WOULD YOU PAY TO STAY ON h2g2

Aunty Beeb could be charging for its internet services before you get

your heckles up, it may not be until the year 2010.

In 1999 the government select committee were asking Culture Minister,

Chris Smith, if it would make sense for the BBC Online to take

advertising which he stated, 'A proposition that I have in the past

not ruled out'. He realised that the bbc.co.uk site was available

world wide and that the British Tax payer takes the brunt of the cost.

Since then the BBC has been searching for ways to fund their services

in a commercial way to supplement the income from the licence fee.

Aunty has always made money from selling their programs abroad to other

TV Companies. The revenue from Retail Marketing and advertising on

their commercial site beeb.com now brings in a healthy figure. The

beeb does not get all the income from this site as it pays a 13½%

slice to the American company TH Lee Global Internet Manager for a

£32½ million stake which helped in the cost of setting up the site.

As the BBC is known world wide for quality it will be getting

increasingly more difficult to raise the sort of money from licence

fees to maintain its standing.

Ashley Highfield who was the managing director of Flexitech

Interactive, became the BBC's director of new media almost a

year to the day. He has come into the limelight with the statement, "If

the BBC's content was streamed on the web, it would cost several

billions of pounds". Not sure if that is the American billion or

British. I am guessing it is the British £1000,000,000 which still

adds up to quite a few pennies. Now he re-ignites the debate and

explains: "The licence fee could give viewers a certain amount

of credit to use a certain amount of content and, once that credit has

run out, they would have to top it up.". This doesn't make things very

clear but as the BBC stresses, this is very 'speculative'and just one of the ideas being considered - MMmm what are the other options?

All News and Educational programs would be kept free but once you use

up your free time, sponsored by the licence, a charge would be made. As

I outlined earlier it is not clear if it is just the cost of streaming

TV programs over the net or it will apply to the whole of the

BBC.CO.UK. Perhaps Ashley would consider being interviewed by the Post

to help clarify the recent statements in the press.

Information gathered from BBC

NEWS and SILICON.COM

By vegiman

I have been asked to make it quite clear that there are absolutely
no plans to make you pay for h2g2 now or at anytime in the future.
This is just a hypothetical question... ed

JUST FOR FUN POLL

Would you pay to stay on h2g2 ?

12.07.01. Front Page

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