UK commercial news organisations have attacked the BBC for promoting its services above their media apps on smartphones on Apple and Android platforms.Executives accused the BBC of an aggressive marketing strategy in app stores that has diverted audiences away from commercial news apps. The corporation’s “apparent willingness to compete very aggressively with commercial providers in app stores and other areas, such as local news provision, online risks causing irreparable damage to that ecosystem”, said Owen Meredith, chief executive of the News Media Association (NMA), which represents commercial news organisations.Reported in the Financial Times, NMA attacked the BBC using public money via the licence fee to compete with rival commercial activities. In a search for ‘Sky News’ in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for example, an advert for BBC News appeared top of the search results.The BBC said: “The BBC, like most media organisations, does targeted marketing to make the public aware of products and services they have paid for through their licence fee, and to meet our charter obligations to reach the widest possible audience and deliver value for all. NMA said the corporation’s strategy in app stores was “just one example of the BBC aggressively competing against commercial players”.The BBC has already come under fire for aggressively chasing audiences in communities with its online services, risking the sustainability of commercial local news services. A review by Ofcom in November found online BBC news “forms part of the headwinds facing local publishers and that there may be some local areas where BBC viewing is displacing commercial viewing”.
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