
New BBC chief vows to re-invent content, not just re-purpose it - iProject
http://paidcontent.org/2012/09/18/new-bbc-chief-vows-to-re-invent-content-not-just-re-purpose-it/
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Zenst
They could offer content directly to users in other countries for a nominal
fee or per access fee and make more returns than they do offering up content
to one provider or another for a lesser overall fee. Would be interesting and
if done right would make piracy redundant. Could even add in the aspect of
gaining viewing credits by filling in marketing information. ANything that
makes the TV fee in the UK more palatable.

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glomph
I always assumed this was part of the reason they developed iplayer. A trial
run in order to offer the same thing overseas at a cost.

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Zenst
Initialy no and it was never planned as such. I have not use iPlayer for many
years now and was somewhat put of with the amount of network overhead it would
impose for days after closing with requests for cached content from other
users clients who still had your IP cached as active. Was akin to running a
popular torrent and seeding for a while then suddenly stopping, only more so.
I have no idea what it is like now and even if the option to pay for content
or to login via account is there. But would not be hard to add given they have
the content managment side fully tested now.

If it was not on there agenda initialy then your certainly right nowadays or
at least it would be silly not to look at that opertunity to tap into overseas
content base directly. Though they would need to have people login as
currently I would hate to think how many VPN to get a UK'ish IP to use the
service currently.

Interesting times ahead.

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cturner
If they're smart they'll try to create a profit model oriented around online
services, and switch their revenue stream to be funded through this.

Currently they're funded through the "TV charge" which is a nasty footnote to
life in the UK. Regularly I get hatemail through the letterbox telling me what
a bad person I am for not paying the fee (mandatory for all owners of
televisions), presuming that I have a TV.

Yes, you can call them up and tell them that you're not a crimial, but that's
not how life in a free country is meant to work, and I'm damned if I'm going
to play the game. "Return to sender" every time.

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wac
I felt like this for years- annoyed at the insistence that I pay the fee even
though I don't own a TV. Then, in a moment of inspiration, I took 2 minutes to
fill out the online form and haven't been bothered since.

However, the BBC offers quality TV without the even greater annoyance of
incessant commercials. Take the Olympics: NBC was criticised for their delayed
and edited broadcast while the BBC broadcast nearly all events live (some 20+
channels) and without any commercial breaks.

Unfortunately, we can't have commercial free TV without the fee.

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freehunter
My question would be, how would they know you don't have a TV if you don't
tell them? Calling it hate mail and taking the time to return to sender like
the OP is just making life hateful for yourself.

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lutusp
> My question would be, how would they know you don't have a TV if you don't
> tell them?

You may find this hard to believe, but they drive around in a high-tech van
and monitor the kinds of signals that emanate from a TV set. If they detect
the electronic signature of a TV set emanating from a house paying no license
fee, or if they see an off-air antenna, they begin legal proceedings.

What I said above was easier in the old days of television, where a vacuum
picture tube require 50 watts of power just to sweep an electronic beam across
the face of the tube (and produced its own telltale electromagnetic field).
But it's still quite feasible from a technical standpoint -- a picture and
explanation of one of the vans:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_Uni...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom#Licence_fee_enforcement)

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jlgreco
The principle behind their operation is reasonable, basically just regular old
Van Eck phreaking.

However I thought the general consensus is that they do not actually do this,
and that it is simply a rather useful myth.

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lutusp
> However I thought the general consensus is that they do not actually do
> this, and that it is simply a rather useful myth.

Agreed. I would guess the most economical thing to do is publish pictures of
the van online and describe its features. Actually driving it around is
probably not nearly as cost-effective.

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gadders
As a Brit, I wish they would ditch all the "me-too" rubbish they do to ape
commercial TV - Soap Operas, Strictly Come Dancing, The Voice etc, and
concentrate on the quality stuff such documentaries, arts etc.

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timthorn
I sympathise - there's nothing to beat BBC Four - but Strictly Come Dancing is
a massive moneyspinner as a format and helps pay for the quality.

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gadders
Then just sell the format abroad and not show it in the UK :-)

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ookware
The trouble is the population of the UK is a vast spectrum of tastes and they
all pay their licence fee. If they don't feel like their getting their moneys
worth then they won't pay and the BBC will be shut down as it won't be able to
afford to carry on running and you lose everything.

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lifeisstillgood
It seems that, in @pg's terms, Hollywood intends to kill itself.

Whatever pg meant by killing Hollywood, the BBC stands the best chance of
convincingly creating a new platform - beyond passive video and phone-ins,
into something that is experimental, MOO, and possibly Open.

Don't move to Silicon Valley. Move to Shepherds Bush.

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lucian1900
It'd be nice if they at least removed some of the restrictions iPlayer (DRM,
country).

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RossM
iPlayer shouldn't be assumed to be 'free' to use. The BBC is paid for by the
UK license fee-payers (the majority of the population) - there's no reason why
other countries should be able to access it. Not to say that I'd be against
charging a subscription for overseas access though.

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lucian1900
I didn't say it should be free. Right now there is no reasonable way to watch
iPlayer from other countries, even if willing to pay. Same for DRM (and
watching it without flash).

