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BBC Strikes Deal With YouTube
twofish writes "Google's YouTube video site will soon be showing content from the BBC in a deal announced today. Auntie Beeb's content will be spread across three different channels, one for news and two for entertainment programmes. Content will include adverts, and clips from shows such as "Top Gear," "The Mighty Boosh," and nature shows narrated by David Attenborough. The deal is likely to be controversial, particularly since the BBC is paid for by a compulsory tax system (the license fee) rather than through advertising or subscription. The article goes on to say that they won't be 'hunting down' people that upload their content to YouTube. Just the same, they reserve the right to take down or remove programmes that have run on their channels which might damage relationships; examples might be football offerings or 'edited' shows."
Worth noting that in the UK, the BBC's "iPlayer" project which is currently being rolled out, will provide ad-free TV-over-IP on-demand for anyone with a UK IP address. Thus, just like BBC America, the BBC's adverts are the BBC's way of maximising the value they offer to the UK public, by getting foreigners to watch 'em.
-sheriff
Score:-1, Funny
Finally somebody got into their heads that quality of YouTube is crap and broadcasting programs there will work only as an advertisement. What's the point of suing them if you can work with them and have advertisement for free. If somebody likes their programmes they will watch them on telly anyway. Think about watching Attenborough's programs and thinking: "Are those 20 pixels a lion trying to catch an antilope (other 20 pixels)?"
And for commercial stations that would be even better - they would be able to add some of advertising, or such.
"an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often, quite often, picturesque liar" - Mark Twain
BBC resells the programming to other countries. Like I get BBC World here in Canada (and BBC-K on one of them digital channels). I'm sure my they make money off that. While BBC is paid for by the tax, it's supplemented by the resell royalties.
I should add that I hate BBC World taunts of Top Gear "Not Available In North America" bullshit. hehehehe. Though it is nice to get sports/news from a diff part of the world.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
It's a licence fee. The money goes to the BBC. Not the government. And you don't have to own a TV, so you don't have to have a licence.
"they reserve the right to take down or remove programmes that have run on their channels which might damage relationships"
:)
And ones that show how they were involved in the 9/11 conspiracy!
That's a joke, BTW
>..is the perfect way to fund public goods, like information.
It's not really a "compulsory" tax. You're obliged to pay the license fee if you own a television tuner set to recieve broadcast television stations.
This is, as you might imagine, ludicrously difficult to enforce. I'm a student, I use a tv tuner card, and I sure as hell don't pay £130 or whatever it is per year. How exactly am I going to be forced to pay the license fee? I get threatening letters often (which is the primary tactic the license fee collection agency use to get people to pay up) but if a license inspector ever comes to my property and asks to come in to verify I don't own an operational tv tuner, I'll politely tell him to fsck off.
From there, the only way he can get access to my property is to get a warrant from a judge, based on zero evidence that I'm doing anything wrong. Good luck there.
The license fee collection agencry is an RIAA type agency that uses scare tactics and ignorance to collect its money. The only people who get fined tend to be relatively poor people who don't pay for a license but also don't realise that they have the legal right to refuse entry to a license inspector. An inspector calls round, demands to be let in, the person lets them in, shows them the tv, and they get a fine to the order of several thousand pounds.
The whole system is ludicrous, outdated and monstrously inefficient. We would be much better served if an independent body determined an appropriate level of funding for the BBC year-on-year, and the money came from general taxation.
I particularly like the one where they do a road trip from Miami to New Orleans and conclude that nobody should ever travel to America.
And I completely agree, and I'm an American.
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
They don't "sweep an area", they park their vans outside houses which are in their database as not having a license around the time the residents are coming home from work. I'm not sure how technically effective the vans are, probably just more scare tactics to prompt you into getting a license.
In Old Blighty, TV watches YOU.
That it's a "licence" doesn't mean it also isn't a tax. A tax doesn't have to be paid by everyone - there are many taxes which only have to be paid by some people. That's like saying income tax isn't compulsory because you don't have to have a job, or council tax isn't compulsory because you don't have to own a property...
It's a tax AND a licence. And, like most taxes, it's compulsory for people who fulfil a certain criterion (in this case, owning a TV).
The only real difference is that the money doesn't go to the Government as you say, although this isn't that different to any other taxation money which the Government hands to private companies for services. The BBC still have the Government backing to be able to enforce it (clearly, no other TV company has the right to "licence" its services this way).
Or if you don't have an aerial (unless thats what you meant). My friend's family owns a TV for DVDs, but doesn't own an aerial (they live in a secluded hamlet in a valley, I'm not sure if they even get reception). They had an inspector call around because of their lack of a television license but once they showed him that they didn't have an aerial he buggered off.
Even "Squirrel Hugging Department" translates to something like Eichhörnchenumarmendienst, which is enough to cause immediate French surrender by merely thinking it loudly.
Techincally no ... But it seems they put you on a "list" if you do it this way.
Why aren't you encrypting your e-mail?
Just like the Advertising tax I pay (indirectly) to Rupert Murdoch every time I buy something from the shops. I I don't even own a satellite dish or read the sun.
I think I'll stick with paying the BBC upfront.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
If your TV sits in the corner, unplugged and gathering dust through lack of use then you don't have to pay for the license.
Maybe it should be a "tax on anyone who chooses to use a television"?
Not to worry, when the Conservative government get in at the next election they will end the current system. They have promised Rupert Murdock they will do this some time ago.
On your point of them being a RIAA type organisation I think you are taking this a bit far. They are actually pretty fair. The reason they let you off being a student for instance is that they know that in all probability your parents have a TV licence and you can claim that is your primary residence. They have access to the register of voters (electoral role) and can use this see if anyone at that address is registered to vote.
The poster below makes a valid point regarding new TV purchases though, but this also extends to your TV card. Now all retailers who sell any equiptment capable of picking up a TV signal are required to get your details and hand them on to the TV licence people. If you refuse to provide them they are legally obliged to refuse to sell you what you want. If you buy on any sort of card they dont ask, they just get the details via your bank.
They also do have the ability to pick up the RF signal that cathode ray tubes generate, and then decode an image (Van Eck Phreaking - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Eck_phreaking). Thus if a TV license inspector arrives at your door and you are watching TV they usually know what channel you are watching.
They do not however have any rights of entry to your property, so can be told to sod off and come back with the police and a search warrant. I am not aware of any incidences where they have come back with the police, but I expect in the worst cases where they can proove that the person does have the money for a TV licence but simply chooses not to buy one they probably do.
You point about them only fining poor people is a bit harsh. You imply that people who are poor do not know they have the right to refuse entry to their home. This is complete rubbish, I have lived on a council estate for years and believe me, most residents knew exactly what the score was in this regard.
It is also worth noting that under british law they are unable to fine you more money than you can afford to pay, so the several thousand pounds bit is crap too. When you arrive in court you have to fill out a form detailing your assets. The only way you can be fined more than you can afford is if you refuse to disclose your assets or if you fail to turn up in court, neither of which are a particularly good idea as the british legal system takes a very dim view of this.
I dont read
They do more then just sit there. (from http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/tvdetecto rvans.jsp)
How do the detector vans work?
We have a range of detection tools at our disposal in our vans. Some aspects of the equipment have been developed in such secrecy that engineers working on specific detection methods work in isolation - so not even they know how the other detection methods work. This gives us the best chance of catching licence evaders.
What if you can't get close enough to detect my TV in your van?
We can use a hand-held scanning device. These measure both the direction and strength of a signal, making it easy for us to locate TVs - even in the hardest to reach places.
From what I remember they can also use a technology (I cannot remember what it is called) to remotely view what is on your screen (I watched "Tomorrow's World" demo it once), on top of picking up the signal from your antenna. I also recall that when home computers first started to appear, they actually took some people to court to pay the fee for their computer monitor.
Perhaps we will get more choices of BBC news video to watch than in RealPlayer format.
I only ask this because I believe RealPlayer is Satan's media player.
I guess that's the logical equivalent of those big, flashing "SELF-DESTRUCT" buttons evil villains always seem to have in their command centers.
As far as the constant response of "move along, nothing to see here" (in this case quite literally!), a metaphor from Ted Geisel describes it best:
"And what happened then...? Well...in Who-ville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."
Right, because if you spray-painted "Beckham is a Poofter!" on your car and drove it through rough neighborhoods in Great Britain, they'd offer you tea.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
they do still do the motoring satisfaction survey, but one quiz a year on new cars is hardly investigative jounalism
"Linux is for noobs"-The new MS fud strategy
Beckham is a poofter.
Besides, it wasn't just the slogans. They were threatened with a lawsuit for GIVING SOMEONE A CAR.
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
Yep. That was, indeed, a dick move by a very sleazy lawyer.
What does that have to do with the rest of the population of the United States?
In my travels, when I treat people with courtesy and respect, that's what I get back. Clarkson is constitutionally incapable of same (I'm pretty sure his enormous head would assplode), so people treat him like a dick. Which works, because he IS a dick. A sometimes-fairly-entertaining dick, but the man is a still a dick. May and Hammond hang around with him, so they get the same treatment.
(that may be the most times I've ever said dick at the same time. dick.)
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Beeb content has been showing up on Google Video for a while now, mostly because Google Video doesn't impose a 10 minute limit. And I personally like it because Google lets me download things for my iPod and PSP, which is especially nice when my laptop is doing some heavy lifting stuff. Hopefully Google will at least drag those features into YouTube.
Rawr
You may not AGREE to the Licensing laws, but they are law, and if you break them, you will expect to be prosecuted.
The fact that you can "politely tell the inspector to 'fuck off'" is a method use for GENUINE people who DON'T have a tuner, to not be bugged insistently by the inspector. For example, an inspector can't just continuously bug a person, just because he or she THINKS you have a TV, there is a due process involving getting a warrant, before searching private property. Sure it does make it a little harder to enforce, but it does help prevent abuse by the Agency, or a particular Inspector trying to make his name. The whole system is ludicrous, outdated and monstrously inefficient. We would be much better served if an independent body determined an appropriate level of funding for the BBC year-on-year, and the money came from general taxation. Highly Hypocritical, here you are, boasting away that you didn't pay for your license, you took advantage of certain "rights" (need for a warrant before a search), in order to not get caught, then talk about the "poor" who cannot get away with it, like you do.
And you wonder why its all inefficient, and pointless, and then later you probably complain when we loose essential freedoms, such as the right to request a warrant, and then before we know it, there will be further privacy implications as the Government tries new invasive stuff, to catch people like you, and make the system efficient.
No, the system would work, if people like YOU don't try to scam it, and instead be honest.
Have a nice day!
As the old fable goes they use some kind of mobile TEMPEST setup to work out if you have a (CRT, LCD they can't pick up) TV and even what you happen to be watching (so you can't pretend it's only for video's or something). I'm not so sure on the last part, but you can detect a CRT using nothing but a reel of cable as an aerial, a PC soundcard and a couple of 100MHz of CPU. Plug it all in and look for the 15kHz scan in some waterfall spectrum analysis software. I highly doubt they actually do this, as it probably not be very reliable and as mentioned it doesn't pick up LCD TV's. In my experience they generally just go round to houses without a TV license and knock on the door.
Now: http://www.youtube.com/bbc
The license fee is not a "compulsory tax system". If you own a TV (or TV tuner card for your PC, etc), then you must have a BBC License. It's cheaper than most of the "commercial" alternatives, and offers what is widely regarded as the best programming on the planet.
e view-report-research/pvt_iplayer/bbctrust_pwcrepor t_pva_annexe.pdf seems to be the best link I can find; they'd like to "give away" TV downloads, so long as it's WinXP and WMP 10, to support DRM restrictions so that you can watch within 30 days of download, given that it will self-destruct within 7 days of first viewing). Well, it's good that it's available. It's not good if it's on limited terms to license-fee payers, but available for anyone who can rip from YouTube under whatever terms you choose.
Yes, I'm British.
Yes, I pay the license fee. (It's about 1 month's worth of Council Tax, and I get a far greater benefit from it).
Do I mind that they're "giving it away" on YouTube? Only (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/r
Author, Shell Scripting : Expert Re