By Tim Ferguson, 31 July 2009 17:12
COMMENT
The BBC is a world leader in developing innovative media technology - so cut it some slack, says Tim Ferguson.
The BBC is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't when it comes to developing new technology and services for UK consumers.
Just think back to the furore surrounding the initial launch of iPlayer, when the online media player was released only for Windows XP - and not for Mac or open source OSes. The Open Source Consortium was outraged over what they perceived as the BBC favouring one technology over others.
And don't forget the e-petition signed by more than 16,000 people that was submitted to the Prime Minister, requesting the BBC to develop a non-Windows version of iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer as it looks now, two years after its initial launch
Just this week we witnessed similar levels of outrage when the BBC announced it will allow some of its news video content - focusing on UK politics, business, health and science and technology - to be used on the websites of four of the UK's national newspapers: The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent.
News and content provider ITN was reported by The Guardian and The Times among others, to be annoyed by the move as it felt it would undermine demand for content from independent broadcasters like itself. The BBC Trust received a complaint from the Press Association on similar grounds.
I'm hardly surprised. Whenever the publicly funded corporation tries something new with its technology and content, it invariably incurs the wrath of a captious media along with various groups who feel hard done by.
The debate often centres on the licence fee - with protestors claiming the Beeb is wasting taxpayers' money. And if money isn't riling people, Auntie gets criticised if its new services aren't perfect straight out of the box.
But if you think about some of the technology the BBC has developed in recent years - iPlayer, Freeview - it's among the best in the broadcasting industry. Because the products are ambitious, the launches aren't always straightforward - but without ambition we would make little progress.
As political theorist Richard Hooker was quoted as saying in the preface of Johnson's English Dictionary: "Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better."
Yes, iPlayer was only available on one platform when it first emerged but the BBC admitted at the time it was rolling the tech out on the platform with the largest user base - so it could reach the most people right away.
It then set about bringing the service to Mac OS X, Linux and Windows Vista. iPlayer now works on all of these - as well as on an increasing number of mobile devices. It even works on Microsoft's Xbox, for crying out loud!
Just think, if the BBC had waited until it had developed iPlayer for all of these platforms, the launch would have been delayed for quite some time - which would inevitably have led to more criticism, probably along the lines of it being a stodgy, slow-moving bureaucracy.
I can already hear you, dear readers, saying that Auntie deserves a hard time because it's run on public funds.
Well then, what about Channel 4...
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Comments
There are 15 comments. Join the discussion
1. karen challinor
the BBC is the envy of the rest of the world and gets criticism from it's home market because the rest of the world gets it for free, whereas the home market pays for it via a license fee
if the home market got it for free as well then maybe the home market would stop complaining
2. Rory Choudhuri
Hear hear, Tim!
I frequently hear very high praise for the Beeb from people in countries I travel to. Often, they seek their news from its web site, wanting a (mostly) impartial counterpoint to their own national sources.
Perhaps the (license fee) funding model is wrong. If so, it isn't the BBC's fault, nor is it their job to fix it. Address that issue to the politicians who, despite much carping and hand wringing, have repeatedly endorsed the funding arrangement every time it's come up for review.
It's the Beeb's job to produce high quality content, on as many platforms as possible, and maximise the return on the investment. In general, they're doing a pretty good job. Is there room for improvement; well of course there is! I just wish people would stop criticising them for trying to do better.
Our news and entertainment would be far poorer in this country, and beyond, without the output of the BBC.
Now, if I can just find a reliable way to watch iPlayer and other Beeb content when away from these shores...
3. Guy Rintoul
Absolutely agree, the BBC gets far too much of a hard time over some great ideas. I blogged about your article.
4. Ron Miller
Could'nt agree more with this article. Having seen the way that the media in other countries have botched or carved up the spectrum of technology and innovation, what we have in the UK with the BBC is something that should be cherished and celebrated.
Let's remember that the first attempt at Digital Terrestial Television in the UK was "OnDigital" - an ITV vehicle - which crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. Private sector media organisations obviously don't get it right even when handed the opportunity on a silver plate.
5. David Bowler
If the BBC didn't do all these things, do any of its critics seriously believe that an independent UK-based organisation would fill the gap?
Isn't it obvious that any ground given up by the BBC would be filled by large commercial corporations based elsewhere, and the UK would simply be squeezed out of sight?
6. anonymous
Karen, the rest of the world does not get the BBC for free.
Oversea's stuff like BBC World TV is paid for by advertising, BBC World Service broadcasting is paid for by the FCO, and BBC Worldwide make a nice living off magazines, DVD's and foreign sales of top programmes and other ventures like the highly respected US cable/satellite station BBC America (just gone BBC Ameirica HD even!). BBC iPlayer output is blocked (unless you can wangle a UK VPN/IP to bounce off)
The BBC is great (though not without it's issues - though is happy to admit them and take it on the chin).
Always a media innovator - Teletext, BBC Computer Literacy Programme (Maybe C4 should do a show bring Back the BBC Micro !), iPlayer/Kangaroo/Canvas.
Get off their back and let them get on with it. We may have lost tons of industry, banking is in the toilet - at least the BBC is a global leader to be proud off - bbc.co.uk is a top 50 global website - more popular than cnn.com for example.
7. Paul Tomlinson
Couldn't agree more.
Just a point - someone mentioned that other countries get it for free. They don't - that is where BBC Worldwide make all the money which gets invested back into programmes keeping our license fee down.
Additionally the iPlayer is great - not many countries have this and certainly not free.
8. karen challinor
so the bbc already use advertising
my apologies, I was unaware of that
however it begs the question of why they can't use advertising in the UK as a revenue stream instead of a license fee
9. anonymous
A licence fee is a containable and relatively efficient way of collecting revenue to run the BBC - It also makes it relatively immune to undure influence of government/advertisers.
Don;t forget just about everything you buy that is branded from iPods to beans to Coke to Bread has an advertising tax/surcharge on it that funds huge parasitic organisations like advertising houses who make huge profits off your back.
I'd rather pay the BBC £150 notes a year, than have 2% stuck on everything branded I buy.
10. Ollie Clark
Karen, I for one am extremely glad the BBC DON'T use advertising in the UK. I'm happy to pay my license fee for ad free programs and radio. I'd be happy to pay a lot more for the quality of the BBC's output without ads. I strongly suspect that their programs are better because they don't have to have one eye on advertising revenues.
11. Alex Lake
I'd like to add my name to the list of those in agreement. It seems that there is a very vocal minority intent on whingeing. Some of them have vested interests, but some just seem permanently grumpy...
PS - When will we see iPlayer on AppleTV?
12. Adi Himpson
Damn right - about time someone gave Auntie the credit she deserves!
13. Chike Chinukwue
The people of this country are easily pleased. I would find iplayer a lot more valuable if for instance it could be used as a platform to launch up and coming independent producers/directors pf content. At the moment the only use is for watching missed programs which I can do with my Skybox anyway. So much for groundbreaking technology.
14. Gordon Loots
Karen, I think the rest of the world gets bbc.com along with it's advertising, but we in the UK get the ad free bbc.co.uk
15. Chris Goodman
While I applaud the technical advances made by the BBC and accept that much would have not happened within the same time scale if left to others, I feel that it is not the respo0nsibility of TV licence taxpayers to fund such advances. The TV licence tax is, and always has been, to pay for the production of radio and TV programmes.
The BBC, ever demanding an increase in it's funding, is like Topsy - just grows and grows.