Weekly news round-up: Google's court case dropped & BBC suffers software glitch

Google court case blocked
The High Court has blocked a campagin group’s mass legal action on behalf of four million iPhone users against Google which alleged the tech giant collected personal data by planting cookies on the Safari browser to help its advertisers track habits, Sky News reported. The court concluded the accusations did “not support the contention”. 

BBC News suffers software malfunction 
The BBC was forced to replace live broadcasts with recorded material on Wednesday following a technical glitch which disrupted live broadcasting. The BBC reported the issue was caused by a new computer software that was rolled out across its outlets over the past six months. The Annova software was adopted to streamline the sharing of scripts, running order and contacts. Engineers believe they have addressed the problem. 

Apple swipes 300 engineers from the UK
Striking a deal with Reading-based Dialog Semiconductor manufacturer, Apple has added 300 computer chip engineers to its team after paying $300 million for the acquisition, which also includes some of the company’s patents and facilities. The equipment has been used to monitor and control power consumption in iPhone and iPads, the BBC reported, the deal represents one of Apple’s biggest headcount takeovers.

Google video to accelerate 
Online video advertising spend in Central and Eastern Europe is estimated to reach $670 million in 2020, according to Google’s Global Partnerships CEE Michal Stefanski. The popularity has been attributed by out-stream gaining popularity along with Facebook and YouTube video gaining popularity, according to Broadband TV News. 

Apple and BT discuss pay-TV partnership
A partnership between Apple and BT was revealed by the Daily Telegraph designed to boost the push from both companies into pay-TV. Sources disclosed the two sides are in the early stages of discussing a deal that would make BT’s mobile brand EE a large distributor of Apple TV set-top boxes. Based on a similar partnership with Swiss pay-TV provider Salt, Apple is aiming to get its set-top box into more homes investing $1 billion in its own original programming set to be released next year. 

VFX makes £1 billion for UK economy
The value of the UK visual effects (VFX) industry has been estimated to contribute in excess of £1 billion to the economy, according to the BFI’s Screen Business report. The calculations were based on the film, high-end TV and animation tax relief as well as commercial productions and immersive media, according to Broadcast. 

BBC’s Bodyguard viewers skyrocket
With more than 36 million iPlayer viewing requests to date, the BBC’s popular six-part drama tops Killing Eve (26 million) and Taboo (20.7 million) making it the biggest drama hit in the UK in over a decade. BBC’s Director of Content Charlotte Moore urged the need to “strike more deals to make sure it had the digital rights to offer its show as box sets on iPlayer, according to The Guardian.