BBC Postpones Release of iPad Apps

29 Mar 2010

The BBC has postponed its plans to release applications for the Apple iPad which will be released later this month.

Following feedback from other industry players who were concerned that fee applications from the bbc may skew the market for news apps, the BBC trust has decided to investigate the matter further.

The trust will consider whether the applications would simply act as an extension of what the BBC currently offers or whether they constitute a new service for the corporation.

One of the strongest opponents to the release of the apps has been the Newspaper Publishers Association who complained that the BBC would "damage the nascent market for apps."

At the initial launch of the application, a BBC spokesman promised that the application would simply repackage the information available on the BBC News page and therefore not affect licensing laws.

However if the trust finds that this is not the case the apps could be permanently pulled from the market.

"We are focussed on making BBC Online's core web propositions more user-friendly, convenient and accessible, and using existing content to create truly distinctive products around our core public service areas," said a spokesperson for the BBC.

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