BBC needs mobile to keep young viewers

According to a recently disclosed year-long review of the BBC by the Royal Television Society (RTS), the company needs to develop better on-demand news with better search facilities and new service for mobile. RTS director general Mark Thompson said this pick-and-mix "Martini Media" will quickly sweep away traditional linear broadcasting. Thompson also warned that young viewers increasingly see the BBC as "irrelevant." However, the BBC is calling many of the new services, including one reported here recently that aims to rival MySpace, "brands," which is a loophole that allows the company to forego approval from its governing body. The oversight committee said, "We would expect... that any new BBC service, or any significant change to existing services, including online, mobile and broadband, will be subject to a full public value test, including a market impact assessment."

For more on the BBC's push to mobile:
- see this article [1] from The Times
- and this article [2] from The Press Gazette