

Why we can't watch live TV online - mikemainguy
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-16/tech/live.tv.online_1_online-piracy-online-broadcasts-sports-leagues?_s=PM:TECH

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auxbuss
For the same reason CNN take three "pages" for their story: They don't
understand that the world has changed. Scrub that: They don't understand the
world. They really don't.

Here in the UK we have the wonderful BBC. I can watch everything the BBC
produces online in real-time and for the following two weeks (or something
like that). All radio stations are also available (and retained for weeks).
It's brilliant, and I love it.

I don't own a tv -- well, I technically have one, hooked up to a PS3 in the
playroom -- but it has no tv abilities. Actually, that's not true either as I
can access the BBC's iPlayer via the PS3, but that's not the tv's fault.

The only reason folk can't watch tv online -- presumably in the USA -- is
because the "transmitting" stations don't provide the service. That's idiotic.

This is clueless, narrow-minded marketing. But I'm used to that now. I place
marketing one below estate agents in the imagination stakes. And they've
earned that place due to utter incompetence over the past decade or two.

In the real world, there is no reason why this can't happen. In the real
world, it's happening all the time, 24/7. It's happening right now.

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rick888
"Here in the UK we have the wonderful BBC. I can watch everything the BBC
produces online in real-time and for the following two weeks"

If I was forced to pay for a television station out of my taxes, like the BBC.
It better damn well be available online.

"The only reason folk can't watch tv online -- presumably in the USA -- is
because the "transmitting" stations don't provide the service. That's
idiotic."

It is getting better. We have things like hulu, which allows you to stream
most shows that you would watch on TV.

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auxbuss
"If I was forced to pay for a television station out of my taxes, like the
BBC."

If you don't watch live, then no licence is required.

Minor point, but the licence isn't a tax. It's optional.

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rick888
good point. However, I would say a vast majority of people in the UK have at
least one TV in their home.

