At the Monaco Media Forum this weekend, BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) CEO James Murdoch was interviewed on stage in an engaging session, where he touched on a broad range of issues. Among them, BBC, and the continued role of a public sector broadcaster in UK. He had some choice words for BBC, which doesn’t come as a huge surprise, just that he gets more and more eloquent in his criticism. Then, towards the end, Ashley Highfield, the digital head at BBC, who was also present in the audience, asked a rather pointed question to Murdoch, on its strategy of opening up its set-top box. All in all, a hugely entertaining exchange…I managed to capture that interchange on audio. First, Murdoch lays his case for all of what it wrong with BBC, and then, then responds to Highfield’s question.
The killer quote from Murdoch, though a bit unfair: “It is odd that in UK, we decided to nationalize the Lonely Planet Guides” (he said, in reference to BBC Worldwide buying Lonely Planet earlier last month).
The 5 minute clip below, for streaming, or download here.
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