BBC to broadcast live TV streams on the internet
The new streaming service will go live sometime int he next few months. The BBC already streams content from several of its news channels live, but this will be the first time you'll be able to watch live TV from the BBC's flagship channel on the web.
You'll need a broadband internet connection to watch. And you'll also also need to pay the same £139.50 annual license fee that you pay to watch television in the UK. Critics complain that it could be tricky for the BBC to enforce that policy, which means that television owners could wind up subsidizing the content watched by people who own a computer but no television set. But officials charged with enforcing the TV licensing policy say they have ways to catch moochers. All of which means that we probably won't be tuning into BBC1 over the internet in the US any time soon.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OblatedSpheroid said 7:35AM on 6-06-2008
You can also already stream BBC Three live from 7pm online.
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MrGutts said 7:35AM on 6-06-2008
I would rather just pay the damn license fee and be able to watch here in the US..
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Taylor said 1:17PM on 6-06-2008
I agree!
-Taylor
sockatume said 9:04AM on 6-06-2008
In practice, this may mean that anyone who owns a computer will have to pay the TV licence.
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sockatume said 9:04AM on 6-06-2008
In practice, this could mean that ALL PC owners have to pay the TV licence.
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Wild Bill said 9:15AM on 6-06-2008
As the (draconian) law currently stands, you are obliged to fund the BBC if you own any device capable of watching live or "near-live" (a minute or so off) broadcasts (of any channel, even if you do not watch the BBC). It would worry me if they didn't revise this law as it would give the thugs they emply to harrass people who choose not to watch television in the UK more ammunition.
As it is I'd of thought there will be some kind of log on feature to use the service. Anyone logging on would then have their details passed on to Capita (the company that enforces the TV tax).
Why anyone would want to watch the BBC anyway is beyond me. They are a disgrace.
sockatume said 9:32AM on 6-06-2008
Actually, they're pretty good at letting you off if you show them that you have no antenna hook-up, cable box etc. and your TV isn't tuned in at all. It's down in the rules as "detuning" or somesuch. So for people who have a TV for DVDs, games etc. but no telly then it's okay. Of course with a PC there's no option to do that.
James said 10:59AM on 6-06-2008
Or, you could just live in America and not be required by law to let government thugs into your house to prove you're *not* "stealing" over-the-air TV signals.
Of course, then you have to wait a few years for the better BBC TV shows to make it across the pond, but I kind of feel like it might be worth it.
Michael Lomker said 3:27PM on 6-09-2008
@James, here in the US the federal government does fund public radio and television. The only difference is that it comes out of our income taxes rather than having a gestapo investigate our living rooms.
sockatume said 11:00AM on 6-06-2008
Of course, they'd have to be edited down for commercials.
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richard.gailey said 12:42PM on 6-06-2008
I bet the ISP's are going to love this. They got upset enough when the iplayer was released on the wii. If they thought that that was going to create a massive bandwidth consumption issue then wait until this service goes live.
To be honest, I reckon that the ISP's will probably try to pass on the expense of upgrading their networks to deal with this. Which is out of order if that does happen as internet TV has been coming for a long time now and they should have been prepared to handle the massive bandwidth that internet TV is going to need.
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Samuel said 5:45PM on 6-10-2008
It's a shame none of the BBC's content will be playable on the best friggin phone in the world.
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