400 Hours of BBC Programming

The BBC has put 400 hours of video for people in England to download for the BBC Iplayer. The problem for everyone else, is that it really is only for people in the UK, while the rest of the world can just stand by and pray that some of it will be shown in other countries.

The service, launched Friday, will give viewers a choice from 70 per cent of the British broadcaster’s output, including popular programs such as EastEnders and Doctor Who. Programs from the previous week will be made available.

“Our vision is for BBC iPlayer to become a universal service available not just over the internet, but also on cable and other TV platforms, and eventually on mobiles and smart hand-held devices,” said the BBC’s Ashley Highfield, director of future media and technology. Source: CBC

It should not take very long before they show up on Bittorrent sites, or better yet, they are probably already available for international consumption via sites like TV Links and others.

So while this works great, the world wide demand for BBC programming that is already strong in Europe where broadcast rights do not exist, but world wide where broadcasting rights do not exist. While the internet makes a great distribution point for folks, the issues are that it is global. There are many people who would like to watch BBC programming, but are not in an area to watch programming because of restrictions.

As media gets more international and more global, the idea of licensing by country or banning by country becomes moot. With other sites able to offer a better more interesting service for everyone, without all the restrictive players and other materials that need to go along with it. That is where the money is going to be, that is where the whole thing comes together, treat the world globally, treat your media globally, and this might make things more interesting.