Isn't the BBC being forced to do this? (Score 1)

So the role of the broadcaster used to easy. Programs were broadcast over a limited area that could be tightly controlled.

Some broadcaster pay huge sums of money for the rights to broadcast certain events (films, sporting events, programs such as Planet Earth (GBP8m) etc. ) They need to recoup this money. They do this by selling the rights for a certain georgraphy to other broadcasters. Or they pay less but can only broadcast to certain geographies.

The web has changed all this.

Some contracts allow broadcasters to rebroadcast on the web but only to their own georgraphy. My companys exit onto the internet is not in the UK. Therefore I can not access BBC/Channel4 content from work - none UK IP address. I don't hear anyone screaming about the injustice of this situation.

For the BBC to be able to succesfully bid for programmes and offer them on line they have to show the copyright holders they can protect their rights and, ultimatly whether you like it or not, their revenue stream. If the BBC can not show they can do this then either they are not considered in the race to purchase programmes or they can not offer them up via the web.

As someone says on this discussion 'no system is fair to everyone'. The BBC is luadable in that they are trying to offer some content to some people in a time /place shifted manner. If you don't like what they offer go out and get a solution that allows you to record the broadcast material that you can use when you want. (Bewaare though that there are legal protections, for the BBC, on this activity that while harder to police/enforce you should respect if you respect the fact that someone must create and pay for this content somewere. The license fee does not give you a right to material that the BBC has purchased/created in the same way the membership of a library does not give you the right to photocopy evrybook in it and distribute for free to whom so ever might want it.)

Thanks