BBC as a distributor still has way more influence than a single individual. By rejecting DRMed content they'll send a strong message to the publishers. It works in other cases, so I see why it can't work with video as well.
It only says that they "don't feel the requirement will change". It says nothing about their potential influence. I'd say they are just chickening and don't have guts to stand up against crazy Lysenkoist publishers which insist on DRM. It doesn't mean they can't - they just don't want to. That was the whole point. As long as distributors would continue cowardly proliferating DRM, the situation will remain as is.
