FOWA 07 - The Future of Web Apps is the End of the BBC?

Hmmm...didn't go to the Future of Web Applications Entrepreneurs' debate because I thought nothing new would come out....but I was wrong - seems like Mike Arrington called for the BBC to be turned off...

The Boy has Form

The thing that is frequently forgotten (until one goes to other countries) is that the BBC prevents UK TV from "diving all the way to the bottom" by holding to a level of quality only really possible in a service that isn't ad supported. (I said *all the way*....). Also, it stops Ads getting out of hand, you can't stick 20 minutes of ads in per hour in the UK because the Beeb provides a real alternative.

Mike's real issue is that it is spoiling the market for UK startups in this space, for e.g the BBC virtual world, free podcasts etc etc.

Should the BBC be in all the online stuff...sure, why not - learn to compete with them and you will be a world beater. Isn't that what all those US Management Guru's tell you?

And if it stops Ad Abuse globally, then I'm all for it (who will sign on to an Ad-Intrusive US Web TV play if the BBC is offering a decent alternative ?)

What we would like is to be able to access its content (I think my taxes paid for it :), mash it with my own content, and also for BBC Kingswood Warren's stuff to be Open Source.

If that were a UK asset, it would give us an interesting competitive advantage vs Silicon Valley and Tin Pan Alley!

Postscript...Mike Arrington responded here