Following on from my recent post “BBC News offers AV RSS“, I have been supplied with some new information from the BBC. I’m very happy to have updated the original post and also post this correction notice based on the new information I have recieved:
I originally wrote that the reason the BBC was unable to provide AV RSS syndication feeds linking to media assets directly was due to branding issues. I have now been informed that this is no longer the case, and apparently hasn’t been for sometime.
It turns out the current reason for not being able to provide standalone AV packages is due to context concerns.
The BBC is very concerned that the associated text that accompanies AV packages must also displayed as these set context. In particular, this text field can be used to confirm who the package is about (to avoid libel) and when filing has taken place under ‘reporting restrictions’. The fundamental concern is that by syndicating links to the AV assets themselves, these will become reproduced/embedded on other sites, but the context-setting text could be lost.
Whilst I agree with the concern, this seems easily fixed by ensuring the packages themselves are produced in a way that does set the context from the outset – maybe through including the presenter introducing the clip or through some intro text in the video. But alas, this seems either too difficult to achieve or not considered worth the cost/benefit at this current time.