Now I’m aware this is a very broad title but bear with me while I try to explain.
Since the dawn of the internet we have seen the rise and fall of many large internet based brands, however, those that are still in existence to date are largely American, a la Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook, this list goes on. It has been a real shame that Britain does not have a digital empire of this magnitude to compete on a global scale. We have the talent in abundance; we just need to find our feet with great ideas and true British perseverance.
Our strongest online brand to date has to be the BBC, who has proved a major player in shaping the online landscape within digital Britain. Over the past five years we have seen the release of possibly the greatest of all their products, the iPlayer. From this we have seen other projects spawn, most notably Project Kangaroo, a collaboration between the BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4.
The projects objectives were clearly set out to create a:
- New UK on-demand service – a single destination for over ten thousand hours of quality entertainment content
- Historic joint venture between three of the UK’s largest broadcasters
- First time that viewers will have access to a large range of catch-up and archive programming
- Venture will be a major competitor in UK on-demand content market
A venture of this scale with the three largest broadcasters in the UK could and should have produced something spectacular, however, on the 4th of February 2009, after much of the development of the project had already been completed, the Competition Commission decided to block the project on the following grounds:
“Without this venture, BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 would be close competitors of each other. We thought that viewers would benefit from better VOD services if the parties—possibly in conjunction with other new and/or already established providers of VOD—competed with each other.”
View the full report here – http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/press_rel/2009/feb/pdf/05-09.pdf
This was a major setback for digital within the UK and on what grounds, how is it that it is deemed a service such as this is negative for competition in Britain when Google currently has 70% market share within the UK and YouTube approximately 90%. Are we seriously saying that a venture which would see the creation of many new jobs in an industry which is going to be at the forefront of the British economy is bad?
Emily Bell from the Guardian added:
“What is likely to happen next is that one of these “nascent services” such as Hulu, the US-owned distribution network for high value video content, will become the platform of choice for UK broadcasters. If this happens advertising pounds will be returned, a la Google, to an organisation which has US shareholders and no interest in reinvesting in UK programmes.”
In other words British money will yet again be frittered away into other economies, bolstering their digital efforts, as we continue to suffer from a lack of a large scale online platforms and investment. It would seem to me that in this instance we have clearly thrown away a real opportunity and any competitive advantage that we may have had. What is wrong with a competitive advantage after all?
Following their efforts with Project Kangaroo the three main broadcasters, Channel Five, BT and the Carphone Warehouse have since instigated a new venture in the form of Project Canvas.
Project Canvas is a means by which the internet meets your TV, put simply you will have to purchase a set-top box (around £200) which will be connected to your TV and internet connection allowing you to view Freeview, Freeview HD as well as online shopping and many mainstream websites.
This platform would undoubtedly revolutionise TV within the UK and provide us with a technology that could lead a digital push, however, there have already been warnings released by Ofcom that the project could come under a competition investigation with Sky leading the charge to block the project.
As a country we have to evolve in the pursuit digital excellence and cutting edge technologies as we aim to help bolster our economy. Although I can understand Ofcom and the Competition Commission being interested in such projects I feel that they have to fully understand the repercussions of the decisions they make. After all they have only just forced Sky to lower their prices for UK sport, how long have they had that monopoly?
You simply can’t block projects on the basis that it will lead to a monopoly especially when one already exists.
With the BBC now looking to reduce its online spend by approximately a quarter, after receiving pressure due to claims that it’s public investment gives it an unfair advantage, we could see far less in terms of future ventures. Just another example of a country which loves to shoot itself in the foot after being given a golden opportunity.
If we could remove the red tape and nit picking we would provide companies within Britain the freedom they need to thrive and take on the large existing presences.
I really hope that as a country we embrace such projects and ideas through the investment and encouragement needed to provide a foothold to push from. Only then can we excel on the international stage.
