Commercial challenge to BBC iPlayer

Relating to the British Interactive Publishing Association's "challenge" to the BBC's iPlayer proposal, it seems very self-evident that the BBC's commercial competition is too busy worrying about the BBC. Or maybe not, since its members knew about the iPlayer more than a year ago but have taken all this time to formulate what suspiciously appears to be a hurried response.

Meanwhile the cross-Atlantic competition for internet TV is hotting up big time, with Apple shortly launching its codenamed 'iTV' consumer device early next year - that codename being deeply ironic for the UK market - and expect similar moves from Google/YouTube (perhaps with an Apple deal) plus inevitably a belated catch-up offering from Microsoft.

And as for the assertion that making content available free of charge past a 7-day window would end up "destabilising the market", the BIPA knows full well that charging for content would be detrimental for some of it and would be contrary to the BBC providing a public service. Not to mention the constitutional dilemma that the BBC would face with such a move.

Here's a suggestion as how to solve the iPlayer dilemma: why not let the BBC provide the iPlayer service for, say, three months and use that time to assess what impact it has on the commercial market. That would be a far more indicative, real world test compared to just compiling a list of theoretical disadvantages.

If BIPA members had collectively agreed on an internet TV standard six months ago then they might have had a bargaining counter, but instead they collectively give a good impression of a bunch of schoolkids bickering in the playground; it's a bit like King Canute trying to stop a rock pool flooding when an American tidal wave is heading straight for the nearby beach.

Idiots.