The BBC is poised to become a tech investor by taking bets on risky start-ups as part of a wider push to wean itself off licence fee funding.
The corporation has started hiring for a new subdivision that will pinpoint fledgling businesses with new and emerging technologies, and back them financially.
This new operation, called BBC Venture, will sit under the corporation’s research and development arm, but will explore working with its commercial unit to help secure new income streams.
That possibly incorrect assumption being that these new investments will make money. That is actually a requirement to end up with an income stream after all.
Oh, that’s just what the British public needs: To stake a gambler via force of law.
And they’ll be a really BAD gambler, too:
“Looks like that bloke has invented anti-gravity and nobody else knows yet. But… hang on; he’s White – and have you SEEN his politics? Hard pass, luvvies.”
“Looks like that bloke has invented anti-gravity and nobody else knows yet. But… hang on; he’s White – and have you SEEN his politics? Hard pass, luvvies.”
More likely, the money will go to some well-connected Tristran, probably with offices in Hoxton, who is promising he can invent anti-gravity and hires enough brown people to tick the boxes. And anyone with a GCSE in physics looking at the details would spot a simple mistake.
The whole thing will be run by a load of Tristrans and Jocastas with lots of time spent in the establishment, nothing they invest in will go against The Agenda, so don’t expect an app that does something useful like find you the best deals on take away food. Lots of eco shit, things about museums and vegetarianism.
I’m all in favour. The less spent on programmes, the more people will cancel the license fee, so accelerating the death spiral.
They developed the iplayer before rivals but were coerced, by political pressure (sky) to giving it to them for free to keep the licence fee. And before that the bbc home computer was a hit, so i’d not instantly pooh pooh the chances of coming up with something successful. Especially if they’re commissioning tech kit for their own use in the broadcast/streaming world, then combination of bbc know what (if not know how) and BBC resources, could succeed. But of course making money off it is another kettle of fish.
HB if you read the terms of iPlayer carefully, with a jaundiced, cynical eye you might come to the conclusion that the £$%&* at Auntie thought they could spread the licence fee to any device capable of accessing iPlayer, not just TVs.
Fortunately, the BBC’s crimes being revealed put a stop to that. Or all cell phone owners would be making the pervy perps very rich indeed.
@Grist, that’s what happened in Ireland. If you own any device that is capable of showing a television program, you need to pay the license fee.
GEC Marconi anyone?
I’m all in favour. The less spent on programmes, the more people will cancel the license fee, so accelerating the death spiral.
Good point. The BBC is likely to fuck it up and it is certain the bosses will back their nieces and nephews’ projects. However, no matter how stupid, pointless and Tristram-enriching these investments are, they will still not be a worse waste of money than Casualty, or BBC 3.
HB – And before that the bbc home computer was a hit
Sure. And the BBC comedy drama retelling of that story (Micro Men) was wonderful.
Not being one of them posh kids whose Dad drives them to school in a Jag, I never saw a BBC Micro outside the computer lab / repurposed tea trolley tho.
The BBC was a great machine, amazingly versatile for the time and built like a Chieftain tank to survive hordes of grotty children manhandling it. But it was also boring, because it never really broke out of that school computer niche. The Speccy was wot got plebs such as myself interested in IT, and to a lesser extent the Commodore 64 or even Alan Bloody Sugar’s Amstrad.
Marvellous days, I tell thee. Kids these days don’t know they’re born.
BBC invented Nicam stereo and gave the technique away for free to other broadcasters.
Time was, this sort of innovative development was the bread and butter of internal BBC development. Engineering R&D, Radiophonic Workshop, etc. etc.
Steve-
I have a soft spot for them. When windows pcs came to town, we got computer dept bbc castoff in the cadet signals hut where i used to spend my time to avoid drill. Hooked it up to the clansman (320 iirc?) and eventually sent my first Email (in the form of an electronic QSL card) over the radio. The teacher ostensibly in charge of it was a Geog teacher and he’d come down and we’d print off satelite weather charts for him, which we got from the radio net rather than the internet. Fun times.
The BBC didn’t design the Micro tho did they? I thought somebody else did and they just featured it in a TV series about computing…?
I started with a ZX80 and then ‘upgraded’ to a Dragon 32…
And before that the bbc home computer was a hit, so i’d not instantly pooh pooh the chances of coming up with something successful.
Was it though? In the commercial marketplace, it was a bit of a flop; with the Speccy, C64 kicking its arse. It certainly had a effective monopoly in state schools, but I’m not sure forcing the taxpayer to buy your product counts!
BinC
Technically, no the Beeb didn’t design the BBC Micro.
What the Beeb did was to specify what they wanted, and put the spec out to tender.
Acorn won, partly because their bid did everything requested including networking. Plus they created the best Basic ever.
Picking winners? The white heat of the scientific revolution? Oh, Mary, come and listen to this!
Everything old is new again.
Tech companies are buying into content. Plenty of folks willing to pay for entertainment. And the BBC wants to get into tech. Ho hum.
The BBC wants to be a tech investor. So, not developing any new tech, just competing with a thousand venture capital firms which are smarter and richer than them. What could be more vainglorious than to be a media financier, with endless meetings over lunch.
Otto, many years ago as a pub quizzer I learned what NICAM stood for, waiting for the moment I could blind everyone with my knowledge. Alas, it never happened. I hate al beeb with a passion but forgive it simply for commissioning/broadcasting “Inside no. 9”.
HB – packet radio was magical stuff
HHG – Having the BBC brand attached was a huge advantage, but I don’t think schools were required to buy the Beeb. Some bought Speccies, Apples or stubbornly clung to their PETs, but the Micro was objectively a superior machine for the Edu market
endless meetings over lunch
THAT is the point of the exercise.
Hallowed Be, the BBC didn’t create the BBC Micro, they just re-badged it. As for success, the ZX80 was way more successful. And the iPlayer. Developed at great cost with lots of issues that hindered it rather than made it a success. The only reason it did well was because of the lack of competitors and that everyone still thought the BBC was the good guy. I remember being very nonplussed when I used the iPlayer when it first came out. Lack of content was another thing that counted against it.
Also, never forget that George Orwells’ ‘Ministry of Truth’ and ‘Room 101’ were based on Al Beeb.
So I wasn’t the only person to have a Dragon 32, most people have never heard of it
The Beeb’s R&D arm has a very good track record of developing new tech (NICAM for example) and a less than brilliant track record of commercialising them
So the Lead Singers died..yesterday.. And it’s Dutch….
If anyone wants to understand Cloggie Thinking…
They managed to Punch through the “BBC Wall” of the time and …got Beatlemania..
And yes.. this is 80’s and *still* would not Be Allowed at BBC… Even after “Punk”..
forgot the link to the youtubes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYdZKWUSpls
@ BiTiN
Plus they created the best Basic ever.
There are plenty of HP BASIC users that would dispute that!
Texas TI 99/4A…..
BiC
They can dispute. And for instrument controlling, perhaps Rocky Mountain had the edge.
But BBC Basic had actual named procedures and functions and arguments – and therefore named local variables – so you could write real programs.
And it’s still going – you can get a version right now for your Mac or PC. Even has the ability to use your GPU(s) for some rather amazing graphics. And – look! no line numbers needed!
https://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcbasic.html
@ BiTiN
If my memory serves me correctly, HP BASIC had all those things too – plus the instrument control of course.
And it is also still available on a PC near you!
https://transera.com/