Comments on: BBC: the open-source network http://www.buzzmachine.com/2006/05/22/bbc-the-open-source-network/ by Jeff Jarvis Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:18:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » Open-source BBC http://www.buzzmachine.com/2006/05/22/bbc-the-open-source-network/#comment-54800 BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » Open-source BBC Thu, 25 May 2006 10:57:27 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=1542#comment-54800 [...] The other day, I wrote about the idea that the BBC should go open-source and that, as a public trust, it should support rather than compete with media companies, giving them traffic when appropriate and the fruits of their experimentation. Ashley Highfield, director of new media and technology at the BBC, just gave a speech outlining some pieces of its relationship with other companies and more…. I welcomed Graf’s recommendation that we should implement a more systematic and comprehensive approach to linking from bbc.co.uk to external sites for example. [...] [...] The other day, I wrote about the idea that the BBC should go open-source and that, as a public trust, it should support rather than compete with media companies, giving them traffic when appropriate and the fruits of their experimentation. Ashley Highfield, director of new media and technology at the BBC, just gave a speech outlining some pieces of its relationship with other companies and more…. I welcomed Graf’s recommendation that we should implement a more systematic and comprehensive approach to linking from bbc.co.uk to external sites for example. [...]

]]> By: Azeem http://www.buzzmachine.com/2006/05/22/bbc-the-open-source-network/#comment-52331 Azeem Mon, 22 May 2006 21:11:03 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=1542#comment-52331 Hi Jeff, Thanks for the tip--I think the BBC has come quite far since I wrote the original piece in 2002, but what I think they under-estimate is their own market power in the limited but still influential UK market. In 1995/6 when digital TV was going native, the BBC played it;s hand to Rupert Murdoch saying they would be available on all digital TV platforms. Thus ensued many competing platforms for DTV and interactive standards, rather than the obvious unique position of the BBC to (then) enforce strict interoperability (around EPGs, etc etc). I wasn't privvy to the discussions so other factors may have played a role. The BBC missed a trick when it was audited by Phillip Graf three years ago--the main recommendation was to shut down a couple of handcoded websites about soap operas. Today the opportunity is to pour the BBC's content and technologies into the open market. Innovation theory suggests that there won't be long-term crowding out, far from it. There might be short-term casualties but long-term gains in general. The trickiest spot is how this with change the basis of competition for original news gathering and whether an opensource BBC wouldn't dangerously crowd out newsgathering by other organisations. The BBC's biggest short-term concern is about rights--but can managed pragmatically. Longer term, it's about its settlement with the State. This is why it obsesses over Worldwide licensing. Once again, you can work around this by bracketing the international activities. Since the current settlement is all but agreed--and the emphasis was on governance and on TV--we'll probably have to wait another five if not ten years. aa Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the tip–I think the BBC has come quite far since I wrote the original piece in 2002, but what I think they under-estimate is their own market power in the limited but still influential UK market.

In 1995/6 when digital TV was going native, the BBC played it;s hand to Rupert Murdoch saying they would be available on all digital TV platforms. Thus ensued many competing platforms for DTV and interactive standards, rather than the obvious unique position of the BBC to (then) enforce strict interoperability (around EPGs, etc etc). I wasn’t privvy to the discussions so other factors may have played a role.

The BBC missed a trick when it was audited by Phillip Graf three years ago–the main recommendation was to shut down a couple of handcoded websites about soap operas.

Today the opportunity is to pour the BBC’s content and technologies into the open market. Innovation theory suggests that there won’t be long-term crowding out, far from it. There might be short-term casualties but long-term gains in general.

The trickiest spot is how this with change the basis of competition for original news gathering and whether an opensource BBC wouldn’t dangerously crowd out newsgathering by other organisations.

The BBC’s biggest short-term concern is about rights–but can managed pragmatically.

Longer term, it’s about its settlement with the State. This is why it obsesses over Worldwide licensing. Once again, you can work around this by bracketing the international activities. Since the current settlement is all but agreed–and the emphasis was on governance and on TV–we’ll probably have to wait another five if not ten years.

aa

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