AfterDawn: News

BBC to premiere TV shows on Internet

While the mass piracy of TV shows on the Internet continues to be an annoyance to content providers and broadcast companies, it now appears that at least the BBC is looking to take advantage of the new found way to view TV shows. BBC Three will premiere comedy series The Mighty Boosh on the Internet before it is broadcast on television. It will premiere on the Internet on July 19th, which is a week before it will air.

This is also just the first in a string of shows the BBC is hoping to premiere on the Internet before air broadcast. Jana Bennett, director of television at the BBC, said it was a "significant step" in offering audiences greater value in a changing television world. "It is one of a number of pilots that BBC Television will be undertaking over the next few months, exploiting the opportunities that new technologies offer to look at how programmes might be delivered beyond the traditional linear broadcast." she added.



The show will be available online up until a week after the final programme of the series transmits on BBC Three. The BBC is trying to take advantage of the growing popularity of broadband in the UK. "It's a natural progression for us to make our programmes available on broadband." said Stuart Murphy, controller of BBC Three,

Source:
BBC News

Written by: James Delahunty @ 10 Jul 2005 8:32

• Previous article

• Rarewares removes DVD-Audio tools following legal threats

• Next article

• Movie 'Embedded Live' available at NetFlix before stores

• 14 comments

• p4_tt

  BBC is the worst TV station in the UK all they show is Antiques shows and then repeats.
  Quote:"It's a natural progression for us to make our programmes available on broadband."Let’s just hope it’s not natural to make people pay for it as the people of the UK already fund the BBC.
  

  10.7.2005 11:05 #1

• duckNrun

  the point really isn't whether or not the particular show they are broadcasting is any good or not. The real point is that they (as a content 'provider') are doing something new, using the net for content distribution. Something that should already be a common place occurance. Hopefully, they will view this as a success and continue to offer more and more shows and even move to an 'on demand' d/l basis. Hopefully their experimentation will provide others (read: hollywood, cable and tv broadcasters) to do the same.
  
  As for the money issue, hopefully they will air this for free. Regardless of the public funding issue, the only way that web available media is going to succeed is by offering it free. Why would someone pay to watch something over the internet they can watch for free (and already are essentially paying for) over cable? As for the revenue concerns.. they can always run advets or ideally move into a sponsorship/product placement aggreement. When the advertisers realize that nobody really watched the commercials on the tv, and skip over them with digital/personal video recorders then they will realize that product placement directly in the show itself is the future's way to really attract buyers. Perhaps even providing a 'buy it now' menu at the end of the show/movie or even an interactive button to buy such and such an item...
  
  gee.. if any advert/tv execs want to hire me just pm me! lol
  
  
  So here's my congrads to the BBC. They definately win the innovation prize for this week :o)

  10.7.2005 11:50 #2

• Daniel_G

  Even If the BBC decides to make this a "Pay per View", there will be ways to exploit/crack it so it can be viewed for free, as is the case with everything computer related, so i'd say there's no worries about that ;)
  
  And indeed, it would be an outrage if they would ask people to pay for this service, don't they get enough money from the british government or what?

  10.7.2005 13:45 #3

• syeberman

  This is nothing new for the BEEB .... They did it with Dr Who! LOL ....

  10.7.2005 22:28 #4

• duckNrun

  lmao

  11.7.2005 12:52 #5

• babelfish

  if they do im stopping paying my TV license. there is no way im paying for them to make stuff that the rest of the world get for free!!!!!!!!!!!

  15.7.2005 05:32 #6

• babelfish

  in response to the above - no it is the british population that funds the BBC. which is shy im pissed at it being given to foreigners for free!

  15.7.2005 05:34 #7

• p4_tt

  I wouldn't stop paying my TV license, they'll take you to court and make you pay it or put ya in jail if you refuse to pay, it's like being cornered and getting your money taking from you, that's the damn bbc from ya.

  15.7.2005 08:16 #8

• duckNrun

  When all the content holders, eventually, go to an internet model for transmissions this will make your local cable companies merely portals (a thing that they will surely fight instead of using as a basis for innovation). Instead of the cable company paying for the content and then making you pay for their service enabling you to watch channel 71 (Sci-Fi Channel on Cox Cable in Kansas) you will simply use your ISP to browse to: SciFi.com/broadcasts/showguide (for example) and decide which episode of which show or which movie <bold>you</bold> want to watch <bold>right now</bold>. A 100% on demand model will also disenfranchise the people who sit in the corner offices deciding the tv lineup for any given night. When you can simply watch whatever whenever directly from the providers themselves 'must see tv' will no longer have any meaning.
  
  The water is building up behind the dam, all it takes is for a well leveraged player to start providing their most favored content in this way and it will only be a matter of time before the pressure (that this would place on their competition to do the same) forces the dam to break.
  
  So while the BBC may not be 'the player' thats going to take us into this brave new world, kudos to them for having the forsight, and vision, to at least tread into these, as yet, virgin waters with their music downloads of Beethoven and now some tv downloads.
  
  Maybe if this experiment provides enough positive interest, and downloads, someone will decide to try a go and offer some content that all viewer markets would be interested in (e.g the shows that are grabbed from Bit Torrent due to the delay to reach the UK and European broadcasters). While this may reduce the appeal for cable/sattelite providers to pay for that content (and hence the price they would pay for it) if experimentation showed an ability to make up the difference, or more, by webcast through ads, subscription, product placement and immediate buy-it-now interface, or whatever, then others would follow.
  
  People don't have to like the BBC for their content or their govt. connection, but we should support them in this endeavor. Without new innovations being supported they will still eventually come to market, but just maybe not in 'our time'.
  
  For all the posts I read about how the content providers are locking away their stuff and fighting consumers, tech, and the future I would think that this article would have more positive comments; as well as more thoughtful insights into how this is paving the way for the future that so many tech-heads/tech consumers seem to envision.
  
  
  
  

  15.7.2005 10:37 #9

• p4_tt

  The BBC is nothing special and am only telling it as i see it with being a license payer and all, yeah it's cool to be able to watch TV via the Internet but it's no big deal if they don't show good stuff and it's the BBC they don't.

  15.7.2005 10:55 #10

• duckNrun

  That was exactly my point. That while the BBC is not going to be the ones who break down the walls to this venue, someone has to start. Actually I would have been shocked to see it be one of the major players (as in Hollywood or the Hollywood tv industry-- forgive my ethnocentricity lol) due to their apparent lack of vision and creativity when it comes to new tech (while they have increased profits as tech has improved this has been in spite of themselves. They've sued and tried to stop EVERY innovation along the way. Radio,TV,VHS, Audio Tapes, CD, DVD and now the internet opportunities lol) And while this start from the BBC might not be the hip and happening beginning that would quickly speed us onwards, few starts ever are.
  
  Now on a sidenote (lol):
  Maybe it's just my circle (heck maybe it's just me being doped up on pain pills lol) that views it as more than just 'via the internet'. This 'other' means of distribution, communication, 'watching t.v' is not really as 'other' as people think. The merging had already begun before most people even recognized it and still continues:
  
  VOIP is becoming more popular and common, email has become the main preferance of personal communication and eCards are now considered 'acceptable' to send instead of 'regular' cards, people are buying their software and music as downloaded data with a physical 'disc' being a side option instead of the norm, eBooks while not the market once hoped for are still at least struggling infants, audio/video chat is more widespread and marketed, if not considered, as video phones, subscription based virtual music channels, online banking and bill pay, shopping, ordering food for delivery, news feeds/news sites are gaining while regular tv/newsprint rates are dropping, web cams in daycares for working parents to observe their kids, and in homes to observe their pets and non-daycare kids, 'smart homes' that allow lights, thermostats, electronic devices etc to be controlled through the PC and from over the net (through a secure server interface), security systems that upload video to a secure monitoring site, watching movies on the pc, and as stated 'watching t.v over the' net
  
  I don't mean to be argumentative, nor to slag.
  
  I see one of the drawbacks holding back the full merging being exactly as you phrased it... watching tv over the internet. Most people do not want to watch tv on a monitor while sitting in front of their computer desk, isntead prefering to kick back on the couch with their feet up. This concept of 'on pc's/on monitors' will change as more home electronics continue to merge. I happen to not only watch tv on my monitor (as a standard) but also use my pc as a major component of my home media. Of course I consider myself to be on the cutting edge of the cutting edge (lol @ me and my big head!) and have a HTPC/home electronics hybrid where every form of multimedia that I see or hear, and all my home components, somehow touches or interacts with my pc, and display on a 'monitor/tv' which is a projector and a screen. And so for me to watch tv over the internet is no different than viewing a rented dvd, a cable tv show, or listening to a favorite 'cd'. For me, the difference of 'over the net' or 'over the cable' has become an even more blurred subtlety.
  
  A friend of mine has recently 'upgraded' to playing his computerized cd collection over his home stereo by buying a home stereo reciever that contains an audio media server (accessed via tv on-screen programming)that he intergrates through LAN to his music collection on his various music HDDs. And while he could just switch cd's in and out of his disc changer (like most people) now he never has to. His complete CD collection is available, in all it's glory, at a touch of a button over his home stereo. This will also be the reality for people's video collections once a home stereo video server becomes normal fair (or once HTPC do for those who go that route).
  
  It is these kinds of 'venues' that will eventually lead, and are now leading, us to an 'all in one' system-- not just for components but for providing content as well. I fully expect that one day the phrase 'over the internet' will be considered redundant, understood as such without mentioning, and possibly outdated.
  
  but then again... it could just be the pain pills ;o)
  
  
  
  
  
  

  15.7.2005 14:23 #11

• p4_tt

  You make a good point, it will be interesting to see if it all kicks off and i am looking forward to it :)

  15.7.2005 14:30 #12

• syeberman

  Content is already being provided via digital (set top boxes) streaming in many countries. The fact is that governments like Australia are protecting the established players, freezing out the potential and bandwidth already available for such new content providers.
  
  Aunty aka A.B.C. Australia already provides content via broadband and a sub channel of its digital bandwidth and has for some time. It's called A.B.C.2. and yes it's FREE and yes it's boring as well.
  
  Providing premier content is a Progressive step, but come on B.B.C. Aunty is way ahead of you. lol

  16.7.2005 05:50 #13

• duckNrun

  well my kudos to your 'aunty' (lol) as well then

  16.7.2005 10:30 #14