During his NATPE 2006 keynote, BBC Chairman Michael Grade urged device manufacturers and content providers to make it easier for the consumer by adopting common technical standards. In a brief interview following the session, I asked Grade what he can do as chairman of the BBC to make that a reality. His candid reply: “I can’t do anything about it.” But, he added, “from the BBC standpoint, we will be absolutely platform neutral. We will not go exclusive with anybody’s proprietary software.” Translated: no BBC for iTunes unless the same content can be made available across platforms.
Grade: I think that is in the consumers’ interest, in our licensee-fee payers’ interest and it’s in the BBC’s interest. I also happen to believe, in the end, if we’ve learned nothing out of the last 20 years it’s that the public don’t want to be trapped by one piece of proprietary this or proprietary that. They’re going to invest a lot of money in new kit as it comes along … and they want to be sure that what buy, they can get whatever they want from whoever… In the end, consumers will tell the industry that’s the way they want it to go.”
More from the interview later.
In the meantime, you can download the audio here. (2.4 MB, 7:40 minutes)
NATPE conference coverage is sponsored by Brightcove.
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