Legal Research

Newspapers start crying about nasty ol? BBC, again

By scott

I see the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA) has started moaning to the BBC Trust (and plans to also moan to the DCMS) about the Beeb’s plans to launch phone apps for its news and sport content later this year. The reason? It would “damage the nascent market” for news apps.

Really? I’m not buying that as an argument.

I used buying to describe this as I suspect that is the real reason for the NPA’s objection. Whilst the Newspapers look to erect pay walls for their content they don’t want the Beeb coming in and offering theirs for free on yet another platform. They’re already the elephant in the room as far as charging for online news goes as it is. If the apps and or content are remaining free then i don’t see what the argument is. Money can be the only reason.

I look at the BBC site daily from my iPhone. I don’t need an app, although one that improved the experience would certainly be nice to have, I don’t deny. However, I also look daily at content from my Guardian and Daily Telegraph apps (I ditched the Independent’s one because it is such a crap app that it was a waste of time to use - and I say this as someone who actually buys the Indy every week day in good old fashioned hard copy).

It is not an either or option for me (as least not until I’m being asked to pay for access) and nor is it likely to be for most other people - unless they already don’t engage it the news, and for them the absense of a BBC news app wont make them any more likely to start using the Telegraph app or the Daily Mail app.

The NPA and its members - like those in commercial radio and TV - should spend less time moaning insesently about the BBC (yes, sometimes it does step over the line) and more time working on offering compelling alternatives. I sometime think if it didn’t already exist the likes of the NPA would have to create the BBC just to give themselves someone to moan about.

Full post as published by Information Overload on February 22, 2010 (boomark / email).