BBC bringing iPlayer to iPod touch / iPhone 'in a matter of weeks'
Why on earth is this important? The much-maligned quarter-billion-dollar iPlayer project has been thus-far Windows only (if you want to download content for the 7 days that it's available) or online-streamed via a Flash player. Astute readers may well also recall that the iPlayer has seen much criticised for its use of Microsoft DRM -- one of the main reasons us Mac citizens lack the ability to download shows from the service.
Quite what the forthcoming release means, in terms of watching the content, remains unclear. Digital Spy reports that the iPlayer will only work over WiFi -- meaning that it may not offer download-and-watch capabilities, choosing streaming or a Flash option like the one currently available. On top of that, this month we're told to expect the iPhone SDK, and that brings up some interesting questions.
Has the BBC signed up with Apple to use the DRM scheme currently found in the movie rentals our American cousins enjoy? Will the playback be done via some form of iPhone app surely not dissimilar to the YouTube app we currently have residing on our iTouches and iPhones, or will those continually-swirling Flash-for-iPhone rumours bring us answers? We'll let you read the tea-leaves, but this is quite an astonishing move from a corporation whose digital effort I had come to disregard in the wake of the initial iPlayer saga.
The iPlayer is, of course, UK-only now [and don't complain, non-British readers: we pays our moneys for the privilege, comprende?] so whatever comes of this, expect it to work only on our fair isle.
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Hot on the heels of Auntie releasing a selection of videos for sale via the iTunes Store, we somehow missed yesterday's sneaky revelation...
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If this proves correct, I will gladly take any license fee increases Auntie deems fit!
February 21 2008 at 6:22 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply@Mo: It's true, some of us would like to grab unadulterated versions of Torchwood, Dr. Who, and Top Gear over here in the States. iTunes is a perfect vehicle for this, and if it's not too much more (say, $3 US v/$2 US for most episodes) just so the BBC can have their TV Fees and we get a full hour long show instead of this 45 min show without all the ads that pad it to 60, then I'll subscribe and buy an AppleTV to boot.
"and don't complain, non-British readers: we pays our moneys for the privilege, comprende?"
And we US users want to pay too, because frankly put, US TV sucks.
Which is weird, because an awful lot of us over here in Blighty spend all of our time downloading US TV shows instead of watching the rubbish peddled over here (there are some notable exceptions, but they are definite exceptions), or waiting the 18 months for them to appear on our terrestrial networks.
Surely, as its being encoded to work with iTunes, the BBC just streams the iTunes flavour version for free on iPlayer for the 7 days then it flicks over to iTunes for the same thing at cost
I still don't understand why studios - both tV and Film - pick so carefully. Surely the more access points the more money they can make. If I owned a movie studio i'd make my movies available on every outlet going. The movie is already made and it spells nothing but profit.
Mind you, if I had a movie studio I would also make a sequel to 'The Goonies'. So what do I know.
Well, we Swedes pay for our public service TV as well, but that didn't stop us from threatening to tear down all of SVT's transmitter masts if they made their online content restricted to swedish IP adresses. I don't know how well it worked out though, but since I'm living abroad I want to be able to use it. After all, I still have to pay for the TV back home...
February 21 2008 at 3:43 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIsn't this favouring the iPod/iPhone over rival devices, such as mobile phones?
February 20 2008 at 7:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyQuick! Somebody prepare a lawsuit! Reason or logic be damned, we want our money!
February 21 2008 at 2:00 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyJoking aside, there was outcry when the BBC made iPlayer Windows-only, because the BBC has a legally-binding obligation to be commercially unbiased, and by making iPlayer for one platform they were breaking this remit.
I was one of those who complained to the BBC Trust, as I didn't think it was right that I should pay the same licence fee as a Windows user yet not be allowed the same privileges. After all, the licence fee I pay goes toward the iPlayer service, so why shouldn't I be allowed access to it?
I'm quite happy that the iPlayer is coming to the iPhone, but I can't help but think owners of other mobile devices might not be happy that they can't use the service because their mobile phone of choice isn't made by Apple.
And for people who don't pay a dime, imagine if BBC offered the service for a small fee to us in the US and elsewhere. They make money, we get content, everybody's happy.
February 20 2008 at 7:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIts about time we get something before the US do :)
February 20 2008 at 6:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMy heart bleeds for you! iTunes has NO television content anywhere but the UK & US as far as I know. (Maybe Canada?) Oh, and NO movies content - buy or rent.
And to first commenter, no chance of Top Gear outside UK according to what I've read - something to do with music licensing. Still, I am not that fussed about that. I've already seen series 10.
BTW, I'm in New Zealand - last English speaking country in the world to get an ITMS and will probably never see (1st gen) iPhones legitimately here either.
Come on, it doesn't take much investigation to find out what's going on with iPlayer and the iPhone. There's now full details of the service, which means limited BBC shows through iTunes, and also a full iPlayer client using streaming H.264. I've written up the full details on my blog:
http://www.allaboutiphone.net/2008/02/bbc-programmes-make-it-to-the-iphone/
Cheers
Matt
"[and don't complain, non-British readers: we pays our moneys for the privilege, comprende?]"
people in some countries abroad (say, Belgium) pay twice the price to get BBC 1 to 4 at their places, and have no possible access to the other BBC channels.
You pay your money, but so do we. If anyone is listening, please give us iPlayer aswell :(
We pay a license fee regardless of whether we watch/listen to BBC channels/radio. So in the UK, if you pay your license fee, it's more of a right to receive BBC programmes, not a privilege. In other countries (perhaps, Belgium?) you pay the media company a fee for its services, and the media company then negotiates with various media/programme providers (eg, the BBC) to provide you with content. So if you're asking the BBC to provide the iPlayer for you in Belgium, Auntie will probably turn round and say "sorry, UK-only".
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