From: TheStandardEurope.com
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Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 10:05 PM
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Subject: INTELLIGENCER EUROPE: BBC plans news site funded by ads
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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD EUROPE'S
I N T E L L I G E N C E R E U R O P E
This week in the European Internet economy
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translations by eTranslate
Wednesday 17 January, 2001
TOP STORY:
* BBC plans news site funded by ads
WORTH REPEATING:
* The online "information laxative"
BRIEFS:
* News highlights of the week
BY THE NUMBERS:
* European slice gets bigger
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TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
BBC plans news site funded by ads
Media rivals and BBC news chiefs react with fury at the prospect of a
news site run on ad revenues as well as public licence fees.
by Chris Nuttall and Bernhard Warner
The BBC has plans to run advertisements on a new international news
Web site to be launched in June. BBC News Online will develop the site
at its recently acquired address BBCNews.com, according to sources
close to the project.
The possibility that the site could carry banner advertising has
caused a furore within the BBC and is certain to alarm media rivals
across the world. It would mark the first time a publicly funded BBC
Internet project has taken the ad industry's money. Moreover, it would
represent a complete reversal in thinking by BBC news chiefs who had
fought to keep the online news division independent of any commercial
interests.
In the past, the Internet industry in the UK has raised loud
objections to any expansion plans from the BBC, arguing that they
would stunt the growth of the fledgling commercial online sector. The
biggest fear of any commercially-run site in the UK is the prospect of
competing against the BBC for its audience - and now, for advertisers.
Hugo Drayton, managing director of Hollinger Telegraph New Media and
member of the British Internet Publishers' Association (BIPA), a
pressure group determined to resist the BBC's continuing strides
towards online commercialisation, said: "Common sense says they cannot
be allowed to do that."
But they are.
A BBC spokesman confirmed that "the BBC is exploring a number of new
ways of raising revenue, in line with the government's requirements
that it find ways to supplement the [television] licence fees. A
commercial news site for international users is one possibility."
READ THE FULL, EXCLUSIVE STORY:
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896935
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WORTH REPEATING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Just think of Plastic as an information laxative, your best bet for
getting at the Internet's richest waste."
Press release announcing the launch of Plastic.com
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BRIEFS
~~~~~~
FIDDLER'S DUET: What do you do with a dotcom spinoff with limited
revenue prospects? Use it to buy back the original, profitable
bricks-and-mortar business. Meanfiddler.com, the dotcom spun off from
the profitable owner of concert venues and operator of the Reading and
Fleadh festivals, has decided to buy Mean Fiddler Group from chairman
Vince Powers for #32 million (50.5 million euros). The transaction
brings all of the Mean Fiddler assets-12 nightclubs, the festivals, a
ticketing business and a media company-under one roof again.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896936
TUESDAY'S SALE: Yazam, the Israeli incubator that bought First Tuesday
last summer, is closing its European operations in a move which
effectively puts First Tuesday back on the market. The news also casts
doubt over the future of the Yazam business in the US. First Tuesday,
meanwhile, is seeing further cutbacks, shedding its support staff and
the organisers of its popular matchmaking events in a move that will
reduce staff numbers to around six from just under 30 in November.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896937
EXPRESS WISH: Employees of four defunct Web sites formerly owned by
Express Newspapers are to sue for redundancy and back pay that they
claim they were denied when the sites were shut down last week.
Express.co.uk Publishing Ltd, Sportlive.co.uk Ltd, Allaboutparents Ltd
and Companyleader Ltd were liquidated last week by investment bank
Seymour Pierce after the Express newspaper group and sites were sold
to publishing tycoon Richard Desmond in November. They were reported
to be making losses of #8 million (12.7 million euros) a year.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896938
EURO HEROES: Europe is planning to take up arms in the fight against
cybercrime. While many EU countries have national measures to tackle
computer-related crime, there's still very little European-wide
cooperation. Now the European Commission is outlining an EU-wide
initiative to tackle cybercrime, according to a draft document leaked
on the Net. The commission will establish a Forum to serve as both a
rapid alert body to tackle incidences of cybercrime and as a general
platform for information exchange.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896939
INTERSHOP CUTS BACK: Struggling e-commerce software maker Intershop
Communications is to eliminate 80 jobs in the US - about 30 per cent
of its American workforce. The company has seen its stock plummet
since revising its projected fourth-quarter results downward on 1
January. The poor performance of Intershop - which was long held up as
a success story for Germany's new economy and for the revitalisation
of the formerly communist East - has sent ripples through the
country's technology industry.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896940
CREDIT LINE FOR PRICELINE: Priceline Europe has accomplished something
its US parent company cannot - attract funding. In a rare vote of
confidence for the struggling b-to-c sector, US-based venture
capitalist General Atlantic Partners has agreed to give Priceline
Europe $25 million (27 million euros) to help fund a new advertising
campaign. Priceline Europe CEO Dennis Malamatinas said: "This
injection of funds will help us build on [a] solid foundation."
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896941
BRIGHT YOUNG THING: The well-established European leader in the
"knowledge management" software market is Autonomy - but search engine
technology firm Bright Station is snapping at its heels. Last week, it
closed a deal with Intel and claimed that by doing so it had weakened
Autonomy's position in the market - much to its rival's annoyance. The
deal will see Intel demonstrating Bright Station's Smartlogik
knowledge management system to its customers and providing technical
help to ensure the technology is compatible with Intel chips.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896942
WIRED WHITEHALL: The British government says that more than 40 per
cent of government services are now available online, more than a year
ahead of target. And the figure should rise to nearly 75 per cent by
2002, the e-envoy's office said in a statement. The target set in
March 2000 by prime minister Tony Blair was to put all government
services online by 2005. "We are investing more than #1 billion in the
next three years to step up this drive," says Cabinet Office minister
Ian McCartney.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=110982215&i=293220&d=896943
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BY THE NUMBERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Europe will account for over 40 per cent of the world's Internet users
by the end of 2001, according to a report by Jupiter research.
Meanwhile, research by eMarketer indicates the percentage of global
online revenue originating in Europe is set to increase from 15 per
cent to 29 per cent by 2003.
http://www.internetnews.com/intl-news/article/0,,6_560871,00.html
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STAFF
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Written by James Price. Send news tips and press releases to
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