The BBC is calling out Apple for hurting its connection with the public and putting its funding at risk, according to a report from the Telegraph.
The issue? The BBC says Apple and Google are making its news and podcast content look worse by bundling it with other content in apps like Apple News and Podcasts. It’s worried people won’t realize the content is from the BBC, which is a problem because the broadcaster relies on the public to pay the TV licence fee—the money that funds its services.
The public broadcaster wrote to the UK’s competition watchdog (the Competition and Markets Authority), asking it to step in. It says Apple’s design choices make it harder for the BBC to stand out, which could lead people to think their content is coming from Apple instead. That could damage public trust and make people less willing to pay the licence fee, which recently increased to £174.50 (about $300 CAD) per year.
Earlier this year, Apple pulled an Apple Intelligence feature after it displayed inaccurate BBC headline summaries. That incident only added to the BBC’s concerns about how its brand is being represented.
The BBC says its income has dropped by £1 billion (about $1.7 billion CAD) in the last 15 years (adjusted for inflation), and with fewer people paying the licence fee — and more turning to streaming services like Netflix — it’s facing financial pressure. To put the BBC funding into perspective, the CBC received 1.43 billion CAD in government funding in 2024.
The broadcaster is currently talking to the government about how it should be funded after 2027, when its current Charter ends. Some ideas being floated include charging wealthier people more, switching to a subscription model, or scrapping the licence fee altogether.
Apple hasn’t said much in response, but it told the CMA it’s trying to “strike the right balance” and doesn’t want its ability to design its products limited.
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Public broadcasting made sense in the 50s and 60s, when there was almost no alternatives and governments needed to help get the industry up and running. Makes as much sense as a government airline or telephone company today.
Well, your current (and hopefully NOT future) PM thinks that
– public broadcasters need more of your hard earned cash to distribute propaganda to 2.1% of the population
– the gubernmint should spend 35 BILLIONS (that frikkin money printer will sure overheat) to be in the business of building (and OWNING) cheap 100sq ft rentals.
So yea, we're a lot closer to the utopian communist UK than we want to admit.
I wonder who was governor of the Bank of England when they managed to have a 14% inflation compared to 9% US and 8% (allegedly) Canada.
Daaamn, truth really butthurts lieberals, doesn't it.
BBC is a great role model for public broadcasters and it is awesome that they are calling these algorithmic news platforms out like Apple and Google News.
Keep in mind, at least this this case, their complaint isn’t about the algorithm. They’re complaining that Apple doesn’t do enough to make BBC stand out from other news services.
That kind of entitled attitude, that they deserve priority placement just because they are BBC isn’t winning any hearts and minds.
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BBC doesn’t need Apple to make their news content look worse, they are doing the great job at it all on their own. They were always the propaganda branch of the British government but they were somewhat balanced and professional at their work. Since then, they lost a great deal of objectivity, impartiality and credibility; nowadays, pushing certain agendas is apparent. They don’t even try to hide it.
Edit: just to clarify, I was referring to the BBC News, not the BBC in general i.e. the rest of quality natural science, documentary, crime, drama, comedy etc. programs.