Bland back-peddles over BT:TV

NEWS BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland has performed a spectacular about turn on plans to turn the telco into a broadcasting company - only days after he first suggested he could build a network to rival BSkyB. Speaking at the weekend, Bland had said he could envisage his company building on its existing network to develop a business like News Corp or BSkyB. However, at a Salomon Smith Barney conference in the US yesterday, BT's boss started to back peddle following a massive protest from shareholders anxious over the financial commitment needed to fulfil such a transformation. Bland said BT would not become a fully integrated media company in the near future. Any plans to move into broadcast might not come to fruition for years, he insisted. BT's capital spending budget for the next financial year starting in April, has not factored in expenditure needed to upgrade the network for a broadcast service. Over the coming years, BT's main priorities, said Bland, will be developing a high-speed internet access business and maintaining its traditional telephone business.