Commercial Rivals Call For BBC Internet Restrictions
Commercial media companies are to call on the Government to impose tough restrictions on the BBC’s internet activities, as part of a major review headed by former Trinity Mirror chief executive Philip Graf (pictured).
A number of companies including News International, IPC Media, the Commercial Radio Companies Association, Guardian Newspapers and Associated Newspapers are understood to be preparing to submit a response to the Government’s probe into the impact of the BBC’s £111 million internet services on the commercial market.
The groups will demand that the Government restrict the BBC’s use of its website to promote programmes, magazines and other services on the grounds that it gives the Corporation an unfair advantage over its commercial rivals.
They will also argue that a cost ceiling should be imposed on the BBC’s internet budget and that BBC Online should be scaled back to being a news portal. The media companies claim the Corporation should be forced to provide links to the news services of its competitors and release its internet source codes to commercial organisations.
The British Internet Publishers Alliance, which represents a number of substantial publishers and commercial broadcasters, has been calling for the BBC’s online services to be reigned in for some time.
The organisation’s chairman, Sir Frank Rogers, said recently: “The BBC is knowingly staking out territory using its access to leading British brands, and deploying its unique marketing advantages to establish a dominating presence among British internet publishers. If this continues unchecked, it will destroy the commercial prospects of hundreds of commercial ventures and serious limit the diversity of British product.”
Last month Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced that the Government’s review of the BBC’s online services will feed into the BBC charter renewal process and will examine how the Corporation’s internet activities fit within its general public service obligations (see MGEITF 2003: Jowell Defends Core Value Of Repeats).
DCMS: 020 7211 6200 www.dcms.gov.uk
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