Comment: BSB's bubble bursts
| Comment 10 November 1990
No amount of face-saving talk about a merger between Britain's satellite
channels Sky and BSB can disguise the hard truth that the BSB bubble has
burst. Jaundiced old-handers had long seen the failure as inevitable, though
neither BSB nor the Independent Broadcasting Authority – which in theory
controls it – were prepared to countenance the idea.
The loss to BSB's investors of many hundreds of millions of pounds is
the most dramatic example yet of what can happen when responsibility for
a high-technology company is entrusted to decision makers who know little
about the technology they are dealing with, and seem to show even less interest
in learning.
Sky recognised that the great British public does not give a fig for
marginal improvements in picture and sound quality, for creating jobs for
Europeans, or for preparing the path for a future upgrade to high-definition
television. In stark contrast, BSB talked long and loud about the better
picture quality and digital stereo sound available from its MAC system.
The old hands predicted that the vital MAC receiver microchips would
take longer to develop than promised. BSB, however, refused to listen. Its
chief executive, Anthony Simonds-Gooding, consistently refused to arrange
technical briefings for the press. Even BSB's four manufacturers complained
that they could not get information.
BSB promised a full receiver and aerial kit for 250 Pounds. Again as
predicted, it was not ready on time; and when it did arrive, at nearly 400
Pounds, it was twice the price of Sky's equipment. Even then, BSB had cut
corners on receiver design, leaving out vital connection sockets. As a result,
only a handful of electronic buffs can see and hear MAC's superior quality.
And BSB also left teletext circuitry out of its receivers, even though conventional
television viewers and Sky subscribers now expect a teletext service.
In the opulent isolation of its headquarters in the Marcopolo Building
in Battersea, BSB continued to make the most basic mistakes. For example,
although its life-blood comes from subscriptions to the scrambled Movie
Channel, viewers whose free month's taster viewing expires see a blue notice
on screen which tells them to contact their customer service centre; but
it still gives neither address nor telephone number.
Last year, BSB rejected Sky's suggestion that BSB should broadcast from
the Astra satellite. BSB also rejected the idea of using its Marcopolo satellites
for buisness broadcasting. In reply to questions, the company's solicitors,
acting on the instructions of its chairman Sir Trevor Holdsworth, issued
a letter stating that 'BSB has no intention of taking channels on the second
or any other Astra satellites'. Journalists (including this magazine's correspondent)
were threatened with an injunction if they published any suggestion to the
contrary. Three days after the merger – which will involve transmission
from Astra – the threat of injunction still stood.
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