By Simon Bond

    The tax-supported BBC has long aspired to develop revenue streams that would make it less dependent on and less beholden to the government. Of late, under a new management team, it has cooked up a number of new projects that would do just that.
   The schemes are not going unnoticed, especially by an old guard of BBC supporters.
    Sir Michael Checkland, who was the director-general of the BBC between 1987 and 1992, is accusing the BBC of making what he calls an "imperial march" outside of its public service mandate.
     Checkland  argues that the support the BBC has enjoyed from the public, politicians and the broadcasting industry is now under threat because of its diversification into more commercial areas. 
   Sir Michael, in comments this week, said that the BBC's encroachment on the territories of its commercial rivals was destroying the consensus that was key to public service broadcasting. 
    He warned that core services could be put at risk by over-investment in a wider range of services.
    The comments will increase the pressure on Greg Dyke, the current director-general, who is already facing heavy scrutiny for his alleged commercialization of the BBC.
    Sir Michael's warnings follow the revelation by government media minister, Chris Smith, that he is about to okay three separate investigations into the BBC.
    Smith announced the inquiries during an interview with the Financial Times on Monday and said he was responding to criticism from the BBC's commercial rivals that the corporation was misusing revenues it receives from licensing fees levied on the nation's TV-set owners.
    Smith is making it clear that a main goal is to put a halt to further commercialization.
    To head up the government clampdown on commercialism in the BBC, Smith has appointed a watchdog.
    Richard Whish, professor of law at King's College London, is to lead the review of the BBC's commercial policies and fair trading rules. He will investigate whether there is enough separation between the BBC's public service broadcasting and BBC Worldwide, its commercial arm.
    A second inquiry will focus on BBC Online, the corporation's internet operation. BBC Online has been criticized by some internet publishers for providing news content free of charge to mobile operators and to internet portal Yahoo!.
   The third inquiry will examine News 24, the BBC's rolling news channel that has been accused of threatening the viability of established commercial news channels. This inquiry had been promised already, but Smith has now given the project his go-ahead.
    The government's heavy-handed approach has been prompted by complaints from other broadcasters and internet publishers that the BBC is competing unfairly against the commercial sector.
    Smith said that there must be a firm wall between licensing fee-funded activity, which he argues must be part of the public service responsibilities for a domestic audience, and commercial activities, which he says must be funded under commercial terms.
    No date has been set for the inquiries to release their findings and no announcement is likely to come until after the next general election, which is expected in May this year.

-Simon Bond covers European media for Media Life, writing from outside of London.

Printer-Friendly Version |  Send to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact Us

© 2001 Media Life