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Digital divide plan appears lost in Bradshaw vs BBC spat
17 Sep 2009 | 09.12 Europe/London
Culture Sectretary Ben Bradshaw, launched a broadside attack on the BBC last night in a speech about the licence fee which could have huge ramifications for broadband.
An anticipated underspend in the 3.5% of the licence fee currently earmarked for providing help for the digital tv switchover in 2012 was being primed to potentially fund ‘final third’ projects to take broadband to digital have-nots and so help bridge the digital divide. However Bradshaw’s speech last night did not mention this but concentrated instead on the rival plan to use the proceeds to ‘top slice’ the licence fee and give the money to third parties to provide regional television and online news services.
In last night’s astonishingly frank attack on the BBC it became clear that Bradshaw sees more local news services as the prime use of any digital switchover underspend.
Strong words
To an audience of television executives at the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge last night he blasted the BBC Trust for playing both ‘watchdog’ and ‘cheerleader’ for the BBC and warned that the BBC was growing on far too big a trajectory to remain sustainable and risked “imbalance” for the economy. He echoed the head of News Corp, James Murdoch, by voicing fears that the BBC’s growth with a guaranteed source of income (the licence fee) was not good for UK media. Having started off a couple of television channels not so long ago, he warned it was now a publishing powerhouse with an unrivalled UK presence and dominance in online content provision.
He pointed out that before the BBC’s Charter is renewed in 2016 there will need to be a widespread public debate about the corporation’s role and funding.
He dismissed research by the BBC Trust which claimed the public would rather see an underspend returned to them in a rebate than go to rival services. By publishing the research, he accused Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust, of wanting a smaller fee to ensure it does not have to be shared.
BBC fight back - but what about the digital divie
Michael Lyons retorted that he was not bothered about angering Bradshaw. In a hint that Bradshaw is unlikely to be Culture Secretary in 2016, he blasted back he was more concerned about the protecting the BBC than appeasing a minister.
“The next Charter Review is many years down the line and we should be judged on our performance then,” he said.
“In the meantime, we have been set up to be, as the then Secretary of State put it in 2006, “the voice, eyes and ears of licence fee payers”. That means reshaping the BBC; defending its strength and independence; and also protecting the investment licence fee payers have made, and if that means upsetting a minister along the way, it is unfortunate but so be it.”
While this spat continues the unfortunate side for the broadband industry is that the potential positive use of extending help with the digital switchover in to help society’s digital have-nots get online appears to have been lost.
An anticipated underspend in the 3.5% of the licence fee currently earmarked for providing help for the digital tv switchover in 2012 was being primed to potentially fund ‘final third’ projects to take broadband to digital have-nots and so help bridge the digital divide. However Bradshaw’s speech last night did not mention this but concentrated instead on the rival plan to use the proceeds to ‘top slice’ the licence fee and give the money to third parties to provide regional television and online news services.
In last night’s astonishingly frank attack on the BBC it became clear that Bradshaw sees more local news services as the prime use of any digital switchover underspend.
Strong words
To an audience of television executives at the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge last night he blasted the BBC Trust for playing both ‘watchdog’ and ‘cheerleader’ for the BBC and warned that the BBC was growing on far too big a trajectory to remain sustainable and risked “imbalance” for the economy. He echoed the head of News Corp, James Murdoch, by voicing fears that the BBC’s growth with a guaranteed source of income (the licence fee) was not good for UK media. Having started off a couple of television channels not so long ago, he warned it was now a publishing powerhouse with an unrivalled UK presence and dominance in online content provision.
He pointed out that before the BBC’s Charter is renewed in 2016 there will need to be a widespread public debate about the corporation’s role and funding.
He dismissed research by the BBC Trust which claimed the public would rather see an underspend returned to them in a rebate than go to rival services. By publishing the research, he accused Michael Lyons, Chairman of the BBC Trust, of wanting a smaller fee to ensure it does not have to be shared.
BBC fight back - but what about the digital divie
Michael Lyons retorted that he was not bothered about angering Bradshaw. In a hint that Bradshaw is unlikely to be Culture Secretary in 2016, he blasted back he was more concerned about the protecting the BBC than appeasing a minister.
“The next Charter Review is many years down the line and we should be judged on our performance then,” he said.
“In the meantime, we have been set up to be, as the then Secretary of State put it in 2006, “the voice, eyes and ears of licence fee payers”. That means reshaping the BBC; defending its strength and independence; and also protecting the investment licence fee payers have made, and if that means upsetting a minister along the way, it is unfortunate but so be it.”
While this spat continues the unfortunate side for the broadband industry is that the potential positive use of extending help with the digital switchover in to help society’s digital have-nots get online appears to have been lost.