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BBC Begins Blocking VPN Access To iPlayer (torrentfreak.com)
nickweller points out Ars Technica's report (based on news initially on Torrent Freak) that The BBC has begun to block VPN users from its iPlayer video streaming service. From the article: Naturally, VPN providers are already working on a fix for the block, with IPVanish already claiming it has found a way around it.
Earlier this year, a GlobalWebIndex report claimed that up to 60 million people outside the UK had been accessing iPlayer. The BBC disputes this figure however, saying: "These figures simply aren’t plausible. All our evidence shows the vast majority of BBC iPlayer usage is in the UK. BBC iPlayer and the content on it is paid for by UK licence fee payers in the UK and we take appropriate steps to protect access to this content."
The reason they've always given is that some of the stuff they broadcast is third party content for which they've only bought the rights to distribute within the UK. Apparently it's too much effort to set up a system whereby they classify content as "OK to distribute worldwide" vs "UK-only" and allow foreigners and ex-pats to watch the former category.
What they don't get is people watch programming through the VPN because they have other way to get it.... If they spent half as much of this effort by negotiating with Netflix or Hulu for US customers to get these shows streamed we wouldn't care about VPNing them through iPlayer and still "paying for them..." It's just the typical ass-backwards corporate thinking at work.
Yet still by a massive margin the least biased major news broadcaster in the English-speaking world.
I think that would be Al Jazeera as the least biased.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I am a US citizen, born and raised. And I despise American TV.
It's SHIT. 98% of everything on US TV is shit. Plain and simple.
I subscribe to Dish AT250 and it's SHIT. So called "reality" shows.
The "Science" channel? Where's the science? A bunch of washed up entertainers reviewing youtube idiots, explaining why a shot to the nuts hurts.
The "Learning" channel? Really?
And on and on and on.. What pisses me off is that I have to subscribe to the top tier to get the slightly less shitty channels. $110 a month this costs me.
I also have Amazon Prime which I got for the shipping. I don't really find much to watch on there but I will be watching the Top Gear boys for sure.
I have Hulu Plus and Netflix. Meh.. I also allow my best friend to watch it so it gets some use.
I waited and waited for HBO NOW to come to Roku. I got tired of waiting and bought an Apple TV 3. About 2 months before they announced the ATV 4.
That's ok, I'm buying an ATV4 and a Roku 4 soon anyway. So Dish wanted $20 a month for HBO, that's what it cost me to watch Game of Thrones. As soon as the season was over I canceled it on Dish. Now I pay monthly and ongoing for HBO NOW through Apple. I watch it several times a week.
But overall, I'm extremely disappointed with American TV shows, movies and channels.
I've watched a LOT of BBC material and it's great. I love their science shows where they teach real science without hand puppets and crayons. Think Through the Wormhole with their idiotic animations. Brian Cox vs Morgan Freeman. WTF? Morgan Freeman is not a scientist. Not even a little. Also TTWH is always going on about the "god" thing which is extremely annoying. So much about that show is crap.
I know that there BBC TV License fee is £145.50 a year which is $224.64 in USD. $18.72 a month. If I could have full access to the BBC library through iPlayer I would be happy to pay them that. One thing to consider is that I wouldn't have access to live OTA TV like a resident would so perhaps bring the fee down a little. $15 a month for iPlayer only access would be more than fair and I would be more than happy to pay the BBC. And I don't want Americanized shows, I want pure British content. No American influence, no commercials, no banners covering the lower third of the screen with little people jumping up and down waving and blowing shit up to let me know about a different program coming up 2 months from now. Just the show. I love British humor, I love British culture. I want to see the world through their eyes and experience British life vicariously through Brits because there's a zero chance that I'll ever get to travel there much less live there.
I'm too tied down to life here (family and property) and I just can't travel. British television gives me the chance to learn new things and to see outside of the Americanized bubble that we are trapped in.