Stanton says: “I have always been impressed by BBC Studios’ incredible suite of content, services and brands, as well as its ability to constantly innovate across its partnerships. I am looking forward to being part of its future, helping to fuel the continued growth of the company and its partners in the local industry, and working with the talented teams at BBC Studios.”
Robi has been Commercial Director, Content Sales and Strategic Partnerships, CNN International since July 2023, where her remit has focused on business development, distribution and the monetisation of News in key Asia Pacific markets. Prior to this, Robi held a range of senior leadership roles at Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner International in both Australia and Singapore. She was responsible for overall business management and drove significant business transformation, leading teams across content, commercial, marketing, digital and operations.
Curbishley was most recently with Paramount Global where he served as EVP of Corporate Strategy, where he spent four years working through the pandemic and shepherding the early days of the merger with ViacomCBS, before leaving last year.
Another soap bites the dust. 
Very much makes sense for BBC Scotland to axe River City. BBC Wales and BBC NI have had much greater success making fewer, bigger, dramas which usually get networked so Scotland is just catching up with them really.
The BBC has published its Annual Plan for 2025/26.
The plan demonstrates how the BBC will provide value for audiences, support democracy and drive growth in the creative economy.
