My iPhone should be sad today – not due to a springboard crash, but because the BBC iPhone apps planned for release next month have been postponed.  The reasons for the apps being postponed are all ‘political’ – with other news organizations in the UK lobbying against them because the BBC is publicly funded and seen to have unfair advantages over the others, or at least that’s my quick, clumsy summary of what I’ve read on the matter.

Here’s a better summary, from the BBC themselves:

The BBC’s plans to launch iPhone apps for its news and sport content have been put on hold by its governing body.
The BBC Trust has asked the BBC to postpone its plans while it looks into the business case for the new services.
The free applications were due to be released in April but have met with criticism from groups who say they will skew the market for news apps.
Several newspapers including the Guardian and Daily Telegraph already offer both free and paid-for apps.
A spokesperson for the BBC Trust said that the body had decided to launch an assessment of the apps after "representations from industry".
One of the most vocal opponents has been the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA), which said that the corporation would "damage the nascent market" for apps.
The trust’s investigation will decide whether the apps constitute an extension to the BBC’s existing services or are an entirely new offering.

I really like the BBC as a news source – as they provide solid coverage of UK news, US news, and especially world news.  I also love their sports coverage – that’s where I get my regular football (of the soccer variety) and rugby fixes along with plenty of good coverage of other sports as well.

Here’s the saddest bit of news for me:

A sports app was also scheduled to be released before the World Cup, which starts in June. It would offer content from the BBC Sport website, 5 Live radio and allow football fans to watch World Cup matches live on their phone.

Blah.  Ever since I first started seeing World Cup apps from ESPN and others, I’ve been hankering after a really good one from the BBC or someone in the UK, just because they’re a true football nation and for me their coverage will always be far superior to ESPN’s.

I really hope they get all their reviews and so forth done and find they can release iPhone apps in time to get a World Cup app out. 

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