British New Media

Broadcasters and the New Media Environment

British broadcast news is provided by a mix of publicly funded and commercial organizations, operating across free-to-air analog and digital platforms as well as subscription-based satellite and cable services. By far the biggest and most influential institution is the BBC, formed in 1922. Transformed into the British Broadcasting Corporation on January 1, 1927, with a now-formal government mandate to “inform, educate and entertain,” advertisements and editorializing were strictly prohibited. The BBC's funding relied upon the sale of licenses to users and, indeed, the BBC continues to receive most of its funding from compulsory TV licenses. As of July 2008, a license is required for all households owning a television: the annual rate is £139.50 (about $280) for those with a color TV set (and less for households owning only black-and-white receivers).

According to the BBC's Annual Report for 2007–08, more than 80 percent of Britain's population over the age of 15 make some weekly use of BBC news services. Worldwide, 233 million people accessed the BBC's online, TV, and radio news services. Its online services are especially popular: the BBC Mobile service is the most-used cell phone news service in Britain. In December 2007, the BBC launched its iPlayer, an on-demand service for downloading or streaming TV and radio content to computers and mobile devices. The service was an immediate hit: within four months, the BBC claimed that downloads and streams associated with the iPlayer accounted for up to 5 percent of all Internet traffic in the country.

The BBC is the world's largest public service broadcaster, and it has extended its public service role to the use of new media in its news services. In November 1997, it launched two initiatives: a rolling news channel BBC News 24 (renamed the BBC News Channel in 2008), and the BBC News Online service. The BBC News website offers visitors a choice of British or international versions, with corresponding differences in emphases. The BBC's size, reach, and resources give it a significant advantage over competitors: its online staff can [Page 206]draw upon hundreds of BBC correspondents around the world.

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