Newspaper industry body urges BBC to scrap iPhone plans
Newspaper industry body urges BBC to scrap iPhoneThe Newspaper Publishers Association has called on the BBC to scrap plans to launch its own iPhone applications.
The BBC revealed yesterday that it intends to offer free iPhone applications for its news and sport content from April.
But the NPA today claimed this would "undermine the commercial sector’s ability to establish an economic model in an emerging but potentially important market".
The industry body will ask the BBC Trust to block the launch on the grounds that "any BBC iPhone apps would constitute not an extension of an existing service but an entirely new service in a particular market".
The NPA said the mobile market represents a significant opportunity for news organisations as they look to establish new digital models. It therefore believes any BBC apps should be subject to a Public Value Test.
David Newell, director of the NPA, said: “Not for the first time, the BBC is preparing to muscle into a nascent market and trample over the aspirations of commercial news providers.


“At a time when the BBC is facing unprecedented levels of criticism over its expansion, and when the wider industry is investing in new models, it is extremely disappointing that the Corporation plans to launch services that would throw into serious doubt the commercial sector’s ability to make a return on its investment, and therefore its ability to support quality journalism.

“
Newell said the development of apps for a niche market does not sit comfortably with the BBC’s mission to broadcast its content to a wide, general audience.
"In other words, this is not about reach, and we believe the BBC’s efforts - and the considerable investment - would be better directed elsewhere
“We strongly urge the BBC Trust to block these damaging plans, which threaten to strangle an important new market for news and information.”
Many news organisations, including the Telegraph, Manchester Evening News and Sky News already offer free mobile applications. The Guardian charges £2.39 for its iPhone app.
After introducing its iPhone apps, the BBC plans to roll out versions for BlackBerry and phones running Google's Android software.
New to The Drum
You will be sent a verification email. Click on the link in the email to post your comment.
Comments
You can already access BBC's news and sports site via an iPhone/Blackberry or Android device so delivering an app for this information is just more convenient for the user who pays a licence fee every year for it.
I can't see how it would be a 'considerable investment' at all the data is already there, this is just a great way of reaching more people and it's far from a 'niche market' with Billions of downloads already from the app store and the traffic the BBC's website gets from mobile users would blow that theory out of the water.
The real underlying story is here that private news companies want to make more money but cannot deliver the same content as the BBC, if they feel threatened then they should up their game and follow the BBC's lead in delivering diverse content through many media streams.
Anon 17:04 "The underlying question is: who will pay when the BBC can offer their incomparable resources for free?"
As taxpayers we're already paying for the BBC, so why shouldn't we expect them to deliver content the way we want it?
I don't think the BBC's content is anything like the Guardian's though? I read both and think both have their own merits and most importantly are both worth paying for.
I don't think the BBC opening up their access to more people is threatening anyone as the information can already be accessed online, if anything the Guardian app shows companies can work alongside each other with one being publicly funded and the other private.
No sympathy for the newspapers at all on this one. The BBC is surely obligated to deliver news and content to the people who pay for it on the channels on which they want to receive it- today that is through an iPhone App. What is stopping newspapers delivering the same content? The world is changing and newspaper bosses have to realise that and move on instead of trying to pull the world backwards.
I think that the point is more that you're forced to pay for the BBC already through a licence fee. It makes competition very hard because any service you try to charge for the BBC offer a quality option for free (included in the licence fee you're forced to pay for).
Imagine that you stopped the BBC licence fee, the BBC would pretty quickly be unable to offer these things for free. Which is the position of the commercial media now.
I love the BBC and their content, but I'm not so stupid as to be blind to what it's doing to the industry in general.
You can't up you game and keep it free just to compete with the BBC because you'll go under while they just sit on the licence fees and keep going.
This is a real problem and one that needs to be addressed not dismissed as corporate whining.
Jamie your not forced to do anything, no one puts a gun to your head and says watch TV or use the internet.
You choose to do these things and you choose to pay a licence fee which in turn you get lots of great content for delivered over lots of different media.
Again the Guardian is proving you can compete digitally with people like the BBC as they offer a really good website/iPhone app and content that is different to the BBC's offering. The Guardian has set its stall out so other media companies should stop moaning and work to compete as I pay nearly double than my licence fee for SKY and get back a service that doesn't even come close to the BBC.
You would think with Murdoch making so much money he would have the resources to come up with new channels of distribution, instead he is more concentrated on making even more money than quality of his companies output.
Write Your Comment