Beeb gets heavy with iPhone app developer
Not content with stealing license fee money from a helpless British public, the BBC has now turned its attention to iPhone app developers trying to meet a need. The Rewat.ch app, which would have helped iPhone users to find and watch BBC shows using its iPlayer functionality, has been trashed by the BBC legal department, despite every effort by the developers to meet any requirement, including making it free.
There are two possible conclusions: either the Beeb is shooting itself in the foot again, or it has plans to release its own app, and is clearing the way by eliminating the competition, in the same way that the free and useful railway timetable apps were shut down by National Rail so that it could launch its own ridiculously overpriced paid app with no alternative for long-suffering train passengers. Good old government monopoly strikes again.
UPDATE: The developer of the National Rail app has pointed out that his company is completely independent of National Rail, and that they have developed the app completely off their own bat. They pay a license fee for access to National Rail’s data, which is available to anyone who wishes to pay the fee. Furthermore there are free apps available still. So this is NOT an example of anti-competitive behaviour! Apologies to Dave and all at Agant.
We’ll be doing a full review of all the rail apps shortly. The review is here!
March 9th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Hi there,
I just wanted to clear up a few common misconceptions in this post. Firstly, the National Rail Enquiries app you mention isn’t developed or sold by National Rail Enquiries. The app is developed and sold by my company, Agant Ltd.
Our app costs £4.99 because we can’t develop it for free – we’re a small independent iPhone development company, and we have to make money from our apps somehow. We decided to charge a one-off fee, as this was the only option at the time we launched the app. This one-off fee covers all future updates to the app, all of which will be free.
We’ve worked with NRE to make sure that our app is using licensed data, to ensure that it is around for the long term. The free apps you mention weren’t using licensed data, and this is why they are no longer available.
I should also add that we certainly don’t have a monopoly on using NRE’s data – in fact, our license agreement explicitly states that NRE can work with other companies too (and we completely agree that this should be the case).
If you don’t want to buy our app, you can always use the free CrossCountry Trains app (for live departures and arrivals), or the Trainline app (for journey planning). But I’d definitely recommend you try our app – we’ve spent over 12 months developing it, and have some great ideas in store for future versions too.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Hey Dave,
Thanks for the info! I must admit I was going by the reviews that appeared shortly after your app was released, so apologies for the incorrect information. Very interesting about the NRE data being available to all (for a fee obviously). I shall certainly take a detailed look at your app, and post a full review in due course.