Re: UKNM: Re: Portals?

[Lard]

>>>Leaders in 1999 are likely to be Beeb, TescoNet, ft.com, Reed Business

>>>Information (high-price niche industy info products), gameszone, and a few

>>>others.

>>

>>Like, you mean beeb.com? You sure?

>

>Nothing is sure, and I certainly don't suggest taking my opinion into

>account. Work it out for youself...

>

>Value is created by investment. BBC is investing in the product in a big way

>(not necessarily efficiently) and making good use of established capital

>assets in the form of brand names and intellectual property rights.


Before you charge us for your consultancy Ray, I think you should make it

clear which bit of the BBC online empire you're hyping.


The BBC has invested nothing in www.beeb.com 

ICL put up all the money


The BBC *has* invested heavily in www.bbc.co.uk

Desperately inefficiently (cost per pageview 20 times that of other UK

sites according to the Guardian)


I'd strongly disagree that the BBC as a whole is making good use of its

brands and IP by divying up brands apparently at random between the


www.bbc.co.uk and www.beeb.com


beeb.com is not allowed to cross-promote its sites via  public service BBC

TV and Radio output, aside from the odd plug once or twice a month. 


www.bbc.co.uk has no such restrictions


I agree that beeb.com is in a position to leverage world markets. That

said, all the global BBC brands (BBC News, World Service, Teletubbies even)

reside within www.bbc.co.uk. 


Beeb.com will have problems raking in cash from outside these shores

blessed as it is with international brands such as TOTP, Top Gear and The

Radio Times. 


beeb.com also just lost the battle to do BBC sport online - this test

series apart


>From the above, I'd say that www.beeb.com is in for a very sticky 1998/99 -

simply because its big public service brother is busy cutting its throat.