BBC slammed as ‘drunk on power’ amidst ‘full-blooded assault’ on media
The head of the UK news media’s trade body has said control must be wrestled away from a BBC that is on the road to becoming “drunk on power”.
In a post on the blog website Medium, Owen Meredith, the News Media Association’s chief executive, said the BBC has “doubled down on its role as the commercial sector’s neighbour from hell”, despite denying the comparison made my local news editors around the country.
“We need politicians, policymakers and regulators to wake up to this threat before it is too late,” Meredith said.
“Otherwise, the end game will be a media ecosystem with one player left standing — a BBC drunk on the power of both the licence fee and the vast majority of the UK’s media advertising revenues.”
His comments came after it was confirmed last week that the BBC plans to feature adverts around its podcasts in the UK.
The Advertising Association, which represents a combination of UK advertisers, agencies, media owners, and tech companies, warned that the plans “could distort the advertising market given the scale and reach of the BBC.”
Meredith added: “The BBC is veering wildly off track and clearly does not have the will or appetite to self-correct.”
If the plans are approved by media regulator Ofcom, it would mark an unprecedented step in the media landscape which would pit everyone from small, to large production houses against the license fee-funded giant.
“BBC bosses appear to have completely forgotten what the corporation is there to do — provide distinct services which do not distort the commercial marketplace,” Meredith said.
“Instead, the corporation appears hell bent on launching a full-blooded assault on the commercial media sector.”
Meredith’s viewpoints are already shared with some within Parliament.
The conservative MP for Gosport, Caroline Dineage, last week said the corporation is “blowing up” local radio services and “undermining the viability of some of our local independent publishers.”
Dineage also welcomed the announcement that an expert panel will be appointed to review the way the BBC obtains its funding.