Gservo
10th January 2003, 04:41 PM
NEWS
The BBC has had a UK£150 million plan to produce online digital content to aid children in learning the national curriculum subjects. The plan has been faced with tough opposition, however, from private sector companies that already have a presence on the Web and that fear they will be put out of business by the BBC's free service.
These objections were quashed this week as the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, announced that the plans would be allowed to go ahead ... but under strict guidelines. The 18 requirements include the following (taken from the BBC News website item):
Innovate and promote educational and technological experimentation, drawing on the extensive archives of the BBC
Maintain high standards
Work closely with the Department for Education's curriculum online content advisory board
Publish annual commissioning plans, setting out the subjects the BBC intends to cover over the following 5 years
Report annually on its performance
Submit to a review of the service after two years, which will include a public consultation.
The fight put up by the private sector companies did not go unnoticed, but it was decided that there was room for both free and paid-for services, and the strict requirements that the BBC has to follow will ensure that there is no anti-competitive behavior.more here (http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2128414,00.html)
The BBC has had a UK£150 million plan to produce online digital content to aid children in learning the national curriculum subjects. The plan has been faced with tough opposition, however, from private sector companies that already have a presence on the Web and that fear they will be put out of business by the BBC's free service.
These objections were quashed this week as the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, announced that the plans would be allowed to go ahead ... but under strict guidelines. The 18 requirements include the following (taken from the BBC News website item):
Innovate and promote educational and technological experimentation, drawing on the extensive archives of the BBC
Maintain high standards
Work closely with the Department for Education's curriculum online content advisory board
Publish annual commissioning plans, setting out the subjects the BBC intends to cover over the following 5 years
Report annually on its performance
Submit to a review of the service after two years, which will include a public consultation.
The fight put up by the private sector companies did not go unnoticed, but it was decided that there was room for both free and paid-for services, and the strict requirements that the BBC has to follow will ensure that there is no anti-competitive behavior.more here (http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2128414,00.html)