ITV has officially bagged the rights to exclusively broadcast and stream the Oscars in the UK, it has been confirmed.
The Academy Awards have found themselves a new British home.
After it was revealed that Sky had lost the rights to broadcast the annual motion picture awards ceremony – which it had held since 2004, taking over from the BBC – ITV has now taken the reins as the exclusive partner for the 96th Oscars as part of what is a new multi-year deal with Disney Entertainment.
Next year’s ceremony will air live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood into living rooms across the UK through ITV1 and ITVX.
This means that, for the first time since 2003, film fans on this side of the pond will be able to watch the biggest event in the awards season calendar on TV for free.
Sky lost the Oscars’ broadcast rights after viewing ratings for the show began plummeting year-on-year, with reports indicating that only 35,000 people watched last year’s event, compared to almost 60,000 the year before.
But now its ITV’s turn to roll out the red carpet
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“We are thrilled to be able to exclusively bring the Oscars to film fans all across the UK,” Darren Nartey, Senior Acquisitions Manager for ITV and ITVX, commented on the new broadcast deal.
“[This will] further and complement our commitment to films across our network, as we already have a fantastic collection of over 250 feature films available on ITVX at any one time, and are looking forward to sharing the movie-event of the year with our viewers.”
ITV gets rights to exclusively broadcast and stream the Oscars in the UK / Credit: WallpaperFlare
Bill Kramer, who is the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said he “could not be happier” to partner with ITV in bringing the Oscars to UK viewers, adding: “The Oscars is a celebration of global cinema and recognies films and film artists from around the world.
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“ITV’s support of our international awards show is a testament to its deep devotion to the movies.”
This new multi-year agreement will also see future Oscars made available across ITV platforms and programming – including ITV1 and ITVX, ITVX social channels, and news and magazine shows.
35% of all children in the North West are currently living in poverty, some heartbreaking new figures have revealed.
Some new research carried out to understand regional levels of child poverty, conducted by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition, has sadly revealed over a third (35%) of all children in the North West are living in what is called ‘relative poverty’, after the cost of housing is considered – which is higher than the national average standing at 31%.
Over in the Lancashire authority of Pendle, this figure reaches 45%, making it the second highest rate of all local authorities in the country.
In Greater Manchester, both Oldham and Manchester join Pendle in the list of the 10 council areas with the highest child poverty rates in the UK, as well as Blackburn with Darwen, and Hyndburn, and to make matters worse, the North West features on the list more times than any other region nationwide.
Rusholme was identified as the Manchester area with the highest percentage rating – with more than half (51.3%) of all children there living in poverty.
88% of constituencies across the North West have a quarter of children in poverty.
This could lead to things like families being forced to use food banks, children going without warm clothes in winter, or living in cold or unsafe housing.
As a result of these shocking statistics being revealed, the End Child Poverty Coalition – which represents more than 135 organisations across the UK – is calling on the Government to meet its manifesto commitment to address these high levels of child poverty, not just in the North West but also across the rest of country.
“These figures should demonstrate to Government just how important it is to quickly address this so to prevent another generation of children from growing up in low-income families,” commented Rachel Walters, who is the End Child Poverty Coalition Manager.
“The Government’s strategy to tackle child poverty must invest in children in areas with higher levels of poverty, like the North West.”
Graham Whitham, who is a End Child Poverty Coalition spokesperson and the Chief Executive of Resolve Poverty, added: “No child should go without the things they need to be healthy and happy.
“The Government’s forthcoming national Child Poverty Strategy must demonstrate a clear ambition to ending child poverty in this country, backed by specific targets and immediate investment in social security.”
Featured Image – RawPixel
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Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road to close for annual safety checks this weekend
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road is set to close this weekend while annual safety checks are carried out, it has been confirmed.
As Manchester City Council looks to maintain and improve what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is set to close overnight this weekend for its annual inspection.
Carried out every year, the Council explains that these closures ensure that ‘vital’ safety inspections can be conducted to allow the major road to continue operating as normal.
The overnight closure will take place from 7-8 June.
From 5am on Saturday (7 June), Mancunian Way will be closed in both directions along its entire length, including all slip roads, between the Chester Road roundabout and Fairfield Street, and this will last until 7pm on Sunday (8 June), after which the road will be open to traffic again as normal.
In the meantime while the closures are underway, the Council assures that a signed diversion route will be in place via the north and eastern ring road sections – Trinity Way and Great Ancoats Street – and a local diversion route will be signed via Bridgewater Street, Whitworth Street West, Whitworth Street, and Fairfield Street.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way is closing for annual safety checks this weekend / Credit: Pixabay
During this period there will also be a lane closure east/westbound at the Deansgate Interchange between 6:30-9:30am, and the inbound lane of Princess Road (heading towards Manchester) between 6:30am and 11:15am.
As is to be expected with these kinds of tasks, Councillors say they are preparing for a ‘level of disruption’ but are intending to keep it to a minimum.
“The annual inspection of the Mancunian Way is a vital job which ensures that the tens of thousands of daily users of this road can go about their journey in safety,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport.
“We do expect a level of disruption throughout this process so wherever possible we’d advise people to travel via public transport, or plan an alternate route ahead to avoid the work locations.
Emily Sergeant -
12th September 2023 
