BBC plans to open up its archive to the public

Creating public not private value is second phase of digitalrevolution says BBC Director-General

The BBC plans to open up its archive to make a treasure trove ofmaterial available to everyone, BBC Director-General Greg Dykeannounced.

Giving the Richard Dunn Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TelevisionFestival, Mr Dyke said: "The BBC probably has the best televisionlibrary in the world.

"Up until now this huge resource has remained locked up,inaccessible to the public because there hasn't been an effectivemechanism for distribution. "But the digital revolution and broadbandare changing all that.

"For the first time there is an easy and affordable way of makingthis treasure trove of BBC content available to all."

The BBC Creative Archive would make selected BBC materialuniversally available for private not commercial use in the UK.

Outlining the plan to open up the BBC's rich archive, Greg Dyke gavethe example of a child using broadband at home, school or in a publiclibrary, to access the BBC material to help do their homework andprojects.

"They search for real moving pictures which would turn their projectinto an exciting multi-media presentation. They download them and, heypresto, they are able to use the BBC material in their presentation forfree," he added.

The BBC Creative Archive is just one example of the kind of publicvalue initiatives that would come with the second phase of the digitalrevolution, he said.

"I believe that we are about to move into a second phase of thedigital revolution, a phase which will be more about public thanprivate value; about free, not pay services; about inclusivity, notexclusion.

"In particular, it will be about how public money can be combinedwith new digital technologies to transform everyone's lives," headded.

However Greg Dyke made it clear the BBC would not be the onlypublicly funded player in the field in the digital revolution's secondphase.

Commitment was needed from a wide range of organisations includinglocal government, educational establishments and charities as well asthe commercial sector in partnership with publicly funded partners.

Giving the final lecture in a five year series, Greg Dyke alsotalked about the importance of a strong ITV.

He insisted the future of ITV could only be secured if bothGovernment and regulators made it commercially attractive for ITV toremain a public service broadcaster.

"If governments and regulators want to preserve some of the bestfeatures of commercial broadcasting in this country they will have tochange their approach," he said.

"They will have to make it commercially attractive for ITV to remaina public service broadcaster.

"The days of doing it by decree are rapidly coming to an end and thedays of charging ITV hundreds of millions of pounds for the privilegeof being a broadcaster are certainly numbered."

Dismissing claims by ITV executives that its relative collapse wasdue to the BBC, he urged that ITV should look closer to home for itsrecent failures - the failure of ITV Digital, the money ill-spent onsports rights, bad programming decisions including moving the News atTen and losing Home and Away to five as well as upsetting traditionaladvertisers by taking money from dotcoms.

A strong ITV was vital for the industry and the audience.

Only by securing a strong ITV as an advertiser funded, free to airtelevision group - alongside the BBC and Sky - could a healthybroadcasting market with a proper balance of power and influence bemaintained, he added.

He argued that the merger of Carlton and Granada be allowed toproceed under reasonable terms and for further consolidation withinadvertiser funded broadcasting.

Without change, Dyke stated that the future would be bleak forviewers and programme makers alike.

Commercial imperatives would see less money being spent on ITV'straditional commitment to public service, high quality indigenousprogramming.

This would inevitably result in a loss of regional output as well asthe loss of programming in genres from children's and arts to religiousand current affairs for the audience.

Greg Dyke ended his speech by re-emphasising the role of the BBC inthe digital revolution.

As well as projects such as the BBC Creative Archive and the BBC'sinvolvement in broadband in Hull, Dyke hoped that there would be otheropportunities where public money would be used alongside the developingtechnology to enrich society.