Gasta News: Digital Britain

Digital Britain: Online BBC Rival ‘A Priority’; Govt ‘Must Act On Aggregators’
So keen are media watchers to hear the likely recommendations of Lord Stephen Carter‘s upcoming Digital Britain report, an overspill room was needed at the Royal College of Medicine this morning to house those gathered to hear him speak. But the communications, technology and broadcasting minister was giving precious few hints at the Westminster e-Forum...
Carter did say safeguarding independent online and digital news sources that rival the BBC is “an absolute priority”, “something future generations will thank us for”. He said a “strong, fully-funded, ambitious BBC, acting as an enabler for the rest of the sector” is in everyone’s interests, alongside a “strong (commercial) alternative”. But he spoke only generally, dodging detail and saving the real headlines for the publication proper later this month.
—Broadband for all: “In our fixed networks, I think we are reaching the stage where we require an acceptable minimum level of service for everyone.” Some reports have suggested Carter will ask telcos to guarantee internet access as a universal service obligation. BT (NYSE: BT), for its part, has requested government investment to offset its own spending on next-gen infrastructure.
—Carter’s thinking: Carter said UK ad spend will fall by six to eight percent this year. Another big influence - the falling share price and market cap of big media players like BT, BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) and ITV (LSE: ITV), which has seen its share price drop 70 percent in recent years. “These are salutary statistics, not least because they give you some idea of the ability of private markets to provide continued investment,” he says.
—BBC/Google (NSDQ: GOOG) effect: Guardian Media Group CEO Carolyn McCall told the forum BBC Worldwide has a distorting effect on the UK media market because it has exclusive access to BBC content. Though she was careful not to use the “G” word, her target was clear when she highlighted the concern of many in the newspaper business regarding search engines: “They don’t invest anything in UK content at a time when content producers are finding it very difficult. The government really needs to think seriously about the effects of aggregators.”
—Public service TV: Carter criticised commercial public broadcasters - whose sustainability is being reviewed by Ofcom - for failing to propose their own funding ideas: “Given that this is supposed to be one of our most creative sectors, it is one of the most conservative sectors when it comes to looking for future solutions”.
Carter’s review for the DCMS and BERR will urge legislative and regulatory changes to safeguard broadband access, salvage DAB, protect kids online and more, and could also result in regulatory framework changes at Ofcom, which is itself conducting a review of public service TV funding.