Murdoch attacks BBC ‘police powers’

Satdude

Murdoch attacks BBC ‘police powers’

James Murdoch launched a scathing attack on the BBC in Monte Carlo Friday.

James Murdoch, CEO at pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB, used the Monaco Media Forum to hit out at the BBC’s “state funding” and the “police powers” it had to collect the obligatory licence fee. He said the BBC’s income had risen 28% over the past five years while its audience had tumbled more than 10%.

"In most cases where the private sector starts to innovate and provide things, the state happily steps back. Here we have a state that's stepping forward and I think we have to question that," he stated, arguing that viewers should be suspicious of the use of state funds for national news services. Ashley Highfield, the BBC’s most senior representative at the event, denied this point. Highfield, the BBC’s future media and technology boss, in an angry exchange with Murdoch argued that state cash didn’t go into the BBC’s domestic news services. Murdoch responded saying the BBC was a “state agency with police powers to collect a tax.”

Murdoch added that in the future BSkyB set-top boxes would be able to download and view third-party content. "In the very near future, because all our Sky + boxes have USB connectivity, you will be able to load content from other providers onto these boxes." Murdoch added that details on this additional feature would emerge in the next 12 months, but said no decision had been made yet as to whether these boxes would be able to access the open internet. Murdoch said Sky intended winning more than 3m broadband subscribers by 2010.

Regards Satdude.