Category : BBCi
Date : 02.03.2004
Printable version
Speech by
Ashley Highfield, BBC Director of New Media & Technology, to the
FT New Media & Broadcasting Conference
• BBC has vital role to play in creating broadband
UK
• BBC Creative Archive initiative to launch in the autumn offering
2,000 free factual clips for non-commercial users to download, edit
and keep via broadband
• BBC Olympics coverage on broadband for the first time
Speaking at the Financial Times New Media & Broadcasting
Conference today (Tuesday 2 March 2004) Ashley Highfield, BBC Director
of New Media & Technology, unveiled the BBC's plans for broadband
and outlined launch details for the BBC's major broadband-enabled public
service initiative, the Creative Archive.
Setting the context for the BBC's broadband activities,
Highfield stressed the benefits of broadband for the social fabric of
the UK.
"At a superficial level everyday tasks will be
made speedier and more convenient, but on a more fundamental level broadband
will allow us to place greater emphasis on community and individual
contribution," he said.
"A two-way broadband UK could mean a more creative,
personalised, social and affluent Britain."
Highfield claimed the BBC had a critical role to play
in the growing broadband market, as it already had with the internet
market and the free digital TV market.
"I see the BBC's online services having an increasingly
important role to play in helping to create a 100% connected, digital
Britain," he said.
Talking about the current DCMS review of the BBC's online
activities, Highfield stated his belief in helping to create a connected,
digital society.
"We see a clear role for the BBC in helping to
drive a broadband Britain and would like to see that reflected in the
outcome of the review," he told the conference.
Outlining the kind of content and services he believes
the BBC needs to offer internet users in the 'on-demand' world to drive
broadband take up, Highfield cited the roll-out of the BBC's broadband
service from the Athens Olympics in August - available on broadband
for the first time and a broadband world first.
As well as allowing users to choose from a wide selection
of broadcasts, broadband technology will also enable them - at the same
time as viewing - to play games, interact with other users and access
facts and statistics.
Highfield also suggested that the BBC's role in creating
a broadband UK should not just be about creating compelling content,
but also about developing services that make a difference to people's
daily lives.
With this in mind, he revealed further details of the
BBC's major public service initiative, the Creative Archive, first announced
by the former Director-General, Greg Dyke, at the Edinburgh Television
festival in August 2003, and enabled by broadband technology.
"The Creative Archive will give everyone in the
UK the freedom to search for and access clips from the BBC's television
and radio archives via the BBC's website," explained Highfield.
"This scheme has the potential to lead in a number
of different directions and is radical in the sense that it will be
largely defined by the behaviour of the people accessing the initiative.
"This is the BBC taking an innovation risk, but
a risk that will add to the creative capital of the UK as a whole.
"It's all part of the BBC providing public access
to its sound, television and film archives in a way that appeals to
the new generation of media consumers."
• The first phase of the Creative Archive initiative
will launch in autumn 2004 with an 18-month initiative focusing on factual
radio and television content, for example natural history footage, allowing
non-commercial users free access to around 2,000 clips of up to three
minutes long (100 hours of content).
• People will be able to download clips free of
charge from the BBC website, keep them forever, and manipulate and add
to them. They will be able to pass clips on to one another and, at some
point in the future, post user-generated material back on to the BBC's
website. A child might, for example, use a downloaded clip for a multi-media
science project or an amateur DJ might mix a selection of BBC footage
into a backdrop for a set.
• For the initial phase the BBC will concentrate
on material that is fully owned by the BBC but also hopes to talk to
independents and other rights holders about clearing the rights to other
clips.
• If the first phase is a success, the Creative Archive will be
rolled out across all genres, considerably expanding the scale and range
of content on offer. As the BBC learns more about how people are accessing
and using the material, the Creative Archive will grow and develop in
direct response to its users.
• The BBC will also work closely with others in the industry to
share its experience and work with them to grow the quantity of audio
visual material available in the public domain.
