http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and ... pps-705814

Your business is dying on it's arse, stop blaming the BBC and shore up what you can

The problem is that they do not have a service that the public are willing to pay for. Get that sorted and then maybe they will have a plan. For me though I am not interested in the others. I want a BBC service.

How? What does the app do that the BBC’s website doesn’t do? Apart from playing movies (because the BBC refuses to use HTML5 for video and audio content on their site)? As far as I can see it, the app is just a dressed up RSS reader which takes BBC website content and presents it in a slightly different way. How hard can it be to make one of those?

Stop whinging, and pay a developer to build yourself one if it’s THAT important to you, and remember that the BBC content is already paid for, by the license fee payer, so it’s not free.

So what they really want is an un-level playing field with it in their favour?

As newspapers are just a way of getting you to read adverts (where the money is) they really need to offer more to get you to read one.
If they made papers free then people might actually pick them up.

If they had a paid app but free content with ads then they could make money or even use the iAds feature.

Newspapers, like the music industry, are stuck in an 18th century market mentality. They also want to keep the market as it stands.

I have a feeling that the problem is a little like this:
1 - people who buy newspapers don’t want to pay for the same content online (or in an electronic app format)
2 - people who are used to reading newspaper content online for free won’t like to idea of paying for it all of a sudden

They have to solve the above problems.

The BBC, funded by the license fee, appears to be offering their content for free because at the point of consumption, there is no slot to put your money in. As there is no visible payment mechanism on the BBC News web site, the other papers are kicking up a stink. This, in my mind, is not a problem. The editors of the papers surely have to make their content more compelling than the BBC’s and all will be well.

The solution will require a dramatic shift in how news is distributed. We’re not seeing it happen yet - writers’ licensing deals, marketing, business plans are all historically based in a non-electronic market. All this needs to be re-thought.

Murdoch, for all we hate and loathe him, is having a go. The Times and Sun paywalls are him trying, but I feel he will ultimately fail. There needs to be a closer connection between the physical paper and the online content (if you buy The Times, you should be able to view the website for that day for free, for example).

Someone will have the spark - the brainwave for solving this problem. And if his name isn’t Stave Jobs I’ll be very surprised. After all, Apple have shown the music industry how to sell online music, much to their embarrassment. The iPad is a suitable device for online news.

I agree. Its size and ability to display colour could make it the winner. If the monthly or annual subscription via iTunes was low enough I can see it taking off. Pay walls are only useful if you have unique content. That is why Murdoch will fail, there simply is not enough reason to buy the online Times etc

you mean someone in the Apple company will have the brainwave and Jobs will take the credit.

Possibly. I won’t be surprised if it’s a tech company solving the problem instead of the bold ink & paper brigade.

Wouldn't buy a newspaper. Use the BBC android app several times a day, has enough detail to keep me informed, I will look online or on TV news for any more details when I want to.