Time to get rid of mp3?
Yes, there is better technology out there, but the BBC has it all wrong. Audio compression technology is nothing new, and the "mass market" that it seems to think hasn't happened came and went. People don't care anymore; there is no loyalty to any codec nor format. It's just a medium. Like currency, people will only use it if other people can utilize it too.
And AAC is not Apple's format. Amusingly even Sony earns a few cents annually thanks to MPEG's licensing.