The Media Show

The BBC's head of television Danny Cohen has publicly responded to a bid by two independent producers to buy BBC Three. Jon Thoday and Jimmy Mulville have submitted a proposal to the BBC Trust, outlining how their £100m bid would save the TV service from going online-only - a plan which is part of cost-saving measures at the corporation. Steve Hewlett hears from Jon and Jimmy about why they believe losing BBC Three's terrestrial presence is bad for licence fee payers, and he hears from Danny Cohen on why the bid is not viable. Live TV viewing in the UK is declining. According to BARB, which measures audiences, the latest figures show that 86 per cent of the population watched TV live in February, compared to 94 per cent five years ago. People instead are choosing to watch on their smartphones and via on-demand services. Steve Hewlett talks to Justin Sampson, Chief Executive of BARB, about how changing viewing habits will impact on advertising, and the new ways BARB is able to measure audiences more accurately. Two journalists who uncovered wrongdoing around bidding for the World Cup 2022 have won a prestigious award in recognition of their work. Jonathan Calvert and Heidi Blake from the Sunday Times Insight team were joint winners of the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism, along with Private Eye writers Richard Brooks and Andrew Bousfield. Heidi and Jonathan's 'FIFA Files' scoop exposed how Qatar's top football official exploited his position to help secure votes. Steve Hewlett talks to them about the impact their work has had. Producer: Katy Takatsuki.