future of web apps

Michael Arrington (TechCrunch) came out with guns blazing at a panel debate on why European startups were trailing behind their US counterparts. One of the reasons? The BBC.

His reasoning is that the BBC is getting involved in all sorts of markets outside of broadcasting and since they are publicly funded, they don't have to turn a profit. This then puts all sorts of negative pressure on startups who now have to compete with free (or publically funded) products.

Check out this video to see why Micheal Arrington thinks the bbc should be dissolved.

One of things Arrington pointed to was the CBBC "virtual world for kids" that the BBC is working on and how that announcement must have disrupted four or five startups.

I'd love to hear Ben Metcalfe's take on Arringtons comments.