‘Today, I want to talk about us.’
Never has the start to a speech revealed as much as Tim Davie’s yesterday, as the director general of the BBC laid out a plan for the future of Auntie. And, unknowingly perhaps, the future of commercial media.
Take a step back. As a newspaper which believes in free markets, we know you have a choice in what media to consume. We’d like to think – since you’re reading this – that you like what you find here. Alas, the media isn’t a free market at all.
Ever since the BBC pushed aggressively into digital media, it has destroyed local news operation after local news operation – and not because of the quality of its content. It has fundamentally unfair advantages, chiefly a massive taxpayer-funded subsidy which allows it to produce content which doesn’t have ads – precisely the content that Google and other search engines prioritises.
The BBC could have decided to focus on national news – the big stuff – and keep the local news to the TV and radio channels. Instead, they’ve chosen to squeeze the hell out of local papers and websites, nicking the good stuff and taking valuable eyeballs away from only just about surviving smaller operations. Worse, they are now doubling down on other platforms, desperate for market share across social platforms, launching new podcasts in areas that were perfectly well-served by commercial operations.
Why does the BBC have a Sheffield Wednesday podcast? Did Lord Reith, setting up a public service broadcaster, think that one day taxpayers should stump up for in-depth analysis of whether the Owls can beat the drop? Or did he think that the Sheffield Star, a perfectly good local paper, should be allowed to try and make some money out of it?
Davie confirmed we’d see more local news in future. Of course he did.
The BBC is ugly, and overgrown. It is high time for real reform.