The Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA) is up in arms over the proposed BBC News application of mobile handsets and has called for the BBC Trust to block plans.
The BBC news and sports apps were only announced this week at Mobile World Congress but the NPA has been quick to respond, saying the idea would "damage the nascent market" for applications.
The NPA isn't stopping at the BBC Trust either, saying it would speak to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and MPs on the Media Select Committee as well.
Intrusion
"This is not, as the BBC argues, an extension of its existing online service, but an intrusion into a very tightly defined, separate market," said David Newell, Director of the NPA.
"Not for the first time, the BBC is preparing to muscle into a nascent market and trample over the aspirations of commercial news providers."
There are already a number of apps on the market created by the newspapers to deliver news.
Some are free, like the Independent's while others like the Guardian's cost money.
Newell also said about the BBC's plans: "We strongly urge the BBC Trust to block these damaging plans, which threaten to strangle an important new market for news and information."
There's no news as of yet whether the NPA is looking to shut down the whole of the internet for the millions of pages of free news content it delivers on a daily basis.
Via BBC
Your comments (5) Click to add a new comment
stu531
March 27th 2010
5. Agree with martinb - the more delivery channels the BBC has, the better. Whatever it costs to actually develop the app will be insignificant compared to the benefits.
It's about time the newspapers stopped bleating and started competing. (Oo - sounds like a good soundbite, that.)
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stoobie_land
February 18th 2010
4. Papers should start nurturing the sort of talent that can make their newspapers better without needing iPhone apps, rather than worry about what the BBC are doing.
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dvs
February 18th 2010
3. What do they fear exactly? If their content is good, people will use (or possibly buy) their app. Why should the public miss out on accessing BBC services they can already access on the move anyway?
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nitebot
February 18th 2010
2. NPA = stop bleating and start creating some decent content!! The BBC has every right to be produce its own apps. It has mobile sites already so I don't see what the problem is.
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martinb
February 18th 2010
1. Why shouldn't the BBC do it. As a licence fee payer I would like to see such and App. After newspapers already do it, most for a subscription though.
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