The digital ambitions of the BBC, which has expanded aggressively on the Internet, suffered a rare setback Friday when regulators rejected a plan to add locally focused video news to BBC Web sites in Britain. The BBC Trust, which oversees the public broadcaster, and Ofcom, the British media regulator, said the proposal would have hurt rivals in the private sector, including the Web sites of local newspapers. Under the plan, the BBC wanted to spend GBP 68m, or EUR 80.6m, and hire 400 people to provide news, sports and weather for dozens of local BBC Web sites. Commercial rivals of the BBC say the GBP 3bn in public financing that it receives annually gives it an unfair advantage in expanding into new, digital media. The BBC Trust, which was created last year, previously approved other contested BBC Internet initiatives, including the addition of advertising to the BBC News Web site outside Britain. The move drew interest across Europe because regulators in several countries, including Germany, are scrutinizing public broadcasters' digital plans. The European Commission, in a proposal published this month, wants governments to impose stricter conditions on financing for public broadcasters.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/21/technology/bbc.php?WT.mc_id=techalert
