BBC chief believes digital can offer a TV "renaissance"

In spite of the present troubles with ITV Digital and the negative undercurrent in the media sector, the Chief Executive of BBC Technology has told the NAB conference in Las Vegas that the media technology market will triple to over £30 billion a year in 2007 – bolstered by a resurgent digital platform.
Philip Langsdale offered an upbeat message to business representatives from across a sector that has been depressed of late as a result of reduced advertising revenues. Mr Langsdale described how the speed of technological innovation and fluctuating market forces had seen an end to some companies and placed many more into a precarious position.
"Big players who were making a splash at NAB only a year ago have disappeared, seemingly without trace. Even the US coastguard can’t find them on the radar. Two years ago everything was on the up and everybody was upbeat. That changed pretty fast, as stock prices and advertising revenue plummeted. The world also had then to face the consequences of the terrible events of September 11," Mr Langsdale said.
He went on to say that a revitalised digital network would be good for audiences and could not only co-exist 'with free-to-air networks' but cement their future. The key to the success of both would the progress of interactive technology and the speed of conversion.
Mr Langsdale continued: "Far from sounding the death knell of free-to-air networks, digital technology actually offers a renaissance… Anything less than (speedy digital uptake), and people won’t pay, as the digital television market is already demonstrating in the UK."
The BBC chief acknowledged that the perceived benefits of digital had taken a battering and for broadcasters to succeed, he said, there must be good content, rapid conversion to digital and technical application to "drive down production costs".
"The experience of ITV Digital shows what happens when you have limited distribution capability and a limited subscriber management system. The cost of maintaining subscriptions far outweighs any benefit to consumers. Those consumers switch off," he said.
"We believe that low-cost linear television has a strong future, alongside services that achieve high revenue per user. The market will polarise between the two. We are confident that there will be an enduring role for free-to-view TV networks as providers of content for mass audiences."
BBC Technology, www.bbctechnology.com
(GMcG)