The BBC is paying serious attention to Research and Development, and is becoming a powerful force in media technology- both internally and at the wholly owned commercial subsidiary BBC Technology. One example is the recent speech given by Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC New Media & Technology, at the Royal Television Society on Oct 6- TV's Tipping Point: Why The Digital Revolution Is Only Just Beginning, via PaidContent.org:
As our audiences increasingly turn away from the traditional concept of TV, and we increasingly enter a two-way high-speed relationship with them, and they with each other, we've got to run just to stay one step ahead of them. Aggressively prototyping services like I've shown you, maybe getting it wrong sometimes, but sharing our learning with one another, is, I believe, the way to do it.