Posted: 19th Oct, 2004 By: MarkJ
Ofcom has put forward the idea of a new Internet based public service provider (PSP) for the distribution of TV programs via broadband connections and other networked systems/devices (mobile phones etc.):
It has also proposed funding of £300m ($540m) a year, which would include the commissioning of TV programs, and Ofcom said it would be able to spend as much as £200,000 ($360,000) for each hour of content it created.
The aim would be to compete with the BBC and other publicly funded TV, to provide high-quality content, and instead of a 24-hour TV channel, it should aim for about 3 hours of programming per day. Content of that quality could eventually be made available internationally on a pay per view basis.
The PSP would be different to existing broadcasters. Inevitably, in its early years in the transition to digital, much of the PSP's digital content would be more likely to resemble traditional TV programs, but it would not be a TV channel in the traditional sense, nor would it publish books, magazines or newspapers (as the BBC has done). There should be a series of public bids to run the PSP in the UK, but it should not be awarded to the BBC, insisted Ofcom.It's an interesting idea, although we can't help but wonder if it would mean the inclusion of mobile phones etc. in the TV license requiring category. More @
The Register.