Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
ITunes to offer BBC Programmes
Owners of iPods and some mobile phones will now be able to legally watch their favourite BBC TV programmes on the move.
Despite the tiny screens of these devices, BBC figures show that watching TV on the go – as well as at home on PCs and Macs - via the BBC iPlayer has been a hit. The figures indicate that half a million programmes are watched everyday with Doctor Who, Torchwood and Eastenders among the most popular programmes.
These figures were published to coincide with news that the BBC will be offering a number of shows, including Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars, The Mighty Boosh and Little Britain, as paid-for downloads on iTunes for around £1.89 each. However, American iTune users will be able to download the programmes for just $1.99, which is around £1, and this has caused some controversy. Despite the fuss, iTunes Europe director Oliver Schusser defended the difference in prices and stressed that £1.89 was still good value. He said: "Different countries have different pricing models. The UK price factors in VAT, which is not the case elsewhere."
Although the downloaded programmes are pay-per-view, they will be screened without adverts. Like all music tracks bought from iTunes, any downloaded programmes are owned permanently by the viewer and can be viewed again and again. However, viewers will not be able to copy programmes on to DVD.
BBC’s creation of the iPlayer, as well as their decision to sell their programmes via iTunes, signifies a real trend for 'anytime, anywhere' TV viewing, which has been made popular by the likes of 4 On Demand. Ashley Highfield, director of future media and technology at the BBC, said: "This is early days, but we think an extra 10 per cent of all viewing of programmes like Torchwood is being done online." Mr Highfield also added that the BBC website was benefiting from the popularity of iPlayer. Since it was launched, traffic to the site has jumped by 29 per cent, making it the third most popular website in Britain.
Source:
Guardian
Times
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