Catshanghai

The BBC is going to suspend its Jam edcuation platform after complaints to the European Commission that the service is having an adverse effect on small software suppliers. Dominic Savage of the British Edcuation Software Association expressed the industry’s concern that the BBC was duplicating their activity. Jam was providing Internet learning resources to support the UK National Curriculum for children aged 5 to 16. The BBC has invested £150 million in the project over 5 years.

I get really good web news coverage from Techcrunch, but Michael Arrington seems to have a pathalogical distrust of public sector involvement in the media. He does not like the fact that the BBC is so reliant on a government mandated license fee, but it has an independent voice and produces an excellent programme of content so I wrote the following comment in support of the BBC’s agenda.

The BBC has also done an amazing amount of good for education by offering very high quality content and learning programmes for no cost (license fees excepted). You have to remember that British government schools have very limited funds and there is a big digital divide in the UK so anything that can be done to increase access to excellent learning resources should be welcome.

I agree with earlier comments that safe guards should have been setup by the UK Government to ensure that the services and content are distinct to avoid hurting other suppliers, but it is up to the industry to provide affordable products and resources that are compelling for schools and parents to buy as an alternative to the BBC.

There have been comments (on Techcrunch) that the BBC is confused about its operational boundaries and strategic direction. I see no such confusion. The BBC is making a transition from a public sector state subsidised broadcaster into a commercial and global independent media empire, distributing high quality content through every available channel and format.

I am looking forward to the day that I can subscribe to the IPlayer service and stream recently broadcast tv shows such as Little Britain or Newsnight. I am not asking the British license fee payer to foot the bill for my viewing. I will happily do that myself.