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Government To Bring Forward Law To Close BBC 'iPlayer Loophole' (theguardian.com)

Posted by timothy on from the big-or-small-they-want-it-all dept.

An anonymous reader notes an effort in the UK, as reported by the Guardian, to clamp down on the so-called "iPlayer loophole" which allows BBC programs to be time shifted in a way that avoids paying the television tax. From the article: In a speech on Wednesday, culture secretary John Whittingdale also asked whether popular BBC1 programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing were "distinctive" enough and launched a new initiative on the devastating impact of adblockers on the newspaper industry. After the speech at the Oxford Media Convention, Whittingdale said closing the loophole could not wait for legislation was passed to renew the BBC's royal charter by the end of the year. Instead, it would be done "as soon as practicable" through secondary legislation that could be put before parliament as early as this summer.

2 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What's the loophole? by whoever57 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hmm...I couldn't find in the article that described exactly what the iPlayer loophole was...?

    I think that the loophole is that, as long as you don't watch programs as they are broadcast, you are legally allowed to watch programs using the iPlayer (VoD system) without buying a TV license (~$250/year).

    In the UK, if you have equipment capable of receiving broadcast TV signals, you are legally obligated to buy a TV license (irrespective of what you actually watch).

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  2. Must fund BBC Pensions by monkeyxpress · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The current situation with the BBC illustrates the stupidity of accountant driven businesses. Contrary to all the doom and gloom stories you might have heard, the BBC is actually very profitable in terms of making programs with the revenue received from TV licenses. The problem is that it has a massive pension liability that is not ring-fenced from it's normal operations (WTF?). If the pension fund's investments lose value in a year, this loss is booked against their operating profit, making them look like they are losing ridiculous sums of money. What a crazy scheme.

    If the equity markets crashed, we might even end up with a situation where the BBC ceases to exist as a broadcaster, and all your license fee just goes towards paying historic BBC worker's pensions.

    Anyway that is my rant about them. I actually think they produce some excellent programming.