@ FT Digital Media Conference: Apple Wanted To Be BBC/iTunes Gatekeeper
By Dianne See Morrison - Mon 25 Feb 2008 05:25 AM PST
BBC future media and technology director Ashley Highfield told the FT Digital Media & Broadcasting Conference this morning of the difficult balance that must be struck between syndicating content to third parties - and keeping control of Auntie’s reputation. Case in point - BBC Worldwide’s deal to sell shows through iTunes Store took so long partly because Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) wanted to “cherrypick” the BBC shows it offers - something Highfield feared could erode brand value.
- Syndication’s double-edged sword: BBC future media and technology director Ashley Highfield reported some eight million visitors consume BBC content away from bbc.co.uk - at least three million of them never come to the BBC site at all. While that’s a good thing, Highfield said, publishers can risk losing “brand recognition” and “brand credit” through syndication. Besides, what you win in traffic you lose in traffic analysis - if the BBC distributes full-length content through Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), it will not know what that particular slice of their audience wants and can’t adjust its offering accordingly, Highfield said. Interestingly, the BBC will shortly syndicate iPlayer teaser clips to Yahoo. BBC Worldwide shows are also to be carried via MySpace TV.
- BBC, FT on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News: Are aggregators competitors or bedfellows? Highfield said Google News would become a rival to BBC News only the day it becomes “the first port of call for news”. FT Group CEO Rona Fairhead said Google was becoming more “respectful” to the rights of content providers. Both she and Highfield said they see Google as a “partner”, especially given the amount of traffic that Google News drives to their respective sites. Both also clung to the belief that their brands were strong enough to “win out” in the mass of aggregated news.
- Mobile in infancy: Highfield reported that mobile was at the “beginning of the journey” and that, just a year ago, long-form video online was viewed with skepticism. As for video on mobile - the “jury is still out.” European Broadcasting Union (EBU) technical director Lieven Vermaele compared mobile today to the internet in its earliest days and that the technology would continue to improve. Meanwhile, he noted only content that took into consideration the context of mobile phones would succeed, he reported trials making short video clips available around breaking news proved popular.
-- Cannibalising content: The BBC reported that, yes, some content was inevitably cannabalised when it was put online and made available through its iPlayer. But the move online and on the iPlayer also grew their audience - in fact, the iPlayer caught those that would have obviously missed the show when it was originally aired. Plus, as Highfield noted, it was better to put their content online in a legal version, than let it be shared illegally via BitTorrent.
