Maybe I’m just out of the loop, but I only just learned about this site, BBC open source. This paragraph really gives me hope; the Beeb gets it.
For the BBC, open source software development is an extension of our Public Service remit. Releasing open source software helps our audience get additional value from the work they’ve funded, and also get tools for free that they couldn’t get any other way. It also allows people outside the BBC to extend projects in such a way that may in future be used in the BBC.