By Dan Ilett, 27 June 2005 16:40
NEWS
The All Party Internet Group (APIG) may try to block the BBC from giving away its archived material to internet users.
Chairman of the party Derek Wyatt, MP, said he is concerned the television organisation could miss out on a valuable revenue stream if it goes ahead with making television and radio programmes available to download for free.
Wyatt said: "If the BBC gives away archived material on the net, it takes away a market. It loses any sort of digital rights and any chance of asking for anything in the future. Digital rights should be managed by the British Museum."
The debate has raged since the BBC announced in May that it would launch a three-month trial in September to allow people to download some of its content, as part of its Creative Archive project. The pilot will use peer-to-peer technology to deliver 190 hours of TV content and 310 hours of radio recordings to 5,000 households, legally and free of charge.
Wyatt also said the APIG has elected some new members. While he remains chairman, Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry Charles Hendry, MP, is stepping in to share the role of vice-chairman with Labour MP Dr Nick Palmer.
Alan Reid MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for e-commerce and small business, is now treasurer, and Lord Erroll, who is a member of the European Information Society Group, will be a crossbencher between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Comments
There are 10 comments. Join the discussion
1. Carl Maycock
I think Derek Wyatt needs to remember that the public paid for that content in the first place.
2. anonymous
I'm sure the government will miss the tax revenue if BBC don't charge.
3. Anthony Hunt
An MP that seeks to line his pockets! Whatever next.
He should remember that WE paid for these programmes. They are OURS. If he wants a "revenue stream" he should become a make of commercial TV and do it himself, rather than steal money from selling programs we paid to have made.
4. Jeremy
"Wyatt said: "If the BBC gives away archived material on the net, it takes away a market".
Are we thinking about the same organisation here, Mr Wyatt? Not ITV, or Channel 4, but the BBC? Paid for by the British public? By what right are you seeking to charge those people again for content that they have already paid for? Is your next step to digitally manage rights to see BBC3 and BBC4 so that any repeats cost us money to view? Idiot.
5. Dr Colin F Parsons
Must agree with the previous writer. Via the the LICENSE FEE WE PAY FOR THE BBC. So getting downloaded program material for free should be viewed in the same light as returning equity to share holders in the business market
6. Paul Goldstone
Carl above could not be more right. The BBC exists because the british public pay TV license fees. If they want to block the Beeb on archive content download, they should abolish the TV license and make the Beeb to raise it's own revenue.
It may get rid of some of the rubbish the waste an truly desperate tv programs as well
7. Iain Benger-Stevenson
Presumably, most of the free downloads will be stuff that we can see on Freeview channels (ITV and C4 included. What a pity we need repeats to make up for the awful drivel to which we are subjected currently.
8. Nick Gray
The BBC through BBC Worldwide sell programmes to UK and World television stations.
In 2004/05 this was £706 Million making £55 Million in profit - £145 going in cash flow to the BBC (source BBC Worldwide - http://www.bbcworldwide.com/aboutus/default.htm).
If they allow free access to their archive, the BBC will loose a valuable revenue stream and therefore our licence fee will have to go up to meet this shortfall.
9. James
I think what he is trying to say is that it could take away the foreign markets. The BBC is able to sell on the viewing rights to of other countries and therefore have another stream of revenue, other than the TV licence.
Some people already pay to view the content they have already paid for. Lots of people buy whole series of programs on DVD for example (Only fools and horses etc etc).
By taking away these other markets, you could see the licence fee increase!!!
10. Dan
I have said all along a 'secure' area of the BBC site, accessible by entering your license number, is what is needed here.
That way, people who have already paid can see the archive and people in other countries have to rely on local companies buying the rights from BBC Worldwide.
Problem solved?